Day 18, White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury, England

What a glorious last day. I can't put into words how much fun this last day has been. I'm not sure if it's better to end a vacation with such a great day or if it makes it harder to go home. Right now I'm feeling the latter of the two. :( But let's start from the beginning. We got up and had a nice breakfast before heading to Canterbury. It was a bit confusing because our clocks changed last night (Apple phone and watch automatically updated to the new time zone), but the ship is staying in the other time which we'll be back in shortly when we start heading to Amsterdam. So when my watch says 9:00am according to the ship it is 10am. Just so long as we are not confused about the time when we are due to be "all aboard". Now that we've got the time straight we headed out to catch a cab to the train station. It would have been walkable, 25 minutes or so, but there was lots of road construction and the area was a bit confusing, so it was easier to pay the $10 for the cab. The cab driver asked us if we were going to Canterbury and we said "yes". He said I can take you cheaper than the train. Guy asked how much and he said 35 (pounds). That was one way. We knew the train was only 16 (pounds) for both of us ROUND TRIP. I don't have great math skills, but 16 pounds vs. 70 pounds is a chunk of change. About $100 US dollars for a cab ride...not today! So Guy politely thanked him for the info, but told him no. The cabbie didn't push, so I was glad.

The train station was small and the old guy at the counter was a grumpy old poo but at least he spoke English and was moderately helpful. We got 4 tickets for 16 pounds, two to use now and two for the return. It is more like a commuter train that makes lots of stops, but the return train just came straight back to Dover. Exiting the train station at Canterbury East the signs pointed us to the city center which we followed and it took us up on the city walls that ran along the old part of the city. There is a lot of history here and we stood over ruins of an old gate built by the Romans in early AD. Cool. We came by the bus station and there was a really nice outdoor mall area with modern shops (H&M of course) and a pharmacy. I zipped in to buy some Ibuprofen and self-checked out, just like at home. After we looked around the shops they led to the old part of town that was exceptionally quaint and absolutely charming as all get out. My first stop was the Starbucks for my England mug. I had two to choose from. One had the white cliffs of Dover on it (even tho I wasn't crazy about the portrait of the guy on the mug - will research to see who it is) but I had to get that one because the other mug was of London and other sites we've been to, but not on this particular trip. So with my mug safely in my backpack we started our adventure into Canterbury.

The streets reminded us a bit of Amsterdam (minus all the waterways) but the old buildings lean a bit and are often very short. They had the wooded beams still showing like we've seen in some of the older towns we've visited. Guy remembered a past story where the towns taxed the size of the first story, so the wooden beams stuck out and were exposed because the second floor that sat on them was wider and bigger than then first level (the taxable area). I asked Guy if the people from 1500 were only 5 feet tall because I'd have to duck to get into some of the old buildings. :) We leisurely walked up and down the streets taking pictures and enjoying the gorgeous sunny weather. Once again....blessed blessed blessed. As we came to a little waterway we saw some boats lined up that were offering punting. We did punting in New Zealand and it was so much fun. It's like gondolas in Venice without the singing, fancy boats and is affordable. Guy asked me if I wanted to do it but I didn't have to answer him, he could see it on my face. We chatted with the boat guys and they offered 3 options. 35 minutes, 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes pointing each route out on a map. I needed to use the ladies room before we got started, so they pointed us to a coffee shop where I got a cappuccino togo and used the girlie room. Back at the punting entrance we chose the 35 minute option because our time was limited in the town and we still had lots to see. Our "boatman" was Paul and he was amazing. He narrated a bit, but was mostly quiet and he let us sit back and enjoy the scenery. Once we got away from the park where some unruly kids were screaming, it was peacefully quiet with nothing but birds chirping. The ride was very smooth even tho he was pushing against the current with his long pole. We went under several low bridges and he would squat down to get under them. The boat never moved. He was good. I took some videos and photos, but mostly just looked around and soaked it all in. The ride ended a bit sooner than I would have liked, but I think he probably gave us more than our 35 minutes. He'd slow down when we had questions or if I was taking a picture or when we passed a mommy duck with two new little tiny babies. I could have stayed on the little boat all day. It was glorious (and better than therapy just like their sign promised). Money well spent.

