York to Durham

So I haven't posted in a couple days, but that's really because I've been pretty busy doing things! Yesterday I took the bus northward to York. It really amuses me that an across country bus ride that the locals think is long distance took 5 hours, and is about the equivalence of driving from Spokane to Seattle. It is just really a whole new perspective on travel, and really quite cheap too! I made it to York at about 6 last night, and my friend Patrick met me at the bus. We had decided to stay the night there so we could see the town, which is one of his favorites, and quite an enjoyable time it ended up being.
The place we stayed was really very nice. Especially since I was sleeping on an actual bed. We wandered around a bit for dinner, and then decided we wanted to find a pub called the Old Black Swan, which is supposed to be the oldest pub and York, as well as half haunted. Of course it turned out to be a rather difficult pub to locate. We wandered around the downtown area in circles for quite a long time, though it was overall very enjoyable, and quite an interesting way to see the town at night. The best part was when we passed the ghost tour though; identifiable by the man leading a mass group wearing a top hat and carrying a step ladder. They even had one called the ghost jaunt, which sounded rather amazing. Eventually we did find the pub, in a completely different area than we had been looking for it.
The next morning we were provided with a proper English breakfast. Quite a step up from my last week of meals. We then proceeded to wander the entire town, following the old walls around and through the town. We spent most of the morning just wandering in between the sights. Then we decided it was time I had a proper high tea. So we went to Betty's, which Patrick informed me is one of the nicer more well known places to do that. It was wonderful! And a fabulous experience to boot.
After tea, we got our bags and headed to the National Rail Museum. Which awesomely had the Hogwart's Express in it's showroom. So even if I couldn't get through the platform, I still made it to the train!
Not long after that we got on the train and headed for Durham, which is where Patrick is living; and he's nice enough to put me up on his couch. The view of the city was gorgeous coming in, and I really can't wait to explore it tomorrow. He was telling me that this was actually the town which was used for a lot of the Harry Potter movie shots, including his school, so my Hogwart's adventure is continuing-and in the proper sequence to boot! The fact that he goes to school in a castle is pretty amazing to begin with, but the Harry Potter aspects of it make it even cooler in my mind. My adventure is now truly on the move since I've left London, and I feel as though I have seen a lot of neat things rather quickly. Let the fun continue!