if not for yi, i probably wouldn't have heard of the existence of York, much less set foot in the place. and what a pity that would be! this city, albeit small and relatively unknown, is one of the best kept secrets in UK (: it is that wonderful. and i loved every single bit of it :') apparently it's on the fb page "Places to visit before you die"!!! i'm so happy that i had a chance to visit ;) for all the afternoon tea-loving ladies out there, this is the place to live in :))) such a small, quaint town, but so many places to delight in. i really really miss the space and quietness of europe. *sigh* :')
this is not a very good pictorial representation...it is too dark!!! but you've got to be THERE to experience York (: the shopping streets at The Shambles are just so picturesque! i was googling it, and i found the perfect description ever ;) "it's like walking down Diagon alley in Harry Potter!" so true ^^ it's just one small street after another, with the prettiest shops and tea houses, selling the most quirky and lovely merchandise that you'd feel like popping into every other shop just to oogle at the products. i particularly loved this store that sold soaps that looked like mini-cupcakes!! *squeals!!* i was just having to drag myself out to prevent myself from buying something i would never bear to use because it was just too pretty :p
did you know that harry potter was filmed in york?!?! i mean, just one scene in it. but stillllll. haha! and i wouldn't have known till yi told me, but once she did, i could immediately imagine the exact scene in the movie! in the first movie when hagrid passed harry the tickets to take his first train from platform 9 3/4. it was filmed at the York Train Station :O :O :O !!!! :D haha. i was there!!!!! *HELLO!!* haha okay i'm nuts, but it's so exciting!! can't believe that they actually came all the way here to film the movie! i didn't even go to see the platform 9 3/4 at kings cross station in london because i heard it's damn lame (there is even a queue to take a photo with the trolley -.-). THIS, is much cooler ;) hehe. totally being a typical tourist in york ;)
the York City Wall was probably to keep out all the baddies from the city. i'm not too sure about this, but i think York used to be the capital of england at some point in history? that's why they have these city walls and a castle (below) as well!
Clifford's Tower - i really enjoyed walking around this area on my own on a quiet afternoon. there was a lovely light breeze that ruffled my hair, and it was just perfect (: i spent the afternoon strolling in the area, watching the geese play (so many of them in york!!!), watching a little kid run and tumble in the grass. it was such a wonderful day out ^^
the York Minster is this huge church in York that you can visit. it costs £15 for a combined minster+tower ticket. i don't think there is much to see in the church itself, but the tower was an interesting experience. first time climbing up a super narrow flight of steps. not an experience i'd want to repeat, but i did so again for st paul's cathedral in london lol.
halfway up the steps....thought we had reached already but no....more steps to climb haha.
view from the top!! (:
and one of my favourite places in York was the Museum Gardens (: this picture was taken from my seat on the grass hehe ^^ it's a wonderful place to sit and chill!
if you can, venture beyond the city of york to the outskirts and you'll find more wonderful things there! (: we took a bus out to Balloon Tree Farm and it was such a lovely experience! they have both an animal farm and vegetable garden section. we actually wanted to go for the pick-your-own trail experience but unfortunately due to this year's bad weather, the harvest was late :"( sobs. nevertheless, we really had a lot of fun here! look at all those vegetables!! fresh from the farm ^^
they also had a number of cute animals there ^^ look at the adorable pony behind me!! there were goats, chicken and a pig as well heh ;)
we had our lunch at their in-house cafe, and i just love how everything was fresh from their farm! the quiche lorraine (£7.25) had apparently shrank in size since the last time yi visited, but it was deliciously tasty nonetheless! i just love the crust of such pastries ^^
they also have a daily specials menu, where there are more interesting dishes! (: we ordered the salad of smoked scottish salmon with balloon tree asparagus and parma ham (£7.95). so delicious!! i just loved how healthy everything seemed there (:
surprising how such a small city can have so much to see! ^^
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