A Tale of Two Cities...

York Minster

Well hello there! It has been a while hasn't it?

Last week I was lucky enough to take a little trip up North. It may not be Mallorca but it definitely made me feel like I was getting away.

Most Haunted Pub in York

I first visited York a couple of years ago to go and see "Thriller" the musical (would fully recommend by the way) and we liked it so much we went back for my brother's 30th Birthday - Viking themed of course! This time however we were twinning it with a two night stay in Durham. So at half past 8 on Sunday night I returned home from a day shift in work, cursing myself that I left everything to the last minute (as always!), threw a load of clothes in a case and drove to my parents house as we would be travelling by train from theirs.

Riverfront

I don't know how you all feel about travelling and being in enclosed spaces with the general public after the past 18 months, but I think my experience of the pandemic has definitely made me a lot more cautious than most. If any of you have read my previous posts you will understand that I am a nurse and so when I say it's real, it's very much real! If I'm honest I feel more at risk now than I did during the first wave as people are getting extremely lackadaisical and that is even after I have received both vaccines!!! Anyway, I'm not here to get into a debate with people, this is meant to be a light hearted travel post after all!!

Riverfront

Our train journeys to York were mostly uneventful and despite the weather forecasts we arrived to glorious sunshine. We couldn't check in but managed to drop our bags off and went to explore. As we had been to York previously we roughly knew the places we wanted to go and so headed towards the river. Previously we have never been able to sit on the river as we always visited post flooding and I'm so glad we managed to do it this time. A very much welcome glass of fizz later and it was time for lunch.

Pairings Deli Platter

Pairings Wine Bar is set just a small walk from the River Ouse on Castlegate. If charcuterie and sharing boards are your thing you definitely need to give this place a visit! We chose a Deli Platter which is described as the 'Ultimate Pairings Offering' of 3x meats, 3x cheeses and lots of yummy accompaniments. As there were three of us we decided to order an extra cheese - the Delice de Bourgogne. They describe it as 'brie on steroids' and it really did not disappoint!

Sundown Spritz

A few days before this trip we celebrated my Dad's birthday and so what better way to have an extra mini celebration with 'Birthday Cake' shots? The Revolution in York has a lovely outside terrace onto the river and is a bit of sun trap in the afternoon until sunset. Needless to say with that setting it was only right to order the 'Sundown Spritz'! The fact that it was 2 for 1 was just the icing on the cake!

The next day was a chance to try out my new gimbal with a bit of a tourists walkabout. You can't go to York and not visit the Shambles. Said to be the inspiration for 'Diagon Alley' it's one of the oldest streets in York. With its higgledy-piggledy Tudor style shop fronts it's not hard to see why. Being a major tourist spot though it was extremely busy and the street is so narrow it was very difficult to get a walk through and so my gimbal time-lapse for a first go wasn't too bad I thought, given the circumstances.

Stonegate

A trip to the York Roast Co was the agenda for lunch (so good they actually have two stores in York). I settled for a Pork Sandwich with apple sauce, stuffing and crackling and it was the perfect lunch for a quick interlude bite before looking at the cathedral grounds. The York Minster is definitely a site to behold and walking up to the top is definitely not for the faint hearted! We visited the top on our first visit to York and so with Covid restrictions and not wanting to be in a confided space for a long period of time we decided to keep our feet firmly on the ground.

Linguine All'Arragosta

Piccolino has multiple branches across the country and was where we decided to have our final meal in York. I had forgotten how good spritzes are and after the Sundown Spritz the night before decided to return to an old favourite the Aperol Spritz for an aperitif. Safe to say a bottle of Aperol is definitely going on my next shopping list. We always choose a garlic bread with tomato to share at any Italian we visit and so this time wasn't going to be any different. Piccolino however add fresh basil to theirs which was a very welcome addition. I love fresh basil! I can't go to an Italian and not order a pasta dish, it just has to be done. That night I had Linguine All'Aragosta - half lobster, vine ripened cherry tomatoes, chilli and fresh basil. It was delicious and actually contained a good amount of lobster too. I'm always wary of lobster dishes as I find some restaurants can be quite stingy but this time wasn't the case. Finished off with some pistachio ice cream (my all time favourite flavour) and it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the train to Durham in the morning.

