well folks, we're back from our little excursion east. and mentally exhausted. i'll filter through and upload pix tonight after dinner, but for now, i just don't have it in me to pull it together. give me a bit to recover. but, the trip turned out to be quite different than we planned. started out on the right track, then took a DRASTIC detour. here's what happened...
we set out early yesterday morning for Kent... BIL has some friends just outside Dover. driving along, had to pass through Dover. lo and behold, we drove right along the bottom of the White Cliffs. gorgeous! it was a surprise treat to see them, since we didn't expect that the road would take us so close to them. after finding their house, we and their family set out for a walk along the coast. walked from Waltham Castle (former seaside home of the Queen Mother) up to Deal, a quaint seaside resort town and saw Deal Castle, which was roughly the initial landing point of Julius Caesar in England in 55BC. grabbed a pint in the pub nearby (Strongbow!), then headed back.
we were sitting in the living room (of their GORGEOUS 1760 townhouse) discussing our plans for the next day. we were waiting to hear back from the car rental company to get permission to bring the car into France so we can make a wine run. here's the convo:
me: heard back from the car company yet?
M: no, not yet.
me: eh, they'll never know if we take it over and back real quick.
M: hmm... but there's a bigger problem.
A: what? oh yeah, we don't have any euros on us. maybe we can find a bank first.
me: or just use credit.
M: no, an even bigger problem.
A: *looks confused*
me: *also confused*
M: we forgot our passports back at the house (3 hours away)
A & me: *shock*
me: A, can't you just use your DL to get in?
A: nope, that's in my wallet. back at the house.
all of us: DOH!
i had my passport, the rest of them forgot theirs. couldn't they just drop me off at the Chunnel and i'd see them later? well, seeing as France was now out of the question (damn, i wanted 2 more stamps in my passport!), we simultaneously decided, "well, Canterbury's up the road."so today we headed out for Canterbury. home of Canterbury Cathedral, Archibishop of Canterbury, and the Canterbury Tales. what an adorable and grand medieval town, with magnificent architecture inside and outside the cathedral. right now i'll spare you the details about the inside and how it came to be that we almost didn't get inside, but the cathedral was something else to behold.
but on our way to Canterbury, we took a small detour through the village of Sandwich. if we hadn't just eaten breakfast, i would have suggested having lunch - a sandwich in Sandwich. this village was even more dated and older than Canterbury, it seemed. what a weekend: white cliffs of Dover, the Cinque Ports (i'll describe later), Sandwich, and Canterbury. and a DELICIOUS lunch at a wonderful italian restaurant just outside the cathedral gates. i almost felt american again. italian. well, been eating english food for so long (which is good) that it felt nice to have a familiar and diverse flavor again. and during our walk along the beach in Deal, we could at least see France across the Channel, a mere 22 miles away. guess i'll have to come back, then.
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