Back in London

At St. Pancras Station. Not that you care. I just get a thrill out of
being able to email a blog from my iPhone. Having soup at a nice train
station restaurant. Yummy.

On the train from York to London

Our 10:28 a.m. train finally arrived at 12:32 and we're on our way to London, the laptop's plugged in and charging, and the WiFi signal is good. The train is nearly empty. When we went to our assigned seats (with a table) a couple was sitting there. When we noted that they were in our seats, they said all reservations had been cancelled and that seating was open to whoever. There was one other table seating available here in Car E so we claimed it.

Our seating and table are exactly like the one across the aisle from us. Looks relaxing, eh?

When we checked out of the hotel this morning, Robin looked over the bill and questioned a charge of 11 pounds for tray service. It seems that the room service menu includes a fee for delivering the food to the room. And it's clearly stated on the room service menu, in 2 point type at the bottom of the menu, buried right after a sentence or two about food allergy warnings. The desk person removed the charge when she realized we were looking incredulously at the menu's tiny type. So after she removed that charge and another 100 pounds worth of charges that were unjustified, we moved merrily along to the train station next door.

From Christmas Day:

I've mentioned before that most of the walks on the city walls have been closed due to slippery snow and ice (and no handrails). Here's a shot of me Robin was able to grab as we walked one of the sections that wasn't closed. Fortunately she had the presence of mind to take a blog photo before giving me first aid.

Just kidding! I didn't fall. At least not in this photo. I did completely slip down once, and almost fell several other times during our York visit.

I forgot to bring the cable with me to York that I use for downloading photos and video from my video camera, so I shot the video screen with my other camera.

York Minster: Angel in Black

More Christmas Day photos

Robin on Shambles, Christmas morning.

Shambles is all about closeness.

Yes, it’s a cold Christmas morning. But I’m oblivious to it, thanks to the toasty warm hat present from Robin, and the new weatherproof shoes.

Robin rambles ‘round Shambles.

Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate. “Gate” means “street.” In 1505 this street was known as Whitnourwhatnourgate, meaning “what a street!” A plaque claims it’s the shortest street in York, but Little Shambles looked much shorter to me. Maybe Little Shambles doesn’t qualify as a real street.

Christmas morning light on York Minster, from Shambles.

One of the few places we found open on Christmas Day, a pub near Micklegate Bar.

Christmas Day in York

This morning we walked several blocks to the Micklegate Bar, the main old entrance to the City of York from London. This is where, in 1460, the head of Richard Duke of York was put on display on a pike and wearing a paper crown. On top of this very tower. “So York may overlook the town of York” according to the records. this view is from outside the city wall, looking in.

Micklegate Bar from inside the city wall, looking south. The traffic from London entered through here.

Robin reads an information sign on the wall. She’s really studying the sign from a typographic and design perspective. Always on the job. The gate to the stairs is locked, due to dangerous snow and ice. In good weather you can walk the wall almost all the way around the city.  A two-hour walk.

From Micklegate we walked across the river bridge to town, then to Shambles street to take photos. Today and tomorrow (Boxing Day) are two rare opportunities to photograph Shambles without lots of people. Shambles is one of the best preserved Medieval streets in the world. The word “shambles” refers to the large window sills at the bottom of windows where butchers displayed their meats.

A Shambles window.

The Lost Christmas Eve Photos

I found a few photos from Christmas Eve 2009 (yesterday) that got left out and were considered by many scholars to be lost forever.

A great sounding quartet sings Christmas Carols on one of York’s cobblestone streets.

Three beautiful girls in spiffy red Christmas coats, mesmerized by the Christmas Carolers. As were many who passed by. Lots of people put money in the group’s tip bucket, including me so I could video an entire song without feeling guilty.

The Shambles on Christmas Eve.

Good news (for me)

I'm now able to use the train station WiFi connection from inside the
hotel door. I get a strong signal from inside the vestibule (below).
It's much warmer in there. Now I've moved thru one more door into a
hotel hallway where it's even heated. The signal is weak here but it
should work. There's no visual evidence that anyone else is using the
connection. In fact, I haven't seen another laptop or iPhone. Cheers!!