I’m trying to remember what our destination was after that. I believe we kept meaning to grab lunch and kept getting sidetracked. We walked out one door and ended up walking through the picturesque Vicars Close, which (as Alys informed us) has been used for several British productions. It was very enchanting with its cobblestone road and charming English houses, replete with brightly painted doors and blossoming flower gardens. It was like stepping into another world...or an Agatha Christie novel!
Vicars Close
Ravenscar and Thornton Abbey (e.g. the East Cloister)
At the end of the close, we discovered another entrance into the cathedral and soon found ourselves in the gift shop. This worked out well because I was able to find postcards of the famous stairs and one of the East Cloister, which was used as part of Thornton Abbey in “Cromm Cruac,” or so our resident guide Alys *g* informed us. After reading Gary Rhodes’s location guide again, I learned that it was also used as Ravenscar Abbey in the “Swords of Wayland”... Anyway, I bought two sets of these postcards - one pair for myself and another to send to two friends who couldn’t attend the con.
I had another reason to be happy that we stopped to look in the shop: I finally talked to the quiet Melanie from Germany! I didn’t realize at the time that she was a big South Park fan and that she would later scold me for not seeing the film , especially in light of the “Blame Canada” song! *g*
I’m happy to report that after visiting the shop, we visited the cafeteria and finally had lunch. It was almost 2 p.m. and I was starving. I ordered a Ploughman’s Lunch and convinced Kathye to do likewise. By this time we had lost some members of our group, so it was just Kirsty, Alys, Kathye, Fiona, Louise, Caroline and I sitting at the tables. We chatted away happily and I gratefully downed a can of coke - my first real source of caffeine that day! Then, I was in rather urgent need of the...er...facilities.
I went off to find the little girl’s room, walking through the beautiful East Cloister. However, I didn’t realize that it was the East Cloister of RoS fame! It was only when I met up with the others on the way back that I discovered where I was and, of course, took a picture.
