Tuesday 27 May 2014

Our Anniversary in York

Remember when  I told you that May is a big month of celebrations?   Well last Monday Simon and I turned two!   We knew we didn't want to spend our anniversary shut away in our offices so we both booked the day off work and decided to head to York for a day trip. 

York is one of our special places, as it was a convenient place for us both to get to when we were long distance and we actually had our second date there so it's full of very happy memories.

I'm very thankful that we decided on 19 May 2012 to become a couple because it meant that in 2014 we got to celebrate over the hottest day of the year so far.  We really couldn't have timed it better.  We'd already had a fantastic weekend of adventures in the sun and a Monday full of sunshine on top of it was amazing luck.


Our train got into York just after 10:15 am so we decided to find some breakfast.  A few people had recommended The Star Inn The City for food and as it's perfectly located just a short walk from the train station, it was the ideal first stop of the day.   The restaurant only opened late last year (which will explain why we'd never spotted it before) and is nestled at the edge of the Museum Gardens overlooking the river.  


We had a quick look at the interior as we first entered and I particularly loved the look of the Garden Room which is full of comfy furniture and has huge windows overlooking the park, we will definitely grab a table in there next time.  It looks the perfect location for afternoon tea.    This time however there was only one place we could possibly sit, and that was outside on the decking overlooking the river.


It is a beautiful outside area with really pretty views and plenty of tables (although I should imagine on a hot weekend it gets full very quickly).  The lights strung up above our heads made me wish we had booked a later train home just to be able to sit out there in the evening, I bet it's perfect.

The breakfast menu is fantastic, everything a breakfast menu should be.  It's really varied and you can pick anything from a full fry up to pancakes with fruit.  It took me a while to decide but in the end I opted for eggs benedict with fresh orange juice.  The service was a little slow.  Quite a few people who had come in a while after us got their food first, but as soon as our breakfast did appear that was all forgotten as it was so delicious.  We will definitely be back!





With full bellies we went for a lazy walk around the Museum Gardens which was already filling up with sun worshipers.  There were some beautiful flowers out in full bloom, plenty of sunshine and it was nice to just walk around with bare arms and legs.  The grass was still slightly damp but it felt rather refreshing on my toes.



Seeing the amount of people walking past us with ice-cream it wasn't long before we had a cone in our hands having stumbled across a little cafĂ© that had fun flavours.  Simon opted for mint choc chip (which he proceeded to get all over himself, he is THE messiest ice-cream eater!) and I had the rhubarb crumble which was amazing.  We decided to justify the naughty treat with a walk of the City Walls.

 




The City Wall Walk is one of my favourite things to do in York.  It's free and offers some great views of the City.   


The whole walk is 2.75 miles long and it's always so peaceful, considering the amount of tourists that can pack into York.   The Walls are surprisingly calm and quiet and it's a great place to escape.  


There are 5 bars (gateways) along the wall which means you can climb down the steps and back to reality along the way giving you the option to either break up your walk for some food or a drink or head back up and continue along the route.  There's also a few tiny museums if you're a history buff.  If you've never done the walk before I highly recommend it.


All that walking was thirsty work and by this point in the day the sun was blazing hot.  We knew that we'd earned ourselves a nice Summery drink.  York has a number of pubs and bars with outside seating but we decided to head back to one that we discovered during our first Summer together, The Secret Garden Courtyard at Thirteen Thirty One.

I haven't actually explored the whole bar properly as every time we've been it's been a boiling hot day but I do know that they have a cocktail lounge, restaurant and even a little cinema.   The Secret Garden Courtyard is the place to go though, it's in the centre of  York but always feels really tranquil and it's a lovely little suntrap.  Simon enjoyed a huge glass of fruity cider.



and I went for my second Pimms of the year.



Of course it wouldn't be our anniversary without cake so deciding to give our fair skin a bit of a break from the sun we went on a cake hunt.   We really weren't impressed with our last visit to Betty's and it feels a bit like everyone goes there, it's a little predictable and the queues to get in are rather off putting so we wanted to try somewhere new.  

We decided on Chloe's of York, a family run tea room close to the Shambles.   We got there just as they were about to close for the afternoon but being really lovely folk they took pity on our hot little faces nosing through the window and kindly let us in.   I honestly can't even begin to tell you how much we loved Chloe's - they have a smartly dressed doorman greeting customers, the staff are really chatty and friendly, the tea room is so cute and the selection of cakes is immense.  The huge list on the blackboard was rather overwhelming and it took us a good while to read through it all and make a decision.  In the end Simon went for a slice of chocolate orange cake and I had some lemon cake.   It was fruity, fluffy and sweet with  a melt in the mouth creamy topping ...absolute perfection.   We will definitely be going back for a return visit.



By the end of the day we were absolutely exhausted, our legs ached every time we attempted to climb down steps and our feet were sore.  After three days of adventuring our bodies felt about 20 years older than they were, but it was worth it to spend such a lovely day in one of our favourite cities.

Thanks for making our anniversary so special York!  We can't wait to return.

