Dover Castle - United Kingdom

Posted 8.May; back-dated to 28.April for chronological consistency.

We first saw Dover Castle from the ferry as we arrived in the port. It holds court from the top of the cliff and would be difficult to miss. After settling in to the campground, we ventured off on the bus to Dover. We have an uncanny knack for missing buses. This time, we rode our bikes down the lane and were literally getting off as the bus (a full 5 minutes early) went roaring past. 30-minutes later, the next arrived and we were off!

We found the walking path easily enough - though there is only one signpost at the corner of the path. A long walk up, and we were met with a decision. Would this really be worth £25 (about $50 USD when you do the conversion)?

Yes, Sophia is posing. The path to the castle.

We made it!

Not only were we NOT disappointed, we went for the English Heritage scheme and got our £20 by spending the £42 and signing up for a year's membership! The membership allows free entry for the family to most of the 400 properties managed by English Heritage along with an offer of half off facilities in Scotland. Love it! Plus, they provided us a handy member package including a map with all sights and an informational book to provide context. We found ourselves wishing that something similar had been available in the rest of Europe.

Back to Dover Castle - first order of business was to quickly get to the entrance to the Secret Wartime Tunnels (after a pit stop of course, of which there are several strategically located). The woman at the ticket office was kind enough to slip us in to the earliest time slot and not in with the group of school kids who arrived at the same time as us.

The tunnels are perhaps best known for the "Operation Dynamo" in May 1940 which resulted in the rescue of 338,000 soldiers from Dunkirk, France (original estimates had been they could only rescue 45,000). A guided tour with multimedia effects lasts about an hour. Visitors follow the path a wounded solider might have taken during the course of arrival, treatment and recovery in the hospital wing. We moved on to some of the communications rooms and even got to peek at the "loo with a view" - one of the only rooms in the maze of tunnels that had a window to the outdoors. Some of the effects were almost a bit silly- but the overall effect left us appreciating the role the tunnels played during war time and understanding the working conditions of the men and women who lived in the tunnels.

Not so secret anymore.

Surfacing, we were awestruck again by the enormity of the site. We found our way to the main entrance & membership office (quite by accident). Onward, we followed a path and surfaced at the site of the Siege of 1216 exhibit. It was another multimedia experience but quite fun. Lots of information delivered during a fairly short audio presentation.

Roaming onward, it took a while to find the way in to the castle itself. We finally did and had a ball exploring the rest of the castle in which the Siege exhibit is performed. One can almost get lost in the various rooms and hallways of the castle. The exhibit theme was dealing with preparing for Henry VIII's arrival and helped set the stage to understand how many staff resided on site and how each of the rooms may have been utilized.

Diagram of the castle grounds.

Royal entrance.

More stairs...

We were utterly exhausted after climbing to the top of the castle tower. All smiles and thoroughly thrilled with the experience and with the opportunity to explore more of the English Heritage sites we wandered back into town and to our little house on wheels. Too bad we can't live at the residence inside Dover Castle... could you imagine the parties we could throw? (yes, there really is a private residence just inside - I think it was titled the "Constable of Dover Castle")

Dover, United Kingdom

GPS of our campground: 51.10864N 1.22049 E
Campground name: Little Satmar Holiday Park

Yesterday we crossed the English Channel via the SeaFrance ferry. This despite the disapproval of the UK passport control officer. We were given a very harsh time as we didn't have proof of financial means, we're not employed, no UK address and we don't have onward travel tickets yet. You'd all be proud of me, I bit my tongue, used "Sir" and apologized a lot for the fact that the U.S. treats incoming visitors in much the same manner. He caused us to miss the 4:30 ferry.

Made the 6:30 sailing. Nothing out of the ordinary other than a lot of people gaping at our size. 1.5 hours later, we arrived in the UK.


Ferry dock.



Up on the ferry deck





Sailing to the UK.


We were a little stressed about the customs review - but the customs officers actually turned their backs on us! I leaned out the window and asked if they needed any documentation. Their response, "No. Not from you." With that, we followed the line of traffic, faced with driving on the left in an oversized vehicle that is intended for driving on the right! Everything feels backwards - you enter roundabouts going the other direction, pass on the right (left is the "slow" lane) and it just plain feels wrong. Fortunately, the campground is only about 7 miles from the docks and was very easy to find.




