One of my favorite places to visit is the city of York in northern England.  About a decade ago, I attended the University of York, working on a Master’s degree in Medieval History.  I had never traveled to England before, and, over the course of the year, York became my second home.  I had mixed feelings about leaving–perhaps more mixed than I thought at the time.  When I finally packed up and left the University for the last time in September, I really thought I had my fill of York.  The end of the MA program, dominated by the dissertation-writing process, was a lonely and isolating affair.  However, a few years later, after taking my first decently-paying job, I amassed some extra money and decided to take a trip to the UK, complete with a short visit to the city.  Then, when an opportunity came up to do some international traveling for the first time with my (somewhat) new partner, I proposed that we visit England.  We saw several cities, but Stephen expressed a preference for York, and, from that time, we have come to stay here almost every year.

Jet lag seems to get worse with age–I remember bouncing back from that almost instantly.  We arrived here on Friday, and, since that time, I have yet to get to sleep before about 3 a.m. local time.  However, that aside, returning to York has been great thus far.

  
York has remarkably well-preserved city walls.  They aren’t continuous, and they have certainly been restored to a certain degree, but they give York a very unique feel.  Especially in the usual English summer weather.

  
Since we usually rent a flat for the duration of our stay, we always need to pick up general household items, and one of the best places to acquire them is Tesco, a large supermarket at one end of the city.  I’ve been there many times, but, this time, I came across a new “American” section.  Many healthy choices on offer there, as you can see.

Of course, we miss our cats, who are being well-cared for by a local pet sitter.  Lots of room on the bed, though.