Rye

This weekend was so nice! We headed out of London to a little town called Hastings. Where William the Conquerer (William I) landed in 1066 and fought the Battle of Hastings. While we went their to see a Battle of Hastings reenactment, we decided to see the surrounding country-side. One of these places was a tiny town called Rye. We arrived by train at the Hastings Station, dropped our bags off, and headed into Rye. The bus ride was a little long, and it was nearing two by the time we arrived, and we were famished! We walked around the entire town (which shows you how small it was!) looking for a pub, but we couldn't find one. Finally Dad went into a store and asked for directions. We ended up eating at a small pub called The Old Bell. I had a Hamburger. It was so good, because I had been craving one, I'm not saying it was a good Texan hamburger, but it worked fine in an emergency. It came with American french fries! Unfortunately, those needed a good salting, but still succeeded in satisfying my craving. Anyways, we then set out in search of the Mermaid Inn, one of England's oldest inns. You can still stay there , but we couldn't get rooms. Personally, it was nothing much, just a white building with the timber crossbeams and a cute little mermaid sign hanging outside. But mom was thrilled. We got to walk up Medieval cobble stone streets. They actually hurt my feet because the pointy rocks kept jabbing me. But it was cool to think you were walking where the Medieval man walked. We then visited Lamb House, the house of  Henry James, a major literary figure of the 19th century. We then visited a church, St. Mary's, with a clock that is said to have inspired the nursery rhyme Hickory, Dickory, Dock. The clock was blue, and guarded on both sides by little cherubs. It was actually quite lovely. At this same church, we climbed their tower. We got to see the bells that rang the hour and all that. They were so big! I can't believe people could pull them. But I suppose the rope that clangs them is a pulley, so that must make it easier. We climbed all the way to the top, which was only a small hight. The views were amazing. You could see the little town of Rye, with the lovely green and red speckled country side as a backdrop with the blue sky simply bursting with clouds hanging over it all. It was gorgeous. Then we popped into a little cafe called Simon the Pieman. Mom and Dad got a Chocolate Caramel Shortbread, Jordan got a gingerbread man, and Maddy an I got these adorable little sugar mice! Mine was strawberry flavored, but it was really sugary, so I ended up throwing it away. Then we just wandered down the High Street, and Dad bought us these giant nickels with Queen Elizabeth II on one side and Churchill on the other. They were very neat. Then, we popped into another cafe so Mom could grab some coffee and waited for the bus. Then we returned to our lovely little house we had rented, had some dinner, and watched The Magnificent Seven. All in all, it was a very lovely day.

Below you will see the pictures of Rye. This is one of the options for pictures. Please either comment or vote on the poll.

Us walking up the Cobble Stones 

Us in front of a random house

The Mermaid Inn

The Mermaid Inn 

The bells of St. Mary's :) hehe

See! Arn't they huge?

The rooftops of Rye 

The surrounding countryside 

Us on top the tower

Mom and Dad on top the tower

The Clock of St. Mary's 

Sugar Mice!

Maddy

Ok, so Dad and I had a butterfly picture contest. I totally smoked him. This is mine, come on, it is amazing!

Here's Dad's picture

Mine again 

A Medieval Tower 

Hahaha! 

A  Rye Telephone Booth!

Us on the cobbled streets