The New Year

So, Michael and Barbara,

Yes, yesterday was too much and I didn't have the energy to write you.  Sorry.

So, here goes the last two days, as quickly as I can since the bus arrives at 545 for the airport in the morning (as you know, I need my beauty sleep).

At some point earlier in the week, we decided to go to York yesterday.  None of us had ever visited the seat of the second archbishopric of the kingdom, so we jumped on the 8 o'clock train (early enough) and made the hour and 50+ minute ride (this was a fast train).

BTW, if you missed the news, northern England has been under a flood watch all week.

Let's start with the inside of the wonderful Gothic cathedral -- might be the best in England.  EH did all the steps to the top of the Tower (like 265) but I never saw the pictures, and she said the view "wasn't that good."

We followed that with lunch (a horrid affair at an overpriced chain pub), then walked down to the "castle area" to see that.

But the Viking village was underwater (so we were told by a guy in Viking gear at the door), and the castle was pretty much a museum, with amusements, but little castle to it, really.

The Clifford Tower, a 12th century affair (York was doing a lot of building that's stood up about that time), was impressive, so here's your picture.

The museum including a toy collection, a recreation of a street from Victorian York, complete with about a dozen shops (it smelled a bit of urine, but maybe that's to make it more authentic), a big section on how the Great War changed the world, a prison section, with video of 18th c prisoners and jailers.  Love the wigs.

Then a cuppa and we were too tired to walk the XXX back to the train station, so nicely, easily found a cab and we were back on the way to London by 335.

In one of those moments K will never forget (it pairs w the 2008 trip from Paris where the woman talked from the Chunnel to London), the guy behind me decided that he was in the Quiet Train and that meant calling his mates in London and working out the evening was the thing to do.  And he didn't know much about how to get around in London.

Back at King's Cross, EH wanted to go to the Harry Potter store (I know Michael knows of it).  Yes, America, there was a huge line on New Year's Eve to get your picture taken at Platform 9 3/4, which has a fake trolley car, loaded with a white owl in a cage, and a person to put a scarf on you and take a professional photo.  New Year's Eve, 7 PM, in line to get your picture...I will say no more.

None of us was up to going out in the rain for New Year's.  Call us lame.

This morning started with French breakfast at Paul's Patisserie.  I had croque forestier and K quiche lorraine.

Then off to the V&A.

You know that the V&A (Victoria and Albert) is the largest (in square footage) design museum in the world.  I drug along, knowing I would hear about splotches.  To K's credit, she only turned to me once and said "I want to re-do the living room like that."   While K & EH went into the Indian Fabric exhibit (like I was paying money to look at more splotches?!), wondered around  -- it is large.

Speaking of which, you may remember their cast court -- they have some impressive casts of statues elsewhere.  This is by far the most famous --

I thought the wall was a nice color, right?

While EH went to see the 19th c stuff, as she said at dinner, including 5 samples of William Morris wallpaper, we waited and K looked in the shop.

We had early dinner reservations, and made the trek "cross town" (cross the touristy center of town, given it's Europe's largest city) to one of Gordon Ramsay's dives.  It was the closest one to the flat.

EH started with this, what she called the best sushi of her life.

K and EH had the British sirloin, not the US, rare, or Japanese that were on the menu --

I admit I had rigatoni.  I had had enough meat on the trip so far.  And I wanted to prep for Italy tomorrow.

We decided that Jamie Oliver's was probably a bit better than Gordon's place.  The determining dish was this mac and cheese (I didn't order it -- I really didn't!)

And, with that, good night...more tomorrow (maybe) from Italia.