Day One And Two,

of our 2019 holiday,

 220 miles from Beckenham to York,

 we took things easy,

 as booking in to the hotel was not until 3.00 in the afternoon,

 we were soon in the suburbs,

 finally arriving for our 2 nights stay in the Staycity Apart Hotel,

 the room was big,

and fully fitted for a long stay, the cost was £147 for 2 nights, plus parking £7.00,

 we started our tour,

 with plan A,

 a walk around a small part of town,

 making our way to the river Ouse,

looking at a few places of interest on the way,

and different buildings,

as we made our way towards,

you guessed it!

the National Railway Museum, I should explain in planing our trip I tried to make sure we only had 100 to 200 miles between stops, hence our first stop here,

easy to spot,

and here is a bonus,

this roadtrain runs around the city all you have to do is pop aboard and it will bring you to the museum,

and here we are,

our first train of the afternoon,

we made our way in to one of the smaller halls which is the first one you find on your way in,

where there is all sorts of railway memorabilia,

I had taken the infrared camera with me,

so it was down to Diana to take the photographs,

'Oh Mr. Porter What Should I Do?' in case you are not familiar with the song, it is here,

fresh fish anyone?

us just 3 years ago,

we have been on one of these when we went to Paris,

say cheese!

the streamlined LMS Princess Coronation Class 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, did not respond,

I will not bore you with lots of steam train photographs,

but this one is a beauty, and huge, a China Railways KF7 - 607, built by Vulcan Foundry in 1935, it remained in service in China until it was withdrawn in 1981, and now it is here,

time for a closer inspection,

so into the pit I went,

and no trip here would be complete without a photograph of the Mallard, on 3 July 1938, the A4 class locomotive Mallard raced down Stoke Bank at 126mph to set a new steam locomotive world speed record, that record still stands today, the fastest recorded steam locomotive in the world, I can not remember where I heard it, but it was said that the engine could have gone faster, the speed was limited only by the fact that it burned coal faster than the firemen could shovel coal into the furnace!

for our evening meal we decided on an Indian, at the Garden of India, 

'Cheers!',

Diana ordered a meat samosa, for myself a prawn puri,

main courses included akhnini chicken, a new one for us as were the other dishes,

we both commented, this was one of nicest Indian meals we have ever had, it was just so good, if only they could open a branch near us! next for us back to the hotel for a good night's sleep,

next morning up and out,

as we walked past the city walls,

and the cloverleaf shape of Clifford's Tower,

we made our way into town,

looking at the buildings and shops,

this one selling fairy tales shoes,

the heels looked so cute,

and this pair was really wicked!

next my sort of shop, well pub,

to the river Ouse,

as Diana had the camera,

for a change,

I am in most of the photographs,

the window boxes mark the highest the river has ever flooded, in 2012, a one in a thousand year event we were told, strange that it has happened three times since then!

we were a tad early,

so a look along the jetty,

we had booked a river tour,

but if we had known about these, I could have put my captains hat on!

and there is our boat,

making a U turn,

nearly ready to go,

as another cruise ship arrived,

watched by one,

or two swans,

we started up river,

although sunny it was a bit chilly,

Steve the captain, gave us a great running commentary about the river,

and the buildings on it,

I thought we would not make it under the bridge, but no worries with captain Steve,

just before the next bridge,

the Yorkshire Herald building,

under the next bridge we went,

now this more me, fishing with a net full of beers cooling in the river,

we turned after a few miles,

and returned to the jetty, what a lovely way to start the day,

first stop, a refrigerator magnet,

we were now on the hunt,

for The Shambles, the area was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror in 1086, so there is a bit of history about the area!

past one of the many buildings,

we will be there soon,

and this is the start of some of the early shops,

a close look at the legend,

yes Sir Thomas Herbert Ball was born here in 1606, the house is a bit older!

