This is pretty amazing for me, but I actually managed to get all of my vacation photos edited in less than a week, usually I’m way behind on my photo editing. I guess I just had such a great trip I was excited to see how all my pictures came out.

First, I landed in Yorkshire, in the North, to visit with some friends of ours. Even after almost a full day of travel, just the view of this pretty patchwork of farmland was definitely worth it. We spent the weekend in York, “the walled city.” I’d like to tell you all that I was immersing myself in the history and amazing architecture. But, truthfully, we went on a pub crawl. Speaking of which, I have never in my life seen so many people, so drunk, so early in the day. And I don’t mean a little buzzed, I mean completely shitfaced, at three in the afternoon. It was hilarious, and a great, fun atmosphere. I just love all these little narrow, winding streets which are now an outdoor mall. Of course we did walk past the Minster, which is beautiful, on our way from the oldest pub in the city, to have another drink at the birthplace of Guy Fawkes (see got some more history in). And then I was very excited to go out for some good Indian food, because we definitely don’t get much of that in Eastern North Carolina.

Jon and I woke up hours before our friends the next morning, miraculously not hung over, and took a walk around the city. We started along the River Ouse, walking through a pretty park and walking trail along the river bank, as we watched boats going by.

Next, we came to Cliffords Tower, a thirteenth century castle sitting atop a mound which would have given views of the nearby rivers.

Finally, we made our way back to York Minster, built in the fourteenth century. This is probably one of the most amazing churches I’ve seen, even compared to the churches in Italy. Not only is it huge, but the gothic decoration is incredibly detailed and dramatic. Even today, it dwarfs any nearby buildings.