Durham Cathedral

This was my first visit to Durham and I wasn't too sure what to expect. We were staying in the Radisson Blu on the river but were greeted by an insane amount of building work surrounding the hotel which was to be a new leisure complex consisting of a cinema, shops and restaurants. Not too dissimilar to the complex opposite us the other side of the bridge. Not to worry, those who know me well know my house has essentially been on a building site for the best part of 3 years and so I'm well prepared when it comes to construction noise! We dropped off the cases again and prepared for a walkabout to explore.

Boat Club & Tommahawk

The Boat Club & Tommahawk Restaurant sits on the rivers edge with the opportunity to take out a classic rowing boat if you so wish. Our plan was to take one out after lunch, however when we were in there the weather turned for the worse and so decided against it this time. We were seated upstairs which had views of the river itself and lovely floral displays around the restaurant and bar. I've always been intrigued by a Chicken Parmo - a north eastern delicacy so I've heard which involves breaded chicken, béchamel sauce and lots of melted cheese. However, I fully underestimated the size of this when it came out, it was huge! Now, I'm a girl who has a fairly good appetite and even I could only manage half. If you come here make sure you come hungry is all I'll say.

Cloisters & Chapter House

As I said earlier, the weather soon turned and so we decided to visit Durham Cathedral in the afternoon to shelter from the rain. When you first enter the cathedral to the right there is the Galilee Chapel. The chapel currently contains the art installation - LIGHT by Chris Levine. This installation was originally meant to commence prior to the pandemic and so over a year later is finally open to the public. A matrix of lasers surrounds a tall singular beam of light which creates a flighting image of St Cuthbert's cross in your peripheral vision. It took a few goes but once you saw it, it was quite spectacular. LIGHT is available to see until the 30th September 2021. For those Harry Potter fans amongst you, Durham Cathedral is also home to the Cloisters and Chapter House, used to film scenes in The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets.

Turkish Delight Cocktail

Our meal that evening was in the hotel so we decided to call back to get ready. On our walk back along the river however we stumbled across El Pincho Mediterranean and it so happened we were just in time for Happy Hour. The decor in El Pincho was really my cup of tea. In the middle is a pergola strung with floral arrangements, behind the bar was a huge plant wall and at strategic points inside trees festooned with fairy lights. It really reminded me of one of our bars back home that I love to go to. We already had plans for dinner so didn't get to sample the food sadly. Should you fancy it though it was a mix of Spanish tapas, Greek appetisers and Moroccan specialities.

Norman Chapel

The first port of call for our second day in Durham was Durham Castle. Pre-booking is essential currently and it's worth booking in advance as tickets for some time slots were completely sold out. The Castle contains the Norman Chapel and is the oldest buildings in the city first constructed in the year 1080. Surprisingly, the Castle is actually home to Durham University students, with 150 of them having accommodation in the keep itself, and meals are still taken in The Great Hall.

Elvet Bridge

We decided to pre-book The Tapas Factory on Elvet Bridge for dinner as when we walked past after visiting the castle it was full for lunch. It didn't disappoint. The Paella de Carne was one of the best I've ever tasted and the Croquetas de Pollo were just like the ones we have in Spain when we visit. We could have been abroad. Back to the hotel for a quick nightcap and just like that the trip was all over. We spent the majority of our time in places outside on this trip as we had such good weather. When we had to go inside, or if places were crowded we wore masks. So, as you can imagine I was disappointed to receive the dreaded 'ping' to self isolate when we returned home. Luckily, a very speedy PCR test returned a negative result.

Durham

York and Durham are both two very lovely cities and I'm so grateful I got to experience them both on the same trip. It's been a very long and hard 18 months and so hopefully this is the sign of brighter things to come and more trips away in the not so distant future!