The city of Dover
On Saturday we took our final excursion with the students - we went to Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle. Canterbury is a quaint English town with shops and markets and the beautiful cathedral. We had a tour, but there was a choir rehersal going on so we couldn't hear our guide very well (and I wanted to listen to the music). So I didn't learn very much I am afraid! Sir Thomas Beckett, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury was killed in the cathedral by King Henry VIII's (I think I have the right king!) knights when the knights thought the king wanted him killed, but he really didn't. So it was a big deal and there is lots of info about him. He was buried there in two different places, but has since been relocated and no one knows where...
We then went to Dover Castle, which is a huge "compound" type of place and was used during WWII. It overlooks the city of Dover and the English Channel and is on a pretty high hilltop. We didn't get to see the secret war tunnels or go inside any of the many buildings, but we had fun walking around the grounds and seeing the English Channel. We could just barely make out France in the background. And the white cliffs of Dover didn't disappoint! Sean had a great time with the students - hiding in some of the battlements and jumping out and "scaring" them. We decided to buy Sean a sword and shield because he is so fasinated by knights, gladiators, and pirates - so we've been playing with them constantly. I wasn't going to ever let him have a toy sword, gun, etc.... oh well! He was using sticks and pretending all the time anyway!
On Sunday we went with my cousin and her daughter to the Golden Hinde, a replica of Sir Frances Drake's wooden ship. He used this ship to circumnavigate the globe in the 16th century, and the replica has also been around the world. Pretty amazing when you see it in person because it is really small and the sailors would have to be really short to fit inside the ship! Sean and Madeley played pirate on the ship for awhile, then we walked along the south bank of the Thames. It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic lunch outside of the Tate Modern, overlooking the river. Then we walked some more and enjoyed the street performers and teenages on skateboards doing lots of fancy tricks. If we only had some gelato...
This week we've played with friends every day and have enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. It has been sunny here for the last 4 days, and is predicted to stay sunny for 2-3 more days! Our "best" friends here are leaving in the beginning of April, so we are trying to play with them as much as possible before they leave. We also figured out our travel schedule for the end of our trip - we are going to Paris after Mike is done teaching for a few days, and then ending our trip by visiting EuroDisney. Sean will LOVE it and will be a great closing memory for him. We will return to the states on May 2. We've made our list of all the things we have to see before we leave, and will hopefully get to all of them!
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