Visiting York: Gibberish, Shambles and Gates

“I need to feel miles behind me to feel as though my life has progressed. What a welcome illness.” -Old Sean

A Stumbling Launch

A week ago, I arrived in London, where I was granted some time off to rest, recalibrate and prep myself for the next portion of my journey.

Admittedly, my relaunch wasn’t impressive. I left the starting line by accidently heading into Leeds and Newcastle before reaching my actual destination, York.

My arrival to York came after whittling a night away after correcting my misdirection. By the time I began visiting York, I had lost a night’s rest. The sun was already causing the horizon to blur with dawn when I reached my hostel.

That morning, I checked into Safestay Hostel, yawned while brushing my teeth and felt my head hit a pillow before all other sensations vanished.

Rise of the Restful

When I finally awoke at a semi-acceptable hour (11 AM or so) I started my wanderings of the city.

Visiting York is lovely because it’s so wonderfully walkable.  Footpaths meander everywhere. They cross through narrow alleys, down cobbled streets, atop scenic walls and across sturdy little bridges. 

I started my day by hard-frying an egg, wedging it between two pieces of toast and wandering forth. While chewing, I walked through Rowntree Park, walking up and down the edges of River Ouse.

While wandering the park, I found an excellent little feature called the Two Hoots Ice Cream Boat. This is a small water-bound vehicle which has an ice cream cone perched on the boat’s bow. I quickly confirmed that the boat did indeed serve ice cream, and I was quick to get a sample.

Prize secured, I sat down in the park, working my way through my cone. I enjoy ice cream since it’s a constant struggle before defying the melt and savoring the treat.

Ice cream done, I also ran across a street vendor. Feeling nostalgic for my life in Chongqing, I also purchased some pineapple slices.

Ice cream and pineapples are some of my favorite foods. Beyond their flavors, I think they’re just entertaining to eat. I appreciate pineapples because they contain an enzyme called Bromelain, which is capable of digesting and breaking down proteins.  Meat left in pineapple juice is actually slowly “digested.”

While stomach acids eventually break Bromelain down, I like the idea of entering a contest of consumption with the pineapple I’m currently enjoying. To this day, that’s a consumption competitions I’ve always won.

And as such, I usually reward myself with more pineapple.

And more victory.

Among the Walls and Shambles

After enjoying my lunch-breakfast-and-dessert combo, I began walking through the city at a more rapid pace. I started by angling towards Clifford’s Tower for a view of the rambling city.

The somewhat squat 13th century castle is built upon a rounded mound with swaths of yellow flowers hemming the old stones in. I climbed up, looking down to fully appreciate and view the rambling city below.

Afterwards, I made sure to sample York’s Chocolate Story, because I lack any semblance of self control and chocolate improves life substantially.

I also spent a couple of hours walking through the Yorkshire Museum, which had some unique torcs, helms and fossils. Generally, I wish torcs were still an acceptable part of regular modern attire. I also stopped by the Museum Gardens, where a small show of hawks and owls sat on perches at eye level with a young woman educating young children about the birds of prey.

Afterwards, I spent long moments lingering in front of The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, better known as York Minster. I’ll freely admit that I’m a bit tired of visiting churches and castles in Europe by now. But they still remain impressive structures and I have trouble bypassing them entirely.

The Narrowest Path

After my movements around the more prominent tourist attractions, I headed out to the edge of York’s old town. York is a walled city, so the outer walls are well-preserved. Visitors can walk upon the upper portions of the fortifications, looking at the scenery below.

I have a strange fascination when walking upon old walls. They were once a series investment of wealth and manpower, a structure of safety for a hardy group of long-gone people. Now, these walls can be strode peacefully, weathered stones no longer patrolled by guards, but instead tourists.

I like the idea that peace represents. It feels like a long and well-earned retirement for a structure that once was built with protection in mind.

Shambling Walks

Aside from walking upon the narrow walls, I also enjoyed visiting some of York’s oldest and smallest streets.

York’s shortest street is called Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate (which originally was known as “Whitnourwhatnourgate” or “What a Street!”) This tiny walkway filled with old stones and funny words finally led me to Shambles.

Shambles is great.  It’s a tiny shopping avenue for foot-traffic with a few interesting traditional shops and some more recent establishments. My favorite aspects were the three Harry Potter Wizarding Shops. These shops held a number of knick-knacks, oddities and other things which wibble.

For amuseument, I bought a Chocolate Frog from the Shop That Must Not Be Named. In addition to a chocolate amphibian, I also received a Gordic Gryffindor wizard card. To emulate the “moving” pictures in the Harry Potter film series, the character was printed on a Lenticular printing card. Tilting the card changed the poses of the fictional House Founder.

I was tickled by all of this. Since I have a lot of down time on buses and trains, I’ve started re-reading the Harry Potter series while traveling the United Kingdom. The scenery and notable sites on my trip lend themselves to the parallel experiences.

A Look Towards Scotland

My time visiting York was short, especially since I spent far more time catching up on sleep than I originally intended.

Though I also got to visit York’s impressive National Railway Musuem, a quiet pub to finish some work and a unique series of supposedly “haunted” buildings, I didn’t have nearly enough time walking through the pretty town.

In the end, I was assigned further north, my time visiting York at an end. My next stop would be the utterly magical city of Edinburgh.

I’ve set aside considerable time for Edinburgh. An old friend of mine used to live there, and she bequeathed me an exceptional itinerary. I fully expect to fling myself into a ton of obscure tourist attractions.

Hopefully, I manage to ride the proper transportations going north.

So until then,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written June 28th, 2018

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