Monday August 25th ~ York, England
Street Fair – Making circle cakes
With mixed weather, one minute partly cloudy, and the next raining, we walked about the old town area, including checking out a street fair, but then ducked into the church for an hour when the sky opened up.
Liquid sunshine…
I know that we have seen more than our share of churches and cathedrals over the past few months, but this one was one we could not pass up.
York Minster or “The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York”
This Cathedral is one of the largest in England. The title “Minster” is used to refer to missionary teaching churches. West “Minster” Abbey, is more familiar to many. With a spectacular interior, I went a little crazy taking pictures. However, I’m now happy to have them.
“The Great East Window, (finished in 1408), the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world.” ~ Wikipedia
Here are some of the pictures that showcase the main parts of the interior:
Interior with choir and organ pipes
Looking through the archway
Moved up closer
The sides are lined with memorials, statues, and plaques
Another of the windows and sculptures at rear of church
The headless bodies caught my attention, but I never found out their significance
The Cathedral was actually built on top of an ancient Roman fortress and parts of it have been uncovered and are visible with a visit to the lower levels or “Undercroft”. The treasury and museum pieces are also on display in the underground area.
The Undercroft
Ancient stained glass
Old leather-bound Bible, beautifully preserved
Sample of writing symbol for Christ that was recovered
Explanation of the Christian’s Mark shown above
Roman columns
Finally our weather improved a bit and we were able to walk some more through the old city streets.
Stone Gargoyles
Typical architecture in the old part of the city
York is compact, and the major sites are all within walking distance of our hotel. I think we are going to have a wonderful time exploring here!
Gratitude Moment: Today I am grateful for street fairs. How fun to walk up and down streets, in and out of crowded tents, past one display after another, seeing unique artistry, and smelling and sampling street food.
A Note From Abroad 
Wow! The circle cakes look like pretzels. The church was certainly impressive. Glad you didn’t have rain all the time.
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I think that the cakes had more of a doughnut taste and texture to them by how she described them, but I did not taste one, so not sure about that. And yes, the church was huge, impressive and a bit over the top, but amazing at the same time.
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Any idea how many churches and cathedrals and temples you’ve seen? Do you ever tire of them?. Which are your favorites and why? (Please pardon the old reporter!)
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Mike, I honestly have no idea how many churches, cathedrals and temples we have visited, but I may just have to go back through my posts and pictures to try to get a count. No, I don’t tire of them because they are often the crowning architectural achievement in each of the cities we visit, but I am finding I spend shorter time inside each one now unless it has something unique or extra special about it. Favorites – yes I have two. Westminster in London because of my goose bump moment of sitting with the choir as they sang, and Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, which I consider the most beautiful.
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I too have loved Westminster and Sainte Chapelle, and others. But my most memorable was a tiny little church with cobblestone floors and old ratty chairs instead of pews, where I went to midnight mass in a small village in Spain on Christms Eve. I was a college student hitchhiking through Spain and ended up there, in the middle of nowhere, by accident. All the traditional Christmas hymns, in Spanish, were so heartwarming to this homesick lad. There were bonfire parties in the streets afterwards, to which I was warmly welcomed. I remember it like yesterday.
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It sounds like the perfect Christmas Eve! I understand how that little church and that special moment in time has stayed with you all these years. Those are the memories to treasure.
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Reblogged this on The Pretty Canary.
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Thank you for sharing our blog!
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No Problem I love it!
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