Apologies for the sudden change in photo styles, we were having so much fun we didn't realise we'd accidentally changed the camera settings ... doh!
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36 comments

  1. Looks like a lovely day especially with that gorgeous weather! Happy belated anniversary :) x

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  2. Looks lovely! I absolutely love York, it has special memories for us too, we went there on our first weekend away! Also need some of this cake in my life! :) x

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    1. Our first weekend away was in York as well :D Bloomin hard work finding a nice cheap hotel in the centre though!

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  3. Happy Belated Anniversary! I can see why York is the perfect place to spend it, it's absolutely gorgeous. And lucky you with the weather, it looks like you had such an amazing day. Would you believe it, I haven't visited York once this year despite only being 30 minutes away in Leeds, and I only have a week left but I think I might persuade my friends to a last minute trip!

    Imogen x

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    1. Thank you :) It's funny how when things are right on your doorstep it can take a while to find the time to visit! I haven't been to Leeds yet this year but am actually heading that way on Saturday :) x

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  4. So pleased you made it to York - and with such lovely weather too! Will definitely check out that breakfast next time we're there; we always tend to go to the same places and need to branch out a bit more. Congrats on your anniversary too! :)
    x

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    1. I know, we felt SO smug having such lovely weather when everyone else was stuck at work :p

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  5. Looks like you had a lovely day, York is a fab place, I had a very awesome surprise hen party there, but then I am a touch biased being from Yorkshire! x

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    1. Perfect hen location I should imagine, I'd be very happy with that :D

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  6. Ahh so glad it was awesome weather for you! I love York, it's been years since I've been. Maybe we'll have to go for a visit this year as Jake has never been!!
    And, woah, that is a big glass of cider!

    x

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  7. Nice to see the old home town on a blog! I always love/loved (I never know what tense to write in seeing as Yorks rather far away these days) walking around the walls, that and the Railway Museum but i'm a bit of a train geek like that. Looks like the typical Yorkshire weather of rain held off for you!

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    1. I think Simon quite fancies a trip to the Railway Museum, he has mentioned it a few times but so far I've been successful in dragging him in the opposite direction :D

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  8. Happy Anniversary!
    I love York, my absolute favourite city! I'll make sure I try Chloe's on my next visit!

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    1. Yay! It's definitely in my top 5 cities in the country, it's beautiful x

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  9. Happy Anniversary Chloe and Simon!! What a lovely way to spend it!
    Lots of love,
    Angie
    SilverSpoon London


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  10. Happy anniversary, I hope this year is full of great memories - looks like you had a great start, the brunch and sun sounds perfect x

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    1. Thank you very much :) Wish I was there now rather than eating Weetabix looking at the rain outside!

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  11. Looks like you had a lovely time, I am lucky enough to work in York and I love it. I have been dying to try Star Inn the City, hopefully I will get to try to out soon. Happy anniversary to you.x

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    1. I'd definitely recommend it, I'm really happy they do afternoon tea too, I need to get myself into that Garden Room!

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  12. Oh, I miss York! I went on my first 'official' date with my now hubster there, so it holds so many great memories for me :) Looks like you had the perfect day for an anniversary trip! xx

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  13. Aw, lovely post and beautiful pictures. Congrats on 2 years and here's to many more. You look like a lovely couple. :)
    I love York too. Even being so close, we don't really spend enough time there. There's so much to do, see and explore.
    You couldn't of had a better day for it. :)

    Caroline.x
    notesfromcaroline.com

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    1. Thank you :) There's still lots of places I want to look around (eat in!) too so we'll definitely be going back x

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  14. Happy anniversary lovely girl! (and guy!)

    Caroline x
    www.cocktailsandcaroline.com

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  15. Ahh! I just posted a comment but don't know if it sent - this is a 'test' so see if you verify it ha

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  16. Ok so what did I say.

    I said how it was great you got to spend the hottest day as your anniversary and May is usually a hot month, so hopefully you'll get more warm 19th Mays!

    Corinne x

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  17. Happy anniversary. Loving the dress is really pretty. What does it have on the print. Love that the celebrations consist of food this is my perfect day eatting and sunshine Lucy x

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  18. I used to love sitting in the Museum Gardens on my lunch break on sunny days. And I love how some of your City Walls photos are right outside my husband's office, I'll be in there tomorrow looking out at those walls! Looks like you had a wonderful anniversary, congratulations!

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  19. Congratulations and happy anniversary! I've always wanted to go to york - my best friend used to visit her boyfriend there and always came back with great stories. The food....looks incredible. That eggs benedict looks to DIE for, it's my go-to brunch choice! It looks like you had such a lovely day.

    Jo xx

    She Wears Burgundy

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  20. aw, happy anniversary you two! looks like a brilliant day, and your dress is beautiful! x

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  21. Looks like a lovely trip! The cake looks gorgeous :) I love York on a sunny day, its so nice!

    www.gingerbreadsmiles.co.uk
    xox

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  22. We found it hard finding a reasonably priced hotel in the centre too so we've chose to stay on the Sunday night instead as it's £100 cheaper! I liked the experience of Betty's and would like to show Ronnie but the queues can be quite off putting, perhaps it'll not be so bad on a Monday! x

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