York

This was a trip with friends to the north of England. For those who have only lived in London, this is what I would call the real England. Traditional, historic, and blessed with the kind of hardcore British weather that changes every five minutes. Thankfully, it didn’t spoil our plans.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, we visited the famous Nestle chocolate museum (apparently York takes its chocolate very seriously), explored a fascinating Viking museum, wandered through a few food markets in search of further chocolate-related research, and took a boat ride along the river like proper tourists.

One thing I didn't know before visiting was just how important the Vikings were to York's history. The city has done an excellent job bringing that period back to life, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip.

York itself is a lovely city. Historic streets, old buildings, pubs everywhere, and enough tea rooms to keep an army of grandmothers happy for years.

That said, I studied at Lancaster University, so technically I'm loyal to the House of Lancaster. York may have the prettier city centre, but history clearly shows which side won the War of the Roses...

At least that's what I kept telling the locals.