11.14.2007 Wednesday

Calais

I just finished looking at the pictures I took since the last blog entry.Wow I have covered some ground and seen and experienced some great things!

I met up with my next couchsurfing host, Petra, on Sunday night and headed to her place.She is renting a room in a house with 5 other people and has a humongous room with two beds in it.After unloading my stuff I just sat on the floor and we talked for a while.What an awesome girl.Originally from Hungary, she is living in Brighton going to school to earn her second degree in conservation.At 29 years old she has started over again three times in a career path.I listened to her talk about her journey and saw an amazing amount of passion for conservation.This girl will do great things for the world.It is funny though, I just listened for a while letting describe the disoriented state that she is currently in.With work, school and deciding what to do in her life she is at a crossroads that I know I have been and I am sure all of you have been at some state in your life.Sometimes there is a point in your life that everything gets to be too much and you don't know where to turn next and how things are going to work out.Unfortunatley I did not have any great original wisdom to bestow on Petra to help her through her quandary, but I did relay to her my experience of things working out when they are supposed to in God's time not ours.Keep your chin up and don't worry.Keep walking forward and the doors will open.

After talking we headed out to a great neighborhood pub in a back alley that had a live jazz band and a couple of friends Petra knew.It was nice to hang out with some girls for a change and just relax.The music and company was great.We headed home early to get some rest for the busy week ahead for both of us. As usual I slept like a log and had a wonderful time hanging out with my couchsurfing host.What a great girl.

Monday morning was by far the best morning I have had in England.I could actually see blue sky.I toured about Brighton and got a good feel for the town.Got some pictures of the pier in the daylight and wondered through all the back alleys.It is amazing how most English towns have the city center blocked off to traffic and the streets are just to be walked on.It is great to see such life in a town center.Charlestonians are blessed with a town center that is used, but most everywhere else the old town center is a ghost town.I took the coast road down all the way to Portsmouth.Yup that right.I could not disappoint my big brother Christopher who suggested I check out the town and take a look at the Victory.The sailing ship Admiral Nelson was killed on at the battle of Trafalger.Thanks Chris!!I am glad I did not miss Portsmouth or the drive down.The English beaches are a big disappointing with rocks instead of sand.Apparently that is the natural state.I drove on them with the bike!

Portsmouth is a great old seaport.I spent a couple of hours touring the old docks and museums and took a great tour of the Victory itself.Obviously anything boats captivates my attention so I was right at home.Portsmouth is still a large naval center for the British so it was interesting to see new and old ships about.I had my usual peanut butter and honey sandwich with apple and granola bar, but Monday was different.I had a friend to enjoy it with.Rob, who you will see in the pictures was a homeless guy that wanted money for booze but got some down home southern hospitality.He really liked his sandwich.

I left Portsmouth to find my way to Chichester to meet an old family friend name Brenda Barass.She had given me directions to a pub in the country side that was relatively easy to find.This pub was way in the country and since I arrive an hour early I took the opportunity to take a country ride…holy cow now that was England.I wondered around all kinds of narrow one lane paths with hedgerows and horses!Found a racing stable, some great bridges, awesome views and you can't beat twisty country roads on a motorcycle.What a great time and great ride.I headed back to the Swan Inn and pulled up to the bar next to a rather wealthy Londener who has a home in Chichester, London and Italy.We had a great chat and he was kind enough to buy me a drink.Hopefully I will get an email and invite to stay at his Italy house.

(Just so you know I am typing this email while drinking a bottle of wine…pretty strange to not have a glass and just drink from the bottle)Brenda arrived and we made our way to her cottage, or rather loft above a barn.Brenda is AMAZING!We instantly connected and spent the entire evening just chatting away.Her home above the barn was very cozy and comfortable.She does not spend much time there as she looks after an elderly woman as her job so on her one day off a week she has a comfy place to come home too.Tuesday was probably the best day I have had in England so far.After breakfast we took a stroll through the country village that she lives in.Now when I say village I mean, a couple of houses/farm, a pub and a church.That is the English Village!I love it.See pictures for full effect!We had lunch at the Pub by the fire enjoying an adult beverage and just chatted away about the past, present and future.Besides my mother I don't know anyone else that loves the lord or has more faith than Brenda and it was nice to see it and experience it.My time with Brenda felt like a physical and mental recharge much like Inverness just on a different level.Brenda too also has a love for horses and boats and she showed me the local fishing village etc that was great to see.

After the seaside port we headed to town to collect some mail that was to arrive for me at her cousin's house.I had been waiting for my insurance documents and permanent registration to arrive and needed them before I headed out on the ferry.They arrive at Jonathans house in Edinburgh and I made arrangements for him to send them on to Chichester.Keep in mind now that I am booked on the Ferry to Calais for Wednesday so it is imperative that I get these documents before I get to the continent.Well wouldn't you believe that they were not in the mail.After a little running around we headed to the main post office only to find the doors closed!If some of you reading this don't believe in God well I will make a believer of you with all the stories like this one.We were turning around and drove to the back loading docks of the post office.I saw someone standing on the docks and jumped out and just politely asked if he would help.This guy, Kevin, was great.He walked me in the back door, turned on the lights, turned the computers and after 20 minutes found my package.This is not standard procedure for the royal post!Amazing!I walked out with papers in hand ready for the ferry on Wednesday!Thank you Kevin! Thank you Lord for making it all happen.After a great dinner and some more chatting I headed to bed to dream about the white cliffs of Dover!

Before heading to Dover I made my way up to Canterbury.Now as a good Anglican I couldn't rightly travel through the southeast of England and not see the mother church of the Anglican Communion.Now this was an experience.I had a great drive up, but getting to the Cathedral is crazy.It is located in a walled sort of city and shops and pedestrian streets all around it.I found a spot and walked in and toured the Cathedral.It is funny, but I have never been in a holy place that I felt farther away from God.It was a beautiful Cathedral, but with all the tourists etc I just did not seem right.It was interesting to see and even more interesting to see this old church building surrounded by bustling streets of commerce.The streets outside the Cathedral are like King Street on steroids.I was a little disappointed, but maybe I just had a different picture in my mind.

Dover was calling and I wasted no more time in Canterbury.The cliffs are definitely white and don't worry I did not fall off them!I arrived at the ferry 2 hours early and ended up being able to get an earlier spot which worked out in the end to be much better.I arrived in Dover to rain rain rain.Go figure!

Holy cow France is going to be interesting.Now I am on my journey.I have never felt so out of place and unprepared etc.It is interesting to be in a place that speaks a completely foreign language.It is my first time so it will take some getting used to, but not to worry I know I will be speaking French in no time.

I found a hostel and a grocery store and hunkered down to a great evening finally catching up on email and the blog.I figured for my first night in France I would have a very French sort of dinner.I bought a bottle of wine, baguette, cheese, ham, tomato, and carrot for the vegetable goodness and enjoyed a little France.Good thing I have my swiss army knife!

So there it is…crazy what happens in a couple of days in the life of Marcus.There are so many little things inbetween, but you will just have to imagine the inbetween adventures that only I could get involved in.Be sure to check out the photo album as you will really get a feel.

Oh don't forget to check out the message board for a new game I have invented! Hope you will all play along!