Exploring UK Begins

Wayne and I decided to revisit some sites in London Thursday afternoon.  One of my favorite is the Tower Bridge. 

 

 

 Friday morning Wayne and I got up early to get to Victoria bus station.  We had arranged a tour to see Leeds Castle, White Cliffs of Dover, and Canterbury Cathedral. It took a little work to figure out where the bus station was.  We knew it was by the Victoria tube station. 

According to one of the travel books I have, Leeds Castle is "The Loveliest in the World."  It is lovely and more modern than most.  It was first built in 1119 on two small islands in the middle of a lake. It had been Catherine of Aragon's castle, one of King Henry VIII wives.  It was bought by an American, Lady Baillie.  Mr. Hearst of Hearst Castle in California had also thought of buying it.  She got it first.  She actually spent time here and entertained people like JFK.

You can see it is quite modern.  Fresh flowers are always on display. 

 

 The grounds are lovely too.

 Our next stop was the White Cliffs of Dover.  When we were on our cruise I think we went past the cliffs at night.  Since we were visiting in the day time, I was hoping to get a little closer and perhaps walk on them.  Maybe another time. 

 Dover is a beach city.  Rock are their beach.  Not quite as fun as Southern California's sandy beaches.  The tour guide said that maybe in a thousand year it would be a sandy beach.  I don't have that much time to wait. 

 The city of Canterbury was our next stop.  The main attraction was the Cathedral.  It was built in 597.  It is the first Gothic style in England.  It is famous for the murder of Thomas Becket.  He was the archbishop of Canterbury. 

 The insides are very pretty.  Stain glass amazes me.

Saturday was Natalie's birthday.  She looked happy, but I am not so sure about Marisa.  After a nice breakfast, she opened up presents.  Then we tried to see some Olympic things. 



 After having tried, Tim and Tanya and the girls went home.  Wayne and I headed to Borough Market.  It is always a fun place to visit.  The breads are exceptional.