England Trip: Part 3
Continued from last time
Tuesday, June 2nd
We woke up early. Finished packing for our three day roadtrip. I made some sandwiches and took some no sugar added Creme soda with us. After the car was all packed up, we started our trip. This trip was FILLED with roundabouts. Lots of roundabouts. Emily, MC's GPS, was good to warn us ahead of time but, after awhile, you get tired of having to stop and drive around a circle.. or, as a passenger not use to so many roundabouts, it was. The first place we were going was a surprise so I spent most of the time trying to figure it out as we drove down south. After 3 or so hours and lots of heat, we ended up at Westbury to see the White Horse on the hill. I will admit that it was so hot and such a long trip that I was more interested in the wonderful breeze and eating my sandwich (sorry dear). Sandwich had cucumber in it which made it quite refreshing. The no sugar added Creme was good too. It didn't have a strong creme flavor but it was quite good and MC mention he'd never had creme soda before (O_O) and liked it. The view on the top of the hill was nice (except for the cement plant LOL). Eventually I got the importance and significance of the horse... and the breeze was really nice after being in the car so long. After the white horse, I did know where we were going. Originally it too was suppose to be a secret but I found out the Saturday before from his sister that we were going. I was really happy and excited that we were going to Stonehedge Stonehenge. MC drove us over there. I took many many photos. There were tons of school groups and various tour groups. I have a picture or two that shows the amount of people there. I was lucky to get some photos without people in them at least. Comparing notes with my mom's visit in 1985 (?), a lot had changed there. You now get to the circle by walking through a tunnel that goes under the roadway. You also can't get close to the circle. But still worth a visit if you can appreciate what you are going there to see. Unfortunately for some of the students, they had no clue why they were brought into the middle of nowhere to see "some old smelly moldy rocks" and complain bitterly about the giant bugs flying around. In their defense, those were big "bugs." I think they were flying beetles of some sort. One landed on my shirt and wouldn't let go. MC had to help me and swears it landed with a loud thud. Bugs or not, large groups of people or not, still worth a visit. Next we went to the hotel, which was nearby. Unloaded the car. Relaxed a bit. Went back out to see another nearby stone circle at Avebury. Saw the "stone avenue" first and spent a bit of time there walking and taking pictures. Should have kept on that way but we went back to the car and drove up the actual stone circle. Unfortunately the parking lot closed at 6 and we got there at 5:30. We weren't that close to the circle either so we did a photo drive-by instead. I don't think it came out that well but I tried. I also tried very hard to take a photo of a tank crossing sign. Have one but blurry. You get the idea. And, no, we did not see any tanks. :( We kept looking though. Dinner that night was by the hotel. We went to Little Chef, which I will describe as a failed attempt to be like Denny's that want to be a little better but not really. Alan liked his meal. Mine was okay. I swear the chicken patty was just like the chicken patties we bought at the supermarket though. And I was starting to want unbreaded chicken. Enjoyed some much needed sleep.
Wednesday
If you are ever in England and stay at a Travelodge, get the breakfast at the ones with the restaurant and stay away from the breakfast when they don't. It looks like this. It wasn't the worse thing in the world but we probably would have gone to the Little Chef instead for breakfast. Oh well. This was the day we spent in the wonderful seaside town of Brighton. MC wanted me to see a classic Victoria pier. I also got a chance to see some "interesting" Victoria architecture as well. The town reminded me in areas of San Francisco and then I'd see a little bit of the Coney Island/Jersey Shoreline/Santa Cruz feel but that it was on a pier instead. I kept seeing bits of other places in it. Certainly not a bad thing. I'm not much a shopper (unless its for gadget and stuff like that :D) but I could see shoppers enjoying all the little shops, cafés, and boutiques. I could also see uniquekat doing a massive photo shoot there too. After finding some parking and some minor photo-worthy distractions, MC and I made our way to the pier. Walked through the arcade and laughed at the machine with the iPod Shuffles in it (have a photo of it). Saw the rides and went to find some lunch. Settled on getting fish and chips. The regular portion was huge and we ate them enjoying the view off the pier. Walked around the pier and eventually the promenade. Then, because I'm a weirdo, we went in search of a Starbucks. Not to knock Starbucks but, internationally, they are quite different. No ice tea. No iced coffee. No tea lattes (not a surprise). The sizes are named the same but the iced Venti is smaller than its US cousin. I missed my extra 4 ounces of iced goodness. But without my two favorite summer drinks to get (ice tea and iced coffee) and not get a frap, I ordered an iced non-fat upside down caramel macchiato. I got a blank look. For one thing, non-fat milk is called skimmed milk in the UK. Not many people ask for upside down I'm guessing, which is them making the caramel macchiato more like a latte and putting the espresso at the bottom of the drink instead of the top. MC was lucky and just wanted his usual tea so that was easy. He made me order though. Got to get him use to Starbuck-ese. I think my drink was made with full fat milk because it tasted so good and creamy. Oh well. Walked around Brighton a little more until we decided to walk back to the car. Next stop was Ashford. This Travelodge was quite different than the other one. It was also surrounded by several different places to eat and a movie theatre. We had some time to hang out so we checked out the place. Ended up eating at a place called Frankie & Johnny's. It was very much like a US chain theme restaurant. Quite noisy but the food was good. Got a grilled chicken sandwich that I was quite pleased with and MC got a hamburger he seemed to enjoy. Left with a slight headache but our tummies were happy. Walked to the movie theatre and we thinking of seeing Star Trek but the wait was an hour. We went back to the hotel instead and just relaxed. MC was tired from all the driving anyway.
