An old abbey, a nice punch bowl and a sexist chocolate bar!

Hello Everybody!

Monday morning began our semi-epic coach ride to York, in northern Britain. We had a bit of a late start due to the weather (let me tell you: trying to walk in 70 mph gales is NOT my idea of a good time), but at least the drive was nice. It is about a four hour coach ride to York, and while the scenery was beautiful I couldn't help but nod off several times.

We only saw two landmarks in York, besides the city itself. First up was Yorkminster--the cathedrale of York and also the "chair" of the Bishop of York, one step below the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Yorkminster was probably the 58th cathedrale we've seen so far, so I was too lazy to take any pictures. Although the Victorian carving of Mary bottle-feeding Jesus, looking up to see the soles Jesus' feet during the Ascension, the "Save the Whales" artwork and the stained-glass precession of the golden monkey who died after a very suspicious urine sample were all interesting, I was too lazy to whip out my camera and snap a picture.

Ah well...hopefully Marika will post some and I'll be able to...um...coughstealcough...some and post them later. =] The ones up now I stole from the internet. Tee hee...

These are some of the oldest stained glass windows in the church. I believe they date back to the 12th century. The windows are decorated with incredibly intricate geometric patterns, a style of Islamic religious design which influenced the makers of these windows after the Crusades.

The next day we traveled about a hour more north to the ruins of Fountain Abbey. None of us were really excited to go, but were awestruck by the beauty of the place. Driving through the countryside reminded me of the British novel Watership Down and I wish now we could have spent more time there!

This is exactly how I imagined the farmhouse in the book. =] Watership Down is the story about a group of wild rabbits and the dangers/adventures they encounter as they travel through the English countryside in search of a new home. They come across a rural farmhouse and try to free the caged rabbits inside. Since there was so much wildlife around, I kept my eyes open for some wild rabbits as we hiked around. I finally saw two as we drove away in the coach. I wasn't fast enough to snap a picture of them, but this is what they looked like:

They're so cute~!

One of Marika's awesome landscape photos. So pretty!

We followed the road down...

...and I was dumbfounded as the ruins materialized out of the surrounding forest. It was so hauntingly beautiful.

It only grew more impressive.

An old cloister.

It just keeps going...!

This is where I found the hidden door.

See if you can find Waldo...

They crack me up.

Finding this statue was...awkward. >////>

*heavy emo sigh*

Me and Violet

The Peeps!

Spring is in full swing over here; daffodils are everywhere! The daffodils here are different, too. There were lots around the old Abbey. They grow like weeds, only they're a lot prettier than weeds.

They look like stars~

There were also a lot of wild pheasants (as in the bird) around and we had fun sneaking up on them. We even saw one cross the road.

So, why did the pheasant cross the road? We will never know.

We had quite a lot of free time in York and most of it was spent in the pub down the street: The Punch Bowl. The weather was so dodgy that few of us wanted to risk getting soaked by the rain or pushed around by the wind (which happened to me and Violet as we were caught in a downpour), so we stayed where it was warm. Me and Marika spent most of Tuesday there. The bartenders were cute. =D

This is Josh and Violet. They keep me out of trouble.
I really enjoy the pub atmosphere; everyone is so friendly and inviting. I guess the only way to explain it is a pub is a mixture of a Starbucks and an Applebee's. Yep.

Almost everyone was there! L to R: Marcus, Marika, Quincy, Gurinder and Gillian.

The Puch Bowl as we left...that's the old mediaeval entrance in the distance I think.
We headed back to our lodge where Marika and I watched a CSI: Miami and Law and Order. Good times.

I'm pretty sure she's thinking about eating her phone. =]

York was a nice, relacing trip; it was nice not to have every second filled with something to do, and it's definately a place I'd like to return to. W00t.
Anywhoo, that's all for now. I have lots of homework to do now, so I better get to work on that.

Tootles~

Some other funny things...
This is a candy bar Marika and I bought for our trip to York. We were a little offended by it, but figured more girls bought this bar than guys anyway. We ate them and went to bed wondering if we'd wake up with moustaches. =D

I found these at a new grocery store I found called "Waitrose." They were so cute, I just had to get them. Now I don't know if I should use them!