Friday, 9 Nov: York

Friday, we wanted to go see York Minster, but it was closed for a graduation, so instead, we went to the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens. There used to be an abbey there, but it was destroyed, and now there's a museum about the history of York. We got to see stuff from the Romans, Anglo-Saxons (yay!), Vikings, and Normans. So that was exciting. There was also an exhibit about the icthyosaurs and whatnot that have been discovered nearby. That was also cool, but I always find those prehistoric sea-creatures really scary-looking. After that, we went to St. Olave's Church, which was nearby, to take pictures. They're big fans of St. Olaf in York. I don't know why. He wasn't the nicest guy. Anyway, so we were good and obedient Oles and took pictures of the church. Then we went to the Fairfax House. This is allegedly one of the finest Georgian (mid 18th century) houses in England. You would have really enjoyed it, Mom. The tour guide explained the family history (the Viscount Fairfax had two wives and 8 children die of smallpox, leaving him with one daughter who never married) and the furniture and building. It was really interesting, especially the kitchen--apparently, you can eat the feet of pigeons, but I personally think that's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard. Then we had dinner at the hostel, and we met a guy working there from New Zealand who had been working in Scotland for a trail riding barn in the Highlands. After that, we went out to meet Catie's flatmate Tim, who lives outside of York. We meet a couple of other guys that night, one from near Leeds, I think, and one from Cardiff in Wales, and they took us to some pubs they liked. We actually met them because I was talking about being from Green Bay and football and stuff, and one of them happened to like American football. So that was interesting.