England's Second City

It was a pleasant feeling to awake and know that we did not have to get into the car today. Instead, we took the leisurely riverside walk from our bed and breakfast into York for more touring. Because of the immense amounts of rain in England this summer, the River Ouse has overflowed its banks, making it a bit more of a precarious trip to the city center than we had anticipated. Once at the walls of the city, we walked atop them for a mile skirting the western side of the city on our way to the Castle Museum. The museum houses not art or archaelogical treasures, but items of everyday life from roughly the seventeenth century to the present. Though organized in a somewhat haphazard fashion, the collection contained interesting tidbits realting to furniture, appliances, cleaning, bathing, cooking, fashion, and even warfare. Often, the letters or diaries of the items' original owners were placed alongside the exhibits to add more of a human context to the collection. I found the displays of "family rooms" throughout the centuries to be quite interesting, and these displays helped me to imagine characters from English novels in their "natural" habitats. Another unique part of the museum was the recreated Victorian street, which was a cobblestone lane filled with shops, wagons, carriages, and even homes. Some of the museum staff were actually in costume to lend a more authentic feel to the gaslit street. It was a bit "Disneyesque," but I enjoyed it noentheless. Though these displays might seem trivial when ompared to some of the masterpieces and relics we have seen on our travels through England, this museum is more of a tribute to everyday life, and we could see why it was highly recommended in our guide books.

After lunch and more exploratrion of the city, including the beautiful Holy Trinity Church with its uneven floor and quirky post-Reformation styled interior that included pew boxes, we made our way to the National Railway Museum. Located in a former roundhouse and workshop of the National Rail Service, the museum houses many trains, old and new, including the beautiful teal, steam -powered Mallard, which in the 1930s set a speed record of 126 miles per hour. We also saw a demonstration of the roundhouse's turntable in use and the interiors of British passneger trains from different eras. The highlight of the museum for me was viewing the various interiors of the royal trains, the "palaces on wheels" that have transported monarchs through the UK since Queen Victoria's time. With their sycamore, mahogany and pweter paneled walls, the living rooms were sumptuous, and the bathrooms were larger than the ones we have in our home.

Upon leaving the Railway Museum, we were ready for a break, and we walked back into the heart of York to the Royal Oak pub. The rain poured outside as we sat on our padded bench, and after relaxing for a time and seeing the meals enjoyed by other patrons, we decided to order dinner. Michael had the very British beef and Yorkshire pudding, which seemed an appropriate meal given the city, and I decided to go British as well with my "bangers and mash," which is sausages with mashed potatoes. Well, I must say that I was not completely authentic in my choice as I did choose the vegatarian sausage, but I was glad that I did as it was really delicious. Both meals came with plenty of vegetables, and we certianly ate our fill. I must say, Michael and I have really enjoyed the pubs in England. With their padded benches and chairs, they are usually quite comfortable, not at all stuffy or rushed, and the food has been unpretentious and surprisingly good. The less commercialized establishments filled with locals have been consistently good choices, and the menus have been more varied than I would have expected. We will hope for more of the same in Crawley, just south of London, where we will spend the night before catching our return flight home form Gatwick.