Medieval England

I am what you might call a food enthusiast. Now, by no means do I consider myself a food critic. I don’t silently stalk the restaurants of the world looking to add my take on the very serious and prestigious pages of Yelp! But, when traveling to a new place my first thought is always on either tasting a new food or at the very least the food I’ve only seen on the Food Network. So imagine my pure joy when learning we would be going to Betty’s, the oldest tea room in York, and then passing the display window pictured above. Spoiler alert: the food tasted as good as it looked.

We were led to the upstairs dining area and greeted by several incredible waitresses and an older woman elegantly playing the piano. Was this the right place? I surely was not fancy enough to be here! However, as we sat in our seats and got comfortable I began to soak in my environment. The silky white table cloth, the shiny metal silverware, and the smell of freshly brewed tea filled my senses and made my tongue water with excitement and readiness for whatever I was about to consume.

First, our orders for tea were taken. I do not find myself drinking tea too often (unless I am stealing sips from my girlfriend’s mug) but the tea I had, called Betty’s Afternoon Tea, their original blend, was so good that I think I have to go back to being a non tea drinker since it was that good and American tea can not compare. Next, we were served small shrimp appetizers. Mine tasted delicious…as did the 4 or 5 others I enjoyed that were given to me by some of my amazing cohort. Then the real fun began. Placed in front of me was a tower of food. On top were colorful and tasty deserts. The next layer, my favorite, was filled with fruit scones. Before this trip Jam was not necessarily my jam, but the strawberry jam I spread on my warm scorn along with clotted cream changed my tune on the subject. Finally, on the lowest layer were small sandwiches that capped off this beautiful tower of food. Betty’s was an experience that myself and my tastebuds will not soon forget, and I will be sure to go back there again when I return to England.

Sean Flanagan

I have always had a huge fascination with the past. My grandmother is a huge history buff, and she raised me on stories from the past. I do not really get to experience historical sites that often. I come from a town where buildings that are over eighty years old are considered “historic.” Even the oldest building in New York City is only from the 1600s. The only times I get to truly experience early history is when I leave the country. England was the perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in the past. Seeing all the cathedrals and castles that withstood the test of time stunned me. Construction of the York Minster began in 1220, and even though it has had a decent amount of renovation done to keep it standing, it still possesses the power it had when it was first built. The Canterbury Cathedral, Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey were other places that stunned me by how much history was contained in their walls. Even though it is not the original one, the Globe theater was also very amazing to see. It was done to appear just like the original one, and I felt almost as if I was actually in the original Globe. The medievalist style of design was prominent in many of these places, but to my surprise, it was not obvious. When visiting places like these, I often have to remind myself that they truly are the original buildings where all these important historical events took place, not just a recreation of these structures. I typically do not get the chance to surround myself with places that are that old, so it is always an experience when I get the opportunity. This trip gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the past, and I could not have enjoyed it any more.
-Cassie Eaches

During the medieval England trip, I saw so many amazing things that I will cherish for a lifetime. I always dreamed of visiting the United Kingdom and my expectations were exceeded. This trip really sparked my interest in history again, being that I thought I would be more interested in the English aspects of the course. I really enjoyed learning new things about the English monarchy, specifically.

AllOne of my favorite places we visited was definitely the Hampton Court Palace (I really enjoyed the Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey as well). Learning that King Henry VIII never actually lived in the Hampton Court Palace and it was just used to impress people amazed me. The palace was absolutely spectacular, I really liked how a lot of the ceilings were decorated. I also liked learning about the supernatural aspect of the palace. Learning that the Gallery was haunted and that a large percentage of visitors that walked down the Gallery experienced “chills” I found really cool. I also had a great time getting lost in the maze with other people from the group. Visiting the Hampton Court Palace was a very fun day! ALLISON HOVEY

