Day 7--Sissinghurst

I think that if I were to stay in England for only one more week, I would come home unconsciously speaking with an English accent. But when people would ask why I was talking in an English accent, I would reply, in an English accent, "Because I've just been in f***ing England, you stupid sod!"

Sorry, I was watching the Sex Pistols movie on the telly last night.

OK, today's travel tip for the aspiring world traveller is this: never plan anything extensive on a Sunday. The normally constant and comprehensive English mass transit system that we have come to take for granted does not operate at full capacity on Sunday. As a result, trying to book transportation to Sissinghurst Gardens today proved to be a bit of an ordeal. Now I should have thought back to my experience in Italy when I tried to find transport to Capri on a Sunday in the off-season, and found myself having to make serious compromises. Travel tip No. 2: never presume anything.

After trying fruitlessly to find a direct bus route, I called the gardens themselves only to discover that most of the information on their website is obsolete. Or as the locals would say, pure rubbish. A bus was out of the question, so we were left with the train. Only after contacting National Rail did we discover a fairly direct route by train to the town nearest the gardens, Staplehurst. From there a cab driver at the station would take us over to the gardens.
Hence travel tip No. 3: never trust the website. Always call first.

Oh, and did you know that it rains in England? The weather today was, to quote Tracy's husband Steve, "Cold, wet, and 'orrible!" Eric Idle was right when he spoke about the English and how they react to the weather. However, Sissinghurst Garden was one of the main reasons for the trip and one of the main reasons we stayed in Kent County. So we were determined to get there. After getting the transportation situation sorted out, we made it at last to the gardens a little after 1:00, had lunch and tea, and went out to tour the grounds, along with a gaggle of German tourists. It was rainy, windy and cold, but I still managed to get some nice shots of the grounds. The garden is in full bloom later in June, which is peak season, but that means it is also packed with tourists, and we had enough trouble today with the bloody Germans, so we were content with the natural beauty on display (reminding me of Debussy's "Jardins sous la pluie"). Some of the structures on the grounds date back to Elizabethan times, but the gardens themselves came into existence in the 1930s. Mother absolutely loved the gardens and estate, regardless of the weather, and plans on staying at the Sissinghurst B&B during one of her return trips to England.

After dinner at an Italian restaurant in Sandwich, we returned home to the warmth and comfort of Molland House, our temporary home for the last seven days. Tomorrow we fly back to America.

Despite my insomnia-induced emotional funhouse ride earlier in the week, I have very much enjoyed this sojourn to Ol' Blighty, and I can speak for mother when I say she found it wonderful. Canterbury was definitely my favorite, and my overall favorite day, but other highlights were certainly: spending time with Edouard in London, the boat tour up the Thames, walking the streets of Sandwich, The Secret Garden, and most of the food. For mother the highlight was finally spending time in a country that has over the years become a part of her psyche. I'm glad she was able to make the trip.

Next stop for me: Quebec, autumn 2010, with my lady love. :-D

John FishNChips, signing off.

Cheers!

P.S. A very special thank you to my sister Emily for suggesting the trip. Mother and I missed you not being here, but knew you were here in spirit. Thanks for all your comments on the blog!

Day 6--London (with special guest Edouard)

Last night I popped on The Kinks' album "The Village Green Preservation Society" after posting the Canterbury blog, and it all came together for me. Here's a link if you want to listen to it while perusing this blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL9tyzE83nc

On the way to the train station this morning the radio was playing the main theme music from Barry Lyndon. I don't know why, but suddenly hearing the music from an English film I have known for over 23 years while driving through rustic Olde English streets got me kinda choked up. Here's a link if you want to listen to it (but not while reading the blog--it's a little darker than the Kinks): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91sfrw106xs&feature=related

OK, here's a travel tip for the average American not familiar with non-American holidays: don't go into London on May Day, especially if it's a Saturday. Unless you like crowds and total chaos.

Mother and I were entertained on the 2 hour-plus train ride from Sandwich to Charing Cross by a car load of friendly, hard-drinking army rugby players. Yes, you can carry open containers on commuter trains in England. The lads all had a good laugh when we told them that in America, open containers are definitely not allowed on mass transit. For some reason, they were drinking Budweiser.

We left Charing Cross and met up with Edouard at Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Edouard is a young Frenchman I met 4 years ago in Iceland. A year later we met up again in Paris. I was making a circuit around the column and suddenly he was there. We then managed to squeeze into a restaurant off the main square and grab a quick lunch. Mother had barbequed spare ribs while Edouard and I enjoyed chicken tikka masala. Though we frequently correspond by email (I'm currently helping him with the English on his MBA entrance exams), Edouard and I haven't actually seen each other in person in three years. We talked politics and compared different customs. He and my mother got on very well, and he was very helpful to me as we had to negotiate our way to Westminster Pier. You see, because of the May Day parades, most of the streets in and out of the area were closed, so the tour bus we were hoping to take was running behind. So we elected to take the River Thames tour first. But that involved a long walk down the main avenue Whitehall. There's some video of our stroll at the bottom of the page. (Not sure why I decided to start filming as we were strolling past construction equipment. And I hope to become a filmmaker one day...)
It wasn't so bad until we got down to Big Ben and the crowds got very thick indeed. Also I forgot what Westminster Abbey is called.

We struggled our way down to the pier but made it onto the correct boat. The boat tour was very nice and provided me one of the few opportunities of the day to get some decent pictures. But as you can see from the selection above, the great weather that we've had all week was about to come to an end.

At the Tower of London (fourth picture from the top above) we decamped from the boat and made it onto one of the tour buses. Unfortunately it was one without a tour guide, making it feel like we were on just another commuter bus. This, coupled with the massive traffic congestion, helped us decide to get off at the next stop, which fortunately for us was Charing Cross Station, which put us back in Trafalgar Square. By now the rain was not a gentle English drizzle but a "right proper splashing" as I imagine a native would say. When it looked as if a bus tour was no longer imminent, due to the congestion and chaos generated by rain and marching May Day "unionists," we elected to nip on over to the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant to dry out. There we received a very heavy English meal followed by very heavy English desserts, mostly of the pudding and custard variety. When we emerged an hour and a half later, the rain had abated, but unfortunately we had to part ways with Edouard, who is staying in London through the weekend with his cousin. Edouard and I have now met up in three different countries. Perhaps next time, it will be in the States.

Mother and I got back to Molland House around 10:30. Tomorrow we hope to go to Sissinghurst Gardens, one of the main reasons for this trip. However, a direct bus route there and back is proving difficult to find. More drastic measures may be necessary. Stay tuned.

John FishNChips, London Town