Ever After Bliss: Getting to know York

Take the legacy of Roman soldiers' posts, medieval traditions, stories of the Vikings, tales of princesses and jews and mobs and abbeys and churches, long-standing pubs along with a plethora of Indian restaurants, throw in a few ghost stories and modern-day farmers' markets, two Urban Outfitters and a Gap, cram them all into one historic town, you've got York.

The city is surrounded by an ancient wall. I'm mixing up 3,000 years worth of history I tried to soak into my head while I was there, but I believe there was an original wall built by the Romans, but the remaining wall is actually one from a later time period. It's the most intact of any other city walls in England.

You can walk along the wall and become acquainted with the city. Lots of houses and chim-chiminy rooftops. The gateways are called "bars" and the streets are called "gates."

This portion of the wall was broken through in honor of Princess Margaret when she stayed in York for two days on her way to her wedding in Scotland. The wall here wraps around the remains of St. Mary's abbey.

"This Gateway was broken through the Abbey Wall July 1503 in honour of the Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry VII, who was the guest of the Lord Abbot of St. Mary's for two days on her journey to the North as the Bride of James IV of Scotland."

As you walk along the wall, the top of the wall eventually meets with the street-level shops.

The buildings are adjacent to one another, with twisty alleys and smaller walk-ways called "snickleways" creating an elaborate maze to wind your way through.

Walking up to the Minster.

The Minster is the largest church in the city (and also the largest Gothic cathedral in all of Northern Europe). But there are several churches hiding among the other buildings, too:

When you walk into the city, you cross the River Ouse at one of the many bridges.

There are pubs and restaurants all along the river.

And plenty of shopping!

Street performers, too (this woman was from Russia and had a rich, deep voice as she sang a sad, lyrical song).

The Shambles is a famous alley of shops; the name comes from a word that meant "butcher" in the Vikings' time, as this used to be the street of meat shops.

Every establishment, outside of eating and drinking places, closes by 5:00 pm in York. Note the empty Shambles street below; mid-day, this street is entirely crowded.

You can walk into town, or you can drive to the outskirts and pay to park.

I walked a few times, and then drove the rest of the week.

All that remains of the York Castle is Clifford's Tower:

It has a tragic story about a massacre of refugee Jews in 1190.

The old prison has been turned into the York Castle museum:

And on the other side of town, you will pass the famous Royal York Hotel as you stroll along the wall. The hotel has erected a Big Wheel that will operate just through 2013.

The views from the top were brilliant! I was thankful for the narrated guide as we rode around and around; a great way to get the layout of the city and some of the basic historical facts.