I enjoy time on my own, I can do as I please, I can eat where I like, I can go where I like and it’s just peaceful and fun. I have also noticed that people are so much nicer to me when I’m alone, as thought they feel sorry for me…which is kind of sad but also great because it means I get really good service 😉
They don’t have to feel sorry for me though, I do lots of things alone and I love it.
I go for walks by myself, it’s nice to have company but sometimes I prefer my own company because I’m super cool.
When I did the National Three Peaks I went alone, I met up with a group there obviously but I didn’t know any of them. I go to the cinema by myself, weekends away. It’s liberating and you get to learn so much about yourself. A healthy relationship with yourself is so important if you want to build healthy relationships with other people.
I really felt as though this weekend away should be a treat and with that in mind I booked myself in to the Hilton.
I managed to bag myself a pretty awesome upgrade after speaking to Andrew on reception (thanks Andrew!). My King room ended up as a King Deluxe which gave me a giant bed, a welcome pack, robe and slippers and a fantastic view of Cliffords Tower (seriously, it was right there).
I arrived in York around 2:30pm after a relaxing (and cheap) train journey thanks to splitticketing.com ( and thanks to Paul, you dude!). (I seem to have many brackets in this post, that might be my new thing…(maybe not, they’re really annoying. Ooo a double bracket, swish)).
I couldn’t check in to “The Hilton, darling” until 4pm so I had a little wander, took the obligatory shot of the river from the bridge and some of York Minster and headed to one of the many recommendations I’d been given for some grub.
El Piano is a vegan/vegetarian cafe/restaurant on Grape Lane and you need to go there now. After you’ve finished reading my blog post of course. I am not a vegan, I’m not even a vegetarian. I love a good, bloody steak. But I always seem to get drawn to the vegan eateries. I think it’s the bohemian, chilled out atmosphere, it tugs at my hippy soul.
I went for their ‘Baby burger’ and a can of ale (which I later regretted, it always gives me a migraine and yet I never learn).
The burger came with cute little pots of coleslaw and side salad and the most amazing chunky “chips”, which were actually roasted beetroot, sweet potato and parsnip, at least I think that’s what it was, whatever it was, was delicious.
I do try to urge more non-vegetarian folk to visit these sorts of places but it always falls on deaf ears. Many people think that if there’s no meat then it’s not a proper meal. Well El Piano is here to prove you wrong!
I had a little wander through York and slowly made my way to the hotel. My plan was to check in, charge my phone, then head back out for something to eat later on. I never actually made it back out. Instead I had a bath, ate the contents of my welcome pack and lazed in bed with a cup of tea, watching films. And so what…I was here to relax.
Next Morning!
What better start to the day than pancakes? Pancakes from Bills! I adore Bills. Which is actually rather odd because I’m not a fan of chain restaurants. They’re too samey and manufactured. Not at Bills though! It’s as though you’ve nipped to your best friends for breakfast. It’s intimate and relaxed and delicious. (Much like my best friend).
Seriously, these pancakes are to die for. So I enjoyed a 3 stack with bacon and maple syrup. And with my belly full I felt ready to take on York Castle Museum. Again.
I was slightly disappointed to find that they had removed the Hames’ from the farming equipment display but at least the 80’s kitchen is still standing.
“You’ve made a right Hames out of that” I love that my surname is used for when people make a big giant balls up of stuff. That’s just bloody marvellous and so very apt.
Next on the agenda was an amble down The Shambles, a bit of window shopping and a nosy around a very cramped bookstore, which was amazing and I might just go and move in there, it’s tucked in around the corner up a street in front of the Minster and bought “Down and Out in Paris and London” by George Orwell, which I’m yet to read.
With the pancakes now burnt off from all the walking around the museum it was time for lunch. I had asked in the wonderful We Blog North group for some yummy food places and I was given a humongous list to choose from, but I was drawn towards Partisan and I am so glad that my instincts took me there.
This place is incredible, I adore it and it will definitely be somewhere I visit again. Partisan is an independent coffee shop and restaurant and nearly everything you see over their two floors is for sale. The tables, chairs, lamps. Plus they showcase different artists and you can buy the artwork that is on display. The menu changes weekly to keep things fun and fresh, which I think is great, although that does mean that the next time I go, the Gnocchi probably won’t be on the menu, which is a bit devastating because it was phenomenal.
The staff there were so friendly and made me feel very relaxed and welcome, they said to just take my time, no need to rush. And so I did, I sat there and sipped my Bloody Caesar in the cellar of a possibly haunted restaurant right in the middle of Micklegate.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, I am loving the solo travel and I can’t wait to do more. I’m not quite brave enough to go abroad yet, I’ll stick to England or at least the UK. I think Chester will be next on my list and I’ll let you know all about it.
Live in the present.
Made A Hames 
You make me want to go do it all xxx sounds lovely.
It was 😊 and you should xxx
It all sounds fab. I wish i’d done more solo travel when I had the chance. I too like my own company but didn’t have the confidence to solo travel when I was younger!
Ps, Chester is my neck of the woods. It’s much smaller than York but very lovely 😊
I’ve been for the day before and I loved it. There’s so much more to be explored there though.
There’s nothing stopping you! I know you have children now but once they’re grown up you’ll still have the chance 😊 It’s great!
i second that. Post children travel is even better as you appreciate it more x