We met them at Waterloo Station in London around 3pm on Saturday and rode the Underground to the Natural History Museum to experience the dinosaur bones and other exhibits. With boxes of hot chips in hand (of course with salt and vinegar) we returned to the crowded Underground Station and then rode the train from Waterloo back to Farncombe. After a quick stop at the flat to drop of their luggage, we walked the short distance to Manor Inn for a nice dinner at the Beefeater.
Sunday dawned dreary and overcast- the perfect day to explore the sites and shops of our village and then we drove the company car to Guildford for a bit more shopping. It was a leisurely afternoon.
Late that night (10pm) Rob, Steffen and Eva made the trek to the office to watch the Florida Gators play South Caroline on Gator Vision. While the live feed, internet download was less then perfect it was a blow out game (56-6 Gators Won) that they enjoyed. (the girls and I were already in bed when they left and sound asleep when they got home around 1am).
After doing the school run Monday morning, we piled into our rental car and headed to Canterbury for a visit at the Cathedral.
We enjoyed our hour and a half tour through the cathedral and the history of the area.
Lunch was a quaint American restaurant (the owner's husband was from Brooklyn). Hot baguette sandwiches and cold cokes were the perfect lunch. It was the best cheese cake any of us had ever had!
Then we returned to the car and made the 19 mile drive to Dover.
Our plan was to visit Dover Castle but upon arriving we learned that the Castle was closing within an hour of our arrival and the main building was under renovation. It was advised by the guard to return on a day when the castle was fully open and we had more time to enjoy the grounds.
We continued back down the road and stopped at the National Trust Park to walk the White Cliffs along the English Channel. Words cannot capture the beauty of the cliffs or the exhilarating feeling of gazing across the English Channel to the coast of France. It was really cold!
Even Lillian enjoyed seeing the cliffs.
Bright and early Tuesday morning we said good-bye to our friends as they headed to the train station and back home.
