A Second Wedding Day

Today our granddaughter, Katie, and and her husband. Liam, will be wed (the second time around) in Stillington, a little village located in North Yorkshire, where Liam grew up, went to school, and lived out his formative years.  The wedding or blessing will be held in the same village church where Liam was baptized.  The Church of St. Nicholas dates back to the 15th century.  The Reverend Stephen Whiting (Vicar) will conduct the service and Grandad will provide him a wee bit of assistance. What a great day it is going to be....

Yesterday we toured the city of York.  It is just a ten minute walk or so from our apartment to the Bootham Bar (one of the gateways through the remnants of the old wall that once surrounded the city).  Just beyond the gate stands York Minster, the largest cathedral in Northern Europe, with its towers reaching toward the heavens.  It is a magnificent sight.

From York Minster we walked down High Petergate and turned right on Stonegate.  It took just a few minutes to reach Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms where we splurged for morning tea and pastry.  The waiter who served us last time we visited Bettys in 2014 served us again this time with his elegant British grace and charm (for a moment I felt like a King Charles or George).

Then we walked to King's Square and through what is officially known as Shambles, a maze of twisting, narrow lanes with overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century.  The lane actually called Shambles is the best preserved medieval street in the world.  It is mentioned in the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror in 1086.  The Shambles was a street of butchers' shops and slaughter houses (1350-1475) but is now a street of tourist shops, pubs and restaurants.

A leisurely stroll back toward York Minster brought us to the 400-year old Pub called "The Punch Bowl" where we enjoyed a respite from the heat of the day and some traditional pub fare.  

After a brief rest at our temporary home in York, our favorite driver, Liam, arrived to taxi us to Stillington for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.  What a great day it was in Merry 'Ole England--two pubs down and 362 to go--and today--a Second Wedding Day for Katie and Liam.