My dessert!

To France we go...

This morning brought no challenges when it came to getting out of bed as excitement was in the air....we were going to France for the day. Charlene was rather concerned at the lack of breakfast before departure but with reassurance of croissants once we arrived finally hopped in the car. Once Dennis had gotten over forgetting to pick up Kent we went to the station with passports in hand....after checking numerous times to make sure!! We passed the journey through the tunnel by watching the fish go by the window...or so Dennis would have you believe!! Breakfast of Croissants, jam, juice and coffee was followed by a military timed shopping expedition... where all had the same idea and brought chocolate croissants for breakfast tomorrow....we'll be eating for a week!!! Once we finally dragged Alison away from the baby shops we headed down to Boulange for a drive through the countryside and then along the coast back up to Calais where we were truly spoiled. Dennis, Mary, John and Sue had organised for us to have a 4 course lunch at Le Channel, complete with wine, hosted by the Crespo family. (http://www.restaurant-lechannel.com/) The meal was superb, with most of the group opting for the local seafood. Even though the desserts were divine Alison couldn't quite finish hers, despite encouragement. Surprisingly Charlene offered her assistance and succeeded in the challenge! Needless to say, it was harder to fit back in the car on the train ride back to England, but once in the sound of snores rang through our carriage!

Thank you to the Hythe Rotary Club and our host families for a memorable day in France.

A day in France

Our hosts are going out of the way to make the stay at Hythe special. We got up early this morning and caught the Euro tunnel to France and went to Calais. One of our hosts booked us at one of the best restaurants in France. I have NEVER tasted food or had service so good (the wine was also very good for French :-). The madam even kissed us (on both sides of the cheek) on the way in and out, very French.!

Our Day at Dover

On Thursday we headed off to Dover for a day with the Dover RC. Chris picked us up and after a minor case of knock and run we collected all of the team in a rather small 7 seater van and headed along to the western cliffs overlooking Dover. Here we went for an explore through some of the fortifications from the Napoleonic War and the War of Britain before heading up to the Templers Knights Church. Lunch was superb with the Dover RC and the speaker gave us a wonderful insight into the Canterbury Cathedral....and how expensive it is to maintain a cathedral. After lunch was a highlight with a trip to Dover Castle. The tunnels are amazing and our guide Chris was very knowledgeable....with some help from Don who was in the know from cold war days. Once out of the white cliffs of Dover we headed up to the castle itself, had a moment of utter touristy delight in the gift shop and then raced up and down the castle as it was due to close. The view was spectacular.....so good that we didn't realise that we'd lost Charlene and Chris B. They'd missed the closing time for the castle and so headed back to the car to wait for us. After a little bit of panic we decided to head for the car and hope they were there.... plenty of laughs later it was time ( late...again) to head back to Sandgate and Hythe for a quick change before heading to Robert and Lucy Spicers for dinner. Dinner was a barrel of laughs and a wonderful sample of Kentish wares and hospitality. The salmon was lovely(...sorry Alison!) as was the ham and dessert....absolutely superb! Thankyou for a wonderful evening Lucy and Robert!!!

Lympne Castle

Robert took us on a tour of Lympne Castle, a medieval castle with great history and brilliant views. After our tour we then retired to the parlour for some tea and truffles. A great way to end such a fabulous day.

Farm visits

Westenhanger Castle and barns

www.westernhangercastle.co.uk

Thank you to Graham who showed us around and captivated us with the history of the place. It was interesting to see the work being done to restore the barn and the amount of work already been done in the house.

A day in the English countryside

On Wednesday morning we awoke to rain, the first since we have been here. Thankfully the sky cleared up once we headed outside, we even managed a picnic on top of a hill, overlooking a farm. Thank you to Robert Spicer who convinced us to, and who provided such a wonderful lunch for all of us.

Walking tour of Hythe

After our pub lunch, we were taken on a walking tour of Hythe by our new hosts. We started at the Town hall, strolled through the town streets, saw the military cannal, learnt about the history of the town and finished off at the local Parish church and crypt.

View from host family's home

While visiting Hythe, Ruth and I are lucky enough to stay with Denis in his beautiful home in Sandgate. This is the view of the sea from Dennis' home, and on a clear day France is visible.

First pub visit

On Tuesday we were handed over to the Rotary club of Hythe in the morning and then taken to The Globe for our first English pub lunch. We enjoyed a Ploughmans lunch, a couple of warm beers and some good conversation with our new hosts.

Our Stay at New Barn

For the first 3 nights of our stay in England, Alison, Charlene and myself were hosted by Stewart and Sheila Grainger. Steward is the GSE Chair for District 1120 and has done a fantastic job of organising our itinerary and our vocational visits. They made us exceptionally welcome in their home and we really enjoyed our time at Studley Cresent. Thankyou Sheila and Stewart. Here are some photos from our time in the Grainger household; An albino squirel, Charlene, Sheila and Alison on our walk into Longfield, Sowing winter wheat, a pond near New Barn and Alison outside 24 Studley Cresent.

Big Ben and I

A trip to London town

After spending the morning in Greenwich our hosts kindly offered to drive us into central London to see the sites. As you can see in the photo we dropped into Buckingham Palace for tea but unfortunately she was busy!

Greenwich

In the morning we visited Greenwich Park which included a visit the the observatory were we stood either side of Greenwich mean time. A case of were west meets east.

A musical night

On our first day in England we joined our host families at a Musical Chariety event. There were lots of corny jokes and old fashioned songs such as 'roll out the barrell'. The team did a great job of mostly staying awake after little sleep in the previous 40 hours.

We are here!

After a grueling but uneventful flight we touched down today (Sat) at Heathrow at 6.05 am. After a 6 hour flight from Adelaide to Singapore we had a 6 hour stopover prior to leaving for the UK. Some 13 hours later and not enough sleep (besides Kent!) we arrived bleary eyed but excited. Our hosts greeted us at the airport and we have spent a quite day with them.

Our current challenge is to stay awake all day and go to bed tonight UK time. In a hours time we are heading of to a Rotary musical. Will post some photos when in my next blog. Tooooo tired to type any more. Jet laagggg.