Thursday 11th February
After a last minute decision to go on a break, we found ourselves up reasonably early, though with the last minute shenanigans we ended leaving a little later than planned (8am), so we hot a bit of traffic initially, but luckily the motorways were good (and we just missed getting caught in the queue from a pile up as we were only a couple of cars behind) . With a couple of pit stops, we got to the hotel (Middlethorpe Hotel) in York by 12.30. We were checked into room 29 (2nd floor in the stables).
We were a little hungry after all this so we went to the drawing room and ordered an afternoon tea to share, we ended sitting on a couch near a large low table, so it seemed we were taking the best place, but it was the only place available then. We had to make sure we ordered a different sandwiches from the normal, so it all took a while before the food came – Sandwiches, 2 scones and a few little cakes/desserts. It was surprising how filling this all was.
So after the few hours there, we went to the spa, where we spent a good 2 hours (sauna, jacuzzi and swimming). Refreshed we then got ready and after facetime to Kenya, drove into town at 6.30, parking in one of the public car parks. We then walked into the old town and across the river, where we stopped for a drink in the Slug and Lettuce. The bar man who served us was quite new and gave Bhavni a drink that defiantly was not ginger beer, but it got sorted straight away. It was nice sitting out of the chill overlooking the river and having a drink. We then walked to “Le Piano” which was a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. The food was slightly strange, some bits nicer then others. I had a burger in a gluten free bun, with veg chips, whilst Bhavni’s had rice and aubergine which was not that great. The hot chocolate was not bad – and it was made with coconut milk.
After dinner we got back to the hotel and I tried to watch a bit of TV, but soon I was asleep.
Friday 12th
So no lie in today as I had got up around 7.15. We got ready and went for breakfast – It was a continental breakfast with some cooked options. We had porridge on top of the continental and I had poached eggs also. We got out and I left Bhavni relaxing in the room, whilst I went to the spa, for my massage, that Bhavni insisted I have, at 9am. After the massage, I went downstairs where Bhavni just walked in for her massage. So I relaxed in the spa, with Bhavni joining me a little later.
We then got ready and after initially thinking of taking the bus walked into town as we could not be bothered to wait. It was just as well as we got into town without seeing a bus. We stopped at a cafe, for a pannini. I had an americano and Bhavni had an ice cream take away. It was quite cool seeing places we saw around 5 years earlier and remembering taking photos then, such as cliffords tower. We had quite a long walk around seeing the city before we decided it was time to go to Betty’s tea room. We found the shop and went upstairs, but it smelt quite a bit so we left before getting a place. So we thought we would go to an alternative place, but there was another Betty’s tea room ahead, which we went to. There was around a 20 minute queue, before we got seated, ordering one afternoon tea between us, and some special sandwiches – nice. We then had another walk around before heading back to the hotel. There was a brief panic about loosing the camera cover, which was in the bag, so we managed to get back just a bit before the sun set.
So we had a little time to relax in the hotel room, before we got ready and drove into town, parking in the same car park as the day before. We again made our way into the town proper and scouted the restaurant since it was on a weird side street – it looked OK. We had some time we went to the Slug and Lettuce again, much busier today. I had pint, whilst Bhavni had a mocktail (which was 241 which we did not no about). The dinner at Krakatoa was surprisingly nice, mix of indian and thai flavours.
Getting back we were awake enough to watch King Julian on netflix.
Saturday 13th
So we went for the lie in – getting up at 7.45, so we could go for breakfast not to late. We both had porridge (with cinnamon) and I had my usual poached eggs, though I tried fried bread which was a mistake. After breakfast I went to the spa, leaving Bhavni in the room pretending to sleep, though she joined me 30 minutes later. So we got out by 11 finished packing and checked out.
We tried to drive to Harrigate, where we though we could stop for a bit, but there was so much traffic around that area that we bypassed the center and carried on driving to Fountains Abbey. The road was a small country road and we had rain and hail on the way, which made for an atmospheric drive.
Getting in, the car parks (much to Bhavnis disbelief) were quite full, but we parked and changed into waterproofs as the weather was unpredictable, then made our way in. We were trying for a guided walk at 13:30, so we had a bit of time. Inside Bhavni realised she was peckish, but the restaurants further in were closed, so we just walked a bit until the talk/walk started. It was really quite cold, especially when standing still, accentuated by the sun going behind cloud cover. So even though it was quite an interesting talk, and the ruins of the abbey are hauntingly lovely, Bhavni soon began to have trouble concentrating – Lay brothers and choir priests, quarters, sheep crisis and trade – and after 40 mins or so, went back to the entrance cafe. I carried on with the tour which lasted another 30 minutes, with the sun finally coming back out near the end. Fun fact was that this was a sister abbey to Jervaulx abbey where we stayed 5 years ago.
After the walk I made my way back to the entrance and found Bhavni wondering if I’d been kidnapped. She had left some hot soup for me and we had some scones and tea. After Bhavni made a trip to the car to put on her warmer shoes we braved the cold again. This time to walk past the abbey and onto the water gardens, round the deer park and back to the entrance. I dont really think the deer park and the walk near the main road are worth it, but the water gardens are nice.
We got back and found ourselves leaving at around 4.20. We had come quite north, so it even took some time to go past the York exits. If we drove straight to London, we could get there for 9ish, but we thought we should get some food on the way. Bhavni booked Jamies Italian in Milton Keynes for 8.45 as that was the earliest booking available. Fine, we got there just a bit past 8 (odd place to drive and park), so just stayed at the bar till time having a drink. I was disappointed that the polenta chips were not vegitarian, so we had to settle for fried pasta parcels and breads and dips for starters which were generally nice. However mains were a disaster. My pasta was weird with lentils and spices, giving a weird taste, Bhavni ordered and Ariabiata, and gave me what she thought was a cheese covered pepper garnish which I put in my mouth. It was not that – it was a slice of scotch bonnet, so I was in a bit of pain for 5 mins. But her pasta really had no flavor bur chilly. We could not even have dessert after that. Setting back out, we manged to get back home near 11pm.