Thinking back on my time in England, it’s honestly extremely difficult to focus on just one meaningful experience. With that said, I will focus on the one place that meant the most to me, that being none other than York! For the purposes of this blog, I will talk only about day one in York, being that is when I did the most on my own in our designated free time. Let me start by saying, that in my head when I imagine Medieval England, of all the places we visited, York definitely came the closest to what I had in mind. The cobblestone streets, the quirky buildings, the random pieces of medieval architecture sprinkled throughout. The vibe in York is just amazing. I instantly felt tied to the place, and quite honestly I never wanted to leave (sorry, London!) Let’s start with our trip to the Jorvik Viking Centre. For anyone who doesn’t already know, I (along with my brother and father) am slightly obsessed with anything Viking related. We even like to tell people that we are descendants of Vikings, which according to Dr. Insley, Viking is not the proper term to use when referring to that group of individuals. Anyways, the Jorvik Centre was super neat! Learning about the typical layout of a Viking house and seeing what that would look like with my own eyes, was both educational and fascinating. Then, there were the life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city. How cool! Some of it was pretty life-like, right down to the smell in the air (not a huge fan of that part). This particular part of the Jorvik Centre helped to change how I view Vikings, in how it showed them to be much more advanced and developed than I originally imagined them being. I think this has a lot to do with the way they are typically portrayed as uncivilized and as barbarians. After the dioramas, I skimmed through the different artifacts in the museum, like the jewelry, the tools, and the clothing that Vikings used and wore. Lastly, I spent a decent amount of time (and money) in the gift shop, buying gifts for my brother, father, and boyfriend. I honestly wanted to buy everything there, but I figured paying my rent for the next month was more important. One of my favorite gifts that I bought was a little handcrafted mug with a three-dimensional Viking on the front. It’s even hand-painted. When I first showed it to my boyfriend, he insisted on using it to drink his coffee, until I talked him into just displaying it (I don’t want it to break or get ruined). After the Jorvik Centre, when we were sent out on our own, Brianna and I did some walking and exploring around York, but the best part was definitely the The Original Ghost Walk of York. I love the supernatural and paranormal, especially when there is some truth behind the stories being told, so this was right up my alley. However, this wasn’t the reason the ghost tour was my favorite. It was mostly because of Pat, our tour guide. He was hilarious. He reminded me of an English version of my father. He was super theatrical and animated, making the tour that much more interesting. I also REALLY loved his thick accent. It was a little more rough and coarse than most of the other English accents I heard while in England. I know it’s a superficial quality to dote on, but it really made a difference in the tour for me. I even recorded part of the tour, so that later on I could play it back and listen to it again. Well, this post is well over 250 words now, and even though I could go on and on about York, I will end it here. I definitely see myself going back to York at some point in the future. I have a true appreciation for its small, eccentric atmosphere. Goodbye for now, York!
Jorvik Viking Centre
Ghost Tour
