Canterbury and York

Saturday was the official beginning of my spring break. For my flatmates, however, this began on Friday. Shiloh and Denise headed off to Italy (I think) before I was even up to get ready for my internship. The next day though, it was my turn. I went on a day trip to jump start my break. The destination was Canterbury, Europe's first tourist attraction. I went with what is called International Student House. I have a membership and they offer trips that are 50% subsidized. Pretty sweet deal.

Anyways, I went to Canterbury and toured the Canterbury cathedral where Thomas Beckett was murdered in the cathedral. Poor guy, no place is sacred for a bunch of knights looking to suck up to the king. I then walked around the town and saw a few other sights. While there I made two friends. One is a student from Canada that is studying in London for the whole year. The other is an au pair (I have no idea how to spell that) from Germany. Both were very nice. The day was quite pleasant. I even took a tea break in the quaintest little tea room after the cathedral tour. It was nice to just sit back, enjoy the tea, and journal. That evening was spent packing as lightly as possible for my York and Scotland trip. It is a balance trying to pack lightly but have enough stuff. I ended up leaving my makeup behind. Although I am not entirely dependent on cosmetics, going an entire week without any foundation, eyeliner, or mascara is a bit of a stretch for me. That is a week in public without makeup. I don't mind going natural if the only people to see me are a few trees, squirrels and hiking partners.

Anyway, I went to the station the next morning to catch my ride to York. I travelled by way of Megabus. Now tell me, by the name of the company, wouldn't one assume that the mode of transportation would be, oh, I don't know...a bus. Using what I considered to be common sense I followed the signs for the coach pickup. I was over an hour early because I wanted to make sure that I was in the right place. Well, it certainly seemed as though I was so I decided to check out the shops to kill some time. I even tried a nuttela crepe...mmm, those are good. Well, 15 minutes until my "megabus" was supposed to leave, I walk back to the coach pickup. Low and behold, the buses were gone. Well, what in the world to I do know? I ended up asking at reception and the man kindly informs me that megabus trips to York are actually train rides to east midlands parkway where I would then alight onto my megabus. Well, that would have been nice to know. To make a long story short, I made it onto my train just fine and transferred to my double decker megabus at the right station without any more problems. I wonder how many people have missed their "megabus" looking for an actual bus.

Well, my relatives, John and Anne, met me at the bus stop and took me to their lovely cottage in the adorable village of Poppleton. It is right outside of York and has everything you need within walking distance inside the village. There are two little grocers, a flower shop, two hair dressers, a health clinic, a dentist, a church, a meeting house, a post office, a school, tennis courts, a green, and don't even know what else. I immediately fell in love.

There wasn't any time to sightsee that evening so we all had a lovely meal and watched television after dinner. John even showed me a recording of the Opening Day of Parliament where the Queen and all of the royalty and officials have this big, elaborate ceremony. It was interesting to see. It was like a play with very ornate costumes and props with a very dull plot. The queen arrives, dons her ceremonial cape and the Imperial crown (which she only wears twice a year) and takes her throne in the house of the lords. Then a character called black rod walks (nay, marches) over to the house of the commons where they slam the door in his face. He uses his black rod (thus the name) to pound on the door to gain entry. He then invites/orders (with lots of polite head nods) the members of parliament to the House of Lords to hear the Queen's speech. After all of men (and now women) are crammed into the already full house of lords, the Queen reads her speech. And, well, that's it. It is a lot of pageantry and tradition but not really any functionality that I could determine. It is just one of those traditions that the Imperialist nation has retained to keep their culture and history alive. Plus, it is just fun to watch.

Monday morning we explored York--the Abbey, the wall, a beautiful coffee house, and the Shambles, York's most well-known and narrowest street. Apparently while we were walking down the street (and I snapping away with my camera) a camera crew was filming the street. That evening, Anne's daughter called to inform her that she was on the six o' clock news! We made the BBC! They were reporting how the Shambles was just recently voted Britain's most beautiful street or something to that affect. I'm a British television star!

After lunch on Monday, John and Anne drove me to Knaresborough, a nearby town with a beautiful view. We walked to a ruined castle that overlooked a river down in a canyon. The view of the river, old steam engine train bridge, and town was breathtaking. It looked just like a postcard! After that, John and Anne's daughter, Jane and her boyfriend came for tea and cake (I like this tradition of coffee in the morning and tea with cakes or biscuits in the afternoon). I am really enjoying getting to know my distant British relatives and find it interesting to see a true British household in action.

Yesterday, we drove to Whitby by the sea. The beautiful town is nestled along the North Sea. We started the morning by once again enjoying a mug of coffee, and then climbed the hill to the church and ruined monastery. The view from the top was amazing! It was the iconic British seaside town. We then lunched at the famous Magpie Cafe on fresh fish and chips. The fish was huge! It was the best fried fish I have ever had (I ate almost all of it, some of chips, and a lot of my mushy peas). John and Anne have been doing their very best to fatten me up before I leave York. Once we were done feasting on our fresh seafood, we waddled out to walk around a bit more. They have this special candy there called Whitby rock which has the name of the town throughout the whole stick of candy. Anne treated me to a stick (which I haven't eaten yet--far too full). We also walked down Smuggler's Alley and by some fish stores where we saw (and smelled) the fresh kippers being smoked. Oh, fun fact: Captain Cook began his voyage from Whitby.

Once we had thoroughly explored the quaint seaside town, John drove us to a tiny village up the coast with another beautiful view. Tuesday was full of breathtaking views as we drove through the moors, across the country, and along the seaside. Needless to say, I have taken quite a few pictures. I think I definitely need to purchase another memory card for my camera before I go to Scotland.

Today we went back to York to explore the York Castle Museum. It was interesting to see all of the artifacts of Yorkshire life past. They set up rooms like they would have been during different eras. They even had a street created like it would have been during I think the 1800s, with the sounds of children playing in the streets and everything. In the basement, it used to be a dungeon. That was pretty cool to see. Then we just walked around through some of the downtown shops. This afternoon we drove to another nearby town, Wetherby, just to walk around and enjoy the riverside town. I have been so blessed with wonderful weather. Monday and today were clear and sunny with blue sky. Yesterday was a bit more overcast, but the only time it rained was while we were in the car.

Tomorrow, I depart for Scotland for my adventure in the north. I'll let you know if any quiltwearing, bagpipe playing Scot sweeps me off my feet. Oh, another interesting thing: my great grandparent's on my Grandma Henry's side were from Ireland. However, before my Irish roots (I think around 1500s) the Smytons (my Grandma's maiden name and John and Anne's last name) were possibly from Scotland. So here I am, off to the land of my ancestors. I will keep an eye open for a Smyton family crest.