White Cliffs of Dover

On Saturday, Josh and I took a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Dover.  Josh has been itching to visit Dover since we moved to England and I am so glad that we finally got a chance to go.  Dover is known for its white cliffs, which are formed primarily by chalk and some black flint.  The cliffs were absolutely breathtaking...

The White Cliffs of Dover

Our lunch spot...can't get much better than this!

A view of the Port of Dover

When we first rolled into town, our plan was to go to the visitor's center to figure out our game plan for the day.  We only had 8 hours before our bus headed back to London.  Unfortunately, the visitors center was closed and/or moved to a location that was not clearly defined.  So we ended up walking towards the castle and hoping to come across the path that would bring us to the cliffs.  On our walk we saw a lady coming towards us with a rolling suitcase.  She yelled angrily at us from across the street "where is the Dover Port?" Josh and I kind of knew where it was, but she was at least a couple miles away.  Josh told her to keep going down to the end of the road and take a left.  Then she starts yelling and calling us "Bastard Americans" about 5 or 6 times as she walked away from us!  It was obvious that this lady had mental issues, but it was still shocking to be yelled at by a random person! 

After being the target of verbal abuse by a random crazy lady, we took a quick walk around the outside of the castle.  We almost went in, but then decided we wanted to do the cliffs first, and I'm glad we did because we ended up spending most of our day exploring the cliffs and the beach below. 

The Dover Castle

The Port of Dover

Josh at our lunch stop.

Believe it or not, there were horses (Josh thinks Donkey) grazing along the cliffs and we were able to go right up to them. 

The horse/donkey grazing on the cliffs.

Love this place!

It was very windy up there!

Josh made me snap so I had to push him off the cliff!

Green waves of grass.

On top of the cliffs, there were huge fields of tall green grass.  It was amazing to watch the wind whip the stalks around.  It looked like waves on a beach.  It is what I had always pictured "amber waves of grain" to look like...except green of course! 

Josh looking out over the sea to France, only 22 miles away.  My phone actually thought I was in France and texted me a "Welcome to France" message. 

Walk down to the beach

After a few hours up above on the cliffs, we headed down a narrow and rocky walkway to get a view of the beach.  It really wasn't much of a beach, it was pretty narrow and was covered in rocks, not sand, but it was a great place to lay back and listen to the waves roll in and scatter the rocks, it sounded like rain.  We also got to explore an old WWI bunker and meet our second crazy person of the day!

Really tall, steep ladder to get to the beach...I felt like Orphan Annie in the end of the movie when she climbs the train tracks to get away from Rooster!

The rocky beach.

Really cool abandoned WWI bunker.

Inside the bunker.

There were a few other people down on the beach while we were there.  One guy looked like he had been sleeping for most of the afternoon because his face looked really sunburned on one side.  He woke up right as Josh and I were getting ready to head back up to the top of the cliffs.  He was actually friendly, but still a little creepy/weird.  He kept trying to get really close to us and talking about how pretty it was at the cliffs and did we know it was called Hellfire Corner.  He alluded to being in the military and working with US soldiers.  I think he said "Hellfire Corner" about 12 times in our short 3 minute conversation, he didn't want us to forget!  Finally, Josh and I headed back to the top of the cliff and headed back to the main part of Dover.

House built into the side of the cliff.

Beach in Dover

We sat around on the beach for a while and then found a brewery to have a beer and some appetizers.  After a snack, we headed back down to the beach and watched some people flying kites, it was so nice and peaceful and relaxing! 

Josh relaxing on the beach.

  We finally headed back home around 8:00.  We had a 2 1/2 hour ride back to London and then it took another hour to get home from the bus station (traffic on a Saturday night through the center of London is insane!).  Our third and final crazy person of the day happened as we were getting off the bus at Victoria Coach Station.  The guy sitting behind us had been drinking alcohol the whole ride back and as soon as the bus stopped he jumped up to get off.  There was a lady in the very front getting something down from the overhead compartment and apparently the guy pushed her to get her out of the way so he could get off the bus.  The lady flipped out on him and was yelling stuff like "don't push me" "men don't push women in this country" "don't touch me old man" "I can take you" "you are going to hell"...etc. etc.  It was pretty entertaining and not the first time I've heard someone go off on a complete stranger on public transportation.  Oh London!

