A Trip To York With #SantanDeREAMS

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (if not my username is @A_daawg on both - get following!) you may already know that Karl and I were lucky enough to be sent on a few days away in the beautiful city of York with Santander as part of their #SantanDeReams campaign! I'm now at the age where it's time to start thinking about the future and of course that includes moving to my own place. I live in the countryside at the minute in the North East and although I know a lot of people are country bumpkins, I really don't like it. I'm a city girl at heart and much prefer a bustling city, where the streets are always lively and busy and activities and shops are just a stone's throw away. That's why I chose York to vist as it's a city I would absolutely love to live in. It's not too far from my hometown but is still a beautiful and big city and Santander mortgages can help to make moves like this possible. They have 160 years of mortgage experience and whether you're looking for a first home like I will be or a new home, they have something to suit everybody. Check out their site HERE for more information and I'll get on with the rest of my post! 

THE APARTMENT

First things first, the apartment. It was absolutely beautiful and I can fully imagine Karl and I living in one of these type apartments in the city. We stayed in the Lawrance Luxury Apartments and they were everything I could ever dream of. Situared right in the city centre of York, the aparment was spacious with modern but cosy decor - it was right up my street! If you're looking to stay in York I would highly recommend these apartments as I seriously didn't want to leave! 

 THE CITY AND THE HOUSES

York was one of those cities that we could have just walked around for hours (and we did!) because the architecture and the buildings are so beautiful. York is an extremely old, traditional walled English city, with hundreds of old town houses and buildings at literally every turn. The River Ouse runs through the centre of the city and the houses that run along the river front are simply beautiful. I can only imagine what it must be like to wake up to such a view every morning! It has a boat load of old yet stunning buildings including York Minster and Clifford's Tower, both of which we visited. Overall the city is an absolute dream whether you're looking to live their or you just want a city break somewhere traditional and full of character. 

THINGS TO DO

Karl and I are the type to try and do as much as we can while we're away and we managed to squeeze a lot in during this trip. York is full of things to do, whether you're young or old, whether you're interested in museums or the nightlife. York is renowned for it's nightlife and with everything from old English pubs to nightclubs on the river front, there are certainly a lot of places to choose from! Karl and I aren't big drinkers so I can't really comment too much but my mum and dad vouch for it! The highlight of the trip for me was probably holding this adorable little Tiny Owl called Bert. Just look at his grumpy little face! I could have just ran away with him he was that cute! After that we headed to the Yorkshire Museum, which was relatively small but full of interesting little exhibitions including one about Richard III. Of course, we couldn't visit York without a trip to the Dungeons which were absolutely fantastic! I'd never done anything similar before so didn't know what to expect but it was great! There were plenty of scares and laughs and I'll be honest some of the shows were a bit frightening! The streets were absolutely jam packed with cute little boutiques and stalls, selling things from homemade lemonade and chocolate, to vintage clothes to flowers and ornaments. There were also the standard big stores too including all of the big brands we know and love. We also squeezed in a cruise down the River Ouse and trips to Clifford's Tower and the minster - it was definitely a jam packed trip!

THE FOOD

And we've saved the best until last. The food. Oh my days it was amazing. The streets were absolutely lined with cute little cafes and restaurants and we were absolutely spoilt for choice on where to go. We first headed to Kennedy's, a restaurant somebody recommended to me on Twitter and we weren't disappointed. They had an offer on for half price burgers so I opted for the veggie halloumi and mushroom stack while Karl had the traditional beef burger. All I can say is YUM. The streets were also full of cute little stalls selling homemade food and drinks so I of course had to try some of the freshly squeezed lemonade which was perfect for a stroll in the sun! York has a huge reputation for being one of the most haunted cities in the UK meaning that we just had to have lunch in one of it's haunted pubs. We went to the Punchbowl, York's fifth oldest pub and one of it's most haunted, with reports of sightings and strange happenings occuring all the time. The food was great and the atmosphere was lovely and cosy despite the alleged hautings! York has definitely been one of my favourite places I've been for it's food - I'm going to miss it!

Well there you have it - our trip to York with Santander. It's fair to say that after our few days away, York is definitely somewhere Karl and I would consider living in the near future - watch out Santander mortgages, we may be coming for you!

Amy x