york, england

York is the biggest and closest city to Harrogate so it was a logical day trip for us! When we got there we stopped at the tourist office and picked up some brochures of things to do and a map. It wasn't until we were sitting eating breakfast and looking at the map that I realized there was a price tag on it! I couldn't believe that I had (accidentally!) stolen a map! I kept it as wrinkle free as possible all day, saying that I would return it once we got back to the train station (which I did!).

After we ate we followed a bit of the walking tour in the handy little map and stopped at the York Castle Museum. It was huge and had all sorts of exhibits, including a whole town set up like the olden days with a cobblestone road and shops and people dressed in costumes. I liked it but Mike thought it was pretty gay. Oh well! After that we went to this place called the Jorvik Viking Center. We probably wouldn't have normally done it, but the tourist office was selling tickets for half price so we thought what the heck why not. It was kiiiiind of like Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland, but on a much smaller scale. Basically its a ride that takes you through all sorts of scenes (complete with different smells!) of Viking life. There are moving figurines and everything. It was ok, but a little disappointing.

Afterwards we made our way to the highlight of York, the huge York Minster Cathedral. We joined in with a free tour of the cathedral, and our guide was great. She explained so many things in detail - all of the stained glass works, sculptures, etc. I think this church has the most stained glass of any in Europe. The windows were absolutely massive, but it might be hard to tell from the pictures because there's nothing else in frame to give it perspective. I was totally blown away and I think it's been one of my favourite churches so far. It used to be Catholic, but is Anglican now. A lot of churches would change hands through the years, because of battles, shifts in power, etc. We also climbed up the tower of the church for a great view of the city.