Lille and Calais

From London we caught the Eurostar to Lille in northern France.  We stayed just one night but enjoyed our short time there.

We found this World War I commemorative plaque in a church near our hotel. Later on we realised that these plaques are in every church all over northern France.

We had some dinner in a Belgian Beer Bar just down from this pedestrian town square in Lille. The lighting at night was really beautiful.

The next day we picked up a car and drove to Calais - very scary I know, especially when you're driving on the wrong side of the road!

Calais is a coastal city and a major ferry port. On a good day you can see the English Cliffs of Dover from Calais. This photo shows the famous sculpture by Rodin of the Burghers of Calais. The sculpture is outside the Town Hall and symbolises the six men who offered themselves to the English King in 1347 to stop him from killing the citizens of Calais.

This is a view of the city from the Bell Tower attached to the Town Hall. In the centre of the roundabout you can just make out a beautifully manicured topiary peacock, which is the symbol of Calais.

Calais is also famous for lace making and we did a really interesting tour of the lace museum. The best fun we had was superimposing our faces onto photos of models wearing lace outfits from different periods in history.

The following day we did a drive down the coast to Boulogne-sur-Mer which is about 30 kms away. It was blowing an absolute gale but here is some of what we saw.

These are two ferries we spotted just near the ferry terminal at Calais - one is arriving, the other is leaving.  We counted about six ferries in the stretch of water between Calais and Dover.

Here are the white Cliffs of Dover! I think the distance across the channel is less than 30 kms.

The area around Calais was subject to some pretty intense fighting in World War II. These craters are the result of artillery fire from across the English Channel as there were several German gun emplacements along the French coast.

We also drove through the little village of Wimereux which is a place mentioned in Grandfie Dwyer's service record. It has a small port and would have been a landing point for hospital ships. John McCrae, who wrote In Flanders Fields, is buried in the war cemetery at Wimereux.  He died in 1918 of pneumonia, while still in command of the 3rd Canadian General Hospital.

Boulogne-sur-Mer used to be a major port before being superseded by Calais, so while the city is quite big, the port is a bit of a ghost town. Boulogne-sur-Mer is also a place mentioned in Grandfie Dwyer's service record and would likely have been a destination for troop ships travelling from England. Like many towns in Northern France the city was completely destroyed during World War I and none of the buildings pre-date 1920.

London and Greenwich

After dropping the hire car off in Slough we caught the train into London and headed for our apartment in Lewisham, south London. Unfortunately, a severe weather warning and subsequent storm disrupted our sight seeing for a couple of days.

We did manage to get to Greenwich (above) but it turned out to be a bit of a disaster! All the naval buildings were closed for the week because they were being used for graduation ceremonies and the park surrounding the Observatory (and consequently the Observatory) was not open to the public because of damage from the storm. Anyway, we got a couple of nice photos and were able to visit the National Maritime Museum.

These are the gates of the naval college. And the ship in a bottle (below) adorns the entrance to the museum.

We also discovered these beautiful stained glass windows commemorating the First World War. The stained glass windows themselves were rescued from the Baltic Exchange building after it was bombed by the IRA in 1992. The windows were subsequently restored and installed in the Maritime Museum. The historic building itself could not be saved and it was replaced in time by a very modern building known to Londoners as the Gherkin!

Another day we did a lovely walk through Hyde Park. These are the gates near Speakers Corner.

We also discovered several monuments, including this one to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.

And these are the gates to Kensington Palace - no William or Harry in sight the day we were there!

But we did find two strays sitting on the steps outside the Orangery at Kensington Palace so we asked them if they'd like to join us for High Tea!

We also visited St Paul's Cathedral but refused to pay the ridiculous entry fee to get inside!

We saw a couple of shows and I finally got to see War Horse! It's an absolute must - don't miss it if you get the chance.

Another day we visited Spitalfield Markets and just off Brick Lane we found a street with these two apartments (side by side), one numbered eleven, the other numbered eleven and a half!

And finally we visited the Christmas window displays on Oxford Street and found this replica of London made out of gingerbread at Selfridges.

Oxford and Hampton Court

After the Cotswolds we based ourselves in Slough but did separate day trips to Oxford and Hampton Court. We could actually see Windsor Castle from our hotel room in Slough so we said goodnight to Phil and Liz before we went to bed.

Our visit to Oxford was interesting. Oxford is a university city full of students, bicycles and students on bicycles! There are thirty eight colleges offering courses for the university and each one has its own campus. We visited Trinity College as it was one of the few campuses open at lunchtime........for a fee of course.

The dining hall was very impressive and students wear their academic dress when eating in here.

We found several sporting events commemorated on the walls of the residences.

We were also told that when sitting their exams, students have to wear a suit, a white shirt and bow tie!  This building is apparently where the exams are held.

Lewis Carroll is one of many famous graduates of Oxford University and there is a small shop in the city selling Alice in Wonderland memorabilia!

Later on we found this 'rabbit' collecting money for charity. 

There are many other beautiful buildings in Oxford, including the Radcliffe Camera (below) which is one of the university's libraries.

Then there is the Sheldonian Theatre which is surrounded by a fence with men's heads on it.

And this lovely little bridge connecting two parts of Hertford College.  It is referred to as the Bridge of Sighs of Oxford.

Tudor buildings can also be found in the central shopping area of the city. We had a coffee just up from these shops.

And there is a covered market where you can buy these delights.....always a good idea to put a plastic bag over the head of a rabbit if selling it to the public!

We also did a trip to Hampton Court, the one time home of Henry VIII.  

The architecture is amazing - every chimney (and there are a lot) is different.

And the interiors are quite breathtaking.

Even the backyard isn't bad!

We also ran into Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh while we were there.

And we found some 250 year old graffiti!

You know you're famous when you get your face on souvenir chocolates! We found these in the gift shop.

Our final achievement was negotiating the maze at Hampton Court and getting back to Slough in the rain and in the dark!