Dover Castle

I would say that we went to Dover to see the castle, but that would be a lie.  We went to Dover to see the famous chalk cliffs, and to see if we could get a peek at the French coast across the Channel. However, with Dover being a solid 4 hour round trip journey, it didn't seem to make much sense to just pop down for an hour and then back.  So to the castle we went.

I will say that coming in to Dover is... unimpressive. There are some cute little houses and churches and then, right by the bus depot, there is sort of just... nothing.  We had to wander a bit to find a Costa to satiate the caffeine deprived needs (well, at least Kelsey and mine), and even walking down the main thoroughfare lead to a sense of "meh." But up high on a hill, towering over everything else, nestled on top of those majestic white cliffs, was the Castle.  And it was as impressive as anything I've ever seen.

The walk up there nearly killed us (from a purely out-of-shape point of view). It's a pretty steep climb and it is daunting at times to try to force your way up.  In all honesty, it can't have been more than a half mile.  Either way, up we went, the bright English sunshine beaming down upon us (how often do I get to type that phrase??).

Dover Castle is immense.  There is a very small part of it that is in ruin (some dating back to the 11th or 12th century, I'm not sure which), and every inch of it just about is open to the public to explore.  You don't get that kind of freedom in most places, nor are most places kept up to this kind of standard.  Please note, I have not visited every castle in England, but the ones that I have seen have not been like this. INSANE.

Besides housing a pretty sweet castle and a massive manor that, unfortunately, wasn't open for whatever reason, there are also secret tunnels. Do I need to repeat that? SECRET. TUNNELS. I can't even. Part of them are from medieval times, which you can wander around and get hopelessly lost in, but the other ones (Napoleonic and WWII) are free and clear to go into and have been reinterpreted with some of the best tours I have ever been a part of.  There is an underground hospital which has flickering lights and overheard conversations, along with smells that are imported in to make the experience that much more 'real.' Then there are the war tunnels where they show the rooms and history behind the evacuation of Dunkirk, which is a pretty emotional and insane story in and of itself.

All in all, we spent 6 hours at the castle (this is partly due to the fact that one of my friends has to see EVERYTHING that is available. Everything.) and a grand total of maybe 35 minutes at the Cliffs (which I would like to go back to and hike properly wearing the appropriate footwear).  Dover Castle, guys.  Go there.  Live it up.

A Whirlwind Weekend (or: In which I am actually good at surprises)

For those of you who know me fairly well, you may have noticed I am terrible with surprises.  It happens with every birthday, holiday, little gift from the store, or trip I go on. I can't help it. I get so excited about how much whoever it is is going to love it that I just let it slip.

That is why I am amazed that I was able to pull this past weekend off.  Approximately 3 months ago, I got the idea in my head that I really, really wanted to surprise my sister. She and I hadn't been able to talk as much as I would have liked to, between schedules and time differences it had been hard to keep in touch. I knew that she was stressed about the wedding and that she was really bummed that I wasn't going to make the bridal shower. I decided I needed to be there, despite being in a different country and being kind of broke, I knew that it would be the best surprise ever.

After a few phone calls to make sure someone could actually get me from the airport and to make sure I wasn't being completely insane, I booked the flight back for the weekend. And then I had a second idea: It's Mother's Day the day after. Wouldn't Mom just about lose it if I was home for that, too?

And so the great "lie your face off to everyone" tactic began.  Facebook posts, emails, FaceTime sessions that all expressed how sad I was I wouldn't be able to make it. I only told 3 people who were directly involved with Steph and Mom that I was coming back home: my dad, brother, and Steph's best friend.  Apparently keeping the secret from Steph was killing Jamie, she avoided Steph for the past 3 weeks to prevent letting it slip.

Friday afternoon, Sean dropped me at the airport. I climbed onboard and in 8 hours was landing in Philly where Geoff was ready to get me. Dad was en route from a dinner at the same time, Steph was having a few of the bridesmaids and friends over to help make the centrepieces for the wedding.  Dad and Geoff headed into the house through the main door, while I snuck around to the back door where everyone was hanging out. Once I saw they were inside, I knocked on the glass (there's a curtain so you can't really see out onto the deck), and Steph answered the door.

She completely lost it. Crying, excited hugging, high pitched screaming out of excitement and a lot of "I can't believe you're here!"s.  That was probably the most gratifying moment, and I hope that it really made the weekend that much better for her.

The next day (Saturday) was the actual bridal shower, where I surprised my mom. My brother had called me to let me know she was walking in the door, and when I came around the corner she dropped her keys and basically repeated the exact same thing my sister did (it runs in the family, my grandmother was with her, and she was going through the crying/hugging/'I can't believe it"s as well).

All in all, it was a pretty kick ass weekend. My sister got her maid-of-honor to be at her bridal shower, my mom got to have all of her kids together for Mother's Day, and I got to feel like I did something that really mattered to them both. I love to make them smile. :)

Love to you all.