What to see in York: Late Night Wanderings in Yorkshire
Everyone knows about New York, its skyscrapers, Broadway shows, and fast-paced community. Yet only a few people have heard of York, a historical city in the north of the UK.
It wasn’t until I met Alexis in Lisbon that I came to know more about this lovely area. She grew up in York, so she gave me an endless list of places to explore, many of which I have yet to cross off my list.
I knew all about its must-see attractions, the best places to shop, and where to grab a drink, without ever stepping foot there thanks to my work as a travel writer.
When I finally went there during Christmas, I felt like I was revisiting it. How weird is that?
York Shambles
“This is the Shambles,” I pointed out to Nick. It reminded me of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, the place where they bought all their magical tools.
There was some sort of magic in the air, with the Christmas lights covering the city’s gates and tiny pine trees hanging above the streets.
We rushed off to capture the York Minster during daylight and made it just in time! We had a sneak peek inside, and when we came back out, the sun had bid its farewell.
There were so many more places that I wanted to go, but our freezing hands and cold feet were not feeling it (literally).
Eating and Drinking in York
By this point all we wanted was to sit down at a nice warm bar, luckily York is full of them. Did you know there are 365 pubs in the city? Just throwing it out there.
Everyone had the same idea, and only on our third attempt did we manage to find a free seat.
The Old White Swan’s outdoor patio looked utterly inviting. As pretty as it was, we had to trade it for the comfy couch inside.
A few minutes went by until Alexis showed up. How nice is it when you find people you know in other corners of the world?
Granted, this was a prearranged meeting. Still, it felt weird to be in her hometown, more so, after having written several pieces about it.
We moved on to The Hop. The beer rounds kept going, and I was surprised to see they also served pizza.
I first came across this bar/pizzeria concept in Leeds at the Belgrave Music Hall, and I was sold. There’s just something about drunk-eating pizza that works.
I could have stayed there for hours, unfortunately, we had a train to catch. Around 10:30 p.m., we started running to the train station and missed the one we were aiming for (supposedly the last one).
Luckily there was another train about to depart on the opposite track, and we ran for it!
Nick apologized for not taking me there earlier in the day, which only gave me more reasons to come back.
