Whitstable, UK November 14th-16th, 2008

A 90 minute train ride from Victoria Station leads us to Whitstable, a small fishing town in Kent (southeast UK). We went for the weekend with Jason & Jimmy to stay with our friends Ed & Scott, who bought and renovated an old fisherman's house there about five years ago. On Friday night, we stayed in for some delicious fish pie before venturing out to The Old Neptune, a perfect seaside pub with a good mix of London-based weekenders and resentful locals who gaze contemptibly at the former.  One looked like Jesus, another Willie Nelson, and another like Merlin and one looked like they wanted to eat Erin as a late-night snack....awesome. Once the Neptune closed, we were forced on to another bar in an old factory of some kind along the water. It had a decent live band and it was connected to a club. After a few more drinks, we decided it would be a good idea to sneak into the club. Well, 5 out of 6 of us sneaked in. Erin got caught by the bouncer and was summarily kicked out. However, we quickly realized that everyone else there was under 22 so, feeling old, we decided it was best for us to crack on elsewhere. Before leaving I took a trip to the men's room to find two girls peeing backwards into one of those football-stadium-style urinal troughs. Classy. Thankfully they were so drunk that they didn't notice that I had entered the room so I was able to reverse tip-toe out without making any super-awkward eye contact. Whew!!

After a slow start on Saturday we went for a drive to Faversham to wander the market in the center of town. We had a mediocre sausage and onions (no peppers) from a vendor - not as good as Shea. After failing to find a certain pub, oddly called Mac and Ades, we decided to move on to Canterbury. The famous cathedral there is very impressive - its towers visible for miles outside the small city. No wonder the Church of England picked this as its home. We enjoyed a long lunch at The Good's Shed, an outstanding farmer's market/butcher/restaurant combo on the north side of town. On the way out we picked up food for dinner too and realized later that we had spent 10 pounds on hazelnuts, which Eric nor I actually like. Great place.

Wandering the streets of Canterbury is an odd experience. 1,000 year old churches and 500 year old slanting Tudor homes alternate lots with GAPs, Boots, and Starbucks. Sometimes the latter are located within the former. I wouldn't mind going back to explore more of the winding streets and alleyways.

Jimmy, Eric, Jason, Scott and Ed

Our evening included a quick nap, a pre-dinner pint at the Duke of Cumberland, a dinner of cheese, sausage, and "the world's best ham." No one liked it but me. Later, at the Smack Inn, we played with some stinky pub dogs and encouraged Jason to eat one of the picked eggs from the jars behind the bar.  No dice. We wandered around town a while longer before heading home. Scott and Erin slept, Jimmy and Ed blasted music, and Jason and I roasted chestnuts on the open fire (seriously).

It was brisk on Sunday morning when we walked to High Street for coffee and croissants. Then the rain started as we walked on the beach. Typical. After a hearty brunch including eggs benedict, welsh rarebit, and lots and lots of coffee, Erin and I caught the train home to London. Fun weekend.


A few pictures here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hj0zhyv.akq8cgmj&x=0&y=-zg3htd&localeid=en_US

Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2008

The train from King's Cross Station in London to Edinburgh Waverly was a breeze. As per our usual routine, I (Eric) had perused the travel guide as we chugged along and had a general idea of what we would plan to see and do. The last hour or so of 4 1/2 hour journey goes right along the coast of England and then Scotland...a beautiful scene of harsh coastline with crashing waves on windy shores. Despite the sunny forecast offered up by the BBC's Carol Kirkwood it was, of course, raining and cold, but somehow it made the views all the more dramatic. We were traveling with Erin's parents too, but I was the only one who didn't pack rain gear....dummy.

We arrived to the station about 1:00pm and walked north until we reached our apartment. We had to wait for our "contact" Jennifer to show up and give us the keys. We opted to try out an apartment rental rather than going to a hotel. We rented a sparsely but sufficiently furnished two-bedroom through Auld Reekie located at 74 Elm Row (aka Leith Walk) near New Town. (New Town was completed about 250 years ago so it's a just a little older than the U.S.A...."new" is a relative term, I suppose.)

