York, as Opposed to New York

We have safely arrived in York, on a train that mercifully ran on time and gave us no difficulties. We fortunately sat with two dog-friendly women who told us all about their own dog (and their family, and their grandmother's recipe for Victoria sponge cake, among other things). So Olga's presence wasn't a problem. In fact, one of the women took her photo and sent it to friends via Snapchat.

We had plenty of time to explore yesterday afternoon. We went and found lunch at a pub, and then wandered the streets of the old part of the city, within its medieval walls. The walls are still standing in many areas and you can walk atop them, in fact -- but dogs aren't allowed, so we're going to have to work out the logistics of that.

There were some interesting characters out and about, like this eccentrically-garbed street musician.

Here are Olga and Dave reflected in a window of the pub where we ate lunch. Olga gets a little antsy in pubs and cafes. She can never really just lie down and relax. There's just too much going on, I guess.

When we got back to the guesthouse after our walk in town, I asked the owners to send me to the nearest park where Olga could run free. Strangely, that turned out to be a horse racing track, where people and dogs wandered all over a huge open field and even within the track itself. You can see the grandstand in the background of the photo above. Olga ran and ran after her kong and got a good workout.

Dave and I had dinner last night in yet another pub -- not the best food, but we got to sit by the River Ouse as the sun set and watch wandering pedestrians, including a man who fed a massive flock of Canada geese with numerous bags of old sliced bread. Eventually it got too chilly so we went inside. It's 51º F here this morning! You'd never know it's summer!