Day Trippin

So we finally have some time to explore this ol' county. Yesterday, I got out my England for Dummies book and we decided to go to Rye. Rye is a little town in East Sussex which used to be an island. Ya know, waaaaaaaay back. It was a major port of smuggling and defence, etc. Anyway, now it's a beautifully preserved little Tudor village.

We caught a train and a bus, and walked around the shops while Jesse tried to de-carsick. We stopped into this FABULOUS hat shop. I mean amazing. Hat sculpture pretty much. We looked around, then read their little brochure and found out that they're this famous big deal, and they only have this little store in Rye. They made the hats for lots of movies, stuff like that. Look at this stuff!

Sigh. Allison, these reminded me of you. Sorry for that loooong tangent. No, I didn't drop the 250 quid to buy one.

After a few more shops, we walked up the hill to St. Mary's church. Have you heard that song The Bells of St. Mary's? This is that St. Mary's. In the 13oos, some French guys (ghees?) ransacked the town and stole the bells, and the next year some men from Rye went to France and stole them right back. This was a beautiful place. We climbed the bell tower and saw some great views. And the bells, of course.


We also saw the Lamb House, a.k.a. Henry James' house.

It was freezing, and I don't have a hat, so Jesse bought me one. I love it!

We had lunch at the Mermaid Inn, a gorgeous old building which was rebuilt in the 1400s after the French burned down the city. On the walls were lots of autographed pictures of famous people who have stayed there. People like Johnny Depp, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Judy Dench, Michael Cane, Andy Garcia, and the Queen Mother. Just to name a few! We decided our table was probably where Johnny Depp tore a pheasant with the Queen Mother.

The only building which was not destroyed by the French in the Fire was the Ypres tower, which we visited last. Over the years, this castle has been a prison, a mortuary, and a defensive fortress. Now it's a museum. We got to see what life was like for those poor prisoners--

made a trip to the loo,

and played dress up.

I walked out and realized I was still wearing my damsel ribbons... Oops. I guess I still had hats on the brain.

After returning the ribbons, we made our way back home. A really nice date, I think.