Fun and Research in York...

Finally I've had the time to fully gather my thoughts on York, as well as sorting my photos (there wasn't 600, I misread the totals on the screen- that was how many I could have taken with the memory card. I ended up with 131 images and I'm still naming and tagging them).

Plus my husband took a few for me on his smaller digital camera, which I still need to get from him.

Even on a short break there's time for research and inspiration.

I also did a lot of walking, lots and lots of walking...

We stayed at a hotel with the enclosed car park at the rear- our room overlooked it. It was only five minutes walk to Bootham Bar, which has been the entryway into York for centuries, so we were at The Minster within ten minutes, and from there a variety of attractions, shops, and eating places were within easy reach.

Bootham Bar
gateway

(The picture on the right, there's a car in the distance with headlights on; our hotel was about that far away.)

Unfortunately we didn't sleep well the first night as a car alarm, on one of the vehicles in the hotel car park, kept going off every hour- it finally stopped after 3 am. :(

As I'd arranged to meet up with writer friend Maggie Cobbett at Bennett's, by The Minster on the Saturday morning before my first museum visit, there was no time for a lie-in.

Carol and Maggie met for coffee

It was a Facebook post by Maggie, recommending the Shaping the Body exhibition at the Castle Museum, that led me to book the weekend in York.

(As I've got quite a few photos on particular topics, I'll be using some of the photos I took in future blog posts here, and on my Serena Lake site.)

Friends already know that if there's an opportunity to try out historical dress, I will be the first in the queue. Sadly this time there wasn't a large size available, so I went for the underpinnings- panniers.

Panniers tied at the waist

Now I have to admit these were comfortable, but the real things probably wouldn't be, nor as compact as these. Though they do give you an idea of proportions, and how they would give shape to the dresses of the time.

Like later cages, they do change how you move.

By the time we'd finished going through the museum I was hungry and tired, so I decided to visit the shoe exhibition at Fairfax House on the Sunday, rather than rush through it.

If I hadn't been going to Fairfax House we probably would have followed the riverside pathway for a while. There was a rowing competition running between various universities taking place on the Sunday morning...

Riverside path...

Monday morning soon arrived, as did the rain, and time to pack up the car and return to the regular daily routine.

It's been a busy first half of the year, so the trip to York was just what I needed...

Back from York...

On Friday I travelled up to York to visit a couple of exhibitions, as well as take advantage of a short break with my husband, minus the family- who are now all adults and can look after the house and themselves.

I must admit there was a pile of dishes in the sink when we got back today... :D

I took lots of photos in York- some for blog posts now, others for later in the year, and a few for Serena's blog; and more random images that I'm sure I'll find a use for.

Having just checked how many, there's 600+. That's going to take me some time to sort out, choose, and label.

I'm amazed I can actually move, as I did so much walking while I was away. Each evening when I got back to the hotel and finally stopped still, my muscles stiffened up and I just wanted to lie down and watch the TV.

After hearing about Betty's, I actually got to experience the tearoom. We were downstairs, but the service was the same as upstairs, and we didn't have to queue up as long either.

We stayed about five-ten minutes walk from the Minster, so we got to admire the amazing craftsmanship, past and present, several times a day.

More soon.

A View of York Minster...

image from Pixabay.