St. Patrick's Day and Other Amusements

My friend Dez came and visited me this past week. We totally had a blast! We spent a few days in Canterbury, one day in Dover, and a couple days in London. It was cool to get to show off the town that I've been studying in for the past six months or so to someone new. (It also made me realize that a lot of what I do here is study, stare at the Cathedral on bus rides, and shop in the little boutiques.) But Dez and I discovered some pretty residential areas on our rambling walks, and we also found a really gorgeous little courtyard/garden in the Cathedral's precincts.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day, so of course we had to celebrate. We went to Rutherford Bar where they had all kinds of Irish-themed craziness like Guiness-shaped hats and Irish dancers. It was super fun! Oh, and we also totally made green pancakes that morning. We put green food coloring in the batter, but once we cooked the pancakes they sort of lost their green coloring, except for around the edges a bit. But still, how many people can say they made green pancakes on St. Patrick's Day? We can.

On Wednesday we went to Dover, which was completely awesome. We climbed two mountains that day! Well, big hills and cliffs really, but they sure felt like mountains. The Cliffs of Dover are every bit as gorgeous as the photos make them out to be, and then some.

The weekend we spent in London, doing cool stuff like seeing Shakespeare's Globe Theater, went on a "Blood and Tears" walking tour of London (the guide talked about Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, and other creepy London stories), and even saw a musical. We also saw the obligatory sights, like Westminster and Covent Garden.

Dez's Visit