My Dover Beach

So after our romp around the castle, were obviously starving. Well, at least I was. (I may or may not have been hinting at my current lack of nourishment from the beginning of the trip...) So we went down to the main street and found a little fish and chips shop. Best prices for fish and chips I've seen yet--4 pounds 60 pence! And having made our catch of the day, we tromped down with our food to the beach to eat there.  

 Yes, it was the best fish and chips I've had so far here in Great Britain. Dee-licious. Greasy, yes. But who cares? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience we're talking about here!

The two main things on our "Things to Do in Dover" list were to 1) go to the castle, and 2) go to the beach. Some of us have been in landlocked states for far too long. Now, I love Idaho, but I do like to see the water every once in awhile. Some of us were even crazy enough to want to get in the water (cough cough, Becca). She was optimistic that it would be warm enough to at least go wading in, and wore a dress with her swimsuit underneath.

I was not so optimistic, and wore several layers, including leggings under my jeans and a sweatshirt under my jacket. I'm a very fair-weather swimmer. As in it has to be at least 80 degrees and full-on sunny for me to even consider getting in the water. Today's weather, needless to say, did not match those conditions.

The cold, muddy-brown water. 

There was no way I was getting in that freezing cold water. I agreed I would touch the water. With my finger. Maybe.

The first attempt.

Laughing, because I had to jump back with a squeal to avoid getting my feet soaked. It took a couple more attempts, interspersed with leaps back onto the safety of the rocks, to accomplish the feat.

Look, I touched it! I touched the English Channel!

Despite my amazing feats of agility, I still managed to get my shoes wet.

Darn. 

But they dry out, so it's okay.

Believe it or not, Becca and Eva did actually get in the water. They only waded, though, and only for a minute or two. The water was obviously rather cold.

A seagull. Because obviously it's hard to tell if you've actually been to the beach if you don't get a picture of at least one seagull. Obviously.

Train ride through the countryside. Castle. WWII Tunnels. Fish and chips on the beach.

In spite of the chilly weather, it was a perfect day.

On the White Cliffs of Dover

The air is calm

The sound of gunshots, the boom of cannons

Long since gone,

The smoke of battle

Long since cleared.

The only sounds are the low rumble of traffic

And the cries of seagulls in the salty air

Over the sleepy town of Dover.

We climb to the top where the castle sits

On history of nearly a thousand years.

We tromp up and down twisting stone staircases

From the heights of the state rooms of King Henry III 

Down to the tunnels of World War II

Deep in the white cliffs of Dover.

Dover Castle

Central keep

State rooms, restored to what they might have looked like during the reign of King Henry III in the 1200s 

A view to the south

A view to the north

The twisting staircase to the top of the central keep

Their voices echo through the tunnels

I imagine the rumble of German aircraft over their heads

Feel the coldness of their fear.

The steel of their determination

When war broke out

When the shelling began

When the sky became dark with bombers

Over the white cliffs of Dover.

France, across the channel

Seventy-two years ago

In the same bonny month of May

Salvation for thousands of soldiers came

From ships from the white cliffs of Dover.

The closest the Germans ever got to British soil. Source for photo here

Gazing over the channel to France

I stand where so many important men stood

The Allied Forces staring down Hitler and his men.

The last line of battle became

The bonny white cliffs of Dover.

Leaning on the rail

Staring across the channel

History stares me in the face

History is here with me now

Here, on the white cliffs of Dover.

By Train to Dover We Go!

I just ended another magical day--this one to the cliffs of Dover. We left London St. Pancras Station a little after 10:00 this morning.

Can I just say that I love taking the train? I love looking out the windows at the English countryside after the smog and smoke and bustle of the city. It's therapeutic to my soul.

From the window of the train--it was kind of hard to get good pictures.

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First glimpses of the water!

As we pulled up to Dover Priory, an older gentleman on the train asked us if we were visitors. When we replied yes, he was incredulous that we actually were excited about our trip to Dover. He said it was... a dump. In so many words. His language was slightly saltier than that. But he did say the castle was worth seeing. Despite his general pessimism, we were determined to enjoy our afternoon.

As soon as we figured out what we were doing, that is. We didn't really plan out things too well. So we arrived at the station and had no idea where to go once we got off the train.

Well, here we are in Dover.

Now what?

Luckily we found a map and followed the signs up to Dover Castle. Good thing we can read, even if our planning skills are slightly lacking. And we ended up having the lovely afternoon we were hoping for.