First glimpse of the White Cliffs of Dover.



Today we visited Folkestone and enjoyed a nice stroll through town. It's amazing how nice it feels to be able to speak our native language again! We didn't realize how much we missed English until today. Signs, menus, bus information - everything is English and we aren't guessing anymore! The town itself is a strange mix of old being renovated and what appear to be newly established big box stores. Lots of retail space available. The "creative zone" is an interesting assortment of artists and interior furnishing stores that are being updated. Very interesting artwork to look at as we strolled along the narrow cobblestone street.


Cute shopping district in Folkestone.


We saw several of these signs - promising to fix the place up as soon as possible. Interesting approach.

We enjoyed a lovely Madras Curry at the Sunday market (4₤ each) with the kids grooving on Thai noodles and chicken (split one for 3₤). The people around us have been fantastically friendly and the weather has been nice (though rain is in the forecast for Tuesday-Friday).

Blick of the Sunday market - this was only the part by the dock - there were more vendors in the town center.


No idea what this is, really. Just loved the machine installed in the side of a building, titled "Other People's Photographs." Dan examined it - but for all he could see, it's just a bunch of pictures.

The Internet connection here at the campground is limiting - we aren't abel to access MSN email or Hotmail and half the web sites won't load. However, Google has been stable, including checking Gmail and using Blogger. We can sign in to Messenger and we can see the MSN home page, but 90% of the time, links off the pages won't work. Strange and frustrating - we paid 5₤ for 24-hours and it doesn't work properly.

On a final note, we've been forewarned that our luxurious, wandering ways have reached an end. Our current campground hosts warn us that we need our reservations and next stops planned well in advance. This is a change for us... apparently despite the popularity of American RVs in the UK, not all sites will accept them. =( Why did we ever leave Antwerp? ;-)

Brugge, Belgium

I know we're supposed to be in England now, but I just couldn't leave without seeing Brugge. After much deliberation, we agreed to skip the RV show at Petersborough (who wants to camp in a farmer's field with no electricity, anyway?) and take a daytrip to Brugge.

While waiting for our train at Antwerp Central Station, we found a 24/7 grocery store, completely automated! There was an assortment of a mini-quickie-mart - from diapers, beer, candy.... even lighters! One wall was food items; another non-alcoholic beverages. We had to make a purchase to see how it works - afterall, they had bottles of wine and 6-packs beer. You can't just drop those things down a chute. A robotic arm lifts a metal box to the row of your purchase, then an arm from the back of the merchandise gently pushes the item into the box. The box is then lowered to the right, a door opened, and you remove your purchase. Best of all, the prices were on par with the neighborhood grocery stores!

Vending machine / "grocery" at Antwerp Central Station.

Fun day - long train ride. It's about an hour and twenty minutes from Antwerp. The weather was a bit cool but pleasant enough to enjoy the day outside. One of the best discoveries of the day is that our day pass (for buses and trams) was valid in both Brugge and Antwerp. Not sure if this is official or not, but we ran the pass through on both systems and it was accepted.

Brugge is labeled the best preserved medieval city of Europe. The city is filled with cobblestone streets, skinny alleys and lots of touristy shops. Prices on souvenairs were less than Antwerp or Brussels. We enjoyed a boat cruise through the canals; found De Halve Maan brewery and enjoyed a beverage. Brugge Zot is not our favorite - it's too fruity. The kids groved on pfannekuchen (pancakes) with sugar and butter... and of course, hot chocolate.

And of course, we climbed the winding stairs up the tower from the 13th century. Had a very cool view of the city from 88m and while we missed the Carillon concert (which is only a few days a week), we were at the top for the half hour toll. Quite loud and very fun to show the girls how the bells functioned.

Belfry - tresury area known to have been used since the 13th century.

Going up.

View from Belfry.

Now, we're headed off to Calais and the ferry to Dover. Stay tuned!

Ciao for now!

Nine years and counting...