Next week is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, a celebration of the 60 years on the throne.  Josh gets Monday off for the Queen's birthday and Tuesday off for the Jubilee and there are going to be all sorts of celebrations across the city, and a boat parade/flotilla which looks really fun.  It should be a fun week!


Rachel

Greenwich and Epping Forest

Last Saturday night, Josh and I went out on a "date" to a movie and dinner.  I thought I knew where the closest theater was, in fact, I've walked by it a few times, but I somehow completely missed it when we were on the bus.  We ended up riding around London until Josh found another theater with a later showing.  Oops.  It all turned out good though, we went to see American Pie Reunion which I thought was really funny.  Josh and I spent the rest of the night reminiscing about our high school and college days. 

The next day, Josh had some work to do, so I was on my own for entertainment.  It was a beautiful day and the sun was actually out, so I refused to sit inside puttering around.  I decided to take a trip down to Greenwich which is pretty far east of London and south of the Thames.  I initially went for a market I had read about but once I got there, I realized there was so much more to do in Greenwich!

Coming out of the train station the first thing I noticed was a huge clipper ship called the Cutty Sark.  The boats hull is now enclosed and suspended inside the museum.  I didn't go inside, but I could peer through the glass and it looked like it would be a really interesting tour.

The Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark in Greenwich

As I wandered along the river I noticed the entrance to the Old Royal Naval College and decided to have a look around.  It was lovely!  The college was free to visit and there were a lot of people just laying in the grassy areas taking in the sun.

Old Royal Naval College

College from the pier.

I was able to go into a few of the rooms at the Naval College.  One was called the Painted Hall and it was amazing!  Every surface seemed to be covered in beautiful artwork.

The Painted Hall

Painted Hall at Old Royal Naval College

Part of the ceiling in the Painted Hall

After touring the Painted Hall, I went across the lawn to the chapel.  It was another very beautiful place to visit. 

Chapel of St. Peter and Paul

Painting at the altar of St. Peter and Paul

After roaming around the college for a while I popped into the National Maritime Museum and had a quick stroll around.  I didn't have a lot of time to look around because it was getting late but it looked like a good place to spend an hour or two.  I really wanted to see the Greenwich line while I was in the area, so I hiked up a pretty steep hill to find it.  I was rewarded with a really great view of the city and I got to see one of the Olympic sites.

View of London from Greenwich and an Olympic stadium site.

Keeping time at the Greenwich Meridian

The Greenwich Meridian line.

East and West Longitude

Exploring Greenwich was really fun and I would love to go back again for the day.  I finally made it to the market I initially went to Greenwich for.  The market was small but had interesting booths.  I even managed to find some vintage plates that I adore.  In the States, I collected milk glass FireKing.  I had to leave my collection back home so I was excited to come across these...

Milk glass plates, tray and gravy boat.

While these are not FireKing, I still love them!  I've never seen such a large serving tray and I happily paid 5 pounds for all of it.  I think it was a steal and now I'll have a little piece of England to add to my collection when we move back home someday. 

On Friday of this week, Alissa came over after work and I "taught" her how to bake.  She loves to cook but is intimidated by baking so we decided to get together and make something.  We settled on a Key Lime Pie, which I have never made before either.  The pie ended up being totally delicious!  Kieran also came over after work and we all had some drinks and then went out to dinner at The Breakfast Club.  They are such fun people and I am so glad that we met them!

Yesterday (Saturday), Josh and I decided to go check out Epping Forest.  We have been craving some outdoor nature time and Epping Forest offers hiking and boating pretty close to the city.  It was a pretty place, although not very larger (at least in the area we were in), but we had a nice picnic and walk.  Josh made friends with some geese too...

