Gene and Jan's Long Trip Too

As we docked at the ocean Terminal in Greenock, Scotland Friday morning, the view from our balcony was not pretty. Overcast and raining! We were beginning to understand the weather cycle in the north Atlantic: Clouds-Rain-Sun, then repeat every 15 minutes.  From the port city of Greenock we traveled an hour by coach to Glasgow, a city of about 600,000 population.  On the dock we viewed the current weather forecast.  Since the weather changed every few minutes, this was really a practical way of knowing the current weather. Disembarking from the bus in Glasgow we waited our turn to enter the medieval Glasgow Cathedral.  You guessed it, it was raining!! Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of Glasgow or St Kentigern's or St. Mungo's Cathedral, is the oldest cathedral on mainland Scotland and is the oldest building in Glasgow.  Construction started in 1136 and it is the only cathedral in Scotland to survive the 1560 Reformation. ...

The White Cliffs of Dover We arrived in Dover at 7:00 AM Monday (Labor Day) and docked near the famous white-chalk cliffs towering over the English Channel.  Dover is the nearest English city to the French coast, a mere 21 miles away.  The city is a port town with shipping its only industry.  During WWII, Dover was a military command center and site of 4-radar towers monitoring incoming German aircraft. From Dover we journeyed by bus to the town of Canterbury, a historic town more than 2000 years old.  It's economy is dependent on tourism with pedestrian friendly streets, fine shops, inns and pubs,  The central attraction is Canterbury Cathedral dating back to 574 AD.  A rich repository of more than 1400 years of Christian history, the Church of England’s mother ship is an extraordinary place with an absorbing history.  In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral (under orders of King Henry II) and soon afterwards ...