Athens Greece - I Heart Gyros

Alright,

I have definitely been slacking on the travel blog. I know. I have no excuse, other than I've just been lazy.

However, since I did recently get back from an overseas trip, I intend to rectify my laziness. Of course I haven't gotten all my pictures uploaded (I keep forgetting to do that), but I can start off with a few basic pictures to get anyone who's reading this jealous.

This trip started with a few days in Athens Greece. Finally I'm off to some place I haven't been before. By the time I got into the city and to the hotel, it was fairly late. All I really had time to do was get some food, take a shower, then crash for the night. Because it was late when I got in, I decided to take a cab to my hotel, something I've not ever done. Luckily my driver was friendly, told me all about Athens, and even showed me a video slide show of sites worth seeing during my stay. I was quite impressed, even through my jet lag.

Luckily there was a local spot not far from the hotel where I could get some yummy and cheap gyros. I love gyros. And over the course of a few days I ate here multiple times.

Funny thing about Athens is stray cats roam everywhere. They go in and out of restaurants, stores, etc. They are shooed out of restaurants, however it's only a matter of time before they find their way back in from another entrance. It was quite cute. And I love the fact that the whole city really jumps in and takes care of all the stray cats. Most of them looked well fed, well groomed, and just well loved. The brave ones would even come rub against you in greeting. Totally adorable. I wish more society took care of stray animals so well.

So far, day one of my trip to Athens is off to a good start.

Hampstead Court Palace

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The next stop on the adventure was Hampstead Court, most notably known as one of Henry VIII palaces. There's also currently a really interesting documentary of this palace on Netflix. I recommend watching it. This was also our last site to see before we left England.

It's always a sad day when you have to leave England.
This day was slightly dampened by the weather. Ha, yes, that pun was completely intended. It was freezing rain, wind, and bitter cold. This time the clouds didn't part and sun shine through when we stepped out of the car. So it remained cold and miserable the whole time. Guess my strategic timing was off this day.

Anyway, the palace is quite spectacular. When telling my dad I wanted to make a stop here, he didn't seem too excited about it. Just one more palace, and considering we drove by it twice without realizing it, he was quite underwhelmed at braving the rain for this.

But once we made it through the gates to the opening view, his lack of excitement quickly changed. He was quite impressed and excited to see what this place was like.

And it is very grand and opulent. Unfortunately it was also Easter weekend, so it was really packed with tourists and tons of kids doing some kind of Easter egg hunt. Up until this point we had not run into any tourist crowds. The huge plus of traveling during the off season. I guess it was only fair that we hit a crowd and some point.





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But I digress.

They had actors dressed in the time period, as well as acting out the part of a maid, or the queen, or even King Henry the VIII himself. You could ask them questions about the time period, their life, anything and they would tell you what you wanted to know. Some of it was really interesting.

This particular table display is all made from folded napkins. Apparently folded napkin displays were a big deal back then. And some of these creatures are fairly amazing.

Who knew napkin folding could be such an art form?

After wandering the palace for a few hours, I wanted to go out onto the grounds for a few minutes. Sadly we really couldn't explore. It was all a giant muddy mess. Neither of us wanted to wade through all that, plus the freezing rain was coming down even harder. Quite disappointing because the grounds are spectacular and go on for ever. There's even a giant maze garden.



I love a maze garden. But I didn't get to see this one. It's been a long time since I've been that cold and miserable. I couldn't feel my toes. Living in Texas has really made my a wimp to cold.

So instead I just took a few pictures of these amazing trees, and we went on our way back to London. I'll have to stop back here again someday just so I can get a chance to explore the amazing grounds.
   

Canterbury and Dover England

                                           

I've been wanting to go to the southern part of England and see Canterbury and Dover for awhile now. In all the trips I've made to England, I've never quite been able to make it to this part of the country. This time I was determined to make it happen. We also happened to be in this part of the world over Easter weekend, so timing of things was a bit tricky.

 

 Fortunately I had found a nice looking B&B in Canterbury, lost in the English countryside. After getting stuck in horrendous English traffic, finding this hidden place in the dark was a bit tricky, and somewhat frustrating. But we found it, and our host was kind, accommodating, and wonderful. We were the only guests the two nights we were there, so that also made things nice. Breakfast was a beautiful array of fruit, yogurt, and a full English breakfast. I even had some wonderful English tea as well.

I also didn't quite realize how many lovely walks there would be in this part of the countryside as well. Next time I will definitely plan some time for hiking. It was so beautiful, and a bit muddy.

But our first stop was the famous Canterbury Cathedral. We wanted to try to get there early so we could beat the crowd and get in a lot of sightseeing that day. Because this was Easter weekend, much of the main portion was closed for the Easter program practice.

I was disappointed we couldn't see the main area, but then I didn't even think of Easter when I was planning my trip.


