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Jan. 3rd, 2007 06:21 pmAnother day, another city. I really wish now that I had planned this trip differently. Given the terrible timing of Glasgow, it really didn't feel like we were there at all. Indeed, when we left on the morning of the second and spent the afternoon in Edinburgh, it felt like we had only been to Edinburgh for a stop-over. Similarly New Year's eve felt like it could have happened in any city at any time, so I might as well have been back home. Yet I know that we were in Glasgow, because I have pictures from the Necropolis. It's quite depressing. Edinburgh was lovely, and we stopped at a park that offered gorgeous views of the city after lunch. We also walked the cobbled streets up the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Castle, but admittance was a ridiculous £11 (approximately $22) so we walked back down the Royal Mile and had hot chocolate in a building that was built back in the 15th century, and has escaped being entirely redone in the subsequent years.
Now we are in York, the only walled city in England. We're also in a hotel with a real bed this time, which is a wonderful change from the first two hostels - there is no creaking bed frame or strange roomate to appear in the middle of the night. The first night we had dinner in a bar that looked more like something out of the Wild West than anything English, though it was primarily dark oak wood-work, with a carpet and lit fireplace. The streets are mostly cobbled, and the sidewalks are not raised so you walk side by side with the cars, separated only by painted yellow lines. The remains of a castle built by Henry III still stand, called Clifford's Tower now, for whatever reason. The wall is no longer a complete one, but stands in long sections at varying points throughout the city. There are many bridges that cross the moat-river, and there are charming little sandwich and chocolate shops that are where the guard towers would have been. The York Castle Museum is actually devoted to the Victorian age of the city, complete with a reproduction of an entire city block and people in the store-fronts dressed in costume. It's very cute.
Tonight we've decided to do the most horribly tourist-y thing we possibly can - we're going to join a Ghost Walk of York. Tomorrow the plan is to see the York Minster, and possibly two of the oldest buildings still standing in the city. We leave on the fifth to return to London - hopefully a ride less than three hours incase we wind up having to stand between train cars again.
Now we are in York, the only walled city in England. We're also in a hotel with a real bed this time, which is a wonderful change from the first two hostels - there is no creaking bed frame or strange roomate to appear in the middle of the night. The first night we had dinner in a bar that looked more like something out of the Wild West than anything English, though it was primarily dark oak wood-work, with a carpet and lit fireplace. The streets are mostly cobbled, and the sidewalks are not raised so you walk side by side with the cars, separated only by painted yellow lines. The remains of a castle built by Henry III still stand, called Clifford's Tower now, for whatever reason. The wall is no longer a complete one, but stands in long sections at varying points throughout the city. There are many bridges that cross the moat-river, and there are charming little sandwich and chocolate shops that are where the guard towers would have been. The York Castle Museum is actually devoted to the Victorian age of the city, complete with a reproduction of an entire city block and people in the store-fronts dressed in costume. It's very cute.
Tonight we've decided to do the most horribly tourist-y thing we possibly can - we're going to join a Ghost Walk of York. Tomorrow the plan is to see the York Minster, and possibly two of the oldest buildings still standing in the city. We leave on the fifth to return to London - hopefully a ride less than three hours incase we wind up having to stand between train cars again.
