I warned you guys I would be posting sporadically about those things which make me want to be in the U.K. The number one things are my memories. The only time I remember being out of the States was for my brother's wedding in Canterbury.
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| A perfect, small wedding |
It was beautiful. The sight that greeted us, was idyllic.
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| Sheep |
We spent the first few days in Canterbury, just exploring the town. It was a beautifully eclectic mix of old and new. We saw this awesome Canterbury Tales Theatre: unfortunately we were not in town long enough to get tickets (apparently Canterbury is rather attractive to tourists, oh well).
We stayed at this beautiful cottage-like home, that was actually a gun emplacement from World War II on the Cliffs of Dover. I know my family was excited to be staying on the closest point in the whole of the U.K. to mainland Europe (and if I'm wrong, don't pop our bubbles). I was even more excited to be staying in a home owned by Mirriam Margoyles, my Hogwarts house leader (Professor Sprout, and yes, I am this geeky). The view down was imposing - the cliffs are as high as 350' - and the view from the cliffs was amazing, even if it was too foggy many days to really see the French coastline.
The day of the wedding was perfectly warm and sunny. I know my brother and sister-in-law would have smiled despite the rain, but I was thankful. They married in a small classic church, with the graveyard all around it, and the bell ringers in the foyer (I don't have pictures, sadly). My sister-in-law was radiant, even though we pulled the corset so tight that one of the strings popped: my grandmother just pulled out her sewing kit and stitched it up twice as well as before.
After the wedding, and between the wedding and reception meal, we took this breathtaking river tour on the River Stour. One of the most interesting sights on the tour was the dunking chair, which was where they tied up bad wives, or alleged witches and dunked them in the river (which was also the sewage system in the age when they used this chair). Floating on the River Stour was one of the most fondly remembered experiences in my time in the U.K. The natural beauty of that country is something that enthralls me.
Our last few days in the Southeast we took a ferry trip to Calais, and then the train to Dunkerque. Calais was a beautiful European town, full of art, and cafes, and life. Dunkerque was much more modern due to the destruction of World War II. While there, though, we found this charmingly random "museum" set in a bunker in the hillside. The displays were classic, and the model sets looked as if the cute old men that tended the counter had made them while their wives cooked and nagged them to mow the lawn. On the way back it was humbling to watch the sun set over the impressive and imposing Dover Castle.
The next day we took a whirlwind drive of the Southeast and made it into Sussex, Essex, and over to Brighton (interesting fact: Aber is known as the Welsh Brighton). On the drive we happened to pass Sandwich (admittedly, we were lost), and we decided to stop for dinner. A Sandwich in Sandwich, perfect.
We spent our last two days in London, squeezing in as many sights as possible. My mom and grandmother took the tour buses, but the rest of us - my three brothers, my sister-in-law, and my father and I - walked the streets to see what interesting things could be found. Sidenote: we also went on a self-led Jack the Ripper tour, and my brother tricked us with the jellied eel. It was so not to my taste.
This is my story, this is my life and these are the things I love. I can't wait to take this next step towards making even more memories in the U.K. and hopefully some in mainland Europe as well. Thank you so much for those of you who are joining me, in this. I hope that you will be a support system for me when I need someone to lean on.
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| My two little brothers and me in Tuolumne Meadows |
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| It ain't always pretty or graceful but hey |
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