{"id":18187,"date":"2018-06-05T11:56:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T11:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=18187"},"modified":"2018-06-14T15:24:18","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:24:18","slug":"york-in-three-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/york-in-three-days\/","title":{"rendered":"York in Three Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"York<\/p>\n

York is one of those places that\u00a0everyone’s\u00a0<\/em>visited (it’s the most visited British city after London and Manchester apparently!), and you’d be hard pushed to find anyone with anything bad to say about it it seems.<\/p>\n

It’s definitely one of those special places – although turning up on a Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon was eye-popping to say the least – there were some incredible outfits amongst the groups out to squeeze every drop out of a bank holiday weekend (and most of the contents of the bars by the looks of things).\u00a0 \u00a0The Small Boy expressed a concerned “but it isn’t even dark yet” which made me laugh.\u00a0 I would have to agree with the happy crowds that York is definitely a good place for a pub crawl, it’s said to have a pub for every day of the year!\u00a0 \u00a0There was a definite jovial vibe amongst the throng though, and made me quite miss our pre-children bank holiday revelling in what seems like a really really long time ago now (not that I owned any similar outfits!)…<\/p>\n

This wasn’t my first visit to York, as a Yorkshire child (who thought all Southerners sounded odd until we moved down at the age of ten), York Minster was firmly on our school trip rosta, as was Morecambe Bay, some dark depressing house that had something to do with the Bronte Sisters.\u00a0 Oh and Flamingo Land I think, where the only thing I really remember is who was sick on the back of the bus on the way home.\u00a0 It was a long time ago, and I think there’s a bit more to it than flamingos nowadays!…<\/p>\n

\"Shambles
Shambles Ship Figurehead<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

York has been on my “places we must show the kids in their own country” list for a very long time.\u00a0 \u00a0I thought they would enjoy the Viking connection too, given their Danish “history” and all that… But where to stay?<\/p>\n

As I had kind of left this trip to the last-minute (thanks to the upcoming move<\/a>!), all of the reasonable hotel options for a family of five were definitely out of the window (we didn’t even pay that<\/em> much<\/a> in Japan for any hotel!) and the only places with availability that looked any good were edging further and further out of the city.\u00a0 There was nothing for it, I was going to have to overcome my slight Airbnb phobia…<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who have stayed in the most incredible Airbnbs – a vast place crammed full of art and books owned by a very trusting Roman, beautiful Scandinavian homes that you would be tempted to squat rather than leave, and lovely London pads aplenty.\u00a0 \u00a0But then there are the stories that also put me off, places being cancelled at the last-minute, or those that didn’t turn out exactly as described, strange smells, uninvited guests, in insect form as well as human…\u00a0 \u00a0Plus, the idea of staying in someone else’s house, surrounded by stacks of their personal belongings has always felt a bit weird to me (especially if they are there!!)…<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/p>\n

I needn’t have worried about any of that.\u00a0 \u00a0We definitely lucked in when we booked Queen Street<\/a>.\u00a0 The owner Daisy got in touch straight away to introduce herself, and tell me a little more about her lovely town house once we had booked.\u00a0 \u00a0We stayed in contact throughout our stay, and it was so nice to feel looked after from a distance.\u00a0 \u00a0 The house is obviously really cherished, but didn’t feel full of private belongings, so that was great too!<\/p>\n

There were lovely touches throughout, such as the little items that were found during the renovation of the property,\u00a0 books to pick up and flick through, and games to play when the weather isn’t up to much.\u00a0 All the bedrooms are comfortable with stylish touches, but ask the children which room they liked the best and they would definitely vote for the cellar cinema room, a great place to relax after a full day of exploring!<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/p>\n

Mr R and I also loved the gorgeous kitchen with its cosy feel and the very welcome welcome basket (and a bottle of prosecco in the fridge, how nice is that?!)!\u00a0 \u00a0You couldn’t really fault the location either, a stones throw from the Micklegate, close to the station and<\/em>\u00a0The Railway Museum (there’s also a parking permit that comes with the property so you don’t need to worry what you will do with your car!)…\u00a0 It really suited us as a family with all the extra space, and the kids loved having a room each too.\u00a0 \u00a0Plus, The Toddler was very happy with the wine rack in the kitchen that served as a multi level parking garage for his cars…<\/p>\n

