Day 6 - Derby to York

Today (April 7, 2009) was a quick drive from Derby to York. We spent the first part of the morning taking a few pictures of the hotel before we left.

All in all - a rather incredible hotel even for a Marriott. Even better since it didn't cost us anything but points.

From Derby we then travelled to York. All of the kids are now out for Spring break so the crowds were crazy and fun. The shopping area is packed with people. For lunch Cheri wanted to go to Betty's Tea House. A small chain in and around York with a rich history. You can't make reservations for this place. You simply need to get in queue and wait for your turn. The line actually moves rather quickly. This is a picture of the line outside just after we got inside.

Cheri went for the standard afternoon tea with some nice herbal mint tea.

Drew loves salmon and went with the open faced salmon and prawn sandwich.

The resturant served as an unofficial meeting area for the pilots and crews during WWII. As a result quite a few veterans return to have tea or lunch at the resturant. In the basement, near the stairs that come down you will find two mirrors. Scratch on these mirrors are over 600 names of veterans who served in York during the war and would spent time here planning there missions. When they return for a visit they are invited to scratch their name on the mirrors.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around town, visiting the shops, buying a few things and watching people. More on that to come later.

For dinner we walked over near the York Minster and found a place called the CodFather. We had Cod Fish and Chips. And a few Kermits with curry sauce. What is a Kermit you ask? Well it's their own little creation. They take mushy peas, let them cool, form them into a ball, batter and deep fry them. It's something you wouldn't normally order but the owners suggested it and gave us a sample of the peas. We were both surprised to find that we actually liked the peas. The oweners are a father and son team. It's a hole in the wall type of place but well worth a stop. The most amazing thing is the entire order came to 8 pounds 60 pence.