York, July 25

Last official day in York, and today we wanted to make best use of our time by seeing all the sites we had missed up until this point. Our first order of business was a 2 1/2 hour walking tour with a guide, seeing quite a bit of what I had already covered, but fleshing out items of historical interest regarding them: the King's Manor, the City Walls, the Multangular Tower, the Hospitium (the latter two already described in another day's entry); the Yorkshire Museum, St. Mary's Abbey, the Guesthouse of the Abbey; the statue of the painter William Etty in front of the York Art Gallery; the City Wall and especially Bootham Bar, under which we had strolled many a time, the York Minster and the Deanery, the Treasurer's House, the Monk Bar or tower, the Chancery, and the Holy Trinity Church. We went as far as the Shambles, a short narrow street where a Harry Potter film scene had been shot, and there ended our tour. Since it was quite hot, we bought a smoothie, then doubled back to the Holy Trinity Church to see an owl demonstration. A young man had some beautiful owls that he showed in flight. Then we went back to the Treasury House for a quick lunch consisting of Elderberry sparkling essence and an excellent soup, along with a sandwich with Wensleydale cheese (always a favorite of Siegfried Farnon in "All Creatures Great and Small"). I found that cheese dull and uninteresting, but that is only my opinion. Then we went to the boat landing at the Ouse River and took a 45-minute cruise, getting the lay of the city from yet another vantage point. We went back to our room afterwards, changed clothes and went to the Solemn Evensong Service honoring St. James the Apostle at the York Minster (today is his feast day). It was held in the magnificent choir, and we got to sit behind the Sarum singers, a visiting choir, since the York Minster choir is on vacation. They sang sublimely, and there was incense, and all the rectors who read Scriptures wore their most elaborate vestments. One of the Scripture readings was the one in which Christ calls His disciples to be His followers by the Sea of Galilee, and we truly felt as if our pilgrimage had come full circle. The singing was movingly beautiful, ethereal, and very pure--always a feat when a choir attempts to sing a capella. I was moved several times. And finally, Marthe and I had a quick dinner at an Indian restaurant before going to the York Theatre to see a play about King Arthur--a pretty good one, though with too much farce to suit me, in the first act, but it was a good experience to see it nonetheless, though I wish there had been some air conditioning in the building, as it was beastly hot. And now, after putting together bus timetables for tomorrow and figuring out how much we owe for laundry, room, and a few breakfasts, we are almost ready to go. Must pack, so I will cut this short. Our trip is about to end--sorry to see it do so! SV