Minster Gardens — Blog — They Grow up so Quickly

So today was the penultimate full day of Colin, Elaine and Alexander’s flying visit to York. Alexander was really looking forward to going to the railway museum, but, more importantly, he wanted to go on a bendy bus. He has a toy model of one but had never been on one so was really excited when he found out they were in York. I’m not sure if he was more excited about the bus or the museum.

We were a little late heading out and it showed when we got to the park and ride. The queue for the bus was huge. If you get there at 10 you get straight on a bus, get there at 11 and the queue is massive! Not that it mattered as we were in no rush. We jumped on the bus, making sure to sit near the bend and headed off. We jumped off and headed into the National Railway Museum. The boys were in their element, running around an exploring all of the trains. That was, until, they saw the Thomas ride. Could we get them off? No way, not until they had had their fill anyway.

After playing inside, we headed out to see the trains come into York station. If you have not been before, there is a viewing platform you can stand outside on and watch the trains pass. For some reason, there were a lot of miserable people on the trains this Saturday as not one person waved back, much to James’ consternation. That being said, the boys enjoyed watching the trains pass and it was nice to be outside getting some fresh air.

After the museum, it was onto the bus and into York to get some lunch. I had a super hangry wife who got ever more so as I forced everyone to walk across town to get to the bakers near to the minster so we could have warm pasties for lunch. Unbeknown to me, it had closed down! I could feel the looks of hatred without the need to turn round. By this point there were two hangry wives. Luckily there was another bakers near by so we hot footed it across and bought some sandwiches for lunch.

We headed to the Minster Gardens for our lunch. It was a beautiful day and it meant that the boys could run around to their hearts content and there was a lot of room for them to do it in. Alexander managed to flirt with two young ladies who were instagramming in the park and had them beaming at him. A little heart breaker in the making. I wonder where he gets that from … any ideas Colin??

After the having a good run round, burning off all their energy, we headed into York itself. The boys had a little pocket money to spend so it was off to the Disney shop. James treated himself to a Jack Jack cuddly toy and Alexander a Buzz Lightyear. It was just a quick trip into town as the boys were getting tired and Colin and I needed to get back to cook dinner.

After getting the bus home, the girls put the boys to bed whilst Colin and I cracked on with dinner. Two curries, one starter and a desert later we had a house of satisfied people and we opened a few bottle of wine and gin and settled in for a few drinks.

So a Saturday is usually a day of Gym Bobs in the morning and then swimming in the afternoon, with a little fun along the way. However, as I went to load the little man into the car, I could not find the car seat. Lyns had taken it to work!!! Not that I could be annoyed as I have done it time enough, even on three consecutive days in one instance. This meant that James and I had a bonus day together to do something. Bundling him into the buggy while he was still in the mood to go out, we headed to the bus stop.

Now, James it not shy when it comes to speaking about what he sees. As we were getting onto the bus he had a quizzical look on his face and was unusually quiet. I did not think anything of it. However, just after we sat down, his little voice rang out across the bus, "Daddy, why does that lady have a hairy face?". He had spotted an old lady who, to be fair, was sporting an impressive white beard. Luckily she had not heard, but there were a few laughs from the people sat around me! I was mortified.

After that, the rest of the trip was uneventful. We arrived in York in time for lunch. I gave James the choice and he chose fish and chips, one of his favourites. We found a fish and chip shop, James had fish goujons, five good sized pieces of fish, and I have a small fish and chips as I am trying to lose a bit of weight and get fit. My fish was a good size, but as I unwrapped I thought they had forgotten the chips, alas no, the fifteen chips that I had were hidden under the fish. By the time James had had his share, the James tax as we call it in our household, there were only the scraps left for me. At least he is helping me cut down. It was very pleasant sat in the Minster Gardens eating our lunch. It is somewhere we go quite often when we are in town and eating a picnic lunch.

The winner of the biggest mouthful is ...

How much can one little boy fit in his mount?

After we had eaten lunch we went to have a look around the Castle Museum. James loves exploring in there, especially the victorian street. There is so much for him to do and to see. He cannot take it all in. Because we were late into town, we did not have a huge amount of time as Nana and Grandad were coming for dinner. As we are YMT card holders, it does not matter if it is only a short visit.

This time, the first place we stopped for a look was the room that shows some of the fashions through the ages. James was not so much interested in the clothing, rather the cat walk which he loved running up and down.

Next it was onto the victorian street. Instantly I could tell James has visited here far too often recently as he knew how many carriages there are and took me to see each one in turn. Every time though, I think he finds something different to look at. Today he was intrigued by the toilets.

The other place James spent a lot of time today was in the prison cell. He loved opening and closing the big iron gate.

The last bit we looked round today was the World War One display. I always find this very difficult as James asks what happened to all the people and wants the memorials reading out to him. Very hard to explain to a toddler the concept of death, so we tell him that all the people have gone up to the stars. Lyns has a lovely way of remembering those who are no longer with us and every time she sees a robin, it is granny coming back to see us. James knows of this so as I read all the names to him, he looked at me very seriously and told me that all the people would be going to see their families as a robin so that they could see them again and then they would not be sad. You have got to marvel at how simply a child sees the world and how amazing it is to start experiencing the world again through them.

It was then off to play in the trench tunnel and the hollowed out tree.

By now we had run out of time. Back to the buggy, onto the bus and home. James saw none of this because, as soon as I sat him in the buggy, he had fallen asleep. Half an hour later we were home and I was enjoying a drink whilst James had a snooze. Another successful day of wearing him out done.

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