Wales to York via Chester, and York day 2

Our hotel in York has worthless wifi so I couldn't  do the blog yesterday, and I can't get many pictures in, but here's a write-up for Wednesday:

We went from Wales this morning to York via the Roman stronghold of Chester, and enjoyed warm sun all day. We left the beautiful hills and sheep of Wales behind for about two hours of more open countryside. Chester is a wonderful market town with an intact city wall around the entire old city center. I visited the lovely ancient sandstone cathedral built by the first earl of Chester in the 1100s. It had choir lofts carved as intricately as lace, lovely gardens and ancient artifacts, plus a tea shop and free loo, so it met all a traveler's requirements. I ate a quick lunch at another church canteen that was right in the sanctuary. They served the most delicious penuche cake! I then hunted determinedly for cute stuff, which was easy because the downtown is a pedestrian mall lined with every store imaginable. Then back on the bus into Yorkshire via a highway thru the high moors. In the distance was the town where one of my favorite shows was filmed, and the stone houses and fields looked just like TV. But it's a much more built up industrial area than the Cotswolds or Wales. Yorkshire tea and a Yorkie candy tasted good at a rest stop, and then finally York. York is much bigger than our other stops, except London, and reminds me of Lyon with similar narrow streets and high grey stone buildings, Art and I scouted out the many stores while walking up to the York Minster. We found the cathedral absolutely breathtaking, even after all the churches we saw in France. Its massive size and delicate stone carving gives it an ethereal air, like a beautiful spaceship that has gently floated down and anchored itself to the ground. Can't wait to get the tour tomorrow! Sadly I don't think we'll see all the must-dos of York in only one day; Friday we go fr Whitby and Castle Howard, and the next morning we leave.

General style note: overall I think English men are prettier than English women. Women either wear no makeup or too much, and too many have fake tans. But, most people are in decent shape, especially compared to our group. I'm shocked at the number of smokers!

Another of Edward I's castles for suppression of Wales  

Old house in Chester 

Today, Thursday, we had our full day exploring York. York has been a tough town since before the Romans  - invasions, burmings, rebellions, persecutions, executions, and every manner of regal oppression. Luckily for tourist, all that occurred in the city center which spans no more than a square mile, so you can't miss anything or get lost. We began with a guided tour of the Minster led by an Anglican sister who told us stories with that inimitable dry British wit.  The huge medieval wall of stained glass is covered for restoration. To compensate for missing that sight, we viewed 4 panels of the original glass, which have undergone restoration, at eye level in a special exhibit.  The colors and details those medieval artists lavished on panels that ultimately, as our guide said, would be seen only at "pigeon-level" define "labor of love". Very impressive and humbling. 

In the undercroft below the floor we viewed a great exhibit of the cathedral from its start as a Roman fort thru its transformation under the Normans and centuries of expansion and restoration. Does anyone know that that Constantine was proclaimed emperor in York, before he became Christian?  I'm learning that you can't overestimate the Romans' ability to rule for centuries and install roads and infrastructure that still work!

After the cathedral we ate lunch at the iconic Betty's Tea Room; I slathered about 1/2 cup of clotted cream on my scones.  Then off to the National Railroad Museum where they have gleaming locomotives and carriages from every age of rail. Rail aficionados worldwide come to gaze lovingly upon these monuments to British engineering, and I liked it except for the strong odor of engine oil everywhere. That after the clotted cream drove me out after 45 minutes. No matter - I returned to the stores I'd scoped out yesterday, and Art took in everything rail-related.  We had some great Chinese food for a change in York's 1 block Chinatown, and now blogging and bed! Tomorrow off to Whitby - I may read a little Dracula to get ready - and Castle Howard, the stateliest of stately homes, and then our last night in York. Bon soir!