Note: This York blog is the second part of our U.K. visit where we travelled via train from London to York. This segment of the blog begins with our arrival in York. If you’ve arrived here via the “York” link and would like to read the preceding London segment of the trip, click here.
Hello York!
We pulled into York in just under 2 hours and disembarked from the train. The arrivals section of the York train station was very confusing, but a local woman (rail employee) directed us to the Way Out and got us up to the street.
Using Google Maps we walked to The Queens Hotel, checking in there at 3:30. We were assigned Room 13 – it had a crappy street view (no river view), but was quite large and seemed cozy:
The room had a nice bathroom but I thought the faucet/taps on the tub looked slightly bizarre and a little Star Trek-ish:
Review
If you’d like to read my TripAdvisor review of The Queens Hotel, click here.
But First, We Eat!
We dropped our stuff in the room, then decided to go for a good-sized meal which would last us the rest of the day. We walked out and looked at the menus of a few restaurants, settling on the Tank & Paddle York pub which had a beautiful river view. We ate on their outdoor patio overlooking the River Ouse (pronounced “ooze“) – what a great introduction to York! We each had a burger here – fantastic!
Already we could see and feel that the pace of life in York is way, waaaaaaaay slower, calmer and quieter than London; almost right off the bat we could tell we were no longer in The Big Smoke:
Getting Our Bearings
Finishing up at the pub, we started wandering around the city, getting a little better acquainted with it. We found Clifford’s Tower and the Jorvik Viking Centre:
I, of course, stopped for ice cream at a place called Batch’d:
At about 6:30 we decided to head back to the hotel for the evening; also my knee was really starting to hurt again as I had taken a few painful missteps on York’s uneven flagstone sidewalks and cobbled streets (witness the raised and crumpled flagstones in the shot above).
When we checked into the hotel earlier I noticed our room did not have any electrical outlets on the entire side of the wall containing the bed – we each use a CPAP at night so a plug-in(s) near the bed is a necessity. I mentioned this to the staff on the front desk and they provided us with a dual-outlet power bar on a reeled extension, so that resolved the situation.
Returning to our room with the extension cord, we unpacked, settled in and got comfortable. It had been a long day, so we went off to bed at 9:00.
Signing off from York on Day 1!
Today’s step count: 9,038
York looks interesting. If I was much younger and richer I’d go there.
About Harry Potter stuff. I read and enjoyed the books but kind of a sour taste considering the authors views.
Looking at all those stairs, I admire your courage.