5-22-12
We woke at half seven and got ready before going down to breakfast, where we had eggs, toast, cold cereal, and juice. Unfortunately we couldn't stomach their delicious full English breakfast that our parents still rave about, 11 years later. We went upstairs and packed up, getting things ready in our bags since we'd be checking a piece of luggage with just our dirty clothes. The carry-ons included all the souvenirs between layers of any clean clothes. We gathered everything up and went back downstairs where Andy & I deposited our bags in the front room and we paid and checked out. We helped Catherine with her stuff as we walked over to the garage, where we also helped her back out, with Andy holding the antennae down so it wouldn't snap off since the ceiling was so low. We promised not to wait another 8 years before returning, because (we hope) we will probably have spouses and children by that time. We each snuck one last Rhubarb and Cream sweetie; the 3 of us shared a group hug and said our goodbyes and we waved to one another until she turned the corner in Ruby (her car).

It was a beautiful and rather warm day, so Andy and I walked into town and went to Asquith's Jewelry Store. Our mom said she wanted us to look for some gold earrings at an antique shop in York, but we thought a pair of gold studs with opals (her favorite) from the same shop she had bought us jewelry 11 years ago would be better. We walked around and went into a lot of different shops to find some other last minute souvenirs for friends and family. We also took a walk on one portion of the ancient walls surrounding the city centre, from Bootham Bar over to Monk Bar. We went to a little shop across the street from the York Minster, where we bought a Yorkshire rose pendent for mom, as per the request of our dad. We also went into the York Minster gift shop before deciding to find some place to eat.

Gill highly suggested that we go to a little place near the West entrance to the Minster, called Café Concerto. We sat in the front window of this quirky little place, wallpapered with old sheet music. Our lunch was rather modest. We split croque monsieur and had our caravan cake (aka bowel bread) that Jude packed for us. Apparently upon hearing that it helps keep you “regular” on our last trip, I renamed this bread. I completely forgot about that and Jude said that she hasn’t made it often since because it just doesn’t have the same ring to it! Haha! (Sorry Jude) Afterwards, we went to the Minster and since it was £9 to walk through, we decided against it since we've been there previously. We decided on a bit more shopping before heading back to the hotel. We packed our souvenirs and had a rest for about 20-30 minutes just relaxing and reading through some literature that was left in the front sitting room at the Cavalier. We begrudgingly headed out to York Station. On our way to the station, I lead (for the first time during our trip) and unfortunately for Andy, I hit a bump with my suitcase which I was dragging behind me. It came to a stop, yanking the handle from my hand, and Andy nearly tripped over it. I went back walking a respectful distance behind him from then on. Haha!

We continued our walk to York Station, a unique station, as it is positioned on a curve in the track. It is the same station that our great-grandmother wrote about in a journal, documenting her trip to England for her honeymoon in 1913. Once we arrived, we bought our tickets and hurried to the platform. Our stay in York was not long, but I am very thankful that we did not decide to extend it another night, because as we rode to Manchester, things started to go downhill. Read our next blog post to hear about the troubles we experienced in Manchester.