Committing a Nuisance

Looks like Tommy will get his comeuppance...

Today we went to the York Gallery and the National Railway Museum. The gallery is very small and didn't have much artwork that Tommy was interested in. The National Railway Museum is pretty fun, there are a ton of trains through the years and a very large room that looked like a train antique shop.

Here are some train photos.

This guy was playing the piano in the exact same spot the last time we were in York. This guy is hardcore, it was COLD outside.

Tomorrow we are off to London for 9 nights!  Hope you are all having a good weekend!

Baby geese! Geeslings?

Today we went to the Castle Museum and the Yorkshire Museum. The Castle Museum wasn't as fun as it was last time we were here. Once is probably enough, and it didn't help that they were doing work on part of the museum so various parts were unavailable. The Yorkshire Museum is fun though. They have a lot of Roman artifacts and parts of St. Mary's Abbey are in the museum.

We also saw a lot of baby geese today. They were super fuzzy and cute.

We also did some shopping and wandering around the town. Here is a picture of The Shambles. There is also a huge outdoor market on the next street.

This is going to be a slightly boring post. Tomorrow is our last full day in York and we are going to go to the National Railway Museum. Have a good night!

Durham Cathedral

Today we took the train to Durham to see the cathedral which is the best example of Norman architecture in England. The cathedral was built to house the remains of Saint Cuthbert and has a shrine to the saint on the other side of the quire. St. Cuthbert was an early leader of the Christian church as is the patron saint of northern England.

The churches and cathedrals that we've seen so far have mostly been Gothic so I was stopped in my tracks when we walked into Durham Cathedral. I was expecting something light and airy but it was dark inside and very different. The columns, instead of being plain, were decorated with chevrons and zigzags and the arches were rounded. Gothic arches are pointed as in York Minster. The nave was built between 1093 and 1133. I would dearly love to show you pictures but unfortunately photography isn't allowed. I didn't realize that you could write ahead and get special permission, otherwise I would have done. After walking around the cathedral I began to take in the differences in architecture and really appreciate them. Durham Cathedral may be my favorite church that I've seen so far in this trip and our last trip to England.

As you know, we cannot turn down a tower tour. This tower was an exhilarating, bun-busting climb of 325 spiral steps. I did use Tommy's iphone to take an illegal picture of the steps...

Durham Cathedral has the highest bell tower in Europe - 218 feet high! The view from the top was amazing and very cold. The cathedral is surrounded on three sides by the river which makes a very picturesque setting. Here are some photos of the outside of the cathedral.

This is a replica of the original 12th century door knocker that criminals used when seeking sanctuary. 

If you are interested I would encourage you to google Durham Cathedral and look at the pictures to see the differences in architecture. It's really quite stunning. 

On a completely unrelated note, I love train stations and York has a cool one.

York Railway Station

I want to show you the clock but the internet is being really slow so I'll save that for another day.

 Hope you have a good day!

York Minster and St. Mary's Abbey

Hello! Today we went to York Minster and visited the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. We actually learned that the minster's proper name is Saint Peter's Cathedral, but nobody ever calls it that. Construction on the minster began in 1291 and took 250 years to complete. Its construction reflects three different styles of architecture.

Here are some pictures.

The North Transept with the Five Sisters Window which was completed in 1250.

Tommy looking at the kings carved along the entrance of the Quire. The are in order from William the Conquerer to Henry VI and built in 1460.

The central tower. The ceiling is 197 feet high. 

The Nave. The gold things in the center and of the ceiling  are called "Bosses" and those particular ones are just under a yard wide.

Can you see me?

The Astronomical Clock

The organ

The Chapter House

The ceiling of the Chapter House

 Of course we also did the Tower Tour, an invigorating climb up 275 spiral stairs!

We made it!

The ruins of Saint Mary's Abbey

Tomorrow, after breakfast, we are going to catch a train to Durham which lies between York and is just a bit south of Hadrian's wall. The train ride is a merciful 45min so we wont be stuck in a train for too much of the day. We don't really know what toe expect from Durham but we do know the cathedral should be a treat and might get to see the local castle. Have a great day!

A List

1. Our alarm didn't go off this morning so we woke up 1 hour later than we planned

2. This left us only enough time to get dressed, stuff our stuff into our bags, then run to the train station

3. A large German Shepherd growled at Libby at the train station because she didn't have her face on

4. The sliding door on the inside of the train tried to close on Libby because she didn't have her face on

5. We sat on the train for almost 4 hours

6. We arrived in York!

7. We washed the hostel off of us

8. We had a delicious Indian dinner

9. There is a new 2 hour episode of Top Gear on in 5 minutes

10. Tomorrow we are going to York Minster

11. Sorry there are no pictures this time

12. Hope you are having a good week so far!

Blenheim Palace

Excuse us for the omission of yesterday's blog. The day was quite dreadfully packed with horrendous weather and more than a few train delays. And lets just say, next time we go somewhere over seas, I think we will be shelling out the extra money for a b&b and a taxi ride if need be rather than a hostel.

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Anyway, on to Blenheim Palace!

Blenheim Palace is the most impressive residential building we've ever been to. This is where the Duke of Marlborough lives. The current Duke is the 11th in succession. Construction on the palace began in 1705. The palace grounds stretch over 2,000 acres and the landscaping took 10 years to complete. The lake you'll see below was man made, and took two years to fill. And it hasn't leaked to this day. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the palace so you'll see a lot of the grounds in this post!

The palace

The East wing where the Duke lives.

Gates at the north end of the Great Court

Libby standing next to the water terraces.

The view from the south lawn
 

Both of us . . .

Water Terraces

Lower Water Terraces

Libby in front of Blenheim

Main Lake

Gnarly old tree

Vanbrugh's Grand Bridge between two man made lakes: Queen Pool and Main Lake

Libby demonstrating how to stand with a spear.

Tommy demonstrating how to look menacing with a halberd.

Another interesting tidbit we learned is that Sir Winston Churchill was also born here. He is in the same family as the lord of Marlborough, and was the Godfather of the current duke.  His birth at Blenheim Palace was actually an accident, as his mother was visiting and he was born a little early. He was later quoted as saying:

"At Blenheim I took two very important decisions; to be born and to marry. I am content with the decision I took on both occasions."

Tomorrow we are catching the 9:07 am train to York. It's an almost 4 hour train ride but we are exciting to get to York and Number 34 B&B. We stayed at Number 34 last time we were in York and really liked it. We are ready to get out of this hostel!