Queen’s Street<\/a>, was the perfect introduction to Airbnb and I would definitely consider using them again in the future, but would stick with booking properties with Super Hosts (like Daisy), and look closely at the reviews left by others beforehand, then I don’t think you can really go wrong…<\/p>\n

\"Shambles
Remember to look up to spot little things like this little red devil above 33 Stonegate. Used to signify a printing shop, the “devils” were apparently the boys used to carry and fetch the type. This street had quite a few printers at one point!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Roman Goddess of Wisdom and Drama – Minerva – York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

York itself was everything I remembered (plus a whole lot more.\u00a0 Like I said, it’s been a long time!) about visiting first time around (and much quieter on the Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday!) with its pretty streets packed full of history.<\/p>\n

\"flat
Spoilt for choice at the market!\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Shambles is said to be the oldest shopping street in Europe – it’s even given a mention in the Doomsday Book.\u00a0 The wooden shamels from where it takes its name (kind of shelves where wares would be displayed) are still visible in parts.\u00a0 You can see why this part of the city is thought to be inspiration for Diagon Alley (and the reason for the few Harry Potter shops!)…<\/p>\n

\"Treasurers
Treasurers House York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Merchant's
Merchant’s Hall York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The whole of York is just oozing with history.\u00a0 \u00a0You can’t venture far without stumbling over buildings like the Merchant Adventurers Hall<\/a>, The Barley Hall<\/a>, Jacob’s Well<\/a>, or the Treasurer’s House<\/a> tucked behind the impressive Minster<\/a> itself, wander up any street in fact and you will spot something interesting…<\/p>\n

As well as being the city with the most festivals, and having a rich Chocolate history (thanks to local companies like Rowntrees and Terry’s) it also prides itself on being Britain’s most haunted city (if not Europe’s!), and as well a boasting things like haunted pubs (the Golden Fleece is a good one<\/a>!) of course there are ghost tours by the dozen to choose from.<\/p>\n

\"Original
Enthralled by ghost stories – Original Ghost Walk York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00a0 ventured out with my older two on the Original Ghost Walk of York<\/a> one evening for an eerie stroll around the city, where we learned about its infamous restless souls and other gruesome and ghoulish happenings (I think any younger than 8 and they might find it a bit much, but it’s absolutely fine otherwise!).\u00a0 It was really well done, and quite funny too.\u00a0 Some of his stories did make you think though and take a quick glance behind us on the way home a few times…<\/p>\n

\"street<\/p>\n

That particular tour, the medieval buildings, the city walls (and the fact that there’s actually a K\u00e4the Wohlfahrt year round Christmas Shop!) reminded me so much of Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber<\/a> (and one of its famous residents<\/a>!) on more than one occasion…\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Rothenburg doesn’t have a Betty’s Tea Room though, so York wins that point!<\/p>\n

\"Clifford's
Clifford’s Tower York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ruins
Ruins of St Mary’s Abbey York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We spent the few days we had in York visiting the Railway Museum<\/a>, the Minster, The Yorkshire Museum and the Castle where we climbed Clifford’s Tower and learned about its morbid history.\u00a0 We attempted to visit the Jorvik Viking Centre, but the queue was at least 50 minutes long which is nothing according to some (make sure to book a fast track ticket beforehand)!<\/p>\n

\"Queueing
Queueing for Icecream with the locals York<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also popped into Spark:York<\/a>, a brilliant space full of great local independent street food stalls, bars, cafes and shops, and a great community nurturing centre<\/a> (which having done a stint at FoodCycle<\/a> fairly recently, I LOVE the idea of!).\u00a0 \u00a0 If you are in York with kids for any extended amount of time, you should definitely pop along and investigate…<\/p>\n

\"Spark<\/p>\n

Overall, this stay was a great introduction to Airbnb for all of us, and three days in York was a great introduction for the rest of the family (who all claim my accent had come back by the end of it!)… More soon.<\/p>\n

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