Friday, July 8, 2011

I'm just a swim away from France!

Yeah, I definitely want to go back to Dover. I need more time (story of my vacationing life).
It looked like it was going to be a gross day when I left the B&B, so I decided that the bus would be the better option. However, when I got to the marina, I couldn't find the ticket office. I found the place where the boats sailed from, but they didn't sell the tickets there. I looked around for a bit and got really confused, then looked across the road and saw a sign saying 'Tickets Sold Here.' Score one for Dover, zero for Carly.
When I did get there, I was told that they were already out on a different tour and wouldn't get back until 2.45. Since my coach was set to depart at 3.05, I elected to just walk. The lady at the booth was really helpful - just walk to the castle, then past it and you're there.
I was walking along the beach, so I took a detour. Unfortunately, those beaches were almost entirely made up of rocks so it was rather painful to walk to the water and back up. It was worth it though - I've been in the English Channel! :D It felt amazing to just stand with my deet in the water too - even if the tide seemed to rise as I stood there...
Then I set off for the Cliffs. The castle sits on top of a hill so I walked up only to find that I was going the wrong way - I needed to walk farther along the seafront to another hill to get to the Cliffs. Dover: 2, Carly: 0.
So I set off on my corrected course and had to climb a steeper hill and more stairs. After the walk to the castle, I stopped a few times on the way to the Cliffs. When I did stop, I kept telling myself 'It's gonna be worth it, it's gonna be worth it...'
And it totally was. The views from the top were beautiful - I was so justified in wanting to go to Dover for them alone. It was also crazy windy, but that was only a slight deterrant, and then only when I was standing closer to the edge. Just being there was extremely relaxing, I wish I could've stayed longer, if only to try and use my umbrella to pull a Mary Poppins...
I decidedx to take a lemonade break in the visitors centre before returning to the coach. I also bought a postcard and the lady at the till complimented me on my shirt - I was wearing my Finding Nemo seagulls shirt, Mine Mine Mine! She said they could probably sell them there - there are so many seagulls in Dover :]
It was looking nasty on my way to the ticket office, but on my way to the Cliffs it got steadily better until it was an absolutely beautiful day as I looked out from the top. It wasn't clear enough to see France though.
I got to the coach station early so I sat in a park nearby and read. It was bright and sunny and when I looked up, I was looking right at the castle. It's such a cool looking castle - it's more of a fortress. I wish I could've gone inside.
On the way back I saw a building dated 1403 (about 350 years before America is even thinking of independence...) and we drove through Greenwich - I want to go back there sometime to see the Prime Meridian. Having stayed awake this time, I can see why it took us an hour to get out of Greater London yesterday - the traffic was pretty crazy!
Once I got back to my room, I sat down and didn't want to get back up ever again. I did quite a bit of walking today - I'm thinking I'm going to be fairly sore tomorrow. However, I'm really glad I've got good Clarks sandals - it could've been so much worse...
After unpacking I decided to be lazy and just read. It was great :D
I don't have to get up for anything tomorrow, (Huzzah!) so I'm curious to see how late I'll sleep, Just watch, I'll be up and ready to go even earlier than normal, just to be annoying...
Till then,
-Carly

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