Yesterday Candace and I woke up very early to head into London to meet the Arcadia group for a little field trip. The event, which we signed up for in January, was a trip to Rochester, Kent for a May Day festival.
It was a rough morning, but once we arrived in the little town it was like the super nerd inside me woke up. I have this thing about revels, mummers, medieval festivals, re-enactments in general, caroling, and funny fat kings eating turkey legs that I find hilarious and too good to be true. Not that I like making fun of this sort of thing - it's more like I want to take part. Badly. In fact, there's a part of me that wishes I was born a peasant in a tiny village so I could get good and drunk and silly and sing songs and dance around the may pole.
But this is the next best thing I suppose. The town, Rochester, is absolutely beautiful itself. Set side the Medway River and at the bottom of a hill holding a real life castle, you couldn't have asked for a better setting. The buildings on the street are also very old so it really was like stepping back in time.
After we walked through the visitor's center, we immediately stumbled upon a troupe of Morris dancers in the street. Complete with live musicians, crazy costumes, face painting, and - literally - all the bells and whistles, it was shocking at first. I couldn't stop squealing with joy and saying "What the hell is going on?!". As we wandered down the street, we saw more groups like this with their own traditional costumes and style. It was almost like a street dance-off. Only Morris dancing.
On top of that, there were food stalls lining the sidewalks and antique stores up the wazoo. A huge portion of the day was spent just walking around, relishing in the sights, sounds, and smells and just enjoying spring.
Eventually we arrived at Rochester Castle on the hill. We couldn't go in, but the grounds surrounding the castle were taken over by a carnival. More food, music, and now lots of kids and families were up here. It reminded me of June in middle school at the Ridgefield Fireman's Carnival. But what a place to have a carnival! There was a gorgeous view of the river as well.
And I have to talk about the food. If you've been reading this blog at all, you'll probably know that a lot of my best experiences abroad have been somehow based around food. Now, even though I didn't try any of the beer, and therefore did not get to be a jolly peasant, I did have other exceptional treats. I had a pork and apple burger with onions and every sauce available, and I think it was honestly the best burger I've ever had. And for only £2.50! I later found the Hog Roast and had the most incredible sandwich - roast hog meat off the spit with home made stuffing and apple sauce on bread. Before we left, of course, I ducked into the local pastry shop and got not one but 3 scones. I'm still working on those.
We were there so early that by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, it felt like 8 pm. I felt like a kid again going to this festival. Not only was it just a great atmosphere, but for really the first time I felt very in touch with the history of England. There is nothing really like the Sweeps Festival in America, and since it was outside of London in a tiny historical town, there were hardly any tourists besides ourselves. I didn't feel out of place though. Just very happy to be in a small, lovely town, enjoying the history and culture of England.
I am a rising senior at Sarah Lawrence College.
This blog is about my yearlong study abroad experience. I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, England, Scotland, and The Netherlands. I studied at Accademia dell'Arte and Royal Holloway University of London.
Great, GREAT hats picture. as are those videos
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