This morning we had a simple continental breakfast and set off by taxi to Kings Cross station.  After taking our obligatory photo of Platform 9 ¾, we caught our Virgin Trains East Coast train to York.  This was really exciting, as it is the first time we have ever travelled to the north of England.

We booked our train tickets very early and were therefore able to purchase first class tickets for only a few pounds more than second class.  Our tickets included complimentary food and drinks so we had bacon baps for breakfast, along with coffee.  The bacon baps were surprisingly delicious for train food, hot and fresh.

We arrived in York a couple of hours out of London.  Our original intention was to walk from York Station to our hotel, but after seeing the narrow cobblestone streets, heaving with tourists even in the middle of winter, we changed our minds and caught a taxi.  It was only a few minutes ride, but the taxi driver wasn’t at all worried about the shortness of the trip, unlike our taxis here in Australia that will rarely take people on such short journeys.

We could easily see the amazing Minster from the cab, and very quickly arrived at our hotel, the Dean Court, right next door to the Minster. Upon checking in, we were told that there was no lift  to our room, we would have to use the stairs, or we could upgrade to a small suite, with a lift, for a small fee.  It was no brainer, so we upgraded.  We were led to the lift and up to our room. I was concerned I would never find my way back again, we went through so many corridors and around so many corners, but in reality, it was no problem once we got used to it.  The suite was lovely, quite small, but with a large bed, a small sitting room and a bathroom.  We had beautiful bay windows through which we could see a lovely park directly opposite and off to our left was the Minster.

Here is my review for the Dean Court Hotel in York:

We quickly left the room and headed straight to the pedestrian precinct for our first look at this beautiful city.  The first place we saw was the Guy Fawkes Inn, which I had read about on Trip Advisor.  We took the opportunity to go inside and make a reservation for dinner that night.  This Inn was apparently the actual birthplace of Guy Fawkes himself, back in 1570.  After a little strolling around, we discovered Drake’s Fish Restaurant and so went in and had classic fish and chips for our lunch.

After lunch, we walked further through the town until we came to the Jorvik Centre.  This was one of G’s must dos, so as the queues weren’t too bad we decided to visit whilst we were there.  It was a very interesting museum, particularly the ride around with all the images of Viking life in ancient York.  It probably only took an hour or so, but we really enjoyed it.

After the Jorvik, we did a little more strolling and shopping, still keeping my eyes peeled for a coat, but to no avail.  We returned to the hotel for a glass of wine in our little sitting room.  The view was gorgeous, with lights dripping from the trees in the park and the peal of the Minster bells every hour.  After our drink we walked the very short walk to Guy Fawke’s Inn for dinner where I ate a garlic and thyme chicken breast and G ate a steak pie.  We both really enjoyed our meals and our first day in York.