This was my sick day. All I did was lay around, try to nap (I did get a short one in), eat, and clean. For some reason being sick caused me to want my room to be neat and organised...I must have been really sick. Anywho, the reason you didn't get a blog post for this day is because I did nothing and you didn't need to hear/read about it.
Onto the good stuff!
30/9/2013 - Monday (yesterday)
Yesterday we were originally going to go to London for the Harry Potter Experience but we couldn't book bus tickets online (because the stupid coach company is stupid) so we decided to postpone that trip and go to Dover instead. GOOD LIFE CHOICE! This was our motto yesterday as Dover and Dover Castle were SPECTACULAR! Unfortunately we had a lazy start to the day and didn't actually get to Dover until around 2pm (castle around 2:30pm). Upon arriving at the castle (after a bit of a hike) we purchased our day tickets and went up to the grounds where we jumped right in to tours starting with the Secret Wartime Tunnels.
The Secret Wartime Tunnels were the headquarters for project Dynamo - the operation of evacuating British soldiers from Dunkirk, France after losing the whole of France to the Germans. The tunnels were originally Napoleonic tunnels converted for top secret military use during WWII. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures on the tours so all you're going to get is a bunch of writing.
The tour began in a waiting room where we listened to historical radio tunes, the Prime Minister's announcement about the war, and the King's Speech. We then moved to another room where we watched a film strip about the war. Next we moved to another room where we were briefed about the Allies and the Germans (troups, preparedness, morale, weapons, etc.). From there we moved onto a gallery where we saw a whole multimedia presentation about Project Dynamo. From there we self-directed our own tour through various historical rooms set up as they would have been during WWII - it was really cool, like stepping into history. After that we wound up in the gift shoppe (to exit), then moved on to our next tour.
Next we toured the Underground Hospital, once again set up as it would have been in wartime. On this tour we followed the journey of a fighter pilot shot down over the coast as he was brought in by an ambulence and rushed to surgery. We also saw barracks, the kitchen, and the mess hall. This tour was really neat with all the special effects. We followed a "sound track" of storyline throughout the hospital and at one point the lights flickered and went out before coming back dimmer than before to simulate the effects of a bomb going off. It was kind of like experiencing underground MASH. Awesome!
Anywho, after that we hiked further up the hill to get to the castle grounds. Unfortunately is was nearly closing time so all we had time to do was visit the gift shop and upgrade our day passes to yearlong memberships to the English Heritage Society which allows us free or discounted entrance to countless historical landmarks/museums all over the UK and Ireland. I am super excited to continue exploring the history of this land :)
After we left the castle we headed to the beach to take pictures of the white cliffs and proceeded to be poop-bombed by a massive flock of gulls (stupid birds). After we took our pictures we headed up High Street in search of food. We stumbled upon an authentic Italian Restaurant with GLUTEN FREE FOOD!!! I was extraordinarily excited so we dined there. The food was phenomenal as we knew it would be when the menu was written in Italian and our waiter was Italian.
After a nice leisurely dinner we walked back to the train station without getting lost and managed to board the right train back to Canterbury.
Once back in Canterbury I came back to the flat and proceeded to go on a long late-night walk/talk with a good friend. I have been so incredibly blessed by the friends I have made here in England and am very VERY thankful to have been able to meet them.
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