New Yorkers visit York

Last weekend Sean's sister and parents arrived for their visit.  One of the things we did with them on their first weekend here was take them to York.  We hadn't really seen most of the city yet, and it was a beautiful day to walk around and see the old world town.  York is a city that dates back to 71 A.D. when it was founded by the Romans, but also has a rich Viking and Norman history. 

The streets in York are called Gates.  The picture above shows one of the funny named streets in York Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate.  York has a very large walking district which is fabulous for shopping.  We really enjoyed walking around town and checking out all the shops.

 We stopped at Betty's, a famous tea house where we enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea.

Then we went over to the York Minster to relax in the yard outside and then attend an Evensong service.

Field Trip with Alexa

Recently, I was able to chaperone a field trip with Alexa's class. This is the first time I've been asked to do this, so I was very excited. First we went to a local greenhouse and the children learned how to plant hanging baskets. Then we went to a local church that is nearly 1000 years old! Part of the trip included a walk past gorgeous fields of Rapeseed. This is the time of year that Rapeseed is in bloom and the fields are brilliant. Imagine a whole field painted in bright yellow. Just gorgeous.

This was a medieval cross that was found on the property.  I think I was told that it is 700-800 years old.  I guess the monks back then believed that the cross looked like this, very different from our image of the cross now.  It was found in 1919 and mounted on the stone as it is today. Pretty neat.

Castleton

A couple weekends ago we took a drive up to Castleton, home of Blue John. It's always such a beautiful drive. The rocky hills covered with green and sheep are breathtaking. We had a nice lunch in town and explored the village a bit.  Then we took a short walk into the hills. 

We didn't make it very far on the trail we were on.  It was quite cold and windy.  But we definitely want to return and do a complete hike.

This was one of the excursions that Cooper was able to come with us.  He had a great time as always!