July 3, 2008: York and Edinburgh

The morning started as so many have on this trip - with a breakfast at our lodgings. Another vegetarian take on the English cooked breakfast for Michael; cereal and a bit of toast for me.

Have I mentioned the strawberries? They've been abundant throughout our journey, and like none I've ever tasted. You don't need a super-red and almost over-ripe specimen to detect flavour - even the plainest ones are bursting with it! We bought a huge punnet from the supermarket in anticipation of the next leg of our train trip.

But we still had an hour or two before our train was due, and we passed that time at the National Railway Museum.

Fierce. Actually, this was precisely the tidy and informative collection you would expect of the British, particularly the section devoted to the carriages set up for the royal family. Here the warehouse was decked out in Union Jacks as far as the eye could see, and the platform covered in a red carpet!

Travel by rail wasn't so luxurious for the common man - here are examples of past first, second and third class carriages.

Thankfully our own rides have been much more comfortable - with National Express even providing free WiFi on their services! (The only reason we've been able to blog so often.)

Next stop; Edinburgh. We deposited our bags at our hostel and took off up Calton Hill for a look over the city.

With these early views of the Old Town, I was quite smitten by Edinburgh. Before leaving Australia we'd also received some personal recommendations from past residents Johanna and Justine, so I was eager to discover the city they'd each grown fond of.

For dinner, we relied instead upon Michael's internet research and visited Black Bo's. When we arrived, it was bafflingly deserted, but for a table of four conversing quietly in a corner. We loitered a little while then decided to help ourselves to a table, with so many of them available. Another two groups arrived and milled about, similarly uncertain. After a time, the surprised and apologetic lady running the floor returned from the adjoining pub. "Och, I wasn't expecting customers!"

It's a shame that Black Bo's doesn't seem to pull a crowd on a Thursday night, because our meals were certainly worth the wait. I was wooed by the prospect of seasonal asparagus, choosing the filo parcels of pistachio, asparagus and feta with cassis and pomegranate sauce.

It was a lovely combination of rich saltiness and tart fruitiness, though it could have relied less heavily on the feta for flavour.

We weren't sure how often the opportunity for vegetarian haggis would present itself, and so Michael picked the haggis balls stuffed with garlic cream cheese, with turnip cream sauce. He wasn't disappointed. They reminded me of felafel.

Our mains also came with a choice of sides. In keeping with our hearty meals, we eschewed the salads and tried the mash of the day and the roast vegetables.

All night I had the dessert blackboard in my line of sight, and I had my eye on the vegan blackberry pie the whole time. But by the time I'd lapped up the berry sauce from my main course I was less enthusiastic for more. Instead I suggested that we share a dessert of Michael's choosing.

This yielded an organic chocolate and walnut brownie topped with vanilla icecream. The warm brownie was studded with as many dates as it was walnuts, rich and mercifully small. I was most impressed with the icecream; rich, creamy and flavoured with real vanilla seeds.

We walked at least some of it off on the Royal Mile before retiring for the evening, but perhaps I can tell you more about the district tomorrow.

July 2, 2008: York

The centre of York is completely dominated by the Minster - a cathedral that was built between 1220 and 1480. It's a stunning building - as striking an example of gothic architecture as you can imagine.

The inside is just as impressive as the outside - massively high ceilings, wonderful stained glass windows and an astonishing amount of detailed stonework - the chapter house in particular was studded with hundreds of intricately carved faces - it's little wonder the construction took more than two hundred years.

We also went for a brief wander through the foundations of the minster (where photos were prohibited) - there are still remnants of the massive Roman basilica that was originally situated here, as well as sections of the Norman cathedral that was replaced by the construction of the minster. The roman ruins are particularly impressive - either incorporated into the foundations of the cathedral, or simply built around, there are plenty of columns and stonework that remain, including a still functioning culvert that drains water from the foundations down to the river Ouse.

We followed up with a brief stroll through the museum gardens, stumbling across the ruins of the 13th century St Mary's Abbey.

All this history left us both hungry, and we stopped in to Betty's, something of a York institution, for some lunch. It's basically a fancy tearoom, with lots of people enjoying traditional high teas.

Cindy insisted that we needed to try whatever vegetarian local delicacies we could find, so both of us opted for the Yorkshire Rarebit. I think we were both imagining this as basically a fancied up cheese toastie, but it turns out that it's more like an entire block of cheese melted over a small piece of bread. The ale and worcestershire sauce gave the cheese a bit of flavour, and the apple and tomato chutneys cut through the grease a little, but the overwhelming impression was an overdose of cheese.

