Wednesday, Aug 10, 2011 --- They’ll be bluebirds over …

Wednesday, Aug 10, 2011   ---   They’ll be bluebirds over …

We were back on the travel bus routine at 7:40 AM readying ourselves for a tour of Leeds Castle, Dover and the famous white cliffs, Canterbury and the Canterbury Cathedral, Greenwich and concluding with a cruise up the Thames River into central London. I will also note at the outset that the weather was nothing short of spectacular for the whole day – mostly sunny, low 70’s, gentle breeze. That only added to the charm of the day. So here we go.

Leeds Castle seems to be widely recognized as the most beautiful castle in all of the UK, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It is probably THE definition of idyllic – 500 acres of manicured lawns and old stone buildings surrounded by a moat. Some pictures are below, but going to a web site (search Leeds Castle in Kent, UK) will give you some rather stunning views of the place. When we went through the front gate, we came upon a very large lawn that was manicured like a putting green. Actually, we found out that there is a 9-hole golf course on the grounds, some of which is visible from the castle. Unfortunately, after our tour of the castle, Tim, Chan and Steve could only get in 3 holes, while the girls were in the gift shop, but all of us were even par when we had to depart.

Once again, the 17 P’s kicked in as we went in THE FRONT DOOR while the commoners queued for an entrance into the basement. The castle had two distinct aspects – the old one from construction in centuries past (starting in the 1100’s) and the new one as recent as the early 1900’s). The castle was initially constructed and occupied by various generations of royalty (all related to Tim in one way or another) before Henry VIII’s son sold it to private owners. Thus it stayed in the hands of private ownership until 1974 when Lady Bailie established a Foundation and turned it back to the state to secure public access once and for all.

We boarded the bus for a short trip to the coast and the port city of Dover. Along the way we listened to Vera Lynn, the famous British crooner during WW II who entertained the public and the troops and sang a message of hope and forbearance to keep morale high. For those of the nostalgic vein, you may recall her most famous song, “The White Cliffs of Dover,” with lyrics

“They’ll be blue birds over

              The white cliffs of Dover.”

The stop was brief; we snapped a few pictures of the massive white cliffs and the Dover Castle. The Castle is an enormous feature high atop some of the white cliffs, but time did not allow a visit there.

 Now, it was on to Canterbury, home of

>> Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare and very famous in his own right. Had he not been murdered at the tender age of 30 (historians believe he was a government spy and was related to his early demise), some suspect he would have been equally famous to Shakespeare.
>> Geoffrey Chaucer who lived in the 1400’s and author of “The Canterbury Tales.”

 We arrived at the quaint town, which is surrounded by a 2000 year old wall built by the Romans. We found a delightful little café, which was a welcome change for the usual English Pub fare. We sat in an upstairs room overlooking a small old town circle with lots of shops and eateries. It was picturesque old Europe.

We went across the street to the Canterbury Cathedral and walked into a very amazing cathedral, even as European cathedrals go in my experience (and I have seen quite a few European cathedrals). To say it is huge is an understatement. The nave is very long, the sanctuary is very large and there is even a large chapel in the back. Stained Glass windows are large, rich in color and remarkable in many ways. As usual, there are many sarcophagi and memorials for important religious and royalty long dead. The crypt under the church is equally enormous with numerous small and large chapels dedicated to various saints and Mary. There is also a treasures room with chalices and other precious, ceremonial pieces dating back many centuries.

Our tour ended with a Thames boat ride from the Royal Naval Observatory (the place that keeps THE official Greenwich Mean Time) up to central London, crossing under such recognizable sites as the Tower Bridge (what many think of as the London Bridge). I must say we were expecting a tour ride on a boat, but in reality we simply got on one of the water taxi with all the commoners.

We walked to what has become a favorite spot – the restaurant district of St. Christopher Square. We went to an authentic Italian restaurant – Sirena Italiano. Food and drink was great, and as is quite European, long and slow. Nonetheless, we talked more than enough to burn off all of our dinner calories.