No, no, I didn’t really have a burst of sympathy for a group of birds. Our tour guide, Stewart, went through a series of descriptions of groups of animals and I thought “a pitying of turtle doves” would make for a good title if I couldn’t come up with anything better. I couldn’t.
That downtime really worked wonders as I slept deep and all night and awoke with a recharged set of batteries. Today was pretty light on activity, but we returned to England and stopped to visit Alnwick Castle.
This is the second largest occupied castle in England and has been the site for many films. The quidditch scenes from the Harry Potter films were filmed here as were A Knight’s Tale and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I had a wonderful time admiring the architecture as well as pursuing a dragon in the Dragon’s Quest maze, admiring the artworks and the wealth of the Stateroom, and exploring the Fusilier’s Museum.
After examining every nook and cranny of the castle I could, I took a walk around the town before we were back on the bus and en route to our final stop in York. Writer (and veterinarian), James Herriot, was from these parts and I recognized some of the landscape from watching bits of All Creatures Great and Small with my pop when I was a kid.
York was a fortified city whose walls and gates are still standing to this day. Stewart led us on a tour of the city as he discussed its history and led us to York Minster (a large cathedral) and The Shambles (a large shopping district) before leaving us to our own devices.
I ambled about The Shambles and admired some Christmas decorations, picked up some crisps (potato chips) at a Poundland (equivalent to an American dollar store), and popped in and out of a number of shops before making my way up on the wall to get a bird’s eye view of York.
At 5:30, we were back on the bus and taken to our hotel: Mercure York Fairfield Manor.
Now this was my favorite hotel of the trip. It’s designed as a Georgian manor house and doesn’t feel like a chain hotel. It’s truly indicative of the local region and culture. I had a very spacious room with a king-sized bed. Even better, I found a fan in the wardrobe so I could finally have some white noise to help me fall asleep (not that I’ve needed it for the trip, but I always like having a fan on when I sleep).
An hour after checking in, it was time for the final group dinner. Another stellar round of conversation along with a meal of leek and potato soup, fillet of basa (a bottom feeding fish) with vegetables, and chocolate fudge cake with cream rounded out the evening.
Then it was back to my room to write this brief article before getting ready for bed for an early start and a final day of adventure.
Chris' Corner 
Definitely invest the very small cost in a portable USB fan! I’ve traveled with one for years and I love it for both the noise and creating airflow. 🙂
Ah! But I do own a portable fan. I just didn’t think to bring it.
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