English Vacation (Day 15): Dover and Sandwich

This morning was the start of our last week in England. Kiersa's been prepping for crawling during this vacation by getting on her hands and knees and rocking. We only have slick floors, so being on Daisha's rug gave her the grip to get on her hands and knees.


We decided to cram all that we could into our final days, so we went off to see the "White Cliffs of Dover" today. We drove down south to Dover and got out to brave the cliff walking with 4 small kids. The cliffs were impressive with how tall and white they were. We walked for a bit, took a few pictures, then it started raining on us, so we ran back to the car.


They had a Dyson hand dryer there, so I had Hyrum take a picture of it. I love these things! Best bathroom invention since the seat protector.



We took a picture of Dover Castle,


then drove on to Sandwich, to eat a sandwich.



The earl of Sandwich is credited with creating sandwiches. He wanted his meat put between two slices of bread to make it easier to eat on the go, and thus it was created. Sandwich was a very cute little village. Just look at this Virginia Creeper!


We parked and set off looking for the "No Name Shop" on No Name Street to have a sandwich, but we had a hard time finding our bearings, and got caught in a downpour with no where to turn. We dodged into an alley, which was appropriately named the "Holy Ghost Alley".


We managed to find some shelter from the rain in the alley. Like English rain always does, it stopped soon after it started, and we were able to walk on again. We finally found our destination and went inside.


This is how they used to spell Jail (Gaol).


This street lived up to its name.


Look how skinny this street is!


The No Name Shop was a french shop with cheese and bread, so when you walk in, you're hit smack in the face with the foul odor of stinky cheese and curdled milk. The kids plugged their noses while we looked at what was to offer in the way of food. There were bowls of sardines and crazy, freaky looking stuff, so Hyrum, not being an adventurous eater, determined not to order anything. Daisha recommended a baguette sandwich to me, so I got that and the kids got some melted cheese croissants. I knew Hyrum would be sorry that he didn't eat, so I got him a plain croissant since those are always delicious. We got some great drinks, and it all was so delicious. I convinced Hyrum to try my sandwich, and he had to admit it was indeed really tasty.


We found a little shop with fresh produce that had the most beautiful fruit I've seen in a long time. Hyrum bought some berries while Daisha bought some ballet and tap shoes for Tabitha. Yes, they were all from the same store. I don't know how you'd describe a shop like that. I've never seen one like it before.

We left Sandwich and headed toward home making a few stops along the way. First we stopped in Canterbury, and made an effort to push their crooked building back into place. No such luck.


We went to Canterbury to see the cathedral, which is where the Archbishop of the Anglican church resides.

The kids liked their magnets we got them.



We toured around the cathedral for a bit, but we were kind of "illegally" parked at a store, so we had to hurry since we were afraid we'd get ticketed. We saw where a man was decapitated in the cathedral, and let the kids light a tea candle for fun.


We hurried back to the car, but stopped to let Talea stand in a shrimpy doorway.



We dropped into the store we had parked at to look for a couple of things, and Hyrum got to experience the trolleys (shopping carts). At this store, you put a pound into the slot and it will unlock a cart for you, then when you're done shopping, you lock it back up and get your pound back. That's how they keep shopping carts from getting left around in the parking lot.



After we left Canterbury, we stopped at Rochester and quickly drove around the city. It had a big cathedral there, considering the size of the town.


Shockingly, Edward beat us home. He's been having to stay late at work each night, but tonight we were out later than he was, so he and Dakota had the house to themselves.

While at Daisha's, I wasn't allowed to lift a finger to do housework or anything of the sort, so with all the pampering Daisha gave me, my nails grew to the longest they've ever been in my life. Thanks for such a long, fun break, Daish.