Lincoln

We unexpectedly abandoned our first planned activity of our vacation and needed to come up with a Plan B. The city of Lincoln was on the way, so we decided to stop by for a visit. I'm glad we did - what a great town. 

First thing Anya spotted a man offering horse carriage rides. I could see her heart was set on it, and the price was pretty reasonable, so we gave it a go. It turned out to be a nice introduction to the town. He took us on streets I wouldn't have walked on and pointed out all kinds of details I wouldn't have noticed - two-foot wide former mental asylum rooms, hooks on the city walls for hanging bodies, and a TARDIS look-alike garden shed, just to name a few.

Lincoln has the cutest little shops and streets. Each building is just a little different architecturally from the next. With many of the streets too narrow for cars, it makes a fun and walkable city center.

Lincoln is probably most famous for its cathedral. Frankly, we were feeling a little too cathedraled-out for a full indoor tour, but enjoyed walking around the outside, and especially checking out the carvings. The monkey was added to honor the masons, who were referred to as monkey masons because of all the scrambling across roofs they had to do. Or so our horse carriage guide told us. And possibly that dragon is not part of the cathedral, but the city wall. I still like him though.

This old bishop's palace next to the cathedral has fallen to ruins since the Dissolution. It has views of the cathedral and is perched on a hill overlooking the city.

Lincoln has a little bit of everything an American is looking for in an English city - old architecture, cute shops, narrow streets, ruins, a cathedral, and a castle. All it's missing is a moat and some sheep grazing in the background. We felt that day one of our trip was a success.