England/Paris Part 9
We had a great time in Brighton, it was right on the English Channel. The beach was really just a large pile of pebbles, a "pebble beach" as it were. They had a giant pier, like some of the beaches in the southern US. There were two video arcades on the pier and I even got to play some Dancing Stage Euromix (the European version of DDR!). Zara took pictures for me. We had lunch on the pier (noodles) and did some shopping in the town (I didn't buy anything but a patch). We returned on the train in the afternoon. Dinner was Mediterranean, tasty, though I discovered that I really don't like couscous.
Later in the evening, Gigi (one of our chaperon-y type people) and some of the rest of our group went into London for a bit more shopping. I bought a "Mind the gap" t-shirt (See this wikipedia article if you don't understand the reference.), a cute Union Jack change purse, and a London patch. We were out pretty late, but successfully navigated the tube (subway or Underground) from our hotel at Sussex Gardens (Paddington Station) to Piccadilly Circus and back. "Circus" apparently comes from the Latin word for circle and refers to the roundabout or anything else circular...
Yesterday, our group and the Chicago group (Pennsillina?) travelled to Southeast England (Kent). Lovely Leeds Castle was our first stop. It seemed tiny compared to the enormous Tower of London and even Warwick Castle was bigger. It was very well decorated and organized though. The castle is apparently also a conference center, so parts of it (the dining room and library in particular) were closed. The coolest part of the castle by far was the birds. On our walk to the castle, we saw ducks, geese, black and white swans, and peacocks. They also had an aviary of tropical birds, parrots and toucans and such. They were pretty cool.
The second half of yesterday's excursion was to Canterbury, as in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. We had lunch at a fantastic little café, I had an egg on toast and a plate of chips (French fries). Canterbury still looked very old, despite many modern shops. Zara found a fabric store and bought some batik. We also found a ZARA store in Canterbury and we both bought cardigans, since they apparently don't make those in the United States... Canterbury Cathedral was absolutely fantastic. The bells in particular were amazing, the way the sound from them just hung in the air forever. All of the beautiful old churches were so inspiring. I know Nore Dame will be just as impressive, if not more. People in the past must have had great faith if they got to worship in such magnificent houses of God all the time.
Last night we had curry at a really neat restaurant in Soho. I didn't think I would like curry, because it's so hot and spicy, but it was actually quite good. I was favorable impressed by curry. We also were fortuneate to get cheap (£ 20) tickets to see Monty Python's Spamalot last night. When we got to the theater, we realized why they were so cheap, as we had to climb about a million stairs to get to them and they were waaaaaaay in the nosebleed section. The show was really great fun, based on the film, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, except with more songs. Just massive amounts of fun. I really enjoyed it. It was great to see three shows in London in four days for just about $120. Not bad.
Today as I write (wrote?), I am sitting next to Zara on the Eurostar train on our way to Paris. I fired up iPod and have been writing for almost an hour now, we have just entered the channel tunnel (the chunnel...). Julia, our tour director and a most pleasant person, is sitting across the aisle from us and shared her egg breakfast sandwich with Zara. She's been so great the whole trip.
Tonight we are taking a night tour of Paris (€ 25 extra, but Julia assures us it is totally worth it). I can't wait!
Pictures:
9. Tower of London, Wicked and Brighton
10. Canterbury and Leeds
Later in the evening, Gigi (one of our chaperon-y type people) and some of the rest of our group went into London for a bit more shopping. I bought a "Mind the gap" t-shirt (See this wikipedia article if you don't understand the reference.), a cute Union Jack change purse, and a London patch. We were out pretty late, but successfully navigated the tube (subway or Underground) from our hotel at Sussex Gardens (Paddington Station) to Piccadilly Circus and back. "Circus" apparently comes from the Latin word for circle and refers to the roundabout or anything else circular...
Yesterday, our group and the Chicago group (Pennsillina?) travelled to Southeast England (Kent). Lovely Leeds Castle was our first stop. It seemed tiny compared to the enormous Tower of London and even Warwick Castle was bigger. It was very well decorated and organized though. The castle is apparently also a conference center, so parts of it (the dining room and library in particular) were closed. The coolest part of the castle by far was the birds. On our walk to the castle, we saw ducks, geese, black and white swans, and peacocks. They also had an aviary of tropical birds, parrots and toucans and such. They were pretty cool.
The second half of yesterday's excursion was to Canterbury, as in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. We had lunch at a fantastic little café, I had an egg on toast and a plate of chips (French fries). Canterbury still looked very old, despite many modern shops. Zara found a fabric store and bought some batik. We also found a ZARA store in Canterbury and we both bought cardigans, since they apparently don't make those in the United States... Canterbury Cathedral was absolutely fantastic. The bells in particular were amazing, the way the sound from them just hung in the air forever. All of the beautiful old churches were so inspiring. I know Nore Dame will be just as impressive, if not more. People in the past must have had great faith if they got to worship in such magnificent houses of God all the time.
Last night we had curry at a really neat restaurant in Soho. I didn't think I would like curry, because it's so hot and spicy, but it was actually quite good. I was favorable impressed by curry. We also were fortuneate to get cheap (£ 20) tickets to see Monty Python's Spamalot last night. When we got to the theater, we realized why they were so cheap, as we had to climb about a million stairs to get to them and they were waaaaaaay in the nosebleed section. The show was really great fun, based on the film, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, except with more songs. Just massive amounts of fun. I really enjoyed it. It was great to see three shows in London in four days for just about $120. Not bad.
Today as I write (wrote?), I am sitting next to Zara on the Eurostar train on our way to Paris. I fired up iPod and have been writing for almost an hour now, we have just entered the channel tunnel (the chunnel...). Julia, our tour director and a most pleasant person, is sitting across the aisle from us and shared her egg breakfast sandwich with Zara. She's been so great the whole trip.
Tonight we are taking a night tour of Paris (€ 25 extra, but Julia assures us it is totally worth it). I can't wait!
Pictures:
9. Tower of London, Wicked and Brighton
10. Canterbury and Leeds