Happy 9th anniversary, Dan! Despite the enthusiasm with which I sing along to Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" I'm counting on many more happy years together - wherever they may take us. I'm so glad you still put up with me. A toast to many more years together - happily so. =)





Today we leave Antwerp enroute to Calais, France. With luck, we will also cross the English Channel to Dover (by ferry, not the Chunnel). From there, we are headed to the National RV show in Petersborough running this weekend. It's time to start making contacts with potential buyers as we're hoping to sell the Winnie in the UK at the end of the trip.

Ahoy There!

Getting to town was interesting today - the trams and buses were beyond full to accomodate the Antwerp marathon (25km or 10mi - and no, neither Dan nor I are fit enough to participate at this point). The experience was akin to riding the subway in Paris at rush hour only there were no subway staff to shove people in.

After a bit of wandering, we found our way to "PiratenEiland" for a day of play and terrible food. The kids loved it - an indoor playground that spans several rooms and three levels. Dominated by ball pits and slides, the pirate themed park lacked only in quality food.

The girls giggled, laughed, ran, jumped ...and no one told them to be quiet! Fun!

Price is 9,50 EURO on weekends (7 EURO on most weekdays) per child (adults are free). For food and beverages, you have to exchange cash for their tokens - which are non-refundable. Everything is a la carte and averages 1 token (2 EURO). The food is nowhere near great (think ballpark dog on a dry bun), but the price was worth it to see the kids having so much fun. Even Dan got into the spirit and rough housed with the girls in one of the ball pits and made sure Sophia went down the big slides (together, of course).

Ship wreck!

One of many ball pits.

Loch Ness slide.

Third floor gym theme.

Antwerp, Belgium

As usual, I'm behind on blog posts. =) Time seems to disappear and the connection has not been the greatest at our current spot- but is free (vs. 20 EURO a day through Proximus) so I can't complain.

We love Antwerp. Partly because it's a beautiful city, more because everywhere we go, we are greeted with enthusiasm and heartily welcomed. From the parking attendants to the transportation ticket office and even the gal at the post office. Everyone has welcomed us with huge smiles and offers of suggestions of where to eat and what to visit.

Our first tram ride was inspected at Central Station. The police swarm the outside of the platform and have waiting passengers line up in one of the entry hallways. Then they check (& mark) tickets of everyone getting off and presumably board the tram to check everyone else's tickets. It was kind of funny and overwhelming at the same time. Even the police were nice though - one overheard Dan and I trying to figure out the exit path and gave me a "yes ma'm, the exit is here." in English even. Public transit is really easy and affordable - it's 1,20 for 1-2 zones or 15 EURO for a 5-day pass.

Dan won't let me buy any diamonds (awww, poor me...) - but the store windows sure have been fun to look at. We got a laugh out of the advertisement that they will set any diamond in 15 minutes! (in other words, "quick - get them out of the store with their purchase before they can change their mind!") The girls and I visited the Diamond Museum which was featuring "Divas and Diamonds." Not sure the outing was worth the 12,50 EURO, but at least the kids were free and the jewellery in the "Divas" exhibit was exquisite. Sophia keeps asking if we can go back and look at all the pretty, sparkly stuff.

The shopping district is awesome here. Beautiful buildings and fantastic window displays. Either the fashion bug has finally caught up with me or my brain has registered that it's Spring. I want nothing more than to go buy a new wardrobe! Beautiful clothes and shoes flank the pedestrian street which itself is filled with magnificant buildings. My favorite "over the top" place is Antwerpen Feetzal - the interior is clad in gold leaf and the boutiques surrounding the central public area are fantastic. They certainly have the psychology of shopping down. Just the luxurious feeling in the building makes me want to shop (and historically, I hate shopping).

Antwerp Feestzall - view of the champagne lounge (elevated).

Antwerp Feestzall - center lounge.

Shopping district.

We spent a day at the Antwerp Zoo - a pretty expensive proposition (17,50 per adult + 12,50 per child over 3). They claim to have over 6,000 animals, but I think they counted an awful lot of the fish in that estimate and several exhibits were closed or under remodel. The grounds are fantastic and the seal exhibit was well done and we still enjoy the ability to see the animals much closer up than we've experienced in the States. However, many of the enclosures are awfully small and the animals (especially the tigers and lions) are bored and pacing. We did get to see the baby hippo! There were two adults and one baby - and they were bellowing to get out of the inside enclosure. Sophia couldn't stop giggling at the sounds!

