York's Chocolate Story, York Minster, & Clifford's Tower
I woke up refreshed and took my time getting ready because my first to-do list item for my first full day in York wasn't until 10:00 am.
The city of York has a strong chocolate-making history and if you know me, you know I'm a chocoholic, so I had to do something chocolate-related while I was here! I decided to visit York's Chocolate Story, which is a short guided tour with some history and chocolate tasting.
I arrived a few minutes early for my tour, only to be told that I was the only person who signed up for the 10:00 slot. "Would you be okay going with the 10:30 tour?" That's fine!
Our tour guide, Louis (pronounced Louie), was awesome and I learned a lot. It was me and two other couples on the tour. I actually prefer a larger tour group so that I can blend in more easily, because I'm a weirdo like that.
We got to try quite a few different types of chocolate -- including cocoa nibs which are just dried cocoa beans (it tasted like coffee to me) and 100% dark chocolate which was not horrible, actually. Fun fact: Kit Kat started in York! Of course I bought and enjoyed a Kit Kat while I was there. 😀
We got to watch some workers make chocolate truffles and since we were such a small group, we all got a bunch to take home with us. We also made our own chocolate lollies, which was just decorating a glob of white chocolate with a stick in it haha. Still fun... and tasty!
After the tour was done, I had a bit of time to kill and was hungry, so I had breakfast at a place called 1331. I got "eggy bread" with bacon and a flat white. I expected eggy bread to be scrambled eggs with toast but it was more like a savory French toast. I am always learning new terminology and types of food items in the UK!
My half-drunk flat white and cute sugar packets.
It was a beautiful morning weather-wise, so I just walked around a bit, mostly hovering around the cathedral. I looove a cathedral and York Minster is magnificent.
York Minster was built over the course of 250 years, between 1220 and 1472. One of the main reasons I love cathedrals is just the history associated with them. All the events they've lived through and all the feet that have walked through. It's amazing to me.
My entry for the cathedral was timed at 1:00 and I got right in. I knew they give free guided tours, so I hung around a bit and joined the 1:15 group. Our tour guide was David and he was awesome. Tour guides are almost always exquisitely knowledgeable. I always join a free guided tour if it's offered!
Here's David pointing something out to us. A former schoolteacher, so perfect for this job! All the tour guides here are volunteers which seems like a cute thing to do as a retiree. Imagine if you had York Minster in the town you lived.
Pictures do not do it justice. This window is 78 feet tall, near the size of a tennis court.
This next video is the chapter house, which is where monks would meet to chat about the day-to-day running of the minster.
This is down in the crypt of the cathedral.
Look at this completely terrible photo of me and what the wind did to my hair. 😂
Next, I headed over to Clifford's Tower. Clifford's Tower was "built to subdue the rebellious north by William the Conqueror. It has been a royal mint, a medieval stronghold, and a Civil War garrison." It's the largest remaining part of York Castle. What remains there now was built in the 13th century.
Views of York from the top were nice!
It's hard to tell how high it is, but it's impressive!
After this, it was nearing dinner time so I went into a grocery store called Marks & Spencer and got a coronation chicken sandwich, crisps (potato chips), and some kefir (gotta look out for that digestive health). I ate it in a little park nearby to the cathedral and just hung out for quite a while. The weather was nice and the sun doesn't go down in the summer until very late, after 10:00 pm. British summers -- glorious!
