York, part 2

York Minster was amazing.  Besides being picturesque, we really enjoyed all of the history buried (literally) in the cathedral.  York Minster is a Gothic cathedral & one of the largest of it’s kind in Northern Europe.  One of our favorite things was going into the undercroft of the cathedral, which is designed in a way to be a museum, which walks you through the layers of history architecturally.  It was amazing walking along & being able to tell (with some guidance) the differing eras in which the cathedral was built & rebuilt starting in Roman times, moving through the Saxon era, then to Norman & then medieval times.  See below for pictures of York Minster:

Sunny days

Last Friday & Saturday were gorgeous!  We were supposed to have gone to Northern Ireland from Friday to Monday, but we forgot to plan our travels around the volcano eruption in Iceland.  Since our trip was cancelled & I had Friday off work, we enjoyed the time outside.  It was so warm…I was in heaven.  I never thought I’d be one of those people that dawn the shorts & tee-shirt as soon as it hits 60 & the suns out.  But between Seattle, Portland, and now NE England, I think my idea of nice weather has shifted a bit.  So, I did dawn the tee-shirt & shorts & got inspired with thoughts of planting a garden out behind our yard (aka cemented area/patio).  Friday & Saturday I spent as much time outside as I could (Ben had to finally drag me in) & we (meaning Ben) dug a plot of earth for my soon to be vegetable garden.  I, enjoyed planting some pots.  I have to say, Ben was amazing & such a good sport in digging all day for me to have a garden.  For awhile I wasn’t even sure he’d be able to do it with just a shovel as the ground was so hard & it didn’t seem there was much besides rocks below – but, he did, and it’s going to be great.  There’s actually some good soil to plant in.  Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor also came over one afternoon & brought pear cider & some yummy fresh fruit tarts & we enjoyed them on our patio.  Fun times.  These are the things I love, and what make it feel like home here.

Neighbors!

My new garden space! This picture makes it look smaller than it is. None of this was dug up before. And, he even made me a border with all the bricks he found while digging.

Never run with clogs & a heavy backpack…

…because you’ll topped over head first, scrape your nose, rip your jacket, and gash your hands.  And, you’ll be humiliated in front of a bus full of people driving by because no one less than 12 and older than 90 does a tumble like that.  Oh, and you’ll miss your bus, miss your train, and be late for work.  Just thought I should warn you.

York, part 1

View of York

Ben & I went to York a few weeks ago & had an amazing time.  Some friends of ours had bought rail tickets that they weren’t able to use and gave them to us.  So, we went!  York is only a 45 minute train ride away.  It’s beaming with culture, and is beautiful to top it off.  I highly recommend going, and we can’t wait to take family & friends there who visit.  To start off our day, we went to Betty’s Tea House for scones & tea.  Doesn’t sound so exciting, but there’s just something about sitting down for a cuppa (tea) in England with warm, out-of-the-oven scones, spread with a healthy layer of clotted cream & strawberry jam.  Besides, the ambiance of this place is something in and of itself.  It was a pricy cup o’tea, but well worth it.  Afterwards, we explored York Minster, walked on a medieval wall around the  town, and explored around “The Shambles” (continue reading for more details).  We enjoyed some great food, & did lots of walking as we explored the city.  It was a great day, and we can’t wait to go back.  See pictures below:

The Shambles

The Shambles in York has been named Britain’s most picturesque street.  The Shambles is full of 15th century buildings, and although the title, “the shambles” is specific to one street, it collectively refers to the surrounding twisted & narrow lanes.  Walking through the shambles, I felt as though some of the buildings might fall on top of me, they were so close together – and tilting.  And as tilted buildings go, these were pretty spectacular.

Lendal Cellars

We enjoyed lunch at Lendal Cellars, located in a cellar – it was originally a 13th century friary, was then abandoned to become an 18th century ale house before it became the pub that it is today.

York Castle

Part of York Minster in the background

Walking on the wall around the city

Thanks to our friends Andrew & Hilary for letting us use their camera!  More pictures to follow at another time….

You say, I say

In talking with one of my coworkers this week, she brought up her “hen do“.  I had to clarify.  Come to find out, a “hen do” is the equivalent of a bachelorette party.  And what would be the logical explanation for a bachelor party?  A “stag do” of course.

Need I say more?

Tynemouth

Here’s more pictures from our time with Michelle.  These were taken Saturday after going to Newcastle.  Pictures sometimes just say it better, so here you go:

Ruins

Hanging out at our favorite local pub - Tap & Spile

Newcastle upon Tyne

Monday Ben, Michelle & I decided to explore around our neck of the woods a bit.  We showed her Newcastle, and also visited the coast to check out Tynemouth (some fun ruins).  I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Newcastle reminds us much of Portland with all of the bridges.  It has a very modern feeling – I don’t think some of these shots look like England at all.  We had a good day – bad luck with catching the bus, but we made it there and back eventually which is what counts. Oh, and thanks Michelle for the pictures.  :)

The opera house in the background

The Millennium Bridge

More bridges

Easter dinner

For easter this year we had a potluck at our house with our neighbors Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor, Chris & Lindsay, and Michelle was also here.  The food was amazing, and the company was even better.

Aaron, Sarah, Ben, Chris, Lindsay, Michelle. Where's Lucy & Eleanor?

Lindsay & Michelle

Cousins

Ben & Michelle in front of the cathedral from one of our favorite walks