Garden inside the Antwerp Zoo.

Megan & Sophia hamming it up.

Megan at the elephant exhibit - she's growing up on us!!

We took the elevator down 31 stories to the St. Anna Tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel built in 1933 that runs under the Schelde river. We had been told that the french fries at Frituur are the best in Antwerp - so we indulged. They are made from real potatoes and cooked as ordered. Very yummy - though they should be careful of flavor contamination from the other foods they fry in the oil. The kids loved the wide open space and playground. We enjoyed a fantastic view of Antwerp across the river. Very cool. Access back was an easy tram ride (under another tunnel) - we've now been in 3 of the 4 tunnels in the city. (1.5 vehicle tunnel, Tram tunnel, pedestrian tunnel, and Kennedy Tunnel - for all vehicles).

Inside the tunnel - don't do this if you are claustrophobic!

Frituur - supposedly the home of the best french fries in Antwerp.

We'll probably be here a few more days. The fridge at our house went out and I'd like to make sure the replacement arrives fine on Saturday. Now there's a fun experience ... shopping for a refrigerator online only with an unstable Internet connection. It was possibly the most frustrating thing of the week. It's amazing how many refrigerators are in the $2k+ range that get really poor feedback for functionality, noise level and durability. I finally settled on an Amana bottom freezer with french doors on top. Hope it's lovely. Huge kudos to Rebecca at Frederick's Appliances in Redmond for facilitating the purchase and delivery. Their delivery fee includes installation and removal of the old, unlike Sears... whose delivery fee includes only delivery and removal (no installation). Huge thanks to our friend Holly for dropping everything and calling them for me to get pricing and explain that her friend needed a sales clerk to help over email/IM.

Kudos for Cheap Motorhome Parking

Can't pass up an opportunity to spread the word about a company we just learned about, whose mission is to develop inexpensive motorhome (RV, camping car, etc.) parking near large cities in Belgium. Once the Belgium sites are opened, they plan to expand to other European countries.

Today, we were declined entrance at "De Molen," across the river from Antwerp. Apparently they can have only 6 motorhomes at a time on the premises. They provided pre-printed directions for the site we would be welcomed. Feeling a little out of sorts, we headed out.

Turns out, "Vogelzang" is an old campground that is being revamped for motorhomes only (no caravans, sorry). It's currently free and electricity is 2 EURO/night. You have to use the site's adaptors to connect. It's closer to Antwerp than De Molen and the guys running the business are super friendly - even making sure we knew how to find the public transit and providing a tourist map!

Here's the location information:

Site name: Vogelzang - small signpost at entrance for "camping" and "no caravans"
GPS Coordinates: 51.19033N 4.40227E
Street Address: Vogelzanglaan - take exit 5 off R1, follow toward Berchem/Wilrijk.
Utilities Available: water (currently on request due to repairs to the system); electricity (2 EURO / day); chemi toilet
Internet Connectivity: Via free public wi-fi signal from Crowne Plaza Hotel (Thank you!!) [yes, it's designated as a free hot spot in the description.]
Proximity to Public Transit: About 200m to bus and tram lines that take you in to the city
Managed by: Nocterra - http://www.nocterra.com/

Here's to a fun visit to Antwerp. Spring is in the air - it was clear and even a little warm today!

Ciao!

Brussels, Belgium

Posted 11.April, back dated to be in chronological order.

I'm so far behind on my blog posting with Paris, that I thought maybe I should play a catch up game and post some of the recentl pictures and stories before I forget about them.

Through our usual sense of planning, we wound up further out than we'd planned from Paris. Our GPS puck was broken, so we were trying to find LPG on rural roads... and well, instead of driving 14 km to a campground, we drove 162km to Peronne. Interestingly enough, the surrounding area is the location of the WWI battelfields - some of the first trench war fare.

Sadly, Paris left all of us very sick and run down. We spent virtually a full four days at the campground, doing nothing but trying to find our energy. Besides, it was raining... not much fun to be sick and out in the rain too.