As we headed back into town suddenly the little quaint town was overrun with tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. So we lucked out by getting at least a bit of time in Canterbury when it was still quiet. It cost 13 pounds to go into the beautiful cathedral that this town is noted for, but time didn't allow, so I just poked my head in and took a picture from the outside. Gorgeous. Next we did some shopping. This town, had I had a bit more time, would have cost Guy Alongi some money. The shops were cute and they had lots of lovely things. Yes, I bought shoes! Whew, just under the wire to pull of a decent purchase on this trip. While I was shopping, Guy was getting us some lunch in a cute little bakery. All I wanted was some fresh bread and butter with a Diet Coke. It was waiting for me when I arrived and we sat inside and ate. When we were done he went upstairs to use the guy's room and since it was warming up I took my puffy coat off and started folding it up. It is the kind that folds up into itself and zips up into a little tiny pillow that easily shoves into a backpack. The English lady sitting next to me was watching as I was doing my jacket disappearing act because I could see her out of the corner of my eye. After I was done I looked at her and she exclaimed "That was brilliant!" (In her fabulous British accent). That was all that was necessary to spark great conversation with her and her husband and when Guy got back we all chatted until we finally had to head back to the train station. They were a fun older couple and they love Americans they said.  Ha Ha.

We didn't attempt to see downtown Dover as everyone we've talked to said it was not good. In fact some, including the couple we just met, described it with unpleasant words that I can't put in my PG blog. So when the train arrived back in Dover we just hopped a cab back to the ship and went on top to secure a good place to catch some sun and snap good pics of the white cliffs as we pulled out of the port. As I type, all passengers are aboard and the captain has given us his farewell speech. Passengers are lined up along the handrails to take their last photographs of the white cliffs. I'm sure the balconies are all populated on that side as well, but since our balcony is on the wrong side of the ship for the view, we are up top.

Saying "ciao" to the cliffs we heard the call of growling bellies and went down for a slice of pizza (or two) and maybe a cookie. Don't judge...I'm on vacation. Guy has left me alone to blog while he goes to talk to the ship folks about future cruises. If you put money down, even if you don't know when and where you are going next, they give you a significant discount. When he suggested checking it out, who was I to tell him not to? When he returned it wasn't anything too fabulous. Basically you put money down and it gives you a few perks (nothing too much more than we got this time...free internet and gratuities). But it locks in your cabin and the price for up to two years. It also means if the price every goes down, we automatically get that. So he did it because it's totally refundable and wasn't that much down. Where to next?  We're working on it.

Dinner tonight was a sad one as it was our last night with Ileana. "Sad emoji" But let's talk food for a second...French onion soup for me and prosciutto and melon for Guy. Entrée was steak Diane and gnocchi for Guy and just gnocchi for me. Delish. Dessert was chocolate cake all around, coffee, hugs, photos and then a wave goodbye with a promise to follow each other on Facebook. I gave her my info and put the ball in her court. I hope she finds me. She showed us pictures tonight from her phone of her and Carlos. They are so cute together and she is a hottie with her hair down and dancing shoes on! Will miss her contagious smile.

Ugh. I sigh as I have to type the words..."our bags are in the hallway". We have just the bare minimum with us in the cabin and the vibe in the room is a combination of 'I can't believe it's already over, this was an amazing trip and just get me home'. The weather looks good in Amsterdam and STL, so we are praying for safe flights and big naps. Thanks be to God for his blessings and answered prayers of a safe and wonderful journey. First thing I'll do on Wednesday is post the photos. So hang in there with me dear readers, there is more to come.