Thursday
Woke up and got breakfast at the restaurant at the Travelodge. It was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet of eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, etc etc. Tea, coffee, oj, etc were included as well. I probably ate a bit too much that morning. MC settled for cereal. We drove over to Dover. As with Brighton, I had seen bits of Dover from that evil car show called Top Gear. We drove past the main part of the town, which looked worth a trip back one day, and went towards the white cliffs. After Emily took us further down the road than we should have gone, we ended up parking the car at the visitor's center and went for a walk. Saw a VERY overcast bit of France if I squinted. Now that I know better, the cliffs can be appreciated from walking along the top of them but the real views are probably from boat. Stupid me decided to keep going and tackle a certain hill. Didn't realize that to get to hill we had to go through some valleys and walk quite further than I thought. In other words, I tried to kill myself in Dover. We did get to the top of the "hill" I want to get over and I collapsed when I didn't see what I wanted to see. Did see the lighthouse though. And we did see three wild ponies. I have a picture or two of the one we saw close up. Narrowly survived the walk back. We ended up eating at the visitor's center. Had a sandwich and a Coke (which in Britain is labels as.. darn. I forget. But something to do with vegetable juice.). MC had tea and a sandwich. Rested quite a bit. Went back to the car and MC started driving us back. I ended up being SO tired that I slept in the car. Journey was long and hot. MC was tired as well and probably wanted to sleep too but one of us had to drive the car. Made it home. Unpacked. Rested. Think we were quite hungry so dinner was probably thrown in the oven. Collapse.
One interesting thing to note about me sleeping in the car. I rarely sleep in cars. I rarely sleep that well in odd places. Around MC, I sleep in car. I sleep in odd places. I fall asleep with my head resting on his shoulder. *shrugs* Probably for the best anyway. I probably end up being less cranky... maybe.
Next time: Rest. Some more visiting. Slightly cooler weather and rain. Getting ready for London..
Tuesday, June 2nd
We woke up early. Finished packing for our three day roadtrip. I made some sandwiches and took some no sugar added Creme soda with us. After the car was all packed up, we started our trip. This trip was FILLED with roundabouts. Lots of roundabouts. Emily, MC's GPS, was good to warn us ahead of time but, after awhile, you get tired of having to stop and drive around a circle.. or, as a passenger not use to so many roundabouts, it was. The first place we were going was a surprise so I spent most of the time trying to figure it out as we drove down south. After 3 or so hours and lots of heat, we ended up at Westbury to see the White Horse on the hill. I will admit that it was so hot and such a long trip that I was more interested in the wonderful breeze and eating my sandwich (sorry dear). Sandwich had cucumber in it which made it quite refreshing. The no sugar added Creme was good too. It didn't have a strong creme flavor but it was quite good and MC mention he'd never had creme soda before (O_O) and liked it. The view on the top of the hill was nice (except for the cement plant LOL). Eventually I got the importance and significance of the horse... and the breeze was really nice after being in the car so long. After the white horse, I did know where we were going. Originally it too was suppose to be a secret but I found out the Saturday before from his sister that we were going. I was really happy and excited that we were going to Stonehedge Stonehenge. MC drove us over there. I took many many photos. There were tons of school groups and various tour groups. I have a picture or two that shows the amount of people there. I was lucky to get some photos without people in them at least. Comparing notes with my mom's visit in 1985 (?), a lot had changed there. You now get to the circle by walking through a tunnel that goes under the roadway. You also can't get close to the circle. But still worth a visit if you can appreciate what you are going there to see. Unfortunately for some of the students, they had no clue why they were brought into the middle of nowhere to see "some old smelly moldy rocks" and complain bitterly about the giant bugs flying around. In their defense, those were big "bugs." I think they were flying beetles of some sort. One landed on my shirt and wouldn't let go. MC had to help me and swears it landed with a loud thud. Bugs or not, large groups of people or not, still worth a visit. Next we went to the hotel, which was nearby. Unloaded the car. Relaxed a bit. Went back out to see another nearby stone circle at Avebury. Saw the "stone avenue" first and spent a bit of time there walking and taking pictures. Should have kept on that way but we went back to the car and drove up the actual stone circle. Unfortunately the parking lot closed at 6 and we got there at 5:30. We weren't that close to the circle either so we did a photo drive-by instead. I don't think it came out that well but I tried. I also tried very hard to take a photo of a tank crossing sign. Have one but blurry. You get the idea. And, no, we did not see any tanks. :( We kept looking though. Dinner that night was by the hotel. We went to Little Chef, which I will describe as a failed attempt to be like Denny's that want to be a little better but not really. Alan liked his meal. Mine was okay. I swear the chicken patty was just like the chicken patties we bought at the supermarket though. And I was starting to want unbreaded chicken. Enjoyed some much needed sleep.
