Adventures in York and Leeds

It’s most definitely starting to feel Christmassy. Most of my Christmas shopping is done now, well aside from the food shopping of course, the tree is up and the Elf on the shelf has arrived. 

Last week, I was down in the office for the day and the York Christmas market is in full flow. After last year’s hellish visit on a Saturday, I vowed never to do that again, but this was midweek so, after work, I was happy to meet up with the chap and have a wander around.

It was even busy then, but not as bad as the weekend would be. The chap treated me to a Baileys hot chocolate and a lovely Scandi sausage and chips. 

Baileys Hot Chocolate and sausage and chips from the Scandi sausage stall

We had a look around the stalls, and even if you aren’t intending to buy, it’s still nice to have a wander. Especially while it’s a bit quieter.

Saturday, me, little miss, Mum and Thelma caught a train down to Leeds. The last time we went, during the summer, it was for the museum so we didn’t get much shopping time. This time around Thelma was in her pushchair so that we could take her in all of the shops, and it was full on Christmas shopping.

To be fair, everywhere we went people came over to give love to Thelma and to talk to us all. Leeds is such a friendly city and the thing I really like about it is the amount of space. It was crazy busy, but because it’s big and there’s plenty of space it didn’t feel oppressive. I also love the Victorian arcades juxtaposed with much more modern shopping centres.

How beautiful is the Victoria Arcade?

I fell in love with so many things in River Island, although I was restrained and didn’t buy any. We did all the big shops and little Miss made lots of friends in Lush while I was buying bath bombs. 

Outside my favourite choclate shop, Charbonnel et Walker

We grabbed a snack in Popeye chicken, which I’ve never visited before but was delicious, as well as many coffees and all in all it was a lovely and rather exhausting day.

Krispy Kreme's for the train journey

Sunday was mostly spent getting over Saturday. I did take Thelma for a good long walk, and finished wrapping my Christmas presents. We ate a hearty sausage casserole and had a fairly chilled day.

Despite some pretty sketchy weather it's been an altogether lovely week. It feels like the start of lots of lovely things. 

The Food Diaries

 I definitely feel like this week has started looking up. My humour seems to be much better. Tuesday evening, after work, we popped along to ASK on the seafront for our dinner. I even managed to grab an outfit shot, and yes I did need that faux fur gilet, there’s always a cooler breeze coming in off the North Sea, especially in the early evening.

Shoes - Hotter, leggings- llama leisure, dress - city chic, gilet -, headband - one hundred stars

I couldn’t face doing the grocery shop on an empty stomach so we had a carb fest of pasta bolognaise, lasagne and cheese bread dippers, washed down with a small glass of Merlot. It was all rather delicious and we managed to finish and leave before the rush of tourists started queuing for tables.

The view over dinner

That evening I finished the third book in the ACOTAR series, ‘A Court of Wings and Ruin’. Another emotional rollercoaster, and there were some bits that were a bit disappointing, but nonetheless I still enjoyed it. I’m going to give myself a little break before I delve into book four.

I was in the office on Wednesday and these books seemed to be everywhere. I’m not sure how I ended up so late to this party, but people were reading them in the kitchen, my colleague told me his partner reads them and then when I pointed them out to the chap at lunchtime, it turns out a few of the ladies at his work are reading them too. I guess this sort of fantasy novel has never been my chosen genre, so had they not been recommended to me I probably would never have read them.

Talking of lunch, more food of course, the weather was pleasant enough that we could sit outside at the Shambles food court. It was packed with tourists, but we managed to squeeze a little spot at one of the tables, and my chicken pad Thai was exactly what I was after. The chap opted for one of his favourites from the Greek food van, chicken Gyros. 

Thursday was a quiet one, although I did finish crocheting a drinks bottle holder for little miss. It was originally for me, but given I’m a marketing managers dream, I bought one for my Stanley cup (refer to marketing managers dream above) before I finished crocheting this one. Little miss couldn’t wait to lay claim.

Friday, I’d booked a day off work and decided we’d take a trip across to Leeds to visit Leeds Armories, aka the National Museum of Arms and Armour.

The journey was hell! School holiday traffic meant we arrived in Leeds far later than planned, but nonetheless we stuck to our plan, heading straight for the museum. Now, while I love history I do have an aversion to anything to do with war. So I’m not sure why I opted for this venue other than other people had said it was worth a visit.

I wasn’t disappointed, and actually it was really enlightening. Little Miss especially enjoyed seeing all of the displays of armour, as did I. Suits of armour worn by horses, soldiers and even King Henry VIII were on display. It was fascinating.

Although I’m not sure where a lady would have put her eyes if talking to the knight with the generous cod-piece at the local joust. 

We learned about weapons, and saw models of the battle of Waterloo and the battle of Agincourt. It actually makes me want to read more about those periods of history. It also makes you realise how much combat has changed over the centuries. Once upon a time it was mostly hand to hand combat amongst soldiers. I don’t doubt that villages were pillaged and innocents still caught in the affray, but I doubt it would resemble any of the horrors we witness on the news in modern times. 

The battle of Agincourt 

Given our late arrival, and then the time we’d enjoyed at the museum we didn’t have as much time to visit the shops as we’d hoped. We made our way up into town, to the Victoria Quarter. I wasn’t too fussed about missing the shops as long as I got to Harvey Nichols.

Victoria shopping arcade

We perused the makeup, bags and shoes (of course), and I treated myself to a lovely new tinted moisturiser from Nars. I’m not a big fan of full on foundation, but I think tinted moisturiser gives a nice even tone to my skin, and feels more like skincare than makeup. 

After a quick snack, it was time to head home. We’d had a lovely day out, although next time I’ll get the train and give myself more time in the shops.