Summer Stories - Day 1 in York

Ok, to kick things off, let's blog about my 1st summer destination shall we? So, for the first time in months, finally got my busy arse away from the laptop, social sites and technology for 3 days straight! Whatd'ya expect when you are doing a postgrad program in Cybernetics which is heavily related to computers. The trip was fun s it was only me, Xiong Ling, Lynn and Diana. By the way, was my first trip with 3 girls and no guys at all. Pure uber bully by them! Anyways, my first destination was for the historic city of York, famous for... er, geese and ducks? Seriously, in total I think I'd met over 50 ducks and geese up close and personal. When they told me that meeting friends is a custom of life, I didn't knew they meant animals as well.... =D

For some reason, I find these feathery friends everywhere in York. had a large feather from the mother goose here as a souvenir =)

So, to visit York, the York Castle and Yorkminster is a MUST on your itinerary. Well, York Castle ain't a castle no more. Due to countless war, erosion and the moat drying up, only the dungeon part still remains till today. Being renovated into a war and history museum, it's no doubt a terrific tourist attraction.

The remnants of the once proud Clifford Tower behind me.

(to Jia Ping: and NO, there's no big red dog nearby...)

As soon as we arrived at the castle/museum grounds, just had to try out the artillery :p

So, first off, the York Castle museum. Inside was just your typical British Museum, housing stuff from about the late 15th century household till the early 19th century. The surprising thing was there was an asian display in the museum. It actually documented the life of a couple from when they first came here to York as a laborer and student respectively, till they had GREAT grandchildrens. Well, having a whole room of display practically about your entire life is uber awesome right? Wonder if I would ever get one for myself? :p

After the castle museum was the castle dungeon, showcasing the prison cellars, dungeon courtyard and Beetles tribute museum? (I know, the last one shocked me too!) The cellars was a bit boring, until the part when the 3 girls got trap in the Dark Room which was a room with no windows or lights. So when the door was closed, an eerie recording starts to play and they screamed out loud! Funny yet embarrassing. You be the judge~

Well, a dungeon trip wouldn't be complete without the Idiot display right? :D

Got myself jailed. Help!

Once the tour concluded, it was lunch hunting time. A trip to York wouldn't be complete if you didn't dine at the famous Betty's! Well, if you didn't, TOO BAD for yea! Jokes aside, Betty is a famous cafe or restaurant that has been in York since 1919. Specializing in cookies, desserts and classic tea, all tea time addicts would love this place. Problem was, we had to queue for 25 mins to get in. That just proves how famous and in demand that place was! So while waiting, I went off for a little stroll of my own~

This is how the entire York City Centre looked like

Lunch - Chicken and Potato Penne Pasta

Tea time at Betty's - Oh, shiny~

Next stop after lunch was the Yorkminster cathedral. This famous holy-cross shaped building surely garnered lots of attention. Even the entrance fees of 10 pounds proves it! At least the interior architecture wasn't too shabby. Up, down, left right, you could see wonders of architecture and art. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit on the wonders part, but still is a TRUELY MUST VISIT location!

And here proudly stands the cathedral

Some interior decos

Couldn't resist taking this one to tag on FB! Represents one of the 14 causes of death. Weirdly, having a toothache was one of them. Bad tooth infection much?

They are actually lots more of pictures on the interior deco, stain glass arts and tombstones. My camera wasn't working quite well in the extreme low light condition of those area, so an apology is in order.... Sorry....

After the minster tour, time to head back and rest. Nothing interesting to say about out hotel besides it sucks like hell, the receptionist's a bitch (and I think I speak for all), the provided kettle has blue moss growing in it (Yes, BLUE! Must be a new species or something!) and the small 13 inch room tv was located above a very tall cupboard! Super speechless and the only good thing about the place was the nice quiet pub with the grouchy bar tender..

Not too shabby~

Signing off

~L'heure Bleue~