Up early (again), ate the FEB then hauled ourselves and our luggage down to the King's Cross train station to catch an early morning train. The King's Cross station is an imposing building and home to the famous "Platform 9 1/2" of Harry Potter fame. We located and boarded our train then settled back as it headed north for the ancient walled city of York. The snow really began to fall in earnest. There had been a terrible train wreck (13 people killed) between London and York a few days before and officials were still trying to clear the wreckage from the tracks so we were moved onto a magnificent purple bus supplied by the train company to cover the last part of the trip.

Becky had read in the Rick Steves tour book that there was a secret walkway from the train station, through some back alleys, across the river by way of a little used bridge and directly to the B & B where we had reservations to stay. Speaking of reservations, our merry (but getting less so by the moment) band of travellers had some...Rick begins his directions with "follow the crowd towards..." well, there was certainly no "crowds" to follow at this time of year and we were a bit concerned at how reliable these directions might be. Visions of the possible newspaper headlines for the next day danced before my eyes, "4 Americans Found Frozen to Death in Back Alley of York!" Becky reassured us and gave us the "There, there, it will be alright" and what was building to a possible mutiny was quelled. Of course Rick's directions were spot on and we popped up exactly where we wanted to be... at St. Raphael's Guest House located just outside the city walls.

We settled into our comfy rooms and then wandered out in search of some lunch. As our group headed in towards the center of town, we passed "The Exhibition Pub" and our grumbling stomachs told us it was probably about time Awanna was introduced to pub food. Even with our group's diverse tastes in grub, everyone found things fun here to eat and drink...Becky had a giant Yorkshire Pudding w/sausage, Awanna tried a tasty shredded cheese sandwich, Daniel went traditional with the Fish & Chips and I had what may well have been the last pork chop in England (foot and mouth becoming more of a problem with the passing of each and every day)...and of course, washed it all down with Guiness and bitter from the tap.

We wandered the town for awhile until it was getting pretty late in the afternoon and I'm starting to cave in to the vicious cold I've been trying to fend off for the last week. I hunted down some vitamin C (fizzy like Alka Seltzer) at the local "Boots" pharmacy and headed for my bed while the rest of the group decided they would take in Evensong at the Minster. The Minster is an Anglican church. Construction of the current building started in 1220 A.D.! The remains of the earlier Roman version (c. 320 A.D.) can still be seen in the foundations...needless to say it's impressive. (Becky was especially taken with the drainage culvert built by the Romans and still functioning.)

Saturday, March 3rd

At breakfast we decided that today should be our "laundry day." When travelling I like to pack light and find it's easiest to hand wash my underthings every couple of days in the sink then hang them to dry overnight. Eventually though one's going to have to deal with the dreaded "Washeteria." Actually some of my most memorable moments in the U.K. have been at the local laundromat. It's a great place to chat up the locals while waiting for your clothes to dry and you get a real taste for what life is like in a foreign land.

After catching a bus back into town Becky, Daniel and I humped the laundry back to the B & B while Awanna went back to the Minster for a guided tour. The remaining three of us headed back inside the walled city where we wandered the streets, poked around in the old shops and bought ourselves some Cornish pasties for lunch at the bakery. We ate them while sitting on the curb on (and I'm not making this up) Wip-Na-Wop-Na square. After finishing and brushing off the crumbs we looked into the old Merchant Adventurers Hall (a 13th century, rough oak timbered building with lots of great displays), took in the Castle Museum, wandered through the Jorvik Viking Center, got some fudge and tried to find an internet cafe for some emailing...fine, now we are exhausted all over again.

No stopping with Drill Sergeant Becky though...we had hooked back up with Awanna and now apparently we must walk some of the city wall, take in the Yorkshire Museum, a bookstore, a crafts fair (I did pick up a lovely Celtic pendant w/jet stone for Becky at a VERY reasonably price)...ENOUGH ALREADY! We demanded that we be allowed to limp back to St. Raphael's and relax if only long enough to ease the swelling of our poor maltreated feet!

Hooray! It's Awanna's 70th Birthday! Becky had picked up a cake at the Marks & Spencer store in town so we surprised Awanna with the cake, a card, a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and a few small gifts we had picked up along the way.

My cold is getting much worse and Becky has now started to show symptoms...off to bed for a much needed night's sleep. We're up early tomorrow morning though (what a surprise) to catch the train for Scotland and Edinburgh!