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Before going on this trip, I had only been out of the country once before, and had never traveled anywhere without my family. This being my first trip to England, I had no idea what to expect, but any expectations I did have got blown away. Manchester, York, and London are all very different and all jaw droppingly beautiful in every way. My favorite I have to say was London for sure. Going to the Buckingham Palace and being able to experience part of the changing of the guards was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it before. To people that live there, this is probably an everyday normal thing to them, but for me it was amazing to watch the guards on horses come all the way down the street and into the gates of Buckingham Palace right in front of us. Standing in front of the palace I felt so close to royalty even though the Queen wasn’t even there at that time. It’s hard to believe that our trip to England is over and we are already back in the United States. Ever since I have been back home I can’t stop telling everyone I know about my trip and telling them that they HAVE to go there. From experiencing and conquering (kind of) the tubes, to having some afternoon tea and seeing all of the historical architecture, I already can’t wait to take another trip back to England (hopefully very soon). I usually am very scared and get nervous going outside of my comfort zone, but taking this class and going on this trip exceeded every expectation and was one of the best decisions I have ever made! It was truly an unreal experience that I am so grateful for having the opportunity to do.

-Kayla Sitterly

Me, my boyfriend, three professors, 10 total strangers, flight anxiety, and an extreme tendency of motion sickness. This trip was destined to be great from the start!!! Well, not exactly. It was destined to be whatever I made of it, and I’m happy to be able to say now that Dramamine and I were able to make this a memorable experience for all of the right reasons.
All jokes aside, my first ever time in England was enjoyable and enlightening. I was able to learn a lot about Medieval history, of course, but also took in quite a bit about current English culture. I now understand all the hype about the tube, and can also attest to its incredible convenience. I should probably add that I never waited more than 5 minutes for my train to arrive, so I honestly can’t complain like those who have experienced delays, sorry. Something we certainly do not do here in America is eat dessert with every meal, which is something I felt like the English most definitely do! No complaints here though; I was more than happy to eat chocolate pastries with breakfast, go to a Patisserie Valerie for a post-lunch fresh fruit tart, or to casually go to Betty’s just for some more tea and mid-day chocolate cheesecake. The other thing that I was most certainly pleased with was the variety of hard ciders that was available to me at every single pub. There’s a chance that I’ve never inquired about it, but here in America I have definitely never been offered the choice of strawberry-pomegranate or kiwi-lime hard cider in a bar. I could write a whole blog about the flavored ciders alone, but for the sake of this single post I will just say that they were really good.
To anyone reading this who has never been to England and might be considering going on this trip, do it! You’ll never be more amazed by the beauty of a cathedral. You’ll never want to immediately move in anywhere as much as in Hampton Court. You’ll never find more charm than in the cobblestones of the streets of York. You’ll never love the royal family more than when you’re standing inside Westminster Abbey, and you’ll never feel such success as you will after your first solo ride on the tube.
(Also, if at all possible, bring along a significant other so you can force him/her to take cute pictures of you everywhere you go like I did 🙂 )

-Kristen Pyrch-

Going on this trip was the second time that I had traveled to England. That being said, the knowledge I was able to obtain from this trip could not have been possible if I had not taken this course. From Manchester, to York, and then to London, I was able to create memories and make some life-long friends on the way. I am going to talk about the Tower of London. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. Our group went to the Tower together, but after a brief discussion with Dr. Gathagan regarding the origins of the Tower, we were left to explore the wonders of the structure all on our own. I found myself staring in awe at the magnificent architecture, and marveling and how it has stood for so many centuries. I kept thinking to myself “ We have nothing like this in America”. Every room we went to was another piece of history. One particular part that stood out to me was the Bloody Tower. The tower was later later given that name due to its bloody history. As you walked through the tower, you were able to see where two boys, Princes Richard and Edward, had been trapped in the tower by their uncle Richard. His was because the boys held a better claim to the throne than their uncle. When the boys were taken to the tower, they were never seen again. Centuries later the skeletons of two young boys, believed to be the same ages as the princes when they disappeared, where discovered buried near the White Tower. But me telling you about this horrific murder doesn’t compare to seeing the site for yourself in person. If you are a history geek like myself, this is the perfect trip for you. Everywhere we went I felt as though I could travel back in time. Now that I’m back in the states I cannot stop telling anyone that will listen to me about my adventures in England. — Jenn Mitchell