Medieval York

Hello everyone and Happy St. Patrick's Day! A few weekends ago (Saturday, March 1st), Jennifer and I went on another day trip with our friend Gaby and her friend Berni. This time, we went to the cute medieval town of York, which is only a short train ride away from Leeds. When planning to study abroad, Jennifer and I were originally wanting to go to the university in York, but it was only an option for students studying abroad for the whole year. The town just looked so adorable so we knew we had to visit it sometime while we were here. And I am so glad that we did!

York is a historic Roman town located in North Yorkshire, England. The whole town is surrounded by medieval walls that stretch for about 2 miles around the city. They even have a Jorvik Viking Centre!

Upon entering the city, we followed the walls and passed over the River Ouse, which is the major river flowing through York. It was a nice sunny day and there were some people kayaking on the river beneath us.

This was taken right before a bird decided to poop on the zipper of my jacket that I'm holding on to. Good aim!

We didn't have many plans for the day, so we spent most of our time roaming the city and window shopping. The streets of the city were lined with adorable shops and boutiques. I could spend all day just browsing through the little shops!

 

 

 

So classy, York!

 

This soap company in York had cakes and cupcakes that were made out of soap! They look good enough to eat!

We decided to stop into York's Chocolate Story which was a shop full of delicious looking chocolates and other souvenirs (but I didn't see any York peppermint patties ;) ). They even had a chocolate cafe where you could order drinks, fondue, and other chocolatey desserts! I didn't end up buying anything but it was very tempting! They also had the option of taking a tour and learning about the history of chocolate in York, but we just stuck to the shop and cafe. 

As we were walking around the town, we passed by Clifford's Tower which is sat up on a hill on the outskirts of York. In Spring, the hill is covered with blooming flowers and I can imagine it would be so pretty! 

Earlier in the day, we were at the visitors center and a lady told us that the York Dungeon was a must-see, so we headed there next. I was expecting to get to wander around in old dungeons and maybe see some prison cells or something. Boy, was I wrong. The York Dungeon was more of an interactive attraction. While we were waiting in line, we noticed a man walking around in full makeup and costume, entertaining the guests. We were let into the building in small groups and were then led into different rooms and told creepy stories of the "dark history" of York while the actors attempted to scare us. It was basically a mediocre version of one of the mazes at Knott's Scary Farm. While it was definitely entertaining, I don't think I would pay to see it again.

Waiting in line for the York Dungeon

After the dungeon, we were so hungry but we were planning on going to afternoon tea later in the day so Jennifer and I stopped off for some crepes to tide us over. Jennifer got an apple cinnamon crepe while I opted for a Nutella crepe. Yum!

We then headed over to Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms for afternoon tea. Before coming to York, we heard about Betty's Tea Rooms and knew we had to have our first afternoon tea there! These tea rooms were so popular that we had to wait in line for about an hour before we were let inside but it was so worth the wait!

Jennifer, Berni, and Gaby

Berni and Gaby

Inside of Betty's

I am so glad that we made this stop! Everything was set up so nicely and we ordered the traditional afternoon tea. At £18.50, it was a bit pricey but we figured we had to have the full afternoon tea experience while we were in England and it was so worth it! We were first served a pot of tea with milk and sugar cubes. Because I am not a huge fan of tea, I couldn't even finish my first cup, but the food was amazing and so fancy! The food was brought out on individual three-tiered silver stands. We were served a selection of sandwiches (including Scottish smoked salmon and cream cheese, roast Yorkshire ham, roast free-range chicken breast, and egg mayonnaise and cress); a sultana scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream; and a selection of miniature desserts (including a pistachio macaron, a little chocolate cake square (which tasted a little strange, almost like it had rum in it or something), and a mini berry tart). Everything was seriously delicious! My favorites were the chicken breast sandwich, the scones, and the mini berry tart. I felt like a proper English lady! It was definitely the highlight of my day!

The tea... blegh. But it looks so pretty!

The finger sandwiches... mmmmm!

Sultana scone with clotted cream and jam

The desserts! So tasty!

Pretending that I'm enjoying the tea :)

Delicious scone!

Berry tart

On our way out, we had to stop and peer into the windows with awe at the giant chocolate eggs decorated with flowers! You could purchase the biggest egg in the center for a whopping £250! They also sold adorable chocolate otters and chocolate beavers! :)

Sorry about the glare on the window!

After tea, we wandered around window shopping a little bit more before ending the day with a visit to the York Minster. It was such a pretty building, and was lined with impressive stained glass windows.

Berni, Gaby, and Jennifer

After walking through the York Minster, we headed through a park and back over the River Ouse to the train station to head back to Leeds! 

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Thanks for reading! Be on the lookout for my next post about my visit to Brighton and London! :)