On to our next adventure.
Ahhh York, one of our most recommended destinations on our trip. Such a quaint little walking town but before we got to the peaceful York we had to get out of Edinburgh.
Now let me start by saying traveling can be a stressful thing. Our train from Edinburgh to York was our first train ride of the trip, which left from Waverly station. We had everything under control. Tickets printed. Luggage on us. Platform right in view. Nothing could go wrong, right? Well in the end nothing did go wrong BUT for about 30 seconds I was sure I had just completely left mom in Edinburgh and me without my train ticket.
You see what had happened is when we had boarded our train we had found the previous passengers had left their gross half full coffee cups in our seats. Mom being the good person that she is, took the garbage and went in search of a bin. This is when another one of our running jokes was created. Mom had completely left my sight to go find a bin and she went in the direction of the train doors looking. In my head my mother had gotten off the train to use a trashcan on the platform and then the train started moving. Panic coursed through my veins as I came to the belief that I had left my new-to-the-world-of-travel mother on a platform in Edinburgh. In that moment I quickly turned to look out the window and audible said "Mom?" My fears and worries were snuffed out as soon as mom returned to her seat and after I explained the mini-crisis I had just gone through we were off to York.
With only about 24 hours to go exploring we hopped off the train from Edinburgh and made a B line for the nearest vegan restaurant. We were rather disappointed in our choice of food, I honestly can't even remember the name of the place. We had bought day bus passes which were super handy! We went and dropped off our bags at our hostel and then were off to explore the town.
Cute architecture throughout York
View of York Minster from Monksgate Bar
York is absolutely breath taking, something you would expect to see in a Harry Potter movie! And in the center of all the beauty was York Minster Abbey. This cathedral is absolutely stunning with it's stone gothic architecture and imposing presence. We were lucky enough to sneak a peek inside as they were preparing for a service, the interior is just as exquisite as the exterior. Just walking around the grounds gave you this sense of peace and relaxation, dozens of people were lounging about enjoying the weather and the ambiance of the Abbey grounds.
View from the lawn behind the York Minster
View from our hostel
After we did a bit of lounging ourselves, and of course a mini-photo shoot, we set out to see what else York had to surprise us with. That is when we found a stone tower, Monksgate Bar. At first it looked like we wouldn't be allowed to go up. The only entrance was this super narrow, one at a time staircase and people just kept filing out one after the other. Once there was a break in people we both scurried up the stairs before anyone else tried to share the space with us. The tower took us up to a stone wall that surround beautiful English gardens and took us on a walking tour above the part of town near the abbey.
York definitely had a small village vibe and by 6 pm the shops were closed and before we knew it, we were nearly the only ones walking around the square. We decided this was the time to catch the bus back to our hostel. We spent the majority of the night out in the common area, playing on our phones, journaling and sampling their assortment of ciders (we of course were very partial to the Swedish-made ones).
York Castle
The next day only supplied us with a few hours before it was back on the train and off to London. So in order to make the most of it we got up and made our way over to York Castle, went through some mini street fairs with amazing live performances. (I must say finding street fairs that you had no clue about while traveling is probably one of the best surprises!)
Las Iguanas from the street!
The last stop before off to London was a stop for food and oh boy I will never forget this restaurant. We honestly just stumbled upon Las Iguanas right as they were opening. Honestly some of the best Hispanic food we have ever had. I mean fresh guacamole and a beautiful rooftop dinning area! Can't go wrong.
With full bellies and happy hearts we made the trek back to the train station and were off to London!
Las Iguanas roof top dining.