England, Day 3

We had an interesting but good breakfast at the hotel. It was a traditional English breakfast but with baked beans (I've usually had sliced tomatoes instead of beans). It was pouring rain so we thought we'd grab a taxi to take us to the station. You can't get a taxi in the rain. Ever. So we walked to Euston Station and got off at St. Pancras station. From there we crossed the street to King's Cross Station. Does that ring a bell? It's the station in the Harry Potter books/films. Mom and I took a detour to find platform 9 3/4.

You'll notice the buggy sticking out of the wall. We got a little lost on the way back to meet Susan and couldn't find a toilet that didn't cost money to use. We had to watch the changing destination boards to find out which platform we needed. That was interesting. It's a huge space and dozens of people are just looking at the screens to see where to go while pigeons fly and walk around.
We found the one headed to York and walked to the platform. The train ride was about 2 hours. Anne and Jim were already waiting for us at the station. Jim took our bags and loaded up the car. He then left the ladies to have lunch and explore. I. Love. York. If I win the lottery I am moving there. It is so beautiful. It's historic and modern, quaint and picturesque, inviting and daunting, all at the same time. I just started taking pictures like a mad person.
This is part of the York city wall. It still stands and York has more miles of wall intact than any other city in England (courtesy of Wikipedia).

I'm sure I embarrassed Anne with my annoying American tourist behavior but she was a good sport. We stopped for lunch and tea at Betty's Cafe Tea Room.

Apparently, there is usually a line out the door but because it was winter time, and raining earlier, we only had to wait a few minutes to be seated. We had a nice view of their chocolates and other desserts while waiting. These are chocolates in the shape of Scottie dogs!
My meal was fantastic. I had tea (obviously), a croque monsieur sandwich (ham, mustard and Gruyere cheese between two slices of fried bread, all covered in bechamel sauce-YUM!), and for dessert I had a fat rascal. It's a one-of-a-kind scone served only at Betty's. After lunch we did some more exploring of York.
This is the flower stand just outside the Tea Room.

This is York Minster. You had to pay to go through but you could walk into the 'lobby' area for free. It's a beautiful building. The weather could not have been better for my photo op. It was foggy and grey, very English.
A crooked building.
This street looked neat. Mom said it looked like Diagon Alley. This was one of her many Harry Potter references on the trip. We went to Marks and Spencer, a very popular grocery store chain. Even the grocery store was interesting. I can't pinpoint the difference between M & S and Kroger (for example) but they're different. The prepared items (appetizers for example) get top billing while produce and canned veggies are almost hidden away. Everything looked so delectable in their ready-to-eat packaging. Especially the baked goods; I'm a sucker for baked goods.
These are hot cross buns. Actual hot cross buns, the same as in the Mother Goose nursery rhyme.
This is an English post office box. It's just so proper...and English looking.
I thought this was so funny. This hot sausage hut seems totally out of place in front the ancient structure.
This sign was in the window of a restaurant. When I visited in 2001 there was a street sign with a person hunched over carrying a cane. It meant 'watch for elderly persons' like we have signs for 'children at play'. I know, fascinating stuff. We just continued to walk around for hours, asking questions, taking pictures, taking it all in.
This is Clifford's Tower, part of the York Castle. Jim picked us up at the bottom of the hill before it got dark. We headed to Anne's Dad's house for a visit. He was such a sweet man and the smell of his house reminded me of my grandparents. Tea was prepared and we had biscuits (cookies) and gingerbread slices with butter. Mom and Susan visited Anne in 1971 as part of their European vacation. Anne had to leave for a little while and left Mom and Susan with Anne's parents. They all got in the car to take a trip but fifteen minutes after they left the house they pulled to the side of the road and started to make tea. Mom and Susan said they didn't understand why they couldn't have just stayed at the house a little longer to have tea instead of by the side of the road. They did the same thing on the way back except that time is was raining. Tea is serious business. We said goodnight to Anne's dad and got settled at their house and then prepared dinner. It was an interesting menu. We had baked potatoes, a turkey curry mayo mixture, olives and cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers, and coleslaw. It was good (didn't have the mayo stuff) but I didn't think anything went together. They probably think chicken and rice don't go together either though. We had two kinds of dessert. Apple crumble pie and lemon meringue pie. We poured warm custard over the apple crumble and heavy cream over the lemon meringue. Very yummy. They were a big hit with all the Yanks. After sitting around the TV and chatting a little, everyone decided to head up to bed. This is where Mom and I stayed.
Now, I have to tell you how Mom and Susan even know Anne. When Mom and Susan were eleven years old they were in girl scouts together. Each picked a pen pal from another country. Susan wrote to Anne, who lived in Scotland at the time, and they have been writing and visiting each other ever since. This long distance friendship has lasted over 50 years.