You know how sometimes you find a place that gives you that particular feeling of contentment without really being able to pinpoint why? Deal is one of those places. With its tranquil quaintness and its one-of-a-kind beach, the small seaside town has it all, without ever being overwhelming.
I remember my first day in England as clear as day. My school had organised a trip to London for us to practice whatever we were supposed to have learnt in our English course. I was fifteen. The sun was shining in the early morning, the sea was calm and my friends and I were on the deck of the ferry from Calais.
For a Belgian like me, it is always a bit of a magical moment to re-discover that the rest of the world hasn't felt the need to pack their seaside with ugly fifteen-story buildings like we did. Look at the Bay of the Somme, for example, where the local authorities have done their best to keep the landscape in a state of semi-wilderness, which benefits not only the flora and the fauna but also the mind of whoever visits the region.