Blogs from Broadstairs, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Rosemary and I walked to Broad Street to buy fish (opposite route than going to the sea front). What a richness of fish was in the window and in the display case at the fish monger’s! Rosemary requested three pounds of rock salmon. Watching him fillet them was a thrill, his movements were so quick and so sure. For our expedition we went to lunch at Elham Valley Vineyard, meeting Judy, who had attended college with Rosemary. The afternoon drifted by with glasses of locally made rosé (me) and tea or coffee. I ate dressed crab (taken out of the shell and packed into half a shell) with lots of salad. Enjoying our conversational flow, we eventually ordered more wine and coffee and two pieces of cake to share (coffee walnut cake and carrot cake). Light ... read more

With a little more than an hour to spare before needing to leave for the Lime Street station, I sought out a few missed pleasures. Steady light rain greeted me. Yesterday, I had recognized that City Hall (seen at a distance on the walking tour) was just down the street. The wrought iron railings were freshly painted black with gold highlights. A group of tourists entered the building, which I hadn’t even considered, because it looked closed. The guard who was keeping people from entering the function rooms was happy enough to let me photograph the lobby. The carvings and gilded features were magnificent. In spite of the rain, I walked along the face of the Museum of Liverpool looking for the statues of the Beatles, which I hadn’t been able to find si... read more

Current Mood: Excited. Panoramic images above. Me at Durdles Door and Casey at Seaford. look for car with towel hanging from it on left. 30 meters from beach. Back in Australia Casey and I had been planning our trip for over a year. Juggling ideas of where to go seemed to be at the forefront of any discussions we had. We had 6 weeks in England but where could we go to give Casey a real taste of what England is about. We looked at the north, considered the east but then on one fine cloudy day in Cardiff after supping on a Brains, brown booze Pint we walked past a Greggs bakery and got stuck into a cheese and onion pasty. I said that the south west was where the best pasties come from so ... read more