Stairs of Doom! I thought I left those back in Provo!

Details of the adventure to come. In poetic form, no less. Stay tuned for the next post.

Five Feet from Will Smith

So I have a confession to make. A few, actually. So here goes:

I've never seen any of the Men in Black movies. I've never watched much of Will Smith. And I don't really love huge crowds. So what was I doing yesterday at the Men in Black 3 gala premiere in Leicester Square?

Honestly, I didn't really know.

But by the end, I was glad I went. It was definitely a new experience. It seems I've been having quite a few of those lately. I went because my roommate here, Becca, REALLY wanted to go and try to get a picture with Will Smith at the premiere yesterday, so I kind of tagged along for the ride. I mean, I didn't think we'd actually get in, right? 

Right??

Well, there were four of us that went, and when we came up to the barrier the security guards weren't letting people in. Well, that was that, and I was fine with it. Except it wasn't. After a few minutes, almost before I knew what was happening, we were let in to join the crowd around the blue carpet. Um, okay--didn't see that coming. Immediately I felt very out of place. Like I said, events like this really aren't my thing. We waited for about two hours for a glimpse of Will Smith and other members of the MIB3 cast. I kept thinking to myself how many hundreds of people would have loved to be in my rather reluctant shoes, and I felt semi-guilty for not appreciating this event for what it was. But hey, it was fun. The music, the anticipation of the people, the energetic atmosphere. And, as luck would have it, my camera was dead, and Becca's only took a few pictures before her battery gave up the ghost as well, so there are no pictures to document my presence at this event. But I really was there--promise!

A picture Becca took of Will Smith when he was several yards down the blue carpet from us

And at one point, I was this close to them. THIS CLOSE. Like "within 5 feet" close. I could've reached out and touched them. That's pretty cool, isn't it? How many people can say they've been five feet from Will Smith?

Well, I guess now I can.

Magic Moments

Becca and I went to the National Theatre for Collaborators this evening, and during interval (the British term for intermission) I stepped out onto the terrace and saw this.

Magic.

Walking across the Thames at night after the show?

Also magic.

These are the London moments I came for.

A Castle Fit for a Queen

Some days I am boring and tired and don't do much (kind of like the last couple days).

Today was not one of those days.

Today Eva and I went to Windsor Castle, the oldest royal residence still in use and the queen's official residence today. 

The flag was flying, and that means that the queen was home today! She spends most of her weekends here at Windsor.

Walking up to the castle. It was kind of cold today, but the sun showed its face occasionally, and we had a wonderful time.

So excited to go in!!

This is the central keep, the last line of defense for the fortress. Now, of course, it's part of the royal residence, and what used to be the moat is now a "rather lovely garden," as our audio tour said.

More shots of the rather lovely garden.

Looking out over the town

Imposing view of the battlements

A view from the outer wall. Windsor Castle was originally a fortress, and thus it stands on a location that makes it easy to defend and provides excellent scenic views.

Gargoyles. I've always wanted to see some of those. These were on our way to go see the state rooms.

Queuing up to go into the state rooms. It was cold. Real cold. But SO WORTH IT.

We couldn't take pictures inside (they never let you take pictures of the coolest stuff) but we walked through the state rooms and saw a lot of things, including Queen Mary's Dolls' House, which produced an audible gasp and an "Oh wow!" Crystal chandeliers, exquisite paintings, intricate furniture made from silver and ebony, grand rooms like St. George's Hall that, when you step into them, take your breath away. Wow.

Queen Mary's Dolls' House wasn't actually made for dolls or intended for children. It was basically an exercise in miniaturization. The furniture and everything was to scale, and it had working heating and lighting. It was a gift for Queen Mary's birthday, and famous artists and authors donated miniature versions of their works for the house. Incredibly detailed. A-mazing.

The quadrangle, where the queen receives illustrious guests. Do I count?

St. Stephen's Chapel, where the remains of King Henry VIII are interred

I am still astounded at the history of these places. It still makes my head spin to try to wrap my mind around the sheer weight of years that some of them have. Let's be serious--this castle is older than my country. The British really treasure their history and work hard to preserve it, and it has been an unbelievable experience to come and see it for myself. To an extent, their history is our history. I have come to realize in the past little while the importance of having a sense of history not only as a country, but as a people and as an individual. 

We are the past, and the past is us.