By the time we got the energy up to move on (still no GPS puck), we realized that we were really far East in France and there really wasn't much more that we wanted to do. Why not? Let's go on to Belgium.

Statue welcoming visitors to Belgium

Goal: Visit Brussels
GPS of our campsite (inside the campsite): 50.76081N 4.54751E
Campsite Name: Camping Druivenland (in Overijse)

• Very friendly owners - super helpful and one of the warmest greetings we've received at a campground trip to date. The site has been in the family for 3 generations now!
• 16 amp electricity
• Some of the touring pitches have water and grey water drainage
• Large field for tourers - difficult to access for units over 10m (we are 10.5... had to drive down to the dump station to turn around, then back up the hill to make a very tight turn onto the access road for the tourist field. They were kind and allowed us to leave through the side gate, which is much easier). Potential for soggy ground in the rainy season - we parked on the access road as the ground was quite wet.
• Site has no interent access
• Check prices carefully - we were charged full rate (+kids) simply because we arrived Easter Sunday. There were no other tourers on the premises... and we didn't get a discount for a 7-day stay (we stayed 8) even though it was posted on the door.
• Local bus service is available, but the bus runs only once an hour weekdays and once every two hours on weekends. Bus drops you at the entrance to the metro.

30.Mar -Sunday - we tried to venture in to town. Made it to the metro by about 12 and there was a massive flea market in process under the ring road overpass. Dan suggested stopping and exploring and I reluctantly agreed (I had wanted to go to the "big" market in Brussels proper). If memory serves me correctly, Dan had to virtually drag me away. It was so much fun! Our only mistake was not grabbing a waffle from the waffle van...there was no other food and the surrounding area didn't seem to have any restuarants.

Got off the bus at Overijse proper and popped in to Tavern de Met. Very much worth the stop - we ate well and left happy. In fact, we ate there a total of 3 times during our 8 night stay in town! Loved the atmosphere and the food was really good.

The Met - atmosphere.


The Met - food that tastes as good as it looks.

31.Mar-5.Apr
We were still recovering from Paris and very low energy so weren't as productive and busy as normal. And, we had several chores (not to mention schoolwork) that required immediate attention (for example, fixing the GPS puck as Autoroute doesn't seem to be available in Brussels).

We did a lot of wandering and gaping at buildings. Some of these buildings it seems were built to compete with the building next door in terms of decorative detail. Getting around the city was easy with the group day pass for 10 EURO (valid for up to 5 people). We had one frustrating afternoon looking for Internet access and found a free public hotspot at the tourist office! Not only that, but the staff were super helpful and the exhibits inside kept the girls busy for half an hour while we took care of some online business.

Brussels is the capital city of the EU so I was initially surprised at how dirty it seemed. The subways, streets, sidewalks are pretty disgusting and there's tons of graffiti everywhere. Everywhere we went, we saw beggers - particularly women with small children, sitting at the entrance to the subway stations. It was a little depressing, to be honest. When you think about touring Washington D.C. though, I think our capital city is probably not much cleaner - certainly has some areas you would avoid at night.

Favorite Outings:

Cantillon Brewery - Found this the second time we went looking for it.The entrance is quite unimposing and in a neighborhood that we didn't feel entirely comfortable in. Very fascinating tour and well worth the time. Cantillon is still family run and is the only brewery that still uses spontaneous fermentation (open air vents in the ceiling).

Atomium- Sadly, I forgot the camera. We bought in to this tourist trap from the '50's and had fun with it. Shaped like an iron atom, magnified some 300 billion times, visitors experience an elevator ride to the top (some 80m in a matter of seconds). Three of the four sections are open for examination and it was a little like walking back in time with the oversized posters from the 1958 World's Fair along with a furniture exhibit from that era. It was a little expensive, but like I said, a relatively fun experience.

Wandering the Grand Place - the pictures don't do it justice. Even in the cool early spring air, people were out, enjoying the sidewalk seating at the cafes. About every other store window was a chocolatier. Yum! We found the budget way to experience gourmet Belgian chocolates was to buy the easter candy at 50% off. Yummmmmy!

One view of Grande Place.

Looking down a side street.

One of many chocolatiers.