We decided to embrace our inner tourists and take a trip on York Boat, a 45 minute river cruise promising to show us the sights of York. Of course the river doesn't really go particularly close to the minster or the wall, so the sights are a little limited. Still, we got glimpses of one of the UK's oldest schools, St Peter's, and some pleasant river scenery.

The boat dropped us off towards the southern end of town, so we wandered across to check out Clifford's Tower - all that remains of the 12th century York Castle.We didn't have the energy to climb the stairs, so we just mosied our way back through town, admiring some of the wonky Tudor buildings along the way.

Where we headed? Back to Betty's for afternoon tea - although this time we went to Little Betty's, the slightly less crowded spinoff. Rather than tackle the full high tea, we settled on the cream tea - a pot of tea and a couple of scones with jam and cream to share.

I'm not sure I really understand the point of the dainty afternoon tea tradition (I certainly don't fit in - sloshing my tea across half the table almost immediately), but it was a pleasant enough bite to eat. We headed back our accommodation for a quick snooze, and settled on a pleasant but uninspiring burger chain (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) for dinner.

July 1, 2008: Cambridge and York

Since we were staying at a bed and breakfast, Michael started taking advantage of the cooked breakfasts. Here this meant fried eggs, hash browns and baked beans, with a rack of toast on the side. This was all served up by a svelte Swede named Inga. She was impossibly perky, wore hot pink capri pants, and when she noticed our camera on the table she insisted on photographing us together. "Which button? Yes. Now hold her hand. You must hold her hand. Oh, so sweet!" She ensured our day started with a smile and a chuckle, at least.

We continued our train trek to York, and arrived in time for lunch.

Michael picked out Cafe Concerto based on a recommendation in our Lonely Planet guide, and it did us very nicely. (Whoops... don't mind me in the mirror reflection.) It's a casual and comfy cafe that seemed to attract both locals and tourists. Though there were a number of vegetarian items on the menu, most of them seemed to focus on roasted Mediterranean vegetables. (I know it's ungrateful, but I am B.O.R.E.D. of being offered just Med. veges and cheese at restaurants.) The specials board was was much more encouraging, though. Michael munched on a salad and brie baguette, while I had the pate of the day (soft cheese, sun-dried tomato, thyme and pine nuts) in an entree size.

Though the pot of pate wasn't particularly large, the plate was perfectly balanced for a summer lunch. There were several kinds of bread (including a rustic and chunky fruit loaf), a pat of butter and a small salad with grapes. Last Melbourne summer we experimented with a few different dips, and this reminded me what a good lunch habit this could become (particularly when we make legume- rather than cheese-based dips).

Much of the 13th century city walls still stand and they're open for all to walk along. It proved an excellent elevated walkway for us to get a sense of the city, and it's evidently an efficient way for some residents to traverse the city, away from the traffic.

The Gothic York Minster poses a striking figure from almost any direction, and we saved a full exploration of it until the next day.

The central shopping district is surprisingly charming. Though there are a few rows of cheesy souvenirs and the like, even the ordinary retail is conducted from centuries-old shopfronts and cobblestone alleys, frequented by more pedestrians than cars.

The Museum Gardens are pretty, too, of course. I've been stunned again and again by the lurid green lawns and kaleidoscope of flowers, both cultivated and untended, in this country.

We ate dinner at El Piano, a vegan and gluten-free restaurant offering Central American-inspired food (the only infringement in the former case seems to be the option of dairy milk in the hot beverages). The object is to order a number of small dishes and share them around.

This is the moussaka, a potato and eggplant bake with a tomato and fennel sauce, topped with a bechamel-style cream. The vegan cheesy topping was really impressive!

Here's the chilli mince (soya mince with fresh chillies, tomatos, red wine and navy beans) and the Aztec tofu (lightly seared in sunflower oil and Latin spices). Michael was a big fan of the chilli, but the tofu was the dish of the night for both of us. Charred, spicy and with a bit of chew, these reminded me of diced chicken... but better. I think they'd be ideal as part of DIY taco or burrito dinner, and I'm keen to try replicating them at home.

We also ordered corn fritters and a mixed salad dish. Though the freshness of the salad was welcome, it got a bit waterlogged, and it was difficult to pick out and appreciate the individual elements.

Having already seen the dessert menu, I was determined to find room for it. Though I offered to share, Michael was sufficiently keen to order his own - a gooseberry fruit crumble with rice custard. It was soft and shallow, not really meeting expectations.

I was keen to try a vegan cheesecake, especially when I discovered that today's flavour was cherry. It was similarly shallow and lacking a crust (I like a crust on my cheesecake). It was impressively tangy and not at all beany, more like a firm fruit yoghurt than a cheesecake.

The desserts didn't quite win us over, but there was plenty else to appreciate about El Piano. A couple of the savoury dishes were memorable and the young wait staff were all most friendly and efficient.