A Morning at the York Minster

On the last day of the kids' Christmas holidays we took Debbo and B.P. to the old walled city of York.  We can't help but still give it descriptors like that.  Everyone else would probably just call it York.  

There was still lots of rain going on so we decided to tour the Minster.  Not only does it offer a respite from the rain, but the architecture is beautiful, and there is such a long history associated with the cathedral.  Part of it is built on top of the ruins of a Roman fort, and you can stand near the place where Constantine was proclaimed emperor.

James really enjoyed his Little Explorers backpack, complete with magnifying glass, torch/flashlight, and a crown.

I really love the way the pulpits are built around columns in churches here.  I always think they are so beautiful.

This was the second time KJ and I have visited the York Minster, but there are, of course, so many things to see.  There are always new plaques and memorials to read that remind you of all the people that lived before you.  It's a little bit like that feeling you get reading old gravestones.  There are just so many stories to be told.

"We must trust to God that we may die bravely as Englishmen should do."

This one made me feel especially sad imagining boys who had been part of the Minster choir together leaving together for the war.  You're very much more aware of World War I in England than you are in America.  It took the lives of whole villages of young men.

My dad and I climbed 40 floors according to my Fitbit up the Minster Tower.  I imagine it's a really good view on a clear day, but on the day we visited you couldn't see much beyond the wall.  Though of course it was still worth the climb.

I guessed what this old art work was before reading the plaque.  Can you?

The King's Book of York Heroes, another reminder of the great war.

People don't change, though 1,300 years go by, do they?  Life always feels sweet to some when they are surrounded by books.

I'm not sure, but I thought that was probably special Christmas greenery.  It's so beautiful I'd like one in my own house!  Though I daresay it would need to be smaller.

After another very American lunch at a McDonald's, we took a stroll down a street that "assumed its present character" about 1400.