Last night was our first night at the dorms. Consensus seemed to be that everyone was way too tired to care about the not-so-great mattresses. We’ll see if the sentiment remains after tonight…
Jet lag hit some of us hard. Half of us were wide awake at 4 am, while others were rolling out of bed at 7:50. Somehow, we all made it to breakfast (mostly) on time. Andrew struggled to find an unlocked door to the dining hall, but eventually discovered an entrance (the front door).
After breakfast, our brave adventurers decided to divide and conquer in our exploration of the town of York so that we could cover more ground. Sir Steve led one group through the perilous streets of Northeast York. They ducked through the Monk Bar and tried to avoid the musket holes in the tower before scrambling up the slippery steps to survey the area from the limestone wall. From the vantage point, they spied a brick igloo that revealed itself as a medieval icehouse. They disembarked from the wall to discover the grand red tower and the stack of red buckets placed nearby because the tower had been hidden by the scaffolding surrounding it. As our travelers' feet grew weary, they scouted Foss Island from across the river and learned of The Destructor, a chimney into the sky for rubbish excavated from the river. Our team trudged towards the center of town in search of the best restaurants in the land, and along the path they stumbled upon some incredibly old pubs. With no time to spare, they pressed onwards to the local marketplace which they discovered to be a (tourist) trap! In their most dire moment, they were abandoned by their fearless tour guide who left them in search of ice cream. With so few options left, the adventurers split up even further and all wished each other luck in their journey to the university for lunch.
Meanwhile, Rosemary and the even numbered kids (better than being the odd ones) underwent their own exploration of York, traveling down streets that were sometimes centuries old. I’ve personally found York to be such an interesting mix of the new and the old and it’s absolutely fascinating watching the way it all blends together. We visited the York Art Museum and used its overhangings as shelter from the pouring rain that started pretty early on. Next door, we visited the king’s manor and learned some of the histories around King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and the Church of England. Behind the King’s manor were a beautiful garden and the ruins of an ancient monastery. There was only a single wall still standing but it was still beautifully constructed and carved. I just kept imagining how it must have looked in its prime: huge arching windows overlooking a church full of pious monks. We also got to visit Westminster where I didn’t have to imagine anything. The vast architecture and intricate stained glass windows were right there in front of us. There were likely hundreds of thousands if not millions of pieces of glass that likely went into making those windows, and I could only imagine what it’d be like to be inside the building and watch the light filter through into dozens of different colors. Rosemary said that it took over 50 years for them to build it and it’s easy to see why. Not so old, however, was the newly implemented Queen Elizabeth statue, a stark white against the stones yellowing with age. Across the street, we stopped for a quick snack break at a cookie shop/Baskin Robbins (very European of us, I know) and York’s Chocolate Story next door. While devouring said ice cream and chocolate, we witness The Banana Man in a pineapple shirt perform gravity-defying acts of balance. It was… interesting to say the least. We continued our explorations down Shambles Gate (because streets are called “gates” and gates are called “bars” and bars are called “pubs” apparently) the most York street in York. In fact, it is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley from Harry Potter and had lots of fun, magicky sort of shops to back that up. Once upon a time, however, Rosemary told us it used to be a street of meat and other food shops and the old shop counters and meat hooks could be seen throughout. Finally, we took one last snickleway back to the dorms before joining the rest of the group for lunch.
After their hunger was sated and the full team reunited, they began to uncover the secrets of journaling to fully realize the process to self-understanding and contentment. Following the presentation, these brave souls delved into the mysteries of communication through a game that vaguely resembled spades. Unfortunately, all of the adventurers had somehow lost their ability to talk and had to conquer this challenge without the use of their voices, and while some of the team were lost to the perils of the silence cursed upon the room, the band of heroes prevailed in both the card game and the next task thrown at them: unraveling the human knot. They all rejoiced merrily following these victories, which led them to the strengths presentation, where each individual began to unfurl the secret strengths held within their own hearts.
With no time to spare, the group visited a nearby coffee shop to rejuvenate themselves in preparation for dinner. They all ate heartily, and everyone was excited to relax in town. Again, the team split up. Half of the heroes traveled to the supermarket before heading into town to find a pub, while the other half hiked to a soccer field nearby. The first group's hopes for an empty pub were dashed when the fourth location they visited rejected them for being too large of a group. With dismay written on their faces, the adventurers split up so that a few could enter the pub whilst the rest returned home to play cards. The second group’s hopes were not dashed, (though temporarily diminished by a locked gate) as they eventually found the football pitch. There was a passionate rendition of the star-spangled banner and an intense game that tested everything the players had as they battled back and forth across the field all while trying to keep their feet under them in the wet grass. Thoroughly depleted, they set out to find some sustenance before returning back to the dorms as well.
As the night drew to a close, each hero prepared for the next exciting adventure that tomorrow held for them and promptly fell asleep.
Rudolf and Akira
Really enjoyed the report. Excellent!