Dover, England:

' We must have arrived at England's shores ... the clouds are upon us.. '

I actually heard an English gentleman mutter apologies to the general passengers for the embarrassing lack of sunshine on this our last stop after such glorious golden rays in every port since Barcelona.  Well, there's always a bright side to change  - now we don't need to pile on the sunscreen for once...lol.

 Kent ..oldest county in England

Apparently, it took 80 million years to form the White Cliffs of Dover from billions of crushed shells, sea-dwelling plants and animals

After disembarking  ~ 10 am off the Serenity @ Dover port, we hopped on our prearranged taxi and stopped briefly at the historic town of Cantebury. It is amongst the oldest cities with a continuous history. We were able to spend some time strolling through its narrow cobbled streets and witness the rich heritage and architectural styles of well-storied eras gone by...

 peaceful Westgate Gardens in Cantebury beside the river Stour which wraps around the city centre

Leeds Castle: 
                                  'the Loveliest Castle,..., in the World...'     -Lord Conway

Elegantly resting on an island surrounded by a moat in the heart of Kent near Maidstone, strategically positioned between the cities of London and Dover with proximity to good hunting lands...no wonder the Royals seized it back in 1278.  It became part of the Queen of England's dower (the settlement queens received from their husbands). Thus, over a course of 150 years it was held by six medieval queens. 

 Following the Norman Conquest of 1066 it became a good idea to fortify the many manors in Kent. Hence the first stone castle on this site began in 1119 by a decendant of William II's knights

 Henry the VIII dining room. In Tudor times Henry VIII visited the castle, usually with his Queen, Catherine of Aragon

  The last mistress of Leeds Castle was Olive, Lady Baillie. An heiress to an American fortune  (Dominion Coal / Iron & Steel & Standard Oil) from the maternal side and the daughter of an English Lord, she married three times. With her second husband she purchased the castle in 1926 and embarked on extensive refurbishments 

Upon Lady Baillie's death in 1974, she left the castle to the Leeds Castle Foundation, a private charitable trust charged with preservation of the castle and grounds for the benefit of the public forever...thus in accordance with her wishes, Leeds castle is kept as a living house, with bedrooms that regularly accommodate guests at conferences, banquets & weddings ( on this day this room was set up precisely for a wedding ceremony @ 4pm)

  culpepper garden

 we tried the maze and it was truly perplexing.. not wanting to miss our flight, we thought it best to follow one of the guides' navigation out and up to the top of the centre lookout 

Below the Maze was an interesting Grotto to spook the kids .. great place for halloween

 we missed the choo choo train encircling the grounds to the entrance so ended up walking the path of the swan & duck laden ponds and cedar lawn ..good vantage point - photoop!

Bordeaux by Day:

 Grand Hotel of Bordeaux

Cours du 30 Juillet & Monument aux Girondins at its apex

 Grand Theatre - neoclassical beauty inside & out. Exterior decorated with 12 Corinthian style columns, on the top of the facade are 12 statutes...9 represent the art muses and 3 the Roman goddess of Juno ( goddess of fruitfulness), Venus, and Minorva (goddess of war)

 Rue St. Catherine said to be the longest pedestrian street in Europe!

Tom sampling the famous Canneles Bordelais, magical small fluted cakes of rum and vanilla with a 300 yrs old history! They were quite fragrant I thought it may even have been dipped in cognac ..more likely beeswax & butter though ..lol

 beautiful but are they comfortable ?

Outside Hotel de Ville (City Hall hotel) right beside the church

Cathedrale Saint-Andre& Pey Berland Bell Tower topped by gold-leaf Madonna and child (Notre Dame d'Aquitaine) on the spire, facing the direction of Saint-Raphael in the Medoc, birthplace of Pey Berland, archbishop of Bordeaux during the 1400's, staunchly faithful to the King of England before the French took the city in 1451.
This time we resisted the temptation to climb the 231 spiral stairs to reach the top of the Tower as we wanted to check out the Musee d'Aquitaine

Scrounging around again for treats :D

  venturing into the Musee d'Aquitaine and found the Venus of Laussel or Venus with Horn which is estimated to be 25,000 years old !!

The "frieze of deer " from Lascaux caves known for its Paleolithic cave paintings over 17,000 years old

 Bronze Statute of Hercules. Despite its missing parts, Hercules is identifiable due to the lion skin rolled around his left forearm during the 'Twelve Labours" imposed on him as the price for immortality. His statue once stood at the entrance to the port

Bordeaux became actually the capital city of Aquitania, a Roman province whose name means 'land of water' in th 7th century. Inhabitants were referred to as Gascons - spirited Bordelais who resist any compromise to their sense of independence (Cyrano de Bergerac) Much later, the English Kings followed the Romans and stayed for 300 years as Eleanore of Aquitaine (see above) married Henry Plantagenet (England's Henry II) and gave Bordeaux to England until the 17th Century. Although Eleanor of Aquitaine is not buried here but in Anjou, the above depicts her in a tomb

Bordeaux has many former City Gates along the quays dotting the River Garonne. This one is at the end of Rue Catherine - Port 'd'Aquitaine at the Place de la Victoire roundabout

The Grosse Cloche of Bordeaux with the Cailhau door - testament to medieval history of Bordeaux

strolling through the section of  Vieux Bordeaux - all interesting  sights full of historic significance we're sure if one had time to peer deeper..

derriere view of the grosse cloche

back to the blvd de la Douane for a day time appreciation of the grand views

again the assortment of floral gardens - well used by the ppl

this time the 'miroir d'eau' was in effect - the light mist spewed out of tiny holes in the cement ground then bubbled with water to fill the square with a thin layer of water where upon everyone took off their shoes and delighted in its coolness (esp. babies & puppies)

Here is a bit of the water mirror effect in daytime

our last dinner with the Serenity compadres from Sweden, L.A., Nevada & England