La De Dodd Farm: Day 2 London, Kent, and Dymchurch

Yep, you won't believe all the things I did today. I woke to a hard rain for five minutes, then the sun came out. I went into the kitchen for a great cup of Colombian coffee, and I could hear music coming through the window. It was one of my all time favorite songs, "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys.

When planning my trip, I looked up food in London. One of the things that popped up in the search was gooseberries. I love gooseberry pie and tarts. The only place in the states I have ever seen it is off Hwy 1 in CA. So, I'm flipping through the newspaper and there is a write up on gooseberries. Some people in England call them goosegogs.

Luckily, there was a luggage store five minutes away, run by a wonderful chap. What I referred to as a rack with wheels is more appropriately called a "trolley" in England.
While on the tube, I sat next to this guy, sharp blue suit, great eye glasses and shoes, wild hair like Tim Burton. He looked like a record producer. He was listening to music with his fancy iPad. I pulled out my mini disc player (circa 2000) hoping for a laugh. He was stone cold.

I went to Notting Hill and Portobello Road. It was fun, but the market is only open on Saturday. I read online that Friday was the vintage clothing day. That was not the case. I went to a Thai restaurant for lunch, red curry prawns. There was a table of four young adults talking about the new Daft Punk song, being stuck in their head. Then, they started to sing, "Stay up all night to get lucky." I went to Jamie Oliver's shop. They have cooking classes there, too.

Only celebrity sighting- Irene from MTV's The Real World, in line at Customs.

Little known facts about England.
There aren't any garbage cans in London. In England they're referred to as bins.
Londoners love ironic t-shirts.
Men in Kent like to use the f-word.
Little towns on the coast look alike and run together.

The trip to Dymchurch was a true adventure. After taking the high speed rail from London to Kent (38 minutes) I took a bus- the wrong bus. I fell asleep, made an entire loop and ended up back at the station. After talking to the bus driver, I realized I was on the wrong bus- and didn't just sleep through my stop. Wait. Take the correct bus to the wrong town, five miles away in New Romney. But, I didn't realize this at first because New Romney has a street named High St. that runs through the town- just like Dymchurch. My B&B is on High St. Walk up and down High St., looking for the Sycamore House. I'm at my wits end in front of a medieval house. A gentleman outside says, "Are you lost?" I explain the situation to him and show him a picture of the Sycamore House. He invites me in for tea with his partner, Janet. He proceeds to tell me about their house, Plantagenet House (french for plantains). There house is 700 yrs. old and one of the oldest houses in England. I'm astonished by their house and hospitality. Malcolm brings me a cup of tea in one of their Wallace and Gromit mugs. He says, "here you go darling." I say, "Wendy Darling." Malcolm has a wealth of information about the history of the coast going back to the Saxons, the beginning of the Royal Navy, architectural styles and so on. Malcolm and Janet used Google Earth to find the Sycamore House. I assumed everyone knew everyone in these small towns. I was informed people on the coast are a little shy, and that is not the case. Wonderful Malcolm and Janet gave me a ride to Dymchurch, up to the front door of the Sycamore House. Malcolm helped bring my luggage in and referred to himself as my porter.

I walked two minutes to the water to watch the sunset. Walked around the amusement park. And, found the most fabulous Indian restaurant for dinner. Really, the best I've ever had.

The highlight has to be staying in Edith Nesbit's holiday home. My room is so cozy. It was a most memorable birthday. I am exhausted.