Making our way to Edinburgh Castle on top of the hill

We ventured out toward Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle, but stopped first at Rick's (not the American Cafe) for a quick bite. It was a recommendation from Erin's friend and colleague, Becca, who went to the University of Edinburgh. We then wandered through the West Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh (important note: burgh is pronounced like "burra" - this is the case for many cities in the UK.  Calling it "Edinberg" is like dragging your nails on chalkboard to the locals) Castle is perched atop a hill in the center of the city; it's quite a dramatic sight. The rest of the old city drapes itself on the hillsides surrounding the castle. We walked along the Royal Mile which, for being the central route for tourists, maintained a strong sense of authenticity...if you can look past the various tat shops and the odd William Wallace impersonating street performers. We wandered down through Old Town to Edinburgh University, George Heriot's School, and Grassmarket- formerly a nice gathering spot for public executions.

It was already getting late so we started looking for a pub. We first tried the Royal Oak, but the local septuagenarians put Erin off a bit so we made it back to the Guildford Arms in New Town for our first pint. Despite this being a very old-school, guilded-age looking pub, it was Halloween so we drank beers with names like Spooky Stout and Skull and Bones Bitter. For dinner we ended up at Milnes on Rose Street, a pub that specialized in long spirits and karaoke...with a lesser focus on food. Needless to say, we were in and out quick after forcing down some watery soup and soggy pub grub.

Long lines scared us away,
but not before one quick pic.

On Saturday, we walked back up to the castle to find a 45 minute wait for entry, so we bypassed it in favor of the Museum of Scotland. Completed just a few years ago, it is a modern -looking building among a city of buildings built over 10 centuries ago. The exhibits inside cover all things Scottish and it is very well done. Having made it to noon, Erin and Bonnie did some shopping while Chuck and I went to "The Whiskey Experience" off Royal Mile near the castle.

In a group of about 14 people, we were treated to a short history of blended and single malt whiskeys from the four well-known whiskey making regions of Scotland: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, and The Islands. Chuck and I decided we both liked the distinctive, bold, peaty flavors of the Island whiskeys above the others. Why? Imagine you're sitting on a beach at dusk in the winter smoking cigars with your friends, then you walk up to a peat campfire and inhale a huge breath of smoke. Well that's kind of what your first dram feels like.

Having warmed our insides, we wandered back to Princes Street to meet up with the girls before hiking Calton Hill. About a mile NE of the city center, Calton Hill provides great views of Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding city. A replica of the Athenian Parthenon (about 12% completed) sits atop the hill, a monument to Scotland's war dead. There's also a memorial to Abraham Lincoln (which we couldn't find) and Horatio Nelson (British Naval Admiral who defeated a French/Spanish combo at Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars). It looks like an inverted telescope...and sits (coincidentally?) next to an observatory.

A cold night for a kilt

After a pit stop back at the apartment, we walked about 20 minutes down to Leith, an old port town on the edge of the Firth of Forth (inlet of water from the North Sea). We had an amazing dinner at a very cozy restaurant called The Shore. Chuck and I tried our 5th and 6th drams of Scotch (two more from the Island of Islay ("Eye-Lay.")) I sampled the traditional Scottish dish called haggis, a concoction of sheep's heart, liver, and lungs mixed with oatmeal, onions, spices, and stock, then cooked in the sheep's stomach for a few hours. Whether it was the Scotch or my hunger, it actually tasted really good. Erin tried a bite and would offer a slightly different opinion on the dish. We all had fish straight out of the FoF. Three tunas and some battered haddock for Bonnie. Then we all split a slice of treacle for dessert. Delicious.

After dinner we walked back into town, made one final stop at the Royal Theatre Pub for a night cap before heading back to the apartment for bed. Our morning EasyJet flight back to London got us home by noon so we were able to enjoy Chuck and Bonnie's last night over a leisurely dinner in our flat...a relaxing finish to a great week.

E&E's pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hj0zhyv.488y5gwb&x=0&y=-mlpvzd&localeid=en_US