After settling in, I took a small walk around the town to stretch my legs, had dinner and had a read before calling it an early night.
It was neat to see the stone worker's and how they duplicate all the original decorative designs and shapes.
Then I walked the medieval streets in the city centre and looked at all the shops. I loved the look and feel of the old part of town. The cobbled streets with narrow alleys (called snickelways), old lamp posts, quaint little speciality shops, little eateries and tons of tourist entertainment. One of my favourite stores was the Vom Fass. It sold oils, vinegars, spirits, liqueurs and wines. I was able to sample pretty much everything. The amazing variety of oils and vinegar combination you can do there is to die for. Hmmm, pistachio oil... and the mango raspberry balsamic vinegar. Yum. I also tried his Blood orange with vodka cocktail, that was nice. So many nice things he made. If I ever lived here, I'd be a frequent customer!
I window shopped at the Chocolate York Sweet Story, but decided against the tour as I plan to do that in Europe where the amazing chocolate is made. Am I hoping for some trade secrets for their exquisite chocolate... maaaayyybeee. He he.
Another nice thing about this part of town is that there is minimal traffic. Hardly any cars drive through this part of town, making it easy to walk anywhere, day or night.
I can see why this street is popular for the ghost tours. In which there were many. Tons of ghost walking tours to choose from, as well as haunted houses. If I could afford to do it all, I would. But as it is, I chose to attend the Ghost Trail of York, one of the walking tours starting at the York Minister. With a fee of 4 pounds, I could afford it.
The evening had a perfect start. At 7:30 pm, it was already dark, the air was cool and a misty light haze of fog descended on the city. Couldn't have been a better atmosphere for a ghost walk. Our guide dressed in fashionable garb of top hat and tails, black trousers and a black umbrella.
We saw the Treasurer's house, St. William's College, Holy Trinity church, Mad Alice Lane (a snickelway named after a woman was hanged for poisoning her husband), King's Square, the Shambles, and ended in Newgate Market. He had many historical facts and funny jokes amongst the ghost stories. Wasn't very scary. Though entertaining, especially at a good backpacker price.
The tale I thought was the scariest was a story of the children of Bedern. A man running an orphanage/workhouse took in strayed children and waifs and put them to work. He paid little on food or clothing for them, keeping his earnings more for himself. Many of the children died of starvation and exposure. Soon, too many of them perished and instead of burying the bodies, he'd be lazy and stash them away, such as in a large cupboard to rot. As months passed and bodies piled up, and he thought he could hear screams from the locked cupboard. It drove him mad and one night, he took a knife and massacred the remaining children. He was found the next morning by the authorities, mumbling to himself amongst the deceased, and he spent the rest of his days in an insane asylum. The area is now known for this tale and people claim to hear children laughing or screaming in the Bedern area and feel icy finger touches. A sad story, but a favourite to be told none the less.
He also pointed out a few black cats along the streets. Not real ones... but statuettes and decorations. No one knows why they're there. One even dates back to the 19th century. But, it's fun to try to find them all, placed around the city. It's now an activity for tourists, especially with children... go on the cat hunt in York. There are 22 known cats around the city, but they say there could be more. Some of the newer ones were made by a local architect named Tom Adams who was obsessed with cats. Interesting. Something to do anyways while strolling the streets.
After the tour, I walked around taking some photos before heading to bed.
In the morning, I took a free walking tour by the Exhibition square just by the wall of the city. The volunteer guide knew a lot about the history of the city. It was a lot to take in. We saw the King's Manor (headquarters for Henry the VIII's North council), ruins of St. Mary's abbey, the 4th century Roman fortifications, the architecture of the Yorkshire museum, one of the medieval gateways (Bootham Bar) to the city and wall, St. William's College, went into the old 15th century Holy Trinity Church and sat in the boxed pews and finally the Shambles. Nice to see some of the sights I saw on the night tour in daylight.
Since I was on a history kick, I decided to check out the viking settlement, Jorvik. York had about 9 metres of archaeological layers in the soil, and most dating to the viking age. The moist, oxygen free peaty soil helped preserve any organic remains of textiles like clothing and leather, and timber. Items that usually deteriorate to dust over time from rot. The peat also preserved animal bones, insects, plants, seeds, pollen and human parasitic eggs. All ways to identify diet, health, climate and the environment around the vikings during that era.
This attraction had not only viking artifacts and history, but smells back in their day to really get a feel for their way of life.
Unfortunately, the original smell of a viking in the first exhibit room was too strong for me and I was extremely nauseous. I had to rush through it. Which was a shame because the glass floor covered the excavation site of 3 viking properties with household items found with them. The glass showed one property and part of the fence that divided the areas by horizontally weaved wattlework between vertical stakes. This being a popular way in the 10th century of boundary establishment.
Amongst the items found were coins, combs made of antler or bone, leather scabbards, amber (fossilized wood resin used for jewelry), knives, brooches used to fasten clothing, and timber.
Next was an exhibit on what the vikings may have looked like via facial reconstruction, how they lived and any diseases or afflictions they might have endured from the revelations of their skeletons. Also, what their diet was from residue in pottery and everyone's favourite... the encased coprolite. What is that you say? Why, coprolite is fossilized faeces. Nice eh?
All and all, it was a neat exhibit. Just wished the first room didn't make me want to hurl so much with that smell. Oh well.
After that, I had a bite to eat and checked out some shops on my way to the Bar wall. I entered by the Bootham bar and walked along the walled city. The view was really nice. Quite a pleasant walk. The Monk Bar was neat, as it's portcullis was still in working order.
Then I did more window shopping before calling it a day.
The next morning, I took a train to Scarborough to visit my cousin Margo.
However, easier said than done. I was reading the instructions, and for you that don't know me too well, I've never sewn before. I have trouble sewing on buttons on a shirt! And that's basic stuff. So, needless to say, I was having a bit of trouble getting it right. My stitches were messy and too thin.
Lucky for me, my cousin (3rd cousin, she was cousin to my grandma) does cross-stitching and embroidery, so who better to teach me?
We had a warm reunion when I arrived. She was very happy to see one of her Canadian family members since the distance prevents regular visits.
Catching up was great, she had big smiles when updating her on the family and my travels. And she was more than happy to teach me how to cross-stitch. I finally got it! New hobby here I come!
After staying the night and part of the next day with her, I reluctantly headed back to York.
I had left my belongings with the hostel so I was able to retrieve them and stay a final night there before heading south.
I looked at Clifford's Tower and walked along the River Ouse admiring the Yorkboats to pass the remainder of the day.
Now, I'm waiting for my bus to take me to Birmingham where I'll then take the train to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit more of my cousins. I'm excited to see more family!