Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tuesday 29th June
Battle, Canterbury and Dover

High on the 'hysterical' list of things to see was the site of the Battle of Hastings, 1066. I have to admit that this was interesting, but Ray's knowledge of British history is helpful. Although they had audio tours to lead you around the battlefield and explain the tactics and etc, being able to ask Ray some 'blonde' questions helped.
There was an abbey built on the site of the battle in 1070, ordered by the Pope to atone for the brutal death and mutilation of King Harold by the Normans.
Here you can see Ray checking out some of the ruins - turns out it was the latrine!! (that's the loo, bog, dunny etc).



We had some lunch in the grounds of this cafe. It is an original tudor building, from the time of the abbey. It was called Pilgrim's Rest and essentially that's what is was originally. It's located right outside the abbey entrance.
It was called a Hospital, but in those days that meant "a house for the reception and entertainment of pilgrims, travellers or strangers"








Thi is our first look at Canterbury Cathedral. It's awesome to see the detail of the architecture - both inside and out.
It was an overwhelming experience. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and the volunteer guides were fabulous. One of them picked our accent (I wonder how - seeing as I talk so posh and all - y'know?) and handed us a brochure detailing the Australian connections with the Cathederal.
I took some photos in the Cathederal, but I'm no photographer. they don't do it justice at all. We have taken to buying guide books.
Note to my brother Terry - if you ever go there you will need a week!
We finished the day with a quick run down to Dover. the White Cliffs were on my list of "must sees'. We came, we saw, we photographed and we headed home. this was a 12 hour day!!


Still Monday
We left Fishbourne and the Roman Palace behind to head for Portsmouth and the Naval Museum.
this was one of Ray's "must sees". He want to see HMS Victory and the Mary Rose. Unfortunately the Mary Rose is undergoing some extensive conservation and will not been seen by the public again for several years.
The HMS Victory, however, was open and available for touring. It is quite fascinating. For the less 'hysterical' amongst you this was Admiral Lord Nelson's ship - and the one he died on. there is a marker for where he was shot and one somewhere below decks (I don't know the technical jargon for ships) where he actually died.
Personally I liked his cot better!
As were were leaving we met this pirate. He was very friendly and not only did Poppy Ray get to have his photo taken with the pirate, but he gave us a present for Jai and Taj too!!











We finished the day off with a drive to Selsey - another coastal town that had the same pebbly beach as Bognor Regis, and just to top things off had a pint or two in a very quaint pub to fortify us for the drive home.





Monday 28th June

Loaded with a full English breakfast we headed out for the day.

First stop was an excavated Roman Palace in Fishbourne. It is truly amazing. It is the oldest Roman building found in the UK and they have unearthed a copius amount of artifacts. The highlight of the site are the original mosaic tiled floors of an entire wing of what was a very large complex. The tour guide was so interesting as he explained (over a projected scale model)what they found and what they think it means in historical terms that I have almost become a convert to all things hysterical - sorry, I meant historical!

They had also recreated the gardens and had interesting info about plants and their uses - I found one that they used for physical and MENTAL pain, as well as one for melancholia. See - they were nuts then too!


PS I'm struggling with uploading the photos, but watch this space as I may have finally overcome the jetlag and worked it out.






Sunday 27th June

We arrived at Heathrow Airport at around 6.30am, breezed through immigration and customs and then scurried out the nearest exit to engage in our favourite vice......

We grabbed a coffee and then waited in vain for the rep from the hire car company to meet us. It turns out I had stuffed up and they weren't expected until 10.00am! anyway we sorted that and ended up not in a Prius, but a VW diesel Golf. Nice!

Getting out of Heathrow was not too drastic, except for turning on the windscreen wipers every time I needed the blinkers!! Much of the drive to our first port of call was on motorway, so rather boring, but as we got closer to our destination it became much more interesting, we made our way through some beautiful country landscapes, literally littered with quaint villages. Exactly what I expected - How cool is that! I wouls have taken photos, but there never seemed to be anywhere you could pull over.

The narrowness of the roads was a little worrying on occasion - stone walls literally at the edge of the road on one side and hedges on the other. There are some interesting road signs as well - where we would have a sign to tell us there's a one lane bridge, here there's a sign to tell you 'caution - oncoming traffic in middle of road' - true enough I guess. There are also some wierd curved arrows in the middle of the roads and I have no idea what they mean. traffic lights can be a bit of a worry. The lights on the left are not necessarily the same as the ones on the right. the drivers are very polite though - when you wait for oncoming traffic to go through, they all wave.

We arrived at our hotel in Bognor Regis and headed across the road to check out the beach.

What can I say - it's almost the epitome of what an Aussie would expect of an English beach. Pebbles (rocks), and little cabin thingys (like Brighton in Vic). I confess to being disappointed that ther was not a man in a deckchair with his long pants rolled up to the knees and a hanky tied at the corners on his head. There was, however, a pier - complete with amusement centre and a fish and chip shop (or two or three), where Ray was happy to reminisce with Cod and Chips on the beach.

Ready Steady Go!!

Here we are at Sydney International Airport ready to fly.
I have decided that long haul flights are rather like being in hospital - some cheerful sounding person comes over on the public address system and in dulcet tones suggests you relax and enjoy your flight. It is quite a mystery how anyone can enjoy 24 hours in the same cramped seat where not even the vertically challenged have enough leg room, however you decide to take the advice of the cheerful flight crew member and make the most of it. No sooner have you found a relatively natural and reasonably comfortable position, seat back, headrest engaged, than some other sweet talking member of the crew comes along to feed you, or make you move the bag you were using as a footrest, hand you an immigration card to complete, or even try to sell you duty free goods.
Now tell me if you can't see the comparison to being in hospital - "rest now, so you can get better" is what they say, but..... we'll just check your obs, feed you one of six meals a day, wake you up for the doctor or send the pink ladies around to sell you a chocolate. Oh well - my short attention span is finally useful for something!
Not to worry - we did arrive in one piece. Stay tuned.........
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