Dover & Canterbury

     Today we had our first day trip!  This morning we all woke up especially early so that we could make our way East to Dover!  We rented a tour bus that took us on our two hour journey.  Our first stop was Dover Castle, and it was a beautiful foggy day.  Everyone finds me peculiar because I really have been loving the rain and the occasional fog.  They seem to think that it is contradictory to my happy personality.  Anywho, we were all given fun little stickers that said that we were free to explore the castle, and then we began our adventures.  After getting through the main gate we went to an exhibit that talked about Henry II and his part in the history of the castle.  They had some great exhibits that were actually quite interesting and fun to watch.  Afterwards we entered the central tower where we had free reign and were able to explore wherever we wanted.  I was surprised by how much of the castle was still preserved. They had added furniture that they would have had hundreds of years ago to add to the whole feel.  They also had speakers throughout creating noises that you would have heard in the actual castle.  It all created a very cool atmosphere.  We saw everything the servant's quarters to the throne room (see photo of me sitting on the throne).  We even were able to go onto the roof and look out into Dover and out to the ocean.

     After going through the castle we went to have a tour of the Secret War Tunnels that the British in Dover had used to escape to the coast in World War II.  They actually hadn't found the tunnels until about twenty years ago!  I sadly was not allowed to take any pictures!  I thought that the tour would just take us through the tunnels, but they had some really high tech exhibits set up all through the tunnels.  The whole thing was set up to make you feel like you were actually there during the beginning of WWII.  The whole thing took about an hour and it was amazing.  I really wish that I could have taken some pictures.  I really want to go back and read The Book Thief now (my favorite book) that takes place during that time.  Not exactly a British novel, but still very good.

    We then made a quick trip over to the White Cliffs of Dover.  We didn't' have too much time because we had to hurry to Canterbury afterwards, but we had enough time to walk around and take a look at the beautiful coast and cliffs.  They are very white indeed.  The fog hadn't quite gone away yet, but we were still able to see them pretty well.  It was so beautiful and the temperature was just right, we really just wanted to sit down and have a picnic.  (Interesting fact.  In the US we would usually have fences, signs, and workers around stuff like this to prevent falling off.  Here in the UK they just assume you are smart enough not to fall off a cliff. No fences at giant ledges. No signs.  It's awesome).  

    Canterbury was another great place to see.  The whole city is very small and has a lot of fun shops.  I stopped by one and got myself a Galaxy Caramel shake.  (Galaxy chocolate is amazing and addicted.  I cannot stop eating it)!  We then got a tour of Canterbury Cathedral.  Our tour guide was a very nice and funny old man that made the amazing building's history really fascinating.  I also still blows my mind that the cathedral was hundreds of years old!  It has so much history!  We were able to see the room where Thomas Beckett was killed, saw the Henry IV's tomb (made even cooler after having seen Henry V last night), saw the tomb of the Black Prince and the crypt that is still used for worship.  It's been around for so long and has had so many changes made to it as well.  The original Roman architecture as well as some Gothic and Victorian fixes too.  They were even doing construction while we were there, still working to preserve it.  Oh, and we just happened to see the Arch Bishop of Canterbury there.  No big deal.  (The girls know him as the man that married William and Kate).  Amazing! I had attempted to snap a photo but only got the back of his head.  Oh well.  

   The rest of the evening we were all quite lazy and did homework.  These travel days really take a lot out of you.  Our bus driver drove us by the Olympic park on our way back, and it was amazing! Their stadium is so cool looking! The Olympics are going to be great! And now I have some homework to do!  Too bad we have to actually do schoolwork here.  :)  

 Outside Dover Castle!

 Dover Castle!!!

 I found the loo........

 Bwahaha.  I always knew I was royalty.  

 Hellooooooo!

 The white cliffs of Dover

Canterbury Cathedral