Spring! (Thank goodness...)

Today I thought I'd do something a little bit different. Instead of my customary whining about the lack of good mac & cheese or Mexican food, I thought I'd talk about some of the things I love about living in York/England. That, and gush about how happy I am that spring is finally here. I don't think I could've stood the constant cold, windy, rainy winter days much more. I now understand why they advocate those sunlamps for people who live in areas that don't get much sun over the winter months.

First up: Jumbo Chinese Buffet. I only recently (read: yesterday) tried out this wonderful, wonderful restaurant, but that was enough to propel it onto the list of awesome places. For 5.99, you can enjoy an all-you-can eat lunch buffet of deliciousness. Dinner costs more, but you get more options. You can enjoy all kinds of rice, noodles, entree dishes, soups, veggies, and appetizers. Plus, these amazing pineapple-fried dough ball things. So good. So I finally found good Chinese in York. Only downside is that it is pretty much just a buffet and as far as I know, doesn't do take out. Alas.

Next up: Bootham Bites. I didn't think to take a picture of the restaurant, so instead you get a picture of my favorite option there- the Yorkshire Ham & Mature Cheddar (or as I call it, the ham & cheese) panini. I'm pretty sure I've already waxed poetic elsewhere in this blog about chicken and bacon sandwiches, but these are quickly growing to rival the chicken & bacon for my affections. And I don't even normally like ham. But they don't really do ham lunchmeat like we do in the states, instead you get slices of real ham on a sandwich. After living here, I've come to the conclusion that it was never the ham that I disliked, it was the honey-baked hams that I disliked. I prefer ham to be kind of salty rather than sweet. Congratulations, England. You've overcome my dislike of ham, mayonnaise, and onion (although after a certain point I start picking them out of my food again. So maybe I've only sort of gotten over my aversion to onions.) In a country where sandwich shops rule the streets, Bootham Bites makes some excellent ones (the bree, bacon & cranberry sauce one is also really good).

Nom nom nom

Boots' sparkling blackcurrant apple juice: This is to England what Club Orange was to Ireland for me. So good. And for the record, my love for it has NOTHING to do with the fact that the bottle is purple. That's really all I have to say on that front. :)

Street food: I have yet to have bad street food, with the possible exception of the kind of cold paella I had one time (but to be fair, it was the first week of February so I totally blame it on the weather. Oh, and the Brits insist on pronouncing the l's. I made a point of pronouncing it properly and the vendor guy gave me the biggest smile ever). I love the international market that pops up on Parliament Street every so often. Yeah, its the same stuff all the time, but its yummy. Danish pancakes with Baileys & whipped cream? Yes please. Baklava? Heck yeah. Polish potato pancake things? Yum. But even when that's not running, there are all kinds of stalls with crepes, "kinky donuts" (I have yet to try those but they're on the list!), sausages, etc. And the ice cream carts have recently reappeared!

You can't see him in this picture, but the crowd gathered be hind the ice cream cart is watching a street performer juggle & do balance tricks. It isn't Faneuil Hall, but it'll do :)

I just liked the slogan on this one :)

Now let's talk pasties. That's "past" like something that has already happened + ie, not like the glue. These flakey pastry envelopes of delicious filling are classic inexpensive British eat-on-the-go, or eat on a bench watching everyone in the square, whatever floats your boat. The traditional pasty is steak & onion, but I tend to prefer the varieties with a bit less onion. Cheese & bacon is delicious when you can find it, other good choices are pork & apple and ham, brie & cranberry. 

While it isn't a food, I'll stick the Gap on this list. I _never_ shopped there in the States because I tend to be a "Can I find something comparable elsewhere for less?" kind of shopper. But England has this great thing called the "Midseason sale" when ALL of the stores have big sales. So I wandered into the Gap one afternoon and emerged with like 5 layering shirts and a navy jacket that I love and adore (and for 18 pounds! That's like $27 for a jacket! And from Gap! Who knew?) I think part of why I'm more open to the Gap here is because pounds are smaller #s. 6 pounds for a t-shirt feels like a deal (even thought its like $10 and that's about the most I'd spend on one at home). Either way, I got some much needed layering pieces for spring. At home I usually go straight from light sweaters to t-shirts, but we've got a bit more of spring here.

Which is a perfect segue to my next topic: spring time in York. The endless rain is mostly gone (although we still get the odd rainy day/s) and temperatures are up in the high 50s/low 60s. Sunglasses have been worn 3 times now (oooh, aaaaah!). But more importantly, flowers are springing up everywhere. Daffodils are up in pretty much every patch of grass in the city:

along the walls,

 in the alley off my street,

Museum Gardens in the ruins of the abbey  

and in front of the Yorkshire Museum,

even among the gravestones in church graveyards.

I love all the daffodils. Yellow flowers are my favorite because they just seem so cheerful. They help make the city a bit more sunny, especially on overcast days. Sadly I think my little yellow rose plant has bit the dust after a month. I probably should have bought it a real pot instead of leaving it in the plastic one it came in. Oh well. On Friday, I'm taking the "Harry Potter train" to "Hogsmead," but in the meantime, I have paper writing to do (boo!). See you next post.