The Royal York

Greetings! This is my attempt at blogging while I am away on a study abroad. For those who haven't heard the rough itenerary, it goes a little something like this: 20 days touring Ireland and Scotland in a coach bus, 14(ish) days hiking the Camino de ...

... the "Flying Scotsman".  Within 2,5 hours we disembarked at York station and proceeded to our hotel which is next door. The Royal York has always served as the railway hotel and it is nothing short of magnificent. The station access is almost directly ...

... We then walked the city wall to see the National Rail Museum which features all sorts of old and new trains, including the Royal carriages belonging to Queen Victoria.  Kim, I found not one but two black poodles for Shadow (see picture) - ...

... you can't have everything, can you? Piotr went back to the hotel after that while me and Aneta went to the Time Square. New York is totally awesome and magnificent. This city has a soul and its streets buzzing with life at every hour of the day makes ...

... my choices in regards to my primary and secondary studies. After visiting this place, we hooked up with Piotr who arrived to New York a day before us. We caught a ferry to the Liberty Island to see the Statute of Liberty. It was pretty cool and we ...

... about 20 seconds.  We were asked if we had a few minutes to answer some car-related questions.  They were from the Royal Automobile Club.  The RAC and the AA are like the AAA in America.  DH answered questions about our Ford Focus ...

... from Belfast, and came back for lunch. Visited the railway museum which was very good, and saw a Japanese bullet train, the royal carriages since Queen Victoria, and a Flying Scotsman exhibit, as well as lots of other trains and memorabilia. All kind of ...

... a couple of blocks from the main drag-Princes Street and the Royal Mile up to the Castle. The Castle was great, sighted the Royal Scottish Jewels and the views over ancient Edinburgh, as a storm brewed in the North Sea....in true form...the skies opened ...

... It was then onto the theatre (doing well with the theatre I say!) - it was the opening night of 'The Crucible" at the York Royal Theatre. 7 pound ticket! It was a cast of 12 professionals and 8 final year drama students from the Royal Scottish Academy of ...

... Europe.  Like many churches in N. Europe it was built by Roman Catholics but was appropriated by the crown when the royal family converted to Protestantism. It is nothing short of spectacular as our photos will show covering 2,000 years of history. ...

... "Sing Yer Hearts Out For the Lads" and had to have one. Much searching and asking and begging finally brought me to the Royal Theater, where a play by that name was soon to open and where a very generous publicity person handed me my trophy towel with ...

... cries of "I have nothing to wear!".  Decisions, decisions.  I went for the stunning silk, full length, off the shoulder, 'v' cut royal blue number, with white lace trim on the circle of the skirt and the 'v' cut.  To set off the dress there ...

... vengeance. The Stuart Kings frequently came to York but Queen Victoria 'was not amused' by her visit and never came again. More recent Royal Visits have been much more cordial and it was George VI who said 'The History of York is the History of England'. ...

... chagrin, had a good chat with a New Yorker called Hamza about the underground psytrance scene in the UK & generally had a right royal laugh with a bunch of Aussies on the crawl who did little to dispel the stereotype of boorish morons. That said it ...

... around America. I wonder what the topic of conversation is going to be when I get there? Make a refreshing change from the Royal Wedding I suppose. Part of me doesn’t believe I’m actually doing this. Despite an unearthly amount of - what will ...

... ; had travelled to most of the places that I was headed, as well as a raucous group of Canadians who were drinking up a storm. Emma was a royal pain in the arse as usual & there was an Israeli guy who had turned up that day in my dorm called Roy, who ...

... , and finally made it downstairs. A quick hug and a kiss goodbye later, and I was whisked away in the shuttle to catch my Royal Air Maroc flight at 8 PM. After I checked in at the airport, I realized that I had not mailed a letter that intended to send ...

... there were many things to see.  Some of the statues that memorialize families and/or individuals are so beautiful.  The only royal tomb in York Minster is that of William, the son of Edward III.  William died as a baby, however the figure ...

... sheep.......     In the a.m., we visited Floors Castle, just one of the many that belongs to a member of the royal family, the Duke of Roxburghe. This is where Prince Andrew proposed to Sarah Ferguson. They open it to the public to help ...