Hello, luv!
Hi there!
My name is Martha and I am a single, retired woman from the Denver area who is a big fan of Rick Steves tours. Since my first trip to France in 2012 I have been hooked! I am in love with England and decided to take the Villages of Southern England tour in the fall of 2018.
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ALFRISTON
Day 4: Rye, Pevensey, Eastbourne, and white cliffs
This day we packed up and rolled west across southern England, stopping at our first village, Rye. Mark gave us a walking tour of the quaint little town. As we paused in the church courtyard and gathered around the memorial to war casualties, Mark talked about the Brit's role in WWI, particularly as it impacted his own family. A moving and personal story for him and us. Then he set us off on our own to explore and have some lunch. Once oriented, it was easy to find our way to quaint streets, fun shops, and a tasty deli.
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That afternoon we made a couple stops as we played hopscotch with the ocean. At the Pevensey Castle ruins we learned about the Norman conquest of England with the Battle of Hastings. Then an all-too-quick stop at the Victorian pier at Eastbourne. Here I got my first opportunity to get down to the ocean. I love the sound and motion of the sea and could have stayed there for a long time but we were soon off again on our journey.
The last and by far longest stop was at Birling Gap in the chalk cliffs. These are the hills you generally see when there are pictures of the "white cliffs of Dover" even though they aren't really Dover! The Seven Sisters is their name. Once again I got to walk the rocky beach. The ground above the cliffs is a grassy, wide area and is a portion of the South Downs Way walking path. Stunning to see the white cliffs from above in the bright sunshine.
Our final destination was the little village of Alfriston. Really charming. The short walk from the bus oriented us to the town and made it easy for me to wander about in the cool, misty morning taking pictures and chatting with the villagers. I had a lovely conversation with a chap about his home town. Brilliant!
BRIT BITS:
Good Food!
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OK, I know what you have heard... Don't listen to the people who say that England doesn't have good food!
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Traditional British fare seems to be more what I would call comfort food. I like that and I also try to eat whatever is considered local food. I would put a full English breakfast, cottage pie and fish and chips in that category. And the Brits have them down!
But, food in England is so much more than that! They have now branched out into gourmet preparations with lovely presentation and sauces.
England has also welcomed immigrants and those people have brought a wide variety of tastes and techniques that have been folded into the cuisine. There are restaurants and food stalls aplenty with so many different flavors! A true melting pot of food.
Let's get rolling!
Cobbled street in Rye
Too bad it wasn't open, this store looked interesting
Let's get rolling!