112. Plaxtol - UK - House and Pet Sitting - Episode 36

A half-hour drive brought us to Plaxtol, only 15 minutes from Sevenoaks where Daniel and Ellen live. Plaxtol sounds more like the name of a medication than a quaint little village. The house is very nice indeed. There's plenty of room, natural light and a garden with 3 outdoor settings to sit and sip coffee or other favourite beverages. Agent Mabel, to whom we defer, is a British shorthair with the most amazing eyes. She's quite independent which leaves plenty of time to enjoy the house and surrounds. It does make a welcome break from the menagerie we had at previously.

The house.

Because Daniel and Ellen are heading to Australia to visit family and friends,  Daniel gave me my awesome birthday present early. It was a driving experience at Mercedes-Benz World driving a C63 sports car around some tracks and an off-road experience in a G500 4x4. Both were brilliant experiences as I learned to appreciate the quality of engineering found in both vehicles. Having the 4x4 on an angle close to 45 degrees was certainly character building! The tracks allowed me to drive the C63 flat stick for a few hundred metres before slamming on the brakes. Thinking it was going to roll, it stayed in a straight line with no sign of skidding or swerving. The wet track was great too. I've never done 360's in a car before!  A change of pants and thanks, Daniel!

We also had cameras in the car and recorded the whole experience.

Daniel and Max slogging it out in the backyard

Max in full flight.

Lesson to self: Do not throw clothes in the dryer without checking the barrel.

One of the houses in the village.

Pics from the surrounding area.

I'd love to see the house at the end of the driveway!

Plenty of oast houses here.

Two of the magical trails.

Daniel took me to Birling Gap and the 'Seven Sisters' on the South Coast. The 'Seven Sisters' are a group of 7 hills that follow the coast for 3 or so miles. The white chalk cliffs are literally a 90-degree angle straight down. We had a lovely day for it.

We celebrated my birthday at the 'The Papermaker's Arms', a local pub a few doors down the road. Daniel and Ellen joined us for lunch, finishing the afternoon with a delicious Max-made carrot cake, forcing them to take some home.

My birthday also marks the two-year milestone of our travels! Where has that time gone? I'm glad we've done this blog as it allows us to reflect on that time and relive it all. Thanks to family and friends who have experienced this trip with us. 

The next day, we packed up and headed to Daniel and Ellen's place (while they were away in Australia) to stay a couple of weeks before heading off the island of Jersey for our next sit.

Lastly, it's blackberry season.  Lucky enough to find buckets of plump, juicy, sweet berries we were hard-pressed not to keep stuffing them into our mouths. There are shiploads in the freezer just waiting for apple and blackberry crumble to be made. Mmmm-mmmmmmm.