York Day Two

Today we went first to the Castle Museum, which according to Rick Steves is one of Europe's top museums. There were thousands of artifacts on display and a couple of recreated streets that show how the English lived a couple hundred years ago. Some of the shops, such as the candy shop, were attended, while others (like the candle shop) were not. Prison cells projected animated characters who were actually incarcerated there once upon a time. One such character was Dick Turpin, a well-known highwayman, who was hung and is today buried in a cemetary in town where his is the only gravestone.
Here's one character who managed to escape:



On the same grounds is Clifford's Tower, all that remains of a 13th century castle. According to our tour guide, the castle itself was blown up by York citizens who got to celebrating and shooting off rockets, one of which came back and landed right in the chimney of the castle and blew it up! (Who knows if this is really true, or just one of those stories that people like to tell?)



Next we hopped back on the tour bus and rode around to Yorkshire Museum, which is located on the site of St. Mary's Abbey. The grounds there are so beautiful they are used for picnics by the locals and tourists. Today there were a lot of children running around, some young people lying out on blankets, and some families having a picnic lunch.
We didn't have a picnic but we did have a "cream tea" at Bailey's Tea Room. It was a pot of delicious Yorkshire tea for two, served with buttered scones, with jam and whipped cream. So delicious!



Here's a photo of Garold standing in an arch, part of the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey:



The Yorkshire Museum has a collection of Viking artifacts, including shoes, a helmet, and some combs that they made from deer antlers. It is built around the abbey, so the original abbey walls are down in the basement, too, along with some Roman artifacts. York has been ruled/influenced by lots of different cultures.

When we left the Yorkshire Museum, we rode the bus around to see the Quilt Museum, but unfortunately it had already closed, so we walked across the gate (street) to the Black Swan Pub and had another pot of tea. It was a comfortable place to hang out, so we decided to eat our dinner there, too. We shared a shepherd's pie, served with peas and a pitcher of gravy.



This is our last day in York. Tomorrow morning we will catch a bus for Edinburgh.