Little Trips around the City

Today 18 September, we had a slow day of mopoking around the city. It was wonderful.

We started by taking our washing to laundry service. Chris ahd a great conversation with owner Sam and fellow patron Tod from Seattle. I, on the other hand, went in next door to get a haircut. KG cut my hair to perfection. He is Kurdish and a lovely gentle man. He had the Quran prayer channel on his tv going quietly in the background. We had a good chat while he did my hair. He’s been here for five years, has many years experience barbering, worked for his cousin for most of those five years in Manchester but moved to York to start his own business. After me, he gave Chris a beard trim and facial massage under hot towels. Very nice indeed.

After barbering we headed into the Walmgate Roman wall to revisit a café we went to last time we were in York. Still there. Walmgate is one of the major Roman gates into the city. A nice coffee in an incredible surroundings. We took a walk around the Minster again, once again being astonished at its sheer size and presence. I took a few pics of other buildings too including the Treasurer’s House, where I understand lived Elizabeth Montagu, a founding member of the Blue Stocking Movement and writer. Following that, we headed to the Old White Swan for a bite and beer, whose actual building dates from the 16th century. As the Old White Swan, it dates from 1703 but is believed to have been a pub well before that. Home for a rest and a little nap.

After our sweet repose, we decided on a walk around the ancient walls. The last time we did this a few years ago, we went in the more suburban direction. This time, we decided on the opposite direction which would take us past the back parts of the Treasurer’s House and the Minster. What a fabulous decision! The views were stupendous. The trees and gardens. Gorgeous.

At night, after dinner, we took a walk around the Minster to see if we could get some shots of it under floodlight. As a good part of it is under scaffold at the moment, there is not a lot of floodlighting, but certainly the main western door with the heart of Yorkshire window looks beautiful. A couple of pics of the streets and our place of residence under floodlight, which dates back to the 1700s and used to be a women’s hospital.

A lovely relaxing day enjoyed by both of us.Baca lagi