The Great Snail Scale and Other Travels of Steve the Snail

Friday was our first, but not our last, all day bus trip and as is usual with bus trips, they are awful. We were up quite early to board a coach at 8 a.m. that whisked us out of London to the south coast of England. We took a two-hour bus ride to the city of Dover, which is located in Kent. Here is a map for your perusal:

Dover Castle

We spent the better part of three hours wandering around Dover Castle. We took a tour of the Hospital Tunnels from World War II and then went off on our own. There were school children everywhere, yelling and screaming, and definitely not acting like lovely little butterflies. None of us had had any caffeine at this point and were thus not really in the mood for such shenanigans. We climbed to the top of the tower in the center of the castle and got a nice view of the surrounding landscape.

Pharos Lighthouse (Roman Period - 1st Century C.E.)

View From Atop the Tower

It was during our travels that we met Steve the Snail. Steve is a wonderful snail. He moves slowly but is diligent in his travels. He was attempting to return to his extended family that lived a mere three feet away. We watched him for several minutes, as he traversed the asphalt and then scaled the curb to return to his homeland. He eventually made it and we wished him well on his future travels in the Dover region. 

Steve the Snail. I will miss him.

A trip to the cafe was in order, for it was time for elevensies. Our group took a short break and as we exited the cafe, the sun had come out. It would stay out for the rest of our time in Dover and Canterbury,  a great yet truly annoying aspect of England. One can never guess what weather it will be throughout the day, for it can be sunny, then rain, then rain when the sun is out. It's all very tropical and I'm often not dressed entirely correctly. But I shouldn't be complaining. I'm in England!

The Canterbury Cathedral

After Dover, we boarded the bus and headed back towards London for our stop at Canterbury. We only had two hours here and needed to see the place and get something to eat. We paid for and visited the Canterbury Cathedral. It was really stunning, both on the inside and outside. I would have liked more time to spend in Canterbury because it looked as if they had some really cute shops. We got food at a really cute little cafe and then got back on the bus to head back to London. The post-lunch food coma hit most of us as we passed out on the drive back.

After a short respite where we recharged, Melissa and I officially booked our trains and hostels, and then met up with Jenny for drinks at the Prop Bar. We sat on a bench that overlooked the Thames for a few hours and headed back to the dorms when we got tired. All in all, a rather successful, yet tiring, day.