Arrive to London

Got to the airport about an hour before departure, just before boarding started and got cleared right away for our first class lay flat seats. Settled in with some sparkling wine and picked out our dinner and looked into the movie choices. Matt had the cheese tapa meal and I had a stuffed chicken. The coconut Thai soup was really good. Got a good 4 hour nap in before breakfast was served. Matt was snoring but was woken up before the breakfast service was done.

We got fast passes for the speedy customs line and were allowed off the plane first. Made it through London customs in about 20 minutes! Much better than the 2 hours like last time. The border patrol officer was very intrigued and was trying to figure out why we didn't have a hotel address. "No sir, we just have a car rental. We planned the trip yesterday after we missed our flight to Paris. We are departing Thursday. Just a short last minute stopover" finally he caved still flabbergasted and stamped our passports. We exited the arrivals hall, bought some coffee and started googling things to do in London. About 10 minutes of research we decided on cliffs of Dover, Battle of Britain museum. Stonehenge. Bletchley park. London. Home. Went to the rental car place and waited about 45 minutes for service then we're in the car ready to embark on another whirlwind road trip. This time poor matt has to drive stick and be on the other side of the road.

Planning on staying at bed and breakfasts we started out towards Dover. About a 2 hour drive we made it to the Battle of Britain museum just in time for it to close. Had to come back tomorrow. Stopped at the memorial atop of the white cliffs, and then headed into Dover to find a place to sleep. Trip advisor #4 bb had vacancy posted, the owner showed is the two twin bed room we agreed on a price just to find out someone else booked the room 30 minutes prior online through booking.com. She directed us to a few other b&bs down the road. The second was the east lee. The owner was outside gardening and she had the "one really small double left" she refused to rent it out without people seeing it as it is "much smaller than the others and its discounted 5£". It was an en suite with pink decor. Perfect. 75£ includes breakfast. We settled in then went in search of food. Stopped at the local fish and chips where locals would drive up to get food to go. Ordered two and enjoyed it on the patio with the Dover castle in the background. After we ventures to the white horse pub, the oldest pub in Dover. Had a pint and chatted with the bar tender. The walls are graffitied with times-how long it took each individual to swim the English Channel. Getting tired we then went to the beach to see the famous white cliffs. Stopped at the gas station (aka garage) to get cash and parted back for our bed. Fell asleep almost immediately, with plans to see the Dover castle white cliffs, Battle of Britain museum, Stonehenge and overnight in Bletchley park. We'll see how productive we can be in the am!

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