How about a night in Brussels. Eurostar now has a stop at Ebbsfleet (nr the Bluewater shopping centre off the M25, or you could catch it at Ashford. Both stops are around 1/2hr drive from Maidstone.

Well, that is a good idea. Thanks. Alyssa is really interested in the Holocaust. We should go to Amsterdam! A bit expensive. I am trying to keep from spending more than $1,000 over there. Still, its a thing we could PLAN to do!

I think that you really have to say to your sister that are not promising anything as you are going to leave it up to Alyssa - explain that Alyssa is in a foreign country and probably will want to stay close with you. Then if Alyssa and the other girl hit it off then - let her do it.

Whatever you do I think somewhere along the line you will think someone is rude or they think you are - my attitude about that is that you cant do anything about it as it is how people perceive you.

They can either like you or lump you as they say in Manchester.

Gaynor

Someone said

"I am sure that your sisters granddaughter is a very nice young lady for sure - my concern would be what they actually would be getting up to in Chelmsford - why do they have to go so far."

It's not far - at least for Megan. That is where Megan goes to school - in Chelmsford. She goes to some girls grammar school there.

Yes, Burton Bunch, I think that is what Alyssa doesn't want to happen. She is afraid that she will have absolutely nothing in common with them. They won't like the same music, they won't like the same clothes etc. etc.

Being in French Immersion where the classes are small, she has always been in split classes, and so the majority of her friends are 16 coming 17. They always used to hang out here - giggling and laughing in the basement and watching movies, and texting. She says that she has 100 incoming texts in three hours --- mainly because for $10 she has unlimited texting, whereas very little talk time. And all her friends have similar phone plans. She would have Brit and Andrea and Caitlin and Steph in my basement, and they talk and text to Kristina and Kailie and whoever else at the same time --- and listen to music -- and watch a movie ---- They multi-task!!

At least they don't hog the landline phone all the time like my kids used to!! Now they hang out at Andrea's. But they are a lot safer than there plenty of other places they could hang out!

Sorry - got off the subject!!

You are all right. Its OUR holiday. We will do what WE want. I only have to put up with the nagging for 10 days!!!

How about booking a few daily local coach tours (Stonehenge, Bath for eg) so you are mostly away during day time?

Yes, that is an excellent suggestion thanks. Do you know where I could find coach trips that start in Maidstone or Tonbridge? The ones that depart from London need you to be there so early I would have to stay at a hotel in London. I wouldn't mind staying at a hotel in Bath or somewhere like that.

I have always wanted to visit York, but I don't know if it would be possible if we only wanted to devote two days to the trip.

Teenagers can be quite lippy, but when thrown into strange situations they can suddenly feel anxious and vulnerable. They need to learn how to cope with these challenging situations. She is learning from you how to deal with this. What lesson do you want to give her that will help her as an adult?

I found this via Google
http://www.coachholidays.com/coachpi...&submit=Search

York is great to visit.

Kent based here! Depends what sort of things you would be interested in...Dover castle is highly reccomended and very easy to get too by train. Both Howletts and Port Lympne wild animal parks are really good but Im not so sure of public transport access. Theres loads more to do in Canterbury than the Cathedral and its pretty good for shopping too!

Holocaust is a bit hard to cater for but theres a permanent exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London dedicated to the subject, its very moving (I lasted 20 minutes!) but if it got too much the rest of the museum has some amazing displays to make up for it.

Amsterdam is an amazing city and well worth a visit. You could probably get a flight there cheaper than a train and for some good, low cost accomodation camping zeeburg have little cabins that are really comfortable!

Links:

Dover Castle http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/s...show/nav.14571
Howletts/Port Lympne http://www.totallywild.net/
Canterbury tourist centre http://www.canterbury.co.uk/
Imperial War Museum http://www.iwm.org.uk/
Camping Zeeburg http://www.campingzeeburg.nl/

To me two days in Amsterdam compared to two days in chelmsford.....I know where Id be!!!

Good luck with your sister, If you need any more suggestions just yell!

Liz, coach trips are so easy to book in England. Very often, even at the local newsagents. And really cheap, too. I've done that a lot on my annual trips back, you just have to watch that the sister doesn't offer to come with you!!!

I know my granddaughter. She would not be lippy. She would be ticked off but she would not say a word!

Actually, the person with the long name who suggested the Imperial War Museum - we already have that planned.

Yes Startwin, I didn't realise that you could do that. I think York is too far in the time we have, but we might go to Windsor Castle instead.

The thing I think is, its nice that Megan wants her to go over there. And its fine for Megan because she lives there so she really isn't giving anything up. If Megan came here, Alyssa would be asked to give up her time to take her around where she wanted to go. But when we are in England for such a short time - its giving up a lot of seeing interesting things, to hang out in a little place like Stock and shop in Chelmsford. There has been no suggestion that they would visit other places - its just to hang out as far as I can tell.

If it was my other nephew's daughter inviting her, I think she would like to go to Street. There is Clark's Village and Glastonbury and Bath. She doesn't fancy Wookie. I went there and I am claustrophobic and being under the ground, while interesting, is not something I would repeat!

I would like to go to Dover Castle, but I don't know if anyone would be prepared to drive us and once you have seen the Castle, the rest of Dover is not very nice. If I was brave enough to drive - it would be much better!

And slightly off topic, my older son and his wife have been to England a couple of times recently and he said that England seaside is odd. In the States, the seaside is nice - but he said in England the seaside places they went to were rather "seedy". I went to Dover and Folkestone with them and another time I made the mistake of going to Margate because it was easy to get to by train. He is right - they are kind of derelict, cheap looking places. And he said Brighton is kind of the same. I wonder why that is?

Bournemouth is quite nice in the summer.