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.
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| 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
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