Rising Steeply

"I have loved England, dearly and deeply, 

Since that first morning, shining and pure, 

The white cliffs of Dover I saw rising steeply 

Out of the sea that once made her secure. 

I had no thought then of husband or lover, 

I was a traveller, the guest of a week; 

Yet when they pointed 'the white cliffs of Dover', 

Startled I found there were tears on my cheek. 

I have loved England, and still as a stranger, 

Here is my home and I still am alone. 

Now in her hour of trial and danger, 

Only the English are really her own."

-Alice Duer Miller, The White Cliffs

My friends and I planned a day trip out of the city into Dover.  It was really a last minute decision, but we needed to get out of London for a day and explore the rest of England.

So, on Friday morning, we woke up at 6 AM and boarded a bus to Dover.  I didn't know what we could do, but my friend who planned the trip told me we were going to check out the castle and the cliffs.  Now, I can do castles.  It really helps out my princess complex.  But nobody told me we'd have to walk up a super huge hill to get there.  Anyone who knows me know I'm not about exercise or any form of physical activity...  Alas, we made it to the castle, which was huge.

The view of my kingdom
from the castle roof

We explored the castle grounds for about two hours.  There was a tour of the underground tunnels, so we did that and learned a lot about Dover and the castle's use during World War II.  Of course, they stage the lights going off in the tunnels during the tour, so that was sufficiently frightening.  But fun, all still fun.

After the castle, we went to go see the famous White Cliffs of Dover.  Remember when I said I'm not about physical activity?  Apparently my friends forgot about that because we probably walked 2 miles to get to the cliffs, and then hiked another 2 miles on the cliffs, and then had to walk all the way back and around town to get back on the bus.  Anyway... at least I was comfortable in what I was wearing.  I made a good decision wearing boots since it was really muddy.

I'm king of the world!

Once we made it to the most prominent cliff, we took a picture-taking break.  It was much needed after all of that walking.  We were really lucky that the rain held off while we were hiking.  It was perfectly overcast, and we took a nice break sitting by the cliffs.  I don't think we realized how close we were to the edge until we saw the pictures afterwards, but it was very calming looking over the Channel.

This is Andrew, giving me a
heart attack

To be honest, I am having major separation anxiety from the 212.  I miss Duane Reade.  I miss the sun.  I miss meal plans and Dining Dollars.  One thing I didn't think I'd miss is Eastern Standard Time.  As in the time zone.  Part of my morning routine is to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report while I'm getting ready and eating breakfast, but when it's 7 AM here in London, neither of those shows have aired on the West Coast yet so they're not available online.  It really is the little things that make me miss New York.  Going to Dover made me appreciate England a little bit more.  And one of the best things is that I'm not alone here; I have awesome friends to travel with (and point me in the direction of Duane Reade substitutes).

via Instagram

Rachel