| There's barely a place in the historic City of
York, England, where one doesn't see the imposing York Minster. Cassie spent all her second week in the city, researching for her fourth Philip Bethancourt/Jack Gibbons mystery. Jack and Mary joined her after Flamborough to explore the historic sites and several good restaurants. |
| Burnsall ..... Appletreewick ..... Flamborough |
 Cassandra spent all the second week in the city York, in a lovely small apartment ... |
 ... just inside the old city walls |
 The most obvious landmark is the York Minster in the center of town |
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 Across the street in a small park is the city's war memorial. |
 Most of the old city gates, called "bars" are still standing |
 Another prominent landmark is Cliffords Tower, which has history dating to 1036 and William the Conqueror. Here is another view. |
 The Shambles, an ancient narrow shopping street, closed to vehicle traffic, is the epitome of quaint. Another view |
 The city is dotted with narrow ways, including Black Horse Passage. |
 Fossgate is a more typical city street. |
 It has a lovely view of the River Foss. |
 Geese in the River Foss. |
 Walking along the top of the City Wall gives you a look into some of the city's backyards. |
 Where's a chimney sweep when you need one? |
 A puzzling roof ornament, which appears to be a dragon minus its head. |
 An ancient building in downtown York, which, according the plaque. was the birthplace of Sir Thomas Herbert in 1606. |
 This footpath was once a full-fledged, if somewhat short, "gate" (street). Even at the beginning people wandered "why bother" with such a short road, as noted on this plaque. |
 Exploring one of the back ways of downtown York, we discovered Barley Hall, a fascinating small museum in a medieval building. Sitting in the main dining room, we heard of its fascinating history, including ghosts and a connection to Richard III. Detail |
 The Merchant Adventurers Hall, a preserved medieval guild hall on Fossgate. |
 The York Magistrates Court. |
 Even the trees look antique in York. Fascinating textures. |
 Kings Manor, part of York University. |
 St. Mary's Abbey, outside York's Castle Museum, which specializes in archeology and has Kirkgate, a recreated street from the early 1800s. |
 The York Art Gallery is nearby. |
 The Minster is visible from almost everywhere in the city, including in front of the Art Gallery. |
 This metal model is outside the front of the Minster. |
 Stain glass abounds, of course, and some of the fragile original work is down on ground level. |
 The purpose of this dragon-shaped hook is a mystery, but some think it was part of a system to lift the heavy lid off the font. |
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 My favorite part was the Chapter House, builit in 1286 and still used by the Dean and Chapter as a meeting place. It is circled in stained glass (left) and has a gorgeous painted ceiling. (above) |
 One of the seats that circle the hall to emphasize the equality of members. Over the circle of seats are hundreds of carvings of faces, some very strange, virtually all unique. (right) |
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 The crypt or undercroft are fascinating with artifacts going back before Roman times. |
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 Alas, it was time to return home, but our last two evenings were delightful at Tattondale Farm, highly recommended. |
 The welcoming doors of The Greyhound led to our farewell to wonderful English pubs. |
Back to Burnsall ... or Appletreewick ... or Flamborough