Sherbert in London: Delinquents in Dover and Cathedrals and Castles in Canterbury

I said Goodbye to Rodney and Gill, feeling a little sad as I just don't know when I will next see them, and climbed aboard the National Express bound for London. I think it is a concern, however, when the driver stops the bus and gets out a map book on the way... but we did make it in the end. Once we reached London, it felt like we were being taken on a personal tour of the 'hot spots' of London's riot areas, e.g. we passed by Clapham Junction, which looked in a sorry state. Shops for that whole end of the street were boarded up, including the Debenham's and JDs which were often seen on the news.

Once we reached London Victoria Coach Station (I had missed London town, it has to be said...) I hauled my suitcase out from underneath the coach and found the Gate for my coach to Canterbury, which was not for an hour and a half. I decided it might be an idea to go to the bathroom, being that I had another two and a half hours to go on the coach. So I looked around where I was standing thinking ... 'toilet... toilet, toilet, toilet... BINGO!' as I saw a sign for the toilets. Problem was that there was also a flight of stairs TO the toilets, and I had my suitcase. Fail. I looked for other options. In the next terminal there was a toilet which was ground level. Great success! I waited patiently in the line, suitcase in hand, handbag on shoulder and backpack on my back and reached the point where you pay your 30p and go through the metal bars. I fed my 30p into the slot and pushed my suitcase through, the bar moved. And stopped me. So effectively, I had paid 30p to allow my suitcase through. FAIL. I then had to pay another 30p to get myself through! If that wasn't enough for me to shake my head at, I then struggled to get my suitcase into the cubicle... and ended up in fits of giggles at the whole situation. It meant I did walk back to Gate 7 thinking how much nicer it is traveling with someone else, and not all by your lonesome - it is always nice to have someone to watch your bag whilst you pee! I then had only just found a seat and saw that coach 007 to Canterbury had arrived, so went outside. Only to find out it was the 11:30am service, an hour earlier than the one I had booked, but the driver didn't seem to mind, so I climbed aboard and made my merry way back down South, to Canterbury.

I arrived in Canterbury and called Kat, who walked ten minutes to come and meet me. It was easy to recognise her, and I couldn't help but comment on her broad Kiwi accent! So nice to hear - naturally. We waited for her husband to meet us with the car, collected some essentials from the Tesco and went back to their place, which is only a 10 minute walk from the City Centre/Cathedral.

Kat and I caught up on the past however many years (she was a year behind me at Long Bay College, and later worked in Pet Mania in Browns Bay where I saw her a few times) and relaxed in their back garden, which was nice after a long morning of traveling by coach. After an EPIC feed of the thickest steak I have ever consumed, egg, chips and salad expertly made by Kat's husband, Simon, we took a tiki-tour to Dover to see the White Cliffs. It was less than half an hour away from their place which was awesome, and on arrival we parked where the National Trust signs said the cliffs were. We climbed out of the car and Kat disappeared down a hill, and as Simon and I were walking towards her I questioned her '...So where are the cliffs?', and she smiled and said 'We're standing on them!'. The views were beautiful, you could see right across the channel to Calais - it is amazing how close the countries are!

Dover Port

That's the white cliffs :) On the right...

That's Calais in the background!

Perched on the hill to our right was Dover Castle, so that was our next stop. Simon dropped us off and went to get petrol, and Kat and I were left at Dover Castle, which happened to be closed, to get 'snap happy' as Simon put it. Annoyingly, it was hard to take good photos over the fence, so we decided to be 'Dover Delinquents' and jump the fence- which looks easier than it actually was....but the photos we managed to get were totally worth it!

King of the Castle!

Trust me... this was harder than she is making it look...

So bad-ass right now! Eeeek!

Dover Castle... amazing.

Quackles and Paddles do Dover

Today I woke at a leisurely time and walked for ten minutes to get to the city centre. I went to the information site, found a Starbucks, ordered my Soy Chai Latte and sat down to determine a plan for the day. I began with Canterbury Cathedral. I have seen many Cathedral's in the past week, but one cannot come to Canterbury and not go! I paid my £9 and spent an hour inside, making the most of my nine quid! Once again, plenty to see inside - the thing that impressed me the most was The Black Prince's regalia, dated from the 1300s - insane!

Canterbury Cathedral

After I left the Cathedral, I wandered through the old Pilgrim's hospital, which is not actually a hospital at all, but a home of hospitality - quite an interesting place to visit. I even went on a river boat historical tour (excellent) and then found my way to The Norman Castle, walked through the park and took some photos from the top of Dane John Mound and then even managed to find my way back to Kat and Simon's - great success!

Norman Castle

The view of Canterbury (that's the Cathedral!) from Dane John Mound

We had a chillaxed evening eating pizza and watching movies - (and I did a spot of blogging) before Kat remembered that I had promised to hold Mildred, her Bearded Dragon, before I left... I was quite apprehensive about this, but.... I did it! And Mildred was *lovely*! Nothing to be worried about at all! I even had a 'go' on her scooter... well not really... just sat on it! I have had an excellent few nights catching up with a long lost friend - this is something Facebook is just so good for... you can catch up with people who you have relatively lost touch with - and it is so nice! It has been great to see her, and to meet Simon. Tomorrow I coach back to London town, then fly to Edinburgh, Scotland - I am very much looking forward to seeing "Sunday in the Park with George" as part of the Fringe Festival - Huzzah! Glasgow follows Edinburgh, before making my way down to Carlisle then Lancashire. Happy days :)

And with that, I shall leave you with some more photos and yet another...

Cheery bye :)