Now is the winter of our discontent

It’s very rainy and cold and the day has been challenging. This is my birthday weekend (50!) and it’s rather lonely to be on my own far from home. I headed off to York for the weekend, deciding to catch the train as I understand parking is difficult. My hotel, the Grand York, is right across from the train station and is gorgeous, a large heritage building that used to be the headquarters for the railway. It’s one of those hotels with a fancy top-hatted doorman and exceptional service. 

I booked a walking tour to start the day off. I was the only person on it, so had a personalised two hours with quite a good guide, walking all the way around the city walls. York is gorgeous, with history just smacking you in the face at every turn. So many races and periods have contributed to York - the Romans, the  Saxons, the Vikings, and then the Georgians and the Victorians. The downside was the rain - LOTS of it, and the wind, which turned my umbrella inside out repeatedly. Despite the weather, I’ve fallen a bit in love with York, which has Harry Potter streets surrounded by castle walls which you can walk on around the whole city perimeter.

I queued for an hour in the pouring rain to have morning tea/lunch at Betty’s, which was a “must go” recommendation from a number of people. I was very damp and steaming slightly in the heat once I made it to a table. I ended up chatting to a delightful mother and daughter next to me which was very fun. During this whole trip people in Yorkshire have been so incredibly friendly and helpful. I must digress as this stage to share a bit of gold conversation from our cleaners at work:

“Since your lot took over there are some right good looking fellas visiting . We haven’t had that sort here before” Lol.

Everything I wanted to do in York was booked out on Saturday afternoon but I’d had a busy morning so spent an hour on the hop on hop off bus (no hopping, just riding) till it was time to check in to my hotel. Due to the rain I had planned to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant which has excellent reviews but it was booked out. Happily the concierge found me a booking at an Italian restaurant nearby where I had excellent ravioli, some pretty ordinary SanGenovese and a free Limoncello (Concierge had told them it was my birthday). I’m having an early night, looking forward to more exploration in this gorgeous town tomorrow.