Our pickup bus was to supposed to arrive at 8:15. And we were supposed to be prepared 10 minutes before that time. Of course we needed our coffee, so at 7:50 we ran across the street to our usual store. Wouldnt you know it, they were early, and as we came around the corner at 8:00 I saw the bus and started sprinting with my coffee in hand to catch it. Luckily we did, but it gave us a good scare.
The pickup bus drops you off at Victoria Station were you line up for your specific tour bus.
Random shots out the window. This is after crossing the Themes, headed south.
After an hour we arrived at our destination, Leed's Castle. Kiri and I didn't know what to expect. We had picked this tour to see Dover. Leeds Castle was an unknown.
Early preview picture, this gives you and idea of what Leeds Castle looks like from above.
We departed the bus and headed towards the moat house.
We weren't disappointed. The place was right out of a fairy tale.
A nice lady who worked on the estate met us with a silver tray of mead samples. Welcome to Leeds Castle! Cheers! By the way, mead tastes like honey.
After the mead we made our way inside.
Inner courtyard.
A small dining room.
The Chaple.
A painting of Lady Baillie and her two daughters Susan and Pauline. Lady Baillie is the woman responsible for restoring the castle to its current glory. She was quite the figure. Check her out on Wikipedia if you have time.
There were many many rooms. Each one pretty amazing. I won't show them all here. I seem to be taking more pictures as the days go on.
We headed back outside to get some exterior photos before having to get back on the bus.
Kiri by the old mill wall.
Time flies and we had to get back on the bus. I could have stayed all day!
As we left we spotted this peacock wishing us farewell.
Then it was south to the town of Dover for a mini stop, just to photograph the cliffs.
The beach is made up of golfball size stones. Kiri found a broken one and the insides are flint or chert. We took a few home with us.
You can't see it here but I have my hand in the English channel! How many people have crossed this in the last 6000 years?
Next we headed north to the town of Canterbury. After a small lunch in one of the town pubs we made our to the Cathedral.
Again, wayyy to much history here. You should read up on it though. One of the famous stories is the king sending four knights down to this cathedral to kill Thomas Becket in his own church.
And short on time, Kiri and I made our way back to the bus.
This tour was unique in that it took us to Greenwich were we boarded a ferry boat to take us west into London.
Right where you board is an old tea ship called Cutty Sark that the town has turned into a museum. We didn't have time to go, but I got a shot of her bow. There's and old poem that describes a witch chasing a man on a horse. Just as he makes a daring escape the witch reaches out and grabs some hair from the horses tail. The figure on the bow represents that moment.
Our ship arrived and we loaded up.
Random shots looking at buildings along the river.
Soon we were back at the hotel. I had noticed a poster along the river that stated the movie Prometheus was opening that evening. I was really looking forward to seeing it and I knew it wasn't opening in the states until the 9th. So I mentioned it to Kiri and she said lets go!
It was actually a interesting experience. You buy your tickets from LCD screens and you have to pick which seats you want. The little screen shows which seats have been sold and which are available. Your ticket has your seat number on it. This way you don't have to show up early to get good seats. Much better system then in the states. We were seeing the 3D version so here is Kiri with her glasses on.
And the movie is just about to start! Shhhhh.
On the way home I spotted my first Honda NC700 in the wild. The gas tank is under the seat and the top tank is actually a storage compartment.
This was the end of Friday.
Update: I just finished this post at 38000 feet making our way back to Dallas/Ft. Worth. If I can find free wireless and enough time I'll post it there. I'm hoping to get the last day out tomorrow. Kiri and I had a great trip and we're happy we could share it with everyone. Until tomorrow.
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I am glad you guys had such an amazing time. Thank you for blogging all of the great photos.
ReplyDeleteLeeds Castle and Canterbury look simply awesome. I am continually amazed at the old world culture of Europe that we don't see in this country. We are such a young country compared to elsewhere. And I am a sucker for castles.
I like the idea of picking you movie theater seats. That is great. Wonder how long before we see that technology across the pond on our shores?
finally, the last picture in the blog was the most interesting .... LOL. Oh and i like those old stone houses, too. What are they called? oh yeah castle or some such.
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