Wednesday
If you are ever in England and stay at a Travelodge, get the breakfast at the ones with the restaurant and stay away from the breakfast when they don't. It looks like this. It wasn't the worse thing in the world but we probably would have gone to the Little Chef instead for breakfast. Oh well. This was the day we spent in the wonderful seaside town of Brighton. MC wanted me to see a classic Victoria pier. I also got a chance to see some "interesting" Victoria architecture as well. The town reminded me in areas of San Francisco and then I'd see a little bit of the Coney Island/Jersey Shoreline/Santa Cruz feel but that it was on a pier instead. I kept seeing bits of other places in it. Certainly not a bad thing. I'm not much a shopper (unless its for gadget and stuff like that :D) but I could see shoppers enjoying all the little shops, cafés, and boutiques. I could also see uniquekat doing a massive photo shoot there too. After finding some parking and some minor photo-worthy distractions, MC and I made our way to the pier. Walked through the arcade and laughed at the machine with the iPod Shuffles in it (have a photo of it). Saw the rides and went to find some lunch. Settled on getting fish and chips. The regular portion was huge and we ate them enjoying the view off the pier. Walked around the pier and eventually the promenade. Then, because I'm a weirdo, we went in search of a Starbucks. Not to knock Starbucks but, internationally, they are quite different. No ice tea. No iced coffee. No tea lattes (not a surprise). The sizes are named the same but the iced Venti is smaller than its US cousin. I missed my extra 4 ounces of iced goodness. But without my two favorite summer drinks to get (ice tea and iced coffee) and not get a frap, I ordered an iced non-fat upside down caramel macchiato. I got a blank look. For one thing, non-fat milk is called skimmed milk in the UK. Not many people ask for upside down I'm guessing, which is them making the caramel macchiato more like a latte and putting the espresso at the bottom of the drink instead of the top. MC was lucky and just wanted his usual tea so that was easy. He made me order though. Got to get him use to Starbuck-ese. I think my drink was made with full fat milk because it tasted so good and creamy. Oh well. Walked around Brighton a little more until we decided to walk back to the car. Next stop was Ashford. This Travelodge was quite different than the other one. It was also surrounded by several different places to eat and a movie theatre. We had some time to hang out so we checked out the place. Ended up eating at a place called Frankie & Johnny's. It was very much like a US chain theme restaurant. Quite noisy but the food was good. Got a grilled chicken sandwich that I was quite pleased with and MC got a hamburger he seemed to enjoy. Left with a slight headache but our tummies were happy. Walked to the movie theatre and we thinking of seeing Star Trek but the wait was an hour. We went back to the hotel instead and just relaxed. MC was tired from all the driving anyway.
Thursday
Woke up and got breakfast at the restaurant at the Travelodge. It was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet of eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, etc etc. Tea, coffee, oj, etc were included as well. I probably ate a bit too much that morning. MC settled for cereal. We drove over to Dover. As with Brighton, I had seen bits of Dover from that evil car show called Top Gear. We drove past the main part of the town, which looked worth a trip back one day, and went towards the white cliffs. After Emily took us further down the road than we should have gone, we ended up parking the car at the visitor's center and went for a walk. Saw a VERY overcast bit of France if I squinted. Now that I know better, the cliffs can be appreciated from walking along the top of them but the real views are probably from boat. Stupid me decided to keep going and tackle a certain hill. Didn't realize that to get to hill we had to go through some valleys and walk quite further than I thought. In other words, I tried to kill myself in Dover. We did get to the top of the "hill" I want to get over and I collapsed when I didn't see what I wanted to see. Did see the lighthouse though. And we did see three wild ponies. I have a picture or two of the one we saw close up. Narrowly survived the walk back. We ended up eating at the visitor's center. Had a sandwich and a Coke (which in Britain is labels as.. darn. I forget. But something to do with vegetable juice.). MC had tea and a sandwich. Rested quite a bit. Went back to the car and MC started driving us back. I ended up being SO tired that I slept in the car. Journey was long and hot. MC was tired as well and probably wanted to sleep too but one of us had to drive the car. Made it home. Unpacked. Rested. Think we were quite hungry so dinner was probably thrown in the oven. Collapse.
One interesting thing to note about me sleeping in the car. I rarely sleep in cars. I rarely sleep that well in odd places. Around MC, I sleep in car. I sleep in odd places. I fall asleep with my head resting on his shoulder. *shrugs* Probably for the best anyway. I probably end up being less cranky... maybe.
Next time: Rest. Some more visiting. Slightly cooler weather and rain. Getting ready for London..