Thank God for Portia (our GPS).  Yesterday she faithfully steered us from the quiet calm of Bronte’s Hathersage thru Sheffield’s maze of city streets to our little motel on the far edge of town.  With heavy traffic, bewildering road rules, non-existent street signs, and the infamous roundabouts, it was a bit of a trial.
Mom can’t understand how she & Gary managed driving in England 26 years ago without a Portia!

We booked into a Travelodge Motel on the recommendation of some local friends.  They offer great early booking deals of £19 and up per room which is a fantastic deal. We were a little unsure of what quality the room would be but we’re thrilled with what we got.  It doesn’t have the character of a farmhouse but its perfectly impersonal.

We drove northeast this morning to the City of York.  It’s the only big city on our trip, and one we’ve both been to before but it’s been 30 years for me so of course I don’t remember a thing!
Portia brought us right to our hotel, another Travelodge, which luckily is inside the city walls, just a stone’s throw from the river.  We weren’t allowed to check in till 3pm so we locked up everything in the car’s boot and headed off sightseeing.

The Shambles

York is a tourist’s delight: lots of medieval buildings, pedestrian streets, and tourist shops.  Yet it still feels like a locals’ town, with neighborhood pubs, street markets and nice clothing stores.  And everything is on sale, so calling all shoppers!!  We wandered around for a bit, slowly making our way up to the cathedral

York Minster

York Minster is England’s largest medieval church, circa 1220, and has the most magnificent collection of period stained glass windows.  This has been a religious sight since at least 627, and there’s even ruins of both Norman and Roman structures beneath the church. We’re often overwhelmed by all the history that we’re experiencing…

This was just a side aisle

This medieval couple was either really pious or true busybodies who wanted to spend their eternity checking everybody out!

We had to scurry through the church as there was a special BBC televised service (St. Somebody’s Day) in the afternoon and we didn’t want to get locked in to sitting through it.  After touring both the Minister and the museum-like crypt we felt that all our sightseeing needs were met so we opted to wander the town.  However, upon exiting the church to an overcast sky and a chilly wind we headed over to Betty’s Tea Room, a York institution since 1919, for a warming cup of tea.  Once the rain started falling we scurried directly back to our hotel for lunch and a good read until the sun shone again.

By 4:30 we were touristing again, wandering about, snapping pics, watching other tourists so busy looking into their cameras they were playing bumper cars with the locals.  Business people returning home from work, teenagers in their mini-skirts and cell phones, oblivious to the cold breeze, half-timbered buildings and overflowing  flower baskets.  We liked York.

Oldest medieval hall in England