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| come visit me at... |
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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Right after breakfast we were on the road to Faversham and its annual hop festival. Since I had also booked a tour of the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham at 11 a.m., I was eager to get on the way and avoid searching for a parking space. Although I am quite often the subject of derision due to my habit of starting off quite early, this time it was a good idea (it usually is) as the parking lots near the town were already filling up with people from all over. I'm still not used to how Europe has become so easily travelled by residents of the EU countries who think hopping across the channel or across a border is all in a day's journey and most of these travellers speak several languages in a variety of beautiful accents.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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The trip from Snargate to Canterbury was the sort of pastoral England drive that I adore with long stretches of green, quick glimpses of pubs and the hop country addition of oast houses - big barn like structures where the hops are dried that can be easily identified by their cone shaped roofs topped with a bent tip. I recount these sights largely from the return trip though since I slept my way (hopefully not snored and drooled my way) to Canterbury waking only to act as the lookout for our B&B. |
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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After a long day in the Cleveland Airport and a long night on a plane (broken up by an excellent vegetarian in flight meal, I highly recommend choosing veg when flying as it arrives sooner and is most always tasty), I arrived in Gatwick and was pleased to find it not to be the bugaboo I had feared. Still, as my chauffeur pulled into Tunbridge Wells I found myself lagging far behind, even the sight of a functioning train station (usually one of my favorites) did nothing to reengergize me. So, we searched for a coffee shop where I could get a double shot of green tea, a banana and an energy drink laced with vitamin B. It is a sign of how low I was that I took pictures of neither the train station nor the very agreeable coffee shop. Feeling better the search was on for an adapter for my laptop power cord (found at Curry's, thanks to an extremely helpful young man) and a charger for my UK side cellphone (found at a Car Phone Warehouse). Despite the fact that we were in a decidely retail oriented section of Tunbridge Wells (the Car Phone Warehouse was inside a mall), what I saw of the burg was enough to make me think I wouldn't mind going back plus it gave me two of my favorite pictures of the trip... |
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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On my previous trips to England I've flown into Bristol International Airport. It's smaller (by a lot) than either Heathrow or Gatwick which makes getting through customs going both ways somewhat faster. Plus, despite the Bristol Airport's small size at 10 a.m. you can still get a final warm beer at its restaurant before leaving the country. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gatwick on a Saturday morning was not nearly the woolly bear I had been told to expect. From all accounts I had feared that I would still be standing in the customs line to get into England six days later when it was time to leave but a scant 90 minutes after getting off the plane I was meeting my host and his car.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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"Stop it, you're giving me the blues." I don't remember the story that goes with that Dick Shawn punch line but I do know even if you're not a devotee of the blues (which I am not) visiting the Lafayette Tap Room in Buffalo, New York is a fun way to wind up a Saturday night.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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I love England but I don't drive while I'm there and don't think I ever would. No matter what my British acquaintances say, their traffic signs make no sense and the roads are all bendy and narrow which makes for great passenger side travelling (if you're with a good driver) but doesn't appeal to me all as a skill to learn while on holiday. Thus, when I visited Stonehenge I was the navigator and the designated "Stonehenge lookout" - which led to what will be a lifelong misunderstanding between me and the person who was driving. He thinks I was disappointed with Stonehenge, I wasn't disappointed at all - it is my all time favorite place made out of great big rocks, I just thought one would be able to spot it from the road.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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I'm always looking for pubs, restaurants, bars, people's houses - whatever you will - with steel tip darts but my new favorite place for watching football (when you watch soccer in a restaurant with a British flag on the front door, it's football) and playing darts totally snuck up on me. I had asked the concierge at a Cleveland hotel for the best scenic drive to Sandusky and she had guided me toward Rocky River Road. With Friday afternoon traffic to wade through The Pub almost slipped by us. We actually had to circle back and hunt for what we thought we saw but, boy howdy, are we glad we did. Now no matter where I'm travelling in the area, I find a reason to drop by, have an ale and beat my friend in darts.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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It was easier to spot Shakespeare's Restaurant & Pub on the rural landscape of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania than it was to pick out Stonehenge from the highway on my first visit to England. |
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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There are - to my knowledge - two restaurants in downtown Sandusky, Ohio that serve dinner (other than the members only Sandusky Yacht Club); that one of the two should be a top notch French restaurant speaks of both the potential Sandusky has and the problems Sandusky faces.
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| Posted by Traveller at | | | |
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