HOLIDAY IN YORK

So this is a completely different post to any I've done before I think, I recently took my oldest daughter on a girlie pre-Halloween trip to York and I had to write down all the highlights so I can remember them in ten years time.

York is without a doubt my happy place, it is a city I adore, we go at least once every year and I am 100% in love with it,
I always get a little ball of excitement when we walk up to the city centre and I can see the minster rising up in the skyline,
I love how its a city break but it's so chilled, I feel completely comfortable there and know my way around like I do my hometown, I know the shortcuts, the walls, the history and the feel of the place like its part of me, it is literally the one place I can ever imagine moving to if I did move away from Cheshire.

Because I love it so much I thought I'd show a few of my favourite places and things to do, obviously with it being a pre-Halloween trip there is a slight theme to our activities but, to be honest, It's pretty much what we always do there anyway.

First stop the hotel, I'm just going to throw in a small paragraph about where we stayed, we always use budget hotels not just for the low price but because they provide all we need, somewhere to sleep, shower and get breakfast, this time round we stayed at Premiere Inn Blossom Street North, as with every other Premiere Inn we've ever stayed in the room was clean the staff were lovely and the breakfast was cheap (plus kids eat free with each paying adult) literally all we need for a mini break would highly recommend.

Our first activity was the York Dungeons, we went here in April and couldn't wait to come back, most of the stories were the same as last time but told in the same lighthearted manner that makes it ok for children as well, it tells the gore without the grimace!! we both really enjoyed the walk through the museum and this time I was chosen to be Hilda in a barrel of vipers and I went up in front of a judge in court, so much fun and if you go on the city sightseeing tour you can ask for a voucher for money off the entrance fee!!

Next stop the ghost walk, we have been on this walk a few times and it is without a doubt one of our favorite things to do in York, it helps that the guide is gorgeous obviously and his outfit really helps with the entire appeal (of the walk and him not gonna lie, I have a major crush!) but also it is informative, funny, family-friendly and I do love a good ghost story so it's perfect.
At only £9 for the two of us for over an hour of entertainment plus seeing the backstreets of the city, I will definitely come on this walk every visit we have to York!!

Jorvick was our first stop on the monday morning, we've been before and really enjoyed it, and because I still had my ticket from April I got in for free!!(entrance lasts a year from first purchase), the ride is really good going round the original viking York town, the two figures made based on skeletons found in York were amazing, it literally blows my mind to think those people standing in front of me actually lived a life in York hundreds of years ago, I am a massive history geek so this museum really appeals to me.

What I would say is the queue builds fast and early so get there as soon as you can, we joined the small queue at roughly 9.15 and ended up waiting about an hour, by the time we went in the queue was right around the square and the people at the end were looking at at least two hours wait.

Because of my love of history this place really appeals to me, it has everything and there is something for everyone, in the toy room there is the spectrum computer we had as kids, there is a mourning dress worn by Queen Victoria in the fashion part, the Victorian cobbled street is amazing, the old prison is actually an emotional experience, seeing where people were held is an eye opener and being in the cell where Dick Turpin was held is just bizarre.

Also i had a slice of oreo cake and a pot of Yorkshire tea here and it was amazing(go to my Instagram to have a look) and the entrance ticket is also valid for a year from purchase!

The ghost bus tour is another must for us, again it's not scary so perfect for taking Chloe on, the guide was funny and the bus was done with a slight nod to eery decor, it was nice seeeing the city at night and having the stories told to us, we'd already heard them all before but we still really enjoyed it and would definitely go ont he bus tour next time we go, we thought it was slightly expensive for what it was when we went on it last year, but to be honest Chloe liked it so it was worth every penny.

The last day we were there we just spent walking around the city, the shops are amazing so make sure to take plenty of spending money (a three floor Oliver Bonas is my favorite) the Christmas shop is gorgeous, the shambles iconic and the city beautiful, I truly believe everyone should visit York at least once in their lives.

I often joke with my friend that if I ever win the lottery I'm going to get a job in the dungeons and doing a ghost walk (hopefully with the gorgeous guide) in York for a couple of days a week just to have fun and actually enjoy working!!

I hope this reaches some people that have never been the city and makes them want to see more, all pictures are just stock photos purely because my stupid laptop won't upload mine at the minute, I would love to see anyone's pics of York and any links to other place to visit when we go back in April!!

speak soon!!

T-L-T

 X X.

RAINBOW BIRTHDAY CAKE

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Cake tins (I used 7-inch sandwich tins)

food colour gels in the colours of your choice

Greaseproof paper

Cooling racks

buttercream icing(homemade or bought)

THE RECIPE

(I'm retro and use lbs and ounces because that's how my mum taught me to bake)

24oz of self-raising flour

24oz caster sugar

24oz butter(none salted or I use stork)

12 free range eggs

vanilla essence

THE METHOD

(pre-heat the oven to 160c and grease and line the cake tins)

Either in a mixer or by hand cream together the sugar and butter,

Add 3-4 tsp of vanilla essence (or to taste),

add the eggs,

add the flour,

make sure everything is well mixed,

split evenly six bowls and add the food colouring little by little until you have achieved the perfect colour,

put the mixture into the tins and make sure it is flat on the top,

place in the oven, I usually do two tins at a time both on the top shelf so they can cook evenly,

they should take roughly 30 mins but check with a skewer in the middle and check it comes out dry.

turn out onto the cooling racks and carry on baking all the cakes,

Once all the cakes are baked and cooled trim each cake until flat start building up the cakes with buttercream in between each layer,

once it's all layered up go over the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream and place in the fridge for half an hour (this is the crumb coat)

Get back out of the fridge and do another layer of icing and decorate as required

Slice eat and enjoy!!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, let me know if you make it and how it turned out.

speak soon!!

T-L-T

 X X.