Epping Forest

Some geese eying our lunch

After walking around for a while we headed back to the city and rode some bikes around the Mile End area of London.  It was a nice day and I'm so glad we were able to get outside without a drop of rain hitting us!  The forecast for next week actually has some 70* temps in it...fingers crossed it actually happens!  

Rachel

Festivals and Food

Today is a "bank holiday" meaning Josh has the day off.  I'm not sure what the occasion is, but it is nice that Josh has a day to recover from our busy weekend before going back to work on Tuesday.  There is another bank holiday in early June, well two really, this year is the Queen's Jubilee year which means that she has been monarch for 60 consecutive years.  Because of this, England gets an extra bank holiday in June, one for the Queen's public birthday and one for the Jubilee.   We should stay in London for the Jubilee celebrations, but is is just too tempting to plan trip instead!  I've been spending the day researching some warm, sunny places to visit, preferably with a beach! 

This past weekend was rainy and dreary and cold...again.  Which is probably why I've been dreaming of the beach and sun.  We made the most of it though, and on Saturday, Josh and I headed out to "Little Venice", which is a part of the canal system here in London.  There was a festival going on called Canalway Cavalcade.  People who own canal boats line them up along the canal and decorate them with bunting and British flags.  The festival also included some food and market vendors and a parade of boats. 

Canalway Cavalcade Festival

A look inside one of the canal boats.

The fancy boat that led the canal boat flotilla.

Despite the cold and occasional spit of rain, Josh and I had a good time at the festival.  And I finally (yes I know, finally!) ate a scone with clotted cream and jam.  Mmmm...it as delicious and I won't be waiting so long to get one again!

Delicious scone with clotted cream and jam...mmm...(Warning: Do not lick your screen!)

After the festival, Josh and I decided to walk down to the Kensington Palace area since Josh had never actually seen the outside of the Palace.  The gardens outside of the Palace are very pretty - just don't waste your money actually going inside...total train wreck. 

Garden in front of Kensington Palace

Josh in front of Kensington Palace.

After a quick look at the Palace, we decided to check out one of the many free museums in the area, the Victoria & Albert museum.  We didn't get to look at everything, but it was a very interesting museum with artifacts from throughout history.  We spent a lot of time in the rooms that focused on Roman Catholicism, definitely a place to bring my dad when he comes to visit, he will love it!

A poplar wooden cross from about 800

Garments and a wooden Jesus on a donkey.

Me, being weird at the museum :)

 Josh and I had a good day out together.  I made dinner and we settled in for the night and watched a movie.  The next day, we had plans to meet our friends Alissa and Kieran at a Foodie Festival near Hampton Court Palace.  We left the house around 10:30 for the one hour trip by bus and train to Hampton Court.  The first thing we did was head to the Festival for some nibbles.  There were food and drinks everywhere!  I've never tried so many different kinds of cheeses and liquors...it was awesome!

Josh, Alissa and Kieran at the Foodie Festival

Cool double decker bus bar.

Kieran and his giant jelly doughnut :)

We had big plans to tour Hampton Court Palace, but we ended up staying at the Foodie Festival all day!  The tasty samples were just too tempting.  We were all stuffed but continued to peruse the aisles in search of more delicious food.

Trying out some Gin.

Alissa and I with some tea infused champagne.

Me and my delicious doughnut :)

 Before we left, Josh bought a Kangaroo steak sandwich to try.  I had a bite too, it was different and reminded me a little of deer meat.  Not something I want to eat everyday.  Apparently, Kangaroo meat is quite common in Australia, but not the combination of PB and Jelly :)  Alissa was not convinced that she should try it together despite my claims of deliciousness.  

Kangaroo!

First bite of Kangaroo. 

After gorging ourselves at the festival, we took a walk around Hampton Court Palace.  I'm sad we didn't have time to do a tour inside but I am definitely going to be coming back sometime soon.  The Palace and grounds are huge!

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

Kieran trying to hop the fence...

We had a great time out with our friends and the Foodie Festival was amazing!  Now back to searching online for a warm and beachy getaway...

Rachel