Sept 11 - York - Shambles

 To start the day, we enjoy a continental breakfast at our B&B - The Coal Shed, then move into the center of York to the Spring Espresso cafe for Picolo ( Italian for Cortado ) and Cappuccino and  a Flapjack.....

While there, we are treated to the famous Getz/Gilberto album. Antônio Carlos Jobim collaborated with Stan Getz on the iconic jazz and bossa nova album Getz/Gilberto (1964), which also featured João and Astrud Gilberto and featured many of Jobim's compositions, including "The Girl from Ipanema".

After coffee, we explored "The Shambles". Shambles is one of York's most famous landmarks and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. With its cobbled streets and overhanging buildings, it is believed to have been the inspiration behind Diagon Alley from the movie adaptation of the Harry Potter series.

A late morning rain shower sent us back to the Coal Shed to read for a while.

We ventured out again in the afternoon to walk the medieval wall that surrounds York.

It acted as a defense for centuries.

Unfortunately, the rain returned and cut short our elevated walk on top of the walls!

The last two pics show an example of how the people of York defended the wall from invaders....they chucked down  large boulders on unsuspecting aliens from the top of the turrets.