Beautiful York

Hey all--
I'm now in the beautiful York, towards the top of England. London was fun, but I am relieved to be in the country. York has now become one of my official favorite places in the world... it's absolutely gorgeous. York has an amazing history, a magnificent church (York Minster), tiny cobble stone streets lined with cute little shops, family-owned pubs, beautiful green parks and walks along the river. It is the little English town everyone dreams of... and it's been that way for a while! Some of the buildings that the shops were in were built in the 1600s, and are still standing. They hold so much history just within themselves. This afternoon I sat in a huge park, sketched, wrote some postcards, journaled a bit, enjoyed a nice afternoon tea and tried to get lost amidst the maze of cobble stone alleys. I did feel like I stuck out a bit in my Alaskan clothing... all the proper English girls are incredibly stylish and trendy. To make myself feel a little better about my attire, I bought a large belt to put around my waist (it's all the rage over here)... so maybe I won't stick out so bad next time I walk through a trendy shopping area in England. Tomorrow our group is spending the day on the coast in Whitby, and then the day after tomorrow we have free... no doubt will be another day of sketching, journaling and loosing myself in the beautiful street of york. York is definitely a destination that everyone should put on their lists of places to go in their life time. I certainly want to come back here again!
I do miss home a bit, but that's to be expected. My homesickness was helped by talking to Dad this evening... thanks Dad.
Love you all,
Giselle