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

200 steps and not a mention of health and safety . 200 steps in total darkness. 200 steps rising from the depths of the donjon to the open roof . I think I prefer the French word rather than our word - a keep. 200 very narrow steps cantilevered and well worn . A small rope for a handrail . We were still annoyed with the volunteer in the cathedral who complained to Glenn about standing on two steps and just glared at me for the climbing the lot for a view in the Quire . No I had not seen the sign . Perhaps it was there to stop the likes of you and me - those who had not paid for a guided tour from seeing the quire . It rankled . It annoyed ... read more

When we were in Chatham last fall for a few days before going to London for the winter we heard about the nearby town of Rochester. We were told that it was an interesting town and that we should try to get to the castle and cathedral. Unfortunately we didn’t have time then, but now that we were in Chatham for some time we took their advice. The town has preserved many of its historic buildings in the downtown section making it a pleasant place to walk with its numerous pubs and many references to Charles Dickens. Rochester is known to be one of Dickens’s favorite places and the setting for many of his stories. The Rochester Cathedral is the home of the Diocese of Rochester which founded Kings School in 604 AD. making it the ... read more

Well, i have now been home for two days and am slowly starting to re-adjust to a Western life. It is a very strange feeling to be back, whilst knowing that life continues in Chittagong without me. Today is Victory Day in Bangladesh, a day of celebration which i would have liked to see. My few days spent in Dhaka were wonderful, i was a true tourist for a while, seeing some very impressive old buildings, living the Dhaka life style, finding foreigners at every turn and, even, taking a small boat out onto the Buriganga River. I even found myself an authentic, and incredibly tasty, Italian Restaurant in the heart of Gulshan - an area dominated by Embassies and the wealthy. I continue to miss Chittagong and the people i have met. I am receiving ... read more

We are Back!!! No we hadn't left even Kent but we've been on a 10 week journey of a different kind. The journey to a bigger house. Instead of moving house we have extended our kitchen and are absolutely loving it now. Having said that we had a bit of a love - hate relationship with the journey to get to this point (Lets say Claudi wanted an extension and Terry had to suffer the consequences). It had all started last summer, when we were back from our long journey around the world and sat on our bench infront of our house. We noticed that even though we had been to lots of amazing places in the past six months we very much liked to live, where our little house is, in Kent! A few serendipidous ... read more

OK, now I'm officially in the Christmas spirit! There was no real snow but they used bubbles. Not like regular bubbles..like soap suds haha It really looked like snow it was crazy plus it cleaned the town. We ate Thai which isn't Christmassy but we didn't care because it was delicious! Me, Andy, and Andrea roamed around. We went to the carnival that was on the castle gounds. It was so cool. We went on the crazy ferris wheel. It was bookin! The three of us went on it at one time. I don't know how we fit...seriously. My butt never actually touched the seat. I was sitting half on both of them. It was a good day.... read more