I'll pay better attention to that next time. However, the parts of the cathedral we did get to see were still lovely and beautiful. It's amazing how many beautiful buildings can last for so long in the history of the world. 
 After stopping at the cathedral, we then took a drive down to Dover Castle. It was a beautiful drive, and we lucked out with not too many tourists. However, it was incredibly windy. Makes sense since it's on a cliff overlooking the English channel. It was a clear enough day that we could even see France. Amazing. I didn't realize that Dover castle is spread throughout the cliff, with many buildings to see on different levels.







We first went to see the tunnels used during the war. Of course they don't allow pictures in this part of the castle, but it was fascinating to see and hear the stories of how they were used, and what happened during WWII. From there we wandered up the steep cliff face to see the other parts of the castle, complete with an ancient Roman lighthouse. It was definitely worth seeing, and we spent most of the day there exploring. So easy to do. And the views were pretty amazing too.










 After seeing the castle, I had to make one last stop to see the famous Cliffs of Dover.
The walk along the cliffs is long, and steep in some areas.
 My dad doesn't like heights, so we didn't walk too far before deciding to turn back. Plus the wind had picked up even more, and the rain was starting to come down hard. Cold, wind and rain on a cliff didn't seem like the best of combinations, so we didn't stay long. We ended our day in a cozy, warm pub before heading back to our B&B for the night. Definitely a fun day, with surprising sunny clear weather. We timed our visit well.

Newstead Abbey

Next on the drive through the English countryside was a quick stop at Newstead Abbey. This is just outside Nottingham. As the GPS led us through a lot of back roads, it did eventually lead us right to the Abbey. The rain conveniently stopped as well just as we arrived.

It was still cold, and very chilly, but we were grateful for the relief from the rain. Sadly, the actual Abbey was not open for tours. They were waiting for the school holiday to let out before opening it to the public. It would seem they only want to open it when the profit is high. I can understand that, but it's still a bit disappointing. We went inside for a peek at the gift shop and saw a little of the Abbey. The inside looked quite beautiful, so I'm really sad we weren't there at the right time.









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However, the grounds were open to the public. And they were quite beautiful. They have many gardens within the gardens, as long as multiple trails that lead down to the same enchanting little pond.

So many options, and easily hours to spend in this quiet little spot.

We didn't stay long, just wandered through the chilly area enjoying the lack of people. We then stopped at their little café for lunch before moving along to our next stop.
 
 
 

Sherwood Forest and Nottingham Castle

The next stop on our England adventure was Sherwood Forest and Nottingham. I've not been to either place, so I was curious and excited to see what it was like. Of course both are infamous around the world as the setting for the notorious and loveable Robin Hood.

 It was raining fairly heavily as we made the drive up to Sherwood Forest. Cold, rainy, very English. Luckily, as soon as we parked the car the rain magically stopped. It was quite muddy and cold, but at least we had a reprieve from the wet. Good timing.

Sherwood Forest is more of a nature reserve now, with lots of walking trails. We saw a few runners and lots of dog walkers enjoying the trails despite the damp muddy weather. As always, there's nothing friendlier than a muddy dog.
There is a main plaza type area, with a few statues from the legendary escapades of Robin Hood. There's a small theater that shows a 20 minute video of the history of the forest, as well as points listed along the walls of other attractions to see. There's also a shop to buy souvenirs, and a little museum of Robin Hood "relics." Essentially no one knows if he was a real person, or just a legend.


Anyway,
Sherwood forest is a bit underwhelming. Due to heavy logging in the booming days of industry, most of the forest was torn down and destroyed. What's left is just a shadow of what it once was. I imagine it was once pretty incredible.
However, there is one really wonderful tree that is still living and grow. The Oak tree is 1000 years old. From the information that was available, oak trees take 300 years to grow, 300 years to live, and 300 years to die. They are usually eaten from the inside out. Amazingly, this particular tree is 1000 years old and still going strong. They've bolted it in metal to help keep it from falling apart and for support. It's quite something.

After wondering around the legendary forest, we made a quick stop at Jerpoint  Abbey. Sadly it was closed to the public until the school holiday let out, but the grounds were open to visit. They were beautiful, and massive. We wandered for about an hour, again perfectly timing the rain. It stopped as soon as we arrived and got out of the car. When I plan a trip, I really plan a trip.

We then headed on to Nottingham, where of course we had to stop at the castle. Sadly, the actual castle was completely destroyed long ago. It was rebuilt, and is now just a large museum. The original bridge is still standing, as are all the tunnels and caves that led in and out of the castle.

We did take a guided tour of the caves, which were very interesting. Our guide was quite animated, telling lots of stories of the history of the castle, and how kings were murdered and smuggled in and out.








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I found that much more interesting than the museum displays. The tour ends at the bottom of the castle, right at the oldest pub in England. The pub is built out of the cave tunnels. It was a tight fit on the inside, especially with the oddly shaped cave walls. But we were cold, hungry and it was convenient. I know it's a major tourist trap, and overpriced food, but it was fun. And now I can say I've eaten at the oldest pub in England. It was a fun day. Despite a terrifying and harrowing drive in and out of the parking garage. Never have I loved American oversized parking garages so much in my life!