Your mom and I celebrated our last day in the UK and her birthday by taking a trip out to Canterbury and then the coast of Dover. Our big trip was coming to an end, but the adventure was not over yet.
 |
| We'll miss this beautiful flat. It served as an excellent home base for these two weeks. |
 |
| On the train we headed eastward this time, getting a taste of the countryside's diversity. |
 |
| Canterbury's a small town with a lot of ancient history. This stone gate, called Westgate, is the survivor of seven gates that used to surround the town. It was built in 1379! |
 |
| Then, nestled in the middle of what might seem like a somewhat modern neighborhood, is the ancient Canterbury Cathedral. This is actually just the entrance gate... we didn't buy tickets to go in. |
 |
| One of your mom's friends actually recommended this tea room after spending a semester here during college. |
 |
| We took her up on the idea and had an excellent afternoon tea complete with incredible scones. Your mom bought her friend some tea to bring back : ) |
 |
| Being a major historical landmark, it was no surprise to see school kids being led around for lessons. |
 |
| Of course I found the local brewery and got to sample the goods, which actually stood out as excellent. Overall, over the course of this trip, I sampled at least one pint from exactly 41 different English breweries and was able to sample on-site at three breweries. Good show! |
 |
| Canterbury Castle has history dating to the 11th century! |
 |
| The site is open to be explored inside and out, and it was somewhat eerie creeping through stairwells and hallways - those that are left - knowing that people were doing the same 1000 years ago. |
 |
| We hopped back on the train to get further east, now to the coastline of Dover. |
 |
| Dover struck us as a more industrial town sitting under the remnants of Dover Castle on the hillside. |
 |
| The famous white cliffs were a bit out of reach for us on this trip, but it was great to see them in person after having admired them in countless British movies and shows which feature them. |
 |
| Just 20 miles past the Dover marina lays the mainland of France on the other side of the English Channel. |
 |
| No English town is complete without a gorgeous cathedral. |
 |
| We had dinner back in Canterbury at Old Weavers House along a little waterway "The Great Stour." It was our last dinner in England. |
 |
| The sun set on our last day and we had a lot of traveling to do tomorrow. |
