Rachael comes to London!

On the train to Whistable for the day!

Of course I needed a picture of this.

Fish and chips on the beach!

A "pebbly beach" as they call it.

Whistable used to have lots of smuggling--and apparently the smugglers would run away down alleys like this one...

Name of the alley shown above :)

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The Whitsable Castle was a little smaller than we expected, though still very scenic.

Sun and sea and this lovely lady.

Poser.

This strip of land, "The Street," stretches out (when the tide is right) about half a mile into the water.

The still submerged part of The Street, I believe.

Makes me think of Treasure Island!

Cool tree in Hyde Park.

Brighton!

Food for thought, just on a building in Brighton.

A tad windy.

Committed fisherman.

My less than impressive selfie skills, combined with the wind, make for a truly unflattering picture of me. But Rachael looks cute!

We decided to ride the Ferris wheel.

Brighton Pier

Love vigilantes (points if you get the reference).

Brighton Royal Pavilion

Tea time!

Soaking up the sunshine!

We took a little excursion to a small town nearby. We walked by this little restaurant.

Up this hill...

And by this windmill.

More wind.

But we didn't mind too much!

We carried on (more or less calmly).

Not a bad view.

Yeah, lots of wind.

No wonder they had a windmill here.

These guys were hardcore. I can't remember what you call it when they're surfing, but harnessed to a kite type thing.

Back in London, for a cruise on the Thames.

Emirates cable cars by the O2.

Camden!

Piano rescue?!

Lunch. Yum!

And . . . Yumchaa (for tea).

Rachael's last night in London--dinner at The Chicken Shop and then War Horse (great play).

Friends for 20 years (boy, does that make me feel old!). It was lovely having you, Rachael!

One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.

~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca ~