Canterbury Girls go to Canterbury

Having finished my last paper on Friday, I had my weekend free for when Stephanie and Caitlin came back to London. We decided that it would be fun to take a visit up to Canterbury and see the cathedral there (not least because we all work in the office for Canterbury USC, home to the Episcopal/Anglican group on campus). Stephanie and I left a bit early for the train station to find coffee and hot chocolate, as all the cafes near campus were mysteriously closed. Unfortunately, Hilary and Caitlin got caught on a slow tube train when coming to meet us and missed the train, so they came on a later train and we ended up touring Canterbury seperately, but other than that slight hiccup, it was quite a lovely day.

We started out exploring the Westgate Gardens, which were absolutely gorgeous.


We then wandered up and down the main thoroughfare, which was loaded with shops and restaurants, ranging from old time pubs to Marks and Spenser outlets. We grabbed pasties from the West Cornwall Pasty Company (a popular pasty chain in England) and ate them as we walked. Our best discovery was the multiple used book shops, where I picked up two books for around 5 pounds (8 dollars) total. I'm becoming a very big fan of this second-hand book system in London; it seems more common here then it does at home. Then again, I haven't really looked beyond the nearest Barnes and Noble, so maybe I'm missing something. It's so much fun because you never know what random book you'll find on the shelf, and you can usually find books in relatively good condition for very cheap.

We finally made it to Canterbury Cathedral after spending 15 minutes looking for it (you'd be surprised how hard it is to find a giant Cathedral in a small city). Below is yours truly standing in front of this massive structure.

The cathedral is made even more impressive for the amount of decoration all over it. I was particularly fond of this statue next to the entrance:


The inside was so tranquil and peaceful, particularly the back part of the cathedral where the many small chapels are located, as seen below:

We lucked out in our time of arrival, as the 100+ person choir was practicing for their concert that night, so we got to listen to music for free while we explored the church. Full pictures will be posted at the end of this post. For now, enjoy the video below.





A shot of me and Stephanie:


After the cathedral, we made a quick stop at the city's Roman Museum, which had archeological finds from the Roman city that had been discovered underneath Canterbury. Then, after stopping at a place called Shake Shed for a mid-afternoon snack, we headed back to the train station, taking this lovely picture as we went:



You can enjoy more albums here and here.

Stephanie and Caitlin have sadly gone home now. But, life's still good because classes are now over, all my papers are turned in, and I only have one final in early May. For now, I look forward to my week in the Highlands and Paris, followed by an extended chance to explore London before I have to start thinking about studying, or perhaps worse, coming home.

Cheers!