Life | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, September 27, 2012 | Page 19
Abroad Column | York Adventures
Exploring the English countryside Students take time to discover the medieval adventures that can be found in Northern England BY HILARY BURNS Staff Columnist burnh0@wfu.edu
Photo courtesy of Hilary Burns
Remember in Shrek when Donkey and Shrek are walking through the medieval kingdom and everything is “Ye Olde Foot Locker” or “Abercrombie and Witch”? That was the scene that popped into my head as I walked from the train station into the town of York. My two friends and I left London to explore the countryside after I finally learned how to look the right way before crossing the city streets. Being in the large city of London, you sometimes forget that you are in a larger England, so we were anxious to learn about the English culture and eat real fish and chips. After leaving the station, we walked through the gate of the enormous stone wall that lies around the city. Thanks to a few tourist brochures we picked up, I learned that the Romans put up the wall before the Vikings took the city over a thousand years ago. Just when I started to question why we left one of the most modern melting pots of the world to come spend a weekend in a Viking town, I read something else in my brochures. The town’s largest tourist attractions revolve around two things: ghosts and
chocolate. And what could be better than that? The three of us decided to have a night out in this charming town, so our first stop was a ghost tour. We chose which tour we wanted to do (yes, there were many options) and got there half an hour early. The meeting place was outside a pub so we decided to kill some time inside and maybe even talk to locals. We walked in and an older man clearly intoxicated, pointed at us and asked in a thick accent, “Are you all Yankees?” This turned a few heads in the bar and we spent the rest of the time in a booth in the back corner by ourselves. At 8:01 p.m, we walked outside, and there was no one to be seen around the meeting place for the ghost tour that was supposed to start at 8:00 p.m. Confused, we asked two locals if they had seen anyone with the tour and they pointed to the center of town and said a group of 30 people left going in that direction. Apparently, the English are very prompt. So we ran to the center of town to catch up with the group. The tour was lead by a man dressed head to toe in black, complete with a black cape and an eerie walking stick. His theatrical voice told stories of murders, hangings and unexplained presences in the buildings of York. We came to the remains of a circular castle with no roof on the top of a large grass hill in the middle of town. I stared at the castle that was built in the 11th century and tried to comprehend
the amount of history I was looking at. Where we were standing was once a moat surrounding the medieval York Castle. The man in the cape told us a mass suicide occurred here hundreds of years ago, and, needless to say, their spirits still haunt the castle today. We ended at the gargoyle-covered York Minster Cathedral and, by this time, I got chills every time someone bumped into me. I was expecting to see Casper jump out at me at any moment. To carry on with our crazy night, we went to check out a few haunted pubs. Unfortunately, the majority of people at the Golden Fleece and the Yorkshire Terrier were middle-to-older aged men, so we didn’t make many friends. I think they were a little confused about why three college-aged girls were at their pub, but we enjoyed the haunted atmosphere. We took a cab back to our hotel and by the time our crazy night ended we looked at the clock and laughed. We were in bed by 11:32 p.m. The next day we went back to the Golden Fleece for lunch, and the bartender greeted us by asking, “You’re quiet today girls. Are we still tired from last night?” We awkwardly laughed and found a table in the back. The three American girls clearly stood out a bit from the usual crowd in the pub. York is a breathtaking city, full of fascinating history and delicious chocolate, but its authentic English culture is very different from the modern world of London we are now used to.
Trend Alert | Granny Gone Wild
Make grandma your fashion inspiration It may be surprising, but you can find the perfect fashionable fall outfit in your granny’s closet BY MEGHAN HARRINGTON Staff Writer harrme11@wfu.edu Instead of sharing clothes with your roommate this fall, give your cute old grandma a call because the tables have certainly turned. Call your grandma whose style you’ve always internally criticized because her antiquated taste is all over the runway this fall. Now, now. Don’t get offended. Your more modern style is incorporated in this fall’s look too. It is sort of a grannymeets-2012 kind of season. Something I like to call “granny gone wild.” The fashion designers are bringing us back to a much simpler time. Imagine the women who bid sweet sorrows to their husbands as they left for World War II. They donned military inspired double breasted pea coats paired with loafers and accessorized with brooches and felt hats. Military inspired coats, tops and shoes are one of the most
influential trends on the runway today. Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Valentino and others are strong supporters of this trend. Slip-on loafers of all kinds dominate as well. They are adorable and, well, you should switch it up — you can’t wear boots every day. Winter hats and fedoras are my personal favorite accessory for this fall. It’s a bold move but a hat can truly do a lot for an ensemble. And yes, brooches are making a comeback too! Also found in grandma’s closet are old fashioned inspired sheer blouses in feminine colors. Think soft pretty colors like light pink and cream. In theme with the vintage feminine feel, velvet also plays an important role. Velvet is a popular fabric choice for Badgley Mischka, Ralph Lauren and others. Personally, I excitedly await for it to get chilly so I can unveil the velvet winter dresses that I adore. These trends are a nice change of pace in comparison to the overdone, head to toe, in-your-face neon outfits. I feel I’ve developed a chronic headache due the never ending tacky obsession with neon. But with autumn just around the corner, I think it’s about time to box up the neon crop tops and bring out the
classic feminine blouses. On that note, there are some things from your modern wardrobe that need a little modification and you’ll be ready for autumn. The clothing item from this past summer that deserves an award for most success is surely high-waisted denim shorts. These have become a lovely staple for everyone. However, now that fall is almost here, invest in some high waist jeans! Don’t worry, they have the same flattering effect on your body as the shorts. For those of you that dare to slip out of your comfort zone, try on some ankle cropped pants! The last and very important order of business is geometric prints. We all own a few geometric printed items. However, this fall, designers went a little geo-crazy, and we have geo-prints on geo-prints on geo-prints. Mix them up, wear them head to toe — whatever you like. This fall, fashion designers have indeed created the ultimate array of materials and colors. They adder classic feminine with modern geometrics to get granny chic.
Photo courtesy of photografius.com