Ok - y'all know how I am. These trip posts will be way too wordy, and I will have too many photos. This is one way that I can remember the details!
We headed to the Birmingham (BHM) airport on Wednesday, October 14. We had a short flight to ATL and then a longer flight from ATL to Manchester.
Here I am looking bright-eyed, along with my sweet friend, Laura.
We had a lengthy layover in ATL, and we found places to hang out in the airport. This was right before we boarded, when I put on my compression socks. I bought some pretty ones for this trip, but they did not match my cute dress!
We upgraded to Comfort seats. It would be nice to fly first class, but I don't forsee that in our future.
After an overnight flight, we arrived in Manchester about 7:15 a.m. I slept a couple of hours right at the end of the flight. Our tour guide, Harvey, and driver, Lee, met us at the airport, and we boarded two buses. There were a lot of us (almost 70)!
Our first stop was York! Actually, I think our first stop was a gas station/coffee bar/drinks/bathroom stop. I just barely remember it haha!
Our first sight-seeing stop was York Minster Abbey. This is from their website: Since the 7th century, York Minster has been at the centre
of Christianity in the north of England. Today the Cathedral and Metropolitical
Church of St Peter in York remains a thriving church welcoming communities from
across the globe.
Every aspect is built for the glory of God. This includes the exquisite,
handcrafted stone and unrivalled collection of medieval stained glass.
Our pastor, Brian, told us a little about York Minster while our tour guides secured our tickets.
The ceiling is spectacular!
After we toured some of the cathedral, we headed out to find some lunch. I had done a little research and knew that we would find 365 pubs in York!
We were wandering aimlessly at this point, and walked right up to one of the pubs on my list of "these are good pubs."
Below is the list of resident ghosts in the pub.
In we went to the Golden Fleece Pub.
I loved that many of the pubs were decorated for Halloween. Mark and I think we would love to live in a little village with lots of pubs.
We look ok after a long flight and no showers haha!
Mark ordered fish and chips and with his very first bite (literally), hot grease popped out of the fish and immediately burned his lip - as in a blister and blood!
I, on the other hand, ordered a burger and fries (chips).
We were with Lu and Dave, Becky and Blake, and Cel.
After lunch, Mark and I struck out on our own. I had pre-ordered tickets to the Viking Museum (JORVIK Viking Centre). Once we entered, we boarded a little car and rode through the exhibits. It was actually very interesting.
They even had smells that matched the scenes - as in raw meat . . .and other, not always pleasant, scents.
We arrived at Yorkshire Hotel - Doubletree by Hilton York, which would be our home for two nights. We had dinner at the hotel and crashed!
I'm not sure how quickly I will write the posts for each day. I apologize in advance because there will be at least 12 total posts.
I loved York and the area around it too. Did you go up to the top of the cathedral? It was quite a narrow long climb! I'll look forward to reading more. My son-in-law and daughter decided the Dales were one of their favorite spots anywhere and is there a way he could become a country doctor there lol. You did good to plow through the jet lag. I always find the second day tough.
ReplyDeleteWe did not go to the top, but some of our group did! Mark is having a knee replacement on December 22 and his knee gave him fits a couple of times on this trip. Yes - I can see being a country doctor . . .and the appeal!
DeleteHooray for beginning of your posts about your journey. No apologies needed! Flying into Manchester is so much easier than London. York is such an amazing city. Hope you walked the wall. I have a photo of the Golden Fleece...somewhere. Love the compression socks!! Looking forward to more...
ReplyDeleteThank you!! We did not have time to walk the wall because I had purchased the Viking museum tickets. A few in our group did walk it and said it was amazing.
DeleteLast time we flew it was Comfort and it made a huge difference! My parents went to the UK recently and did first class. I know I couldn't afford it but it looked nice. Looks like you had fun that day; we do plan to go to England again and visit pubs. I have not been since 2021 and I never really drank beer back then!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a beer drinker but most of the pubs had various hard ciders. They are so good on tap!
DeleteI plan on enjoying your trip vicariously!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa it looks like you are all having a wonderful time/ I would love living in a neighborhood with a pub too! I live in rural Georgia and the last time I was in England was 1997. Almost 30 years so hard to believe, it feels like yesterday. I loved the Victoria and Albert Museum, but my most favorite was Hampton Court Palace. That was hands down the best museum tour I have ever been on. It is also the home of the Royal School of Needlework, which is a big interest of mine. Thanks for your wonderful pictures. Have a lovely afternoon!
ReplyDeleteThe Royal School of Needlework sounds very interesting! This was our first time in England and I really enjoyed our visit!
DeleteLOVE to travel with you. ;-) I am looking forward to more posts.
ReplyDeletexo
Thank you!
DeleteI took the flight between Manchester and Atlanta quite a few times when I was working because one of the airports I worked on was Atlanta itself. I also stopped off there on the way to Las Vegas. Also, Manchester airport is only about five miles from my house, so you may have seen it from the air or maybe not.
ReplyDeleteYour first stop from Manchester to York will almost certainly have been at a service station on the M62. Hopefully that will fill in a gap made muzzy by jet lag.
York Minster is a great old cathedral and I have visited myself a couple of times. I remember visiting it the first time back in the 1980's after the fire (apparently from a lightning strike). It looks great now it has been restored to its former glory.
Last time I was in York (about 18 months ago), I visited the Jorvik Viking Centre too - it was a lot of fun and, yes, the smells were pretty impressive too.
My one regret on that trip was not buying a Viking style beer pot from a wonderful shop on the Shambles. At the time I thought it was a bit pricey but have since decided that I will definitely buy one on my next visit (which shouldn't be too far away). Yes - I was in full tourist mode in York too.
I'm glad you enjoyed the Golden Fleece pub. I've been to a couple in the city but I don't recall whether that was one of them. As you said there are loads of them to choose from.
Glad you enjoyed your visit.
:o)
Cheers
PM