Le Tour De France...in England

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The Cantebury Cathedral. This day was actually a pilgrimage day to this cathedral to visit the tomb of Arch Bishop Thomas Beckett. Living in the 13th century, he apparently had the superhuman ability to cure people's gastrointestinal parasites. Im not even kidding.

The final sprint of the riders to the finish line.

The finish line. We had some really great seats.

Brothers.

The presentation of the coveted yellow jersey.

Le Tour de France: The Grand Departure

We have a lot to cover here in a brief amount of time - so please bear with me.

A few days back Thomas and I unsuccessfully tried to besiege the Dover Castle; however, as you can see by the photo it is rather fortified. In consolation, we journeyed up and across the White Cliffs of Dover. It was a most beautiful view looking over the ominous body of water and down the white sheaths of rock. According to an old Dover motto: "Bluebirds will fly over the White Cliffs of Dover tomorrow, you just wait and see..." We are both a bit mystified at its meaning, but we found it to be a bit humerus.

Later that day Thomas went for his first swim in the Harbour. A valiant effort it was, and he even went the next day without a wetsuit! I was able to get a few hour long swims and worked up to a 2.5 hour swim on Saturday. It was the most swimmers I have seen in the Harbour yet, and I enjoyed having a chat with some of them in the water. The Aussie that I had been training with swam yesterday - however, I still do not know the outcome of the swim. I plan to give him a call after this post. The nicest day of our trip was yesterday and it looks to stay nice throughout the week (fingers crossed)!

Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, Thomas and I took the train to Canterbury to see the end of Stage 1 of the Tour de France. We also were able to go to a beautiful service at the Canterbury Cathedral. The Tour stage started in London and rolled through the English countryside. It was a most spectacular event, and we were able to secure spots less than 25 meters from the finish line. After about 2 hours of the caravan of European advertisements, the racers flew by in less than 30 seconds. An Aussie won the stage by breaking away from the peloton at the very last moment. Yesterday, the entire tour entourage actually went through Dover and rode the Sea France ferry across the Channel to begin Stage 2 in France.

We a both now staying at a very quaint youth hostile for the rest of the week. I am obliged to have some of Thomas's famous cooking - although it is mainly just carb-loading. We were also able to mix up a concoction of baby food, rich chocolate ovaltine, crushed mini-wheats, flax seed oil, and some crushed IB Profine. I will subside on this concoction for much of the swim, but I will be able to treat myself to fruit juice, bananas, and power bars when it gets old.

We envy your hot Iowa weather, as yesterday was the first day that we have got any sort of sun. I also have not worn my shorts since I got off the airplane. The next few days we plan to mentally and physically prepare by getting lots of rest.

Still More Pics From Home (Dover)

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What a meal!! As the dollar/pound exchange rate is rather sickening, John and I have been existing exclusively on buying food from a gas station nearby. The meal (anna you would be so proud) consisted of noodles, baked beans, "crumpets", and microwave sausages. mmmmm.

My first dip into the channel's beautiful waters.

Fattening up--American style. Upon coaches orders (me), John has to put on a nice layer of blubber. Really no better way than to force him to eat a family bucket of the colonel's orignal recipe chicken. (note: as john's receeding hairline would indicate, the channel seems to be aging him. just kidding bro)

Our 5 star accomodations. This picture really needs no explanation. £30 per night.

More Pics From Dover

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The Dover Castle. Nestled upon a cliff looking over the town, John and I wanted to visit it but it cost $19 per person--way out of our budget. Thus, we are going to besiege it sometime this week, as we have found a medevil weak spot in the wall...just like old times.

The first casulty of this endeavor. While hiking in the cliffs I managed to lose my footing and spill a bit of blood. Didn't phase us though...obviously because i look so tough.

The White cliffs of dover...if you couldn't tell. The cliffs actually lie more by the towns of Deal and Sandwich but Dover gets all of the glory.

The White cliffs again. "There'll be blue birds over the White cliffs of Dover tomorrow. Just you wait and see"--local motto. John and I laughed for quite some time upon hearing this.

Oxford

Foremost, thank you all for your posts and comments - as your words of encouragement are warmly appreciated.

The last two days have been a treat for myself and Thomas, having the opportunity to catch up with old college friends as well as spend an evening back at Oxford. However, before I left for those occasions I did a one mile swim in the Harbor without a wetsuit (as I didn't have time to dry it out). I did a fair amount of shivering afterwards and was numb for some time - thus gaining a real appreciation for the protection that is neoprene.

I believe that Thomas already wrote about my friend Pippa's birthday party, so I will fill you in about our night at Magdalen College in Oxford. My old biochemistry tutor, Dr. Robert Gilbert, put us up in a beautiful guest room in the Cloisters. We then met Dr. Gilbert, as well as a few other fellows (or professors) and the Dean of Divinity, in the Senior Commons Room for a high table dinner of goose and pheasant. It was a candlelit multi-course dinner. It was a most beautiful evening to be able to catch up with Dr. Gilbert as well as discuss a host of pressing issues in Britain and the US. After dessert and coffee, Dr. Gilbert took us through a trap door into the old college library to see the classical texts of Newton, Hooke, et al., and we topped the night off at the Bear Pub - an Oxford establishment since 1270. The experience brought back found memories of my time abroad, and Thomas hopes to also spend some time there (or possibly Cambridge) next year.

We arrived back in Dover yesterday afternoon and have checked into a local youth hostile. It is definitely the cheapest accommodation yet, and its biggest perk is the community kitchen. I went for a swim last night in the cold and rain, and we are both becoming quite used to these miserable conditions - which just happen to be quite rare this time of the year. We then cooked a pasta dinner back and the hostile and enjoyed being stationary for a bit.

The plans for today are quite optimistic, considering that we finally have blue skies (however, the duration that they will last is very unpredictable). We are going on a hike up to the Dover Castle which over looks the Channel, and I plan to splash around for 2-3 hours afterwards. We must commence our journey soon as the skies will inevitably turn on us.

Tomorrow afternoon we plan to jettison over to Canterbury to see the finish of Stage 1 of the Tour de France. We'll post again when we are able to get back to the library. All the best.

An Oxford Independence Day

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A view from our room in the cloisters

John and an Oxford Ph.D who swam the channel in '05

A view of the Magdelen gardens

The Oxford library with first editions of Newton's Principia, Optica, and Principia Mathmatica (hallowed ground for all of us science nerds)

John and Professor Rob Gilbert

A Night of English Gentry