Leeds Castle and Canterbury

Our last excursion from London took us to on an adventure through the county of Kent, England. We had scheduled another tour via Golden Tours which included Leeds Castle, the Cliffs of Dover, and Canterbury (famed for the Canterbury Tales). We met our tour group early in the morning and headed out to the England countryside.

Leeds Castle is known as the "loveliest castle in the world". Before we arrived, our tour guide gave us some history behind the castle. Think King Edward, Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon -- all the way to "present" day where it was privately owned by Lady Baillie until she passed away in 1974. We drove onto the grounds, and it was one of those breath-taking moments seeing the castle for the first time. I felt like we were going to run into Robin Hood or King Arthur! During the Lady Baillie years I can envision a "Great Gatsby" party every day. Apparently she was the "hostess with the mostess". We bought a fascinating book about her life (Lady Baillie at Leeds Castle) if you want to know more about her!

When we arrived we were greeted with a shot of mead.  THIS IS GOING TO BE A FUN TOUR. :-) 

We set off to explore the castle. We were given a little paper map/guide to lead us along the way.  Here's Henry's self portrait:

How would you like to take a shower here? 

A nice view into the courtyard.  I can imagine music being played here and drifting through all the windows...

A closet full of shoes (little bitty feet)... 

and the library.  Always one of our favorite rooms in any house. Or castle! 

We had extra time before our scheduled departure, so we were able to walk around the grounds. They host many events here throughout the year. They had just hosted a flower show. A few scattered buds were laying here and there.

 

We left Leeds and headed towards Canterbury. Part of this tour was getting the opportunity to see the "White Cliffs of Dover". The fog was heavy when we arrived, but it was such an amazing view. Did you watch Dunkirk? There was a monument memorializing the battle. The beach was definitely not white sand (like we are familiar with), but little rocks and pebbles. We MIGHT have taken two back with us.

From there we drove over to Canterbury. In high school we both had read The Canterbury Tales. We even walked around our high school dressed up like characters from the book. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that reenactment. HA! 

Canterbury was another adorable little town. We could've spent a day exploring the shops and streets. It's biggest point of interest is the Canterbury Cathedral. The design and architecture are amazing. Below you can see some of the details.  Look at the little statues of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.

The cathedral is known as the "Mother Church" of England. It is a World Heritage Site. There is so much history and intrigue; from the pilgrimage to a famous murder (Thomas Beckett), and even a fire.

The inside is breath-taking. They were doing some repairs, but it did not take away from the beauty and sacredness of the building. 

 

Love this view of the ceiling!

We said good-bye to Canterbury and headed back to London. Our bus driver dropped us off actually in Greenwich but even though we had been earlier in the week, we ended up being able to walk through the National Maritime Museum. It was truly fascinating! If you have time to explore -- definitely check it out!

We were starving after the tour and went to a burger joint for a bite to eat. We were in the South Kensington area and had heard rave reviews about the desserts at The Hummingbird Bakery. We ran decided to pop over to split a sweet treat. We chose the carrot cake, and it was SO good. It melted in your mouth. I wish we could have tried one of everything!

Because we are crazy, non-stop adventure seekers, we decided to keep going and headed to a museum. Most all museums have one night a week they stay open late, and this was the night for the V&A museum. Little did we know this "late-night" event was more of a party atmosphere. They had a deejay, loud music, drinks, and LOTS of people. If we had not been so tired, it would have been a fun night out. During these event though, parts of the museum are closed, so we really could only see certain highlights. It was definitely one to remember, so check it out if that floats your boat. A place to be seen and people watch!

Whew. That was a long day! We covered a lot of ground. I looked up the distances, and it was an 160 mile round trip! We were able to see lots of different things, but we would've liked a little more time at each spot. It's definitely the way to go to see a lot in a short time!

We have one more day in London Town, and it ends up being one of our faves! Drinking more tea, Evensong, and finally a meat pie! Stay tuned! #SisAdventuresSaturday

The British Museum, Bubble Tea & a night at the theater

Today we had planned a leisure day in the city. On the agenda was The British Museum, Trafalgar Square, and a Broadway show in the West End! We slept in (FINALLY), took our time getting ready and had breakfast at the hotel. We took the tube (all by our little selves!) and met our friend at The British Museum. London has so many wonderful museums it was hard to decide which one to spend a morning at. This one is famed for having the most comprehensive art and artifacts in the WORLD. It was such a beautiful building. When you walk inside, you are in "the Great Court". This is the room which connects all the various galleries and the ceiling is made of glass. It was amazing!

Thankfully, @paigeintransit had been a few times before, so she was able to bring us to see the highlights. We definitely could have spent hours in each gallery.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to stroll above ground to take in all the sights and sounds. We made our way over to China town where we had our first Bubble Tea. It was in this cute little store, Cuppa Cha. It was so fun! We each got a different "base" tea, but we all had to get the little tapioca pearls. A little party in a bubble. Cheers!

We walked around a bit more and went to London's oldest bookstore, Hatchards. It has been occupying the same space for two CENTURIES. Isn't that amazing?! It had multi-levels, and we could have spent a day just in here. 

We had to pull ourselves away from sightseeing fun to head back to the hotel to get ready for our night at the theater. On the way back, we had to take a snap on the famous Maddox Street.  :-) 

We had reservations for dinner at an Indian cafe/restaurant called Dishoom. It was located on Carnaby Street. Carnaby Street is a pedestrian street in Soho lined with shopping and restaurants. This street was bustling with people. This is the perfect place to have a drink or just shop around. It was such a neat atmosphere.  

We didn't have to wait long for our table and settled in for a wonderful dining experience. Dishoom is touted as one of the last "Bombay cafes". It definitely had an old-school vibe, and you feel like you are transported to India. We shared several small plates and everything was scrumptious. This was definitely one of our favorite meals of the entire trip.

After dinner, we made our way over to the West End. Another MUST of the birthday trip was to see a "Broadway" show! We had booked tickets in advance to see DreamGirls. It was at the Savoy Theater located inside the Savoy Hotel. It was all glitz and glam!

As we were making our way in, one of the usher's stopped us and asked if we would like to upgrade our tickets for no charge. SAY WHAT!?!? We said, "what's the catch"?! Apparently the tickets we had bought came with a little souvenir notebook. Instead of the notebook we could have access to a private lounge, private restroom (before AND during intermission). TWIST MY ARM. We happily took the upgrade. Soooo, instead of heading to our seats, we were shown to the Ambassador Lounge. (what a story!)

Unfortunately, I don't have any tips or tricks to snag this upgrade, so I'll just say if they offer it -- TAKE IT.  (Yes, that's ice cream and nuts that we ate in the private lounge at intermission). 

The show was fabulous. Amber Riley (most known from the show Glee) was the star actress. She brought the house down on more than one number. The music, the singing, and the dancing were all fantastic. Definitely put this one on your list if it comes to a theater near you!

What a day! What a FUN day! BIG thanks to @paigeintransit for being our personal tour guide. Stay tuned for our last venture outside the city!