at the beginning of one of the streets,

there is a distinctly,

Harry Potter feel,

about the place,

some shops complete with a broomstick park,

the streets are so narrow in some places you can almost touch both sides with outstretched arms,

my turn with the camera now,

as Diana poses by the,

Nutcracker Christmas Shop,

Zatchels selling satchels,

so many shops to look at,

and so many overhanging buildings,

some shops very specialized,

a window shoppers paradise!

and so much history,

we actually visited a similar shop in Edinburgh, the Tartan Weaving Mill,

then a surprise, in what looked like a hole in a wall,

a secret market,

back out onto the street,

where we found a sign shop,

Diana said that I should rename my man attic Grumpy's Shed, then I saw this sign and foolishly said it makes me think of Diana,

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well I thought is was funny!

on with the walk,

and continuing,

with the Harry Potter theme,

the alchemist at work in the Potions Cauldron,

this reminded me that we wanted to call in to Whitby, maybe on the next trip,

Diana totally ignoring the lama,

look out it's behind you!

at last,

I found a shop I liked,

there were so many totally different shops to look at,

selling all manner of goods,

the streets just seemed to go on and on,

and I did not have a clue as to what this one sold,

with this sign over the door,

as far as I could tell,

it is a gift shop,

at the end of one of the streets,

it opens out into a courtyard,

and still has quaint buildings lining it,

ice cream, now there is an idea,

in the distance the cathedral,

now this is worth a look, yummy!

I just do not know,

how I passed this one,

purely for the history you understand,

more shops to look at,

from Bombay,

to China,

and back to Italy,

I am always fascinated by Crossed Keys,

which stems from my watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, a particular favourite film of mine,

on we went,

to a large open square dominated by a huge tree,

my attention was drawn to the supporting upright beam of a building opposite,

all of those years the wood has been eaten away, and it is still standing,

we weakened, 

well I did, all of this walking was making me thirsty, so a couple it was then,

then back out to look at more shops, like this one which is very handy,

if you want a custom rubber stamp,

we had walked past this one before,

and it was nice to see so many public houses taking the time a trouble to put on a nice display of hanging baskets,

we passed one of the outer wall gates,

and a few restaurants,

toy shops,

and florists,

this one with a particularly nice display,

including a giant rose,

the city even had a period fish and chip shop,

and what a collection of shops, from silver,

to vinegars,

and bath products,

not to mention,

the Curious Tavern,

and for those with a sweet tooth,

I caught Diana up, who was laughing at sign she had seen,

so, so true!

we decided to make a move to the cathedral,

at the end of the street,

it looked magnificent,

it was just a shame, that is with so many old building, they almost always seem to be covered in scaffolding,

but there it is,

nothing lasts forever,

without continual repair and refurbishment,

and bearing in mind it was started in 1180, it is still doing well,

the original site is of course much older,

starting in 672AD,

we made our way,

to the wall of remembrance,

where wreaths had been land,

Lest We Forget,

we took a walk past the side of the building,

and found yet another sign of crossed keys,

in the side of a building,

a toot, toot as the road train steamed/dieseled past,

then back to the streets,

there were so many shops we had not yet seen,

by now it was getting late,

and the crowds were beginning to thin out,

which was nice,

I had thought of buying a sports jacket in tweed, but not today,

we then came on such a pretty shop,

well the goods in it,

they were all Christmas decorations,

the shop, Käthe Wohlfahrt is a German company that sells Christmas decorations and Christmas themed goods, 

 its head office is in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria,

where would we be without Teddy Bears?

and here is the home of Teddy's, the Teddy Bear shop,

and one of Diana's favorite shops, Hotel Chocolat,

such lovely hanging baskets,

still thinking of ice creams we saw it,

a McDonalds, so a ice cream each it was then!

this shop had so many things I just would love to buy for the man attic,

onwards we walked,

coming to an open area,

we found the park, just as it started to rain,

which was a shame as there was a display of birds of prey inside it,

the birds were dry,

but we were not,

so a quick pose and we were off,

past the pub and back to the hotel, I should have mention the Indian was so good we bought some to take back to the room, where with a bottle of bubbly we watched some television, then for us we were off to bed.