Broadstairs, U.K.

For those of you who might not have been told . . .
We went to Broadstairs, England, U.K. for a good 7 days this past week.
The main purpose of our visit was to be trained in a teaching method that is very popular over here, and when we were not in the classroom, we were often out and about with a camera.

We started the trip by boarding this large ferry. 

Once out to sea (or rather, out in the middle of the English Channel) we got some really fresh air on the deck. 

On the deck we just enjoyed the open view. 

 . . . because inside the ship the windows kind of got in the way. 

When we weren't freezing on the deck, we were enjoying our first taste of British food. Specifically FISH & CHIPS for Luke. 

When we arrived, we were greeted by the cliffs of Dover. 

Behold the  . . . gray cliffs of Dover. People say that they are white in the sunlight, but we saw them through a fog. 

Dover Castle. We only got to see it close up through the lens of a camera, but we're told it's pretty spectacular. 

We arrived at our destination in the late afternoon to a cold empty college building. 

Hilderstone College is the name of the school where we studied. 

Merriland is the name of the place where we stayed. It's the green building in the middle and if it looks like a small old fashioned hotel, you'd be right on track. That's exactly what it was before the owner converted it into some some apartments on top and a few guest rooms in the front. 

Inside our room . . .

Looking out our front window. The street is empty in this photo, but we had a lot of fun 'people watching' from this view. 

Our lodgings weren't the only ones with a name rather than an address. We were told that the buildings in the town either had to have a name clearly on them or a number. And a surprising amount of homes chose the name option. It might have been a headache for the mailman, but I found the idea fairly endearing.

But then again, the names rarely made logical sense. For example, this is "Birch House". And not only is it made of brick, there wasn't a tree in the yard. I'm sure that's where the history of the place could explain what presently looks like an oddity. 

And "Field View" probably had a view of a field in 1912, but no longer. 

But no matter, here are some views of what the town of Broadstairs looked like our first day there, which was a snowy one. 

Here are some views from some not so snowy days (there was a fair amount of snow, but it didn't last long). These are the glorious victorian seaside homes. It seems that nice coastline soon or later becomes  nice real estate. 

All closed up for winter, but still colorful. 

(Photography credit for the last two pictures goes to Luke)

This photo was taken on a separate occasion, but after walking around on the snowy coastline we ended up in the 'Tartar Friggate' for a little something to help us get the feeling back into our toes. 

Consequently we found out that the British pints are a bit large than what we have experienced before.

Thanks to that our stay at the 'Tartar Friggate' was a long one, but we didn't mind because it was much more comfortable than outdoors.  

A Bit of Brussels

We enjoyed the muddy but beautiful Belgian countryside and we hope you will too!

We weren't the only ones out and about- someone was horseback riding and another person was taking a stroll. 

Belgian homes look a bit different from the Dutch ones we'd become accustomed to, so we photographed quite a few. 

I really enjoyed the contrast of these two architectural styles side by side, but it the one on the right does give off a far less neighborly vibe. 

Someone's nice garden. 

A nice Belgian street view. 

According to the Belgians, studies show that you are more likely to remember an image than a number or letter so that is how they hope you remember where you have parked. We parked next to the turtle, and to support their research -- we had not trouble remembering our parking place. 

With Friends

It may have been a month ago, but in case you wanted to see a peek into the time we spent with friends during Christmas break, here are a few snapshots. 

We stayed with some friends from church who invited us to spend a few delightful days with their extended family. 

It was a happy time. 

From the outside the home may not look very spacious, but it was very well laid out and had enough rooms to easily accomodate all of us. The home was in a sort of 'suburb' outside Brussels. 

The last course (before dessert) was a choice of cheese, a side of jam and a glass of wine, it's a course that was introduced to them by the French Belgians. 

It's called 'gourmet' and it is all about making your own little dishes on the cooker. It falls into the category of fondue, hobo-pies, etc. 

Most of the dishes you can make are a combination of egg, meat and veggies-- like an omelette. 

And then out comes the pannekoeken batter for dessert. 

We thoroughly enjoyed it.