You each, to shorten the long journey, Shall tell two tales en route to Canterbury...

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So to contradict my location heading for a second, some brief thoughts about my second day in London.

• Camden Town is intense and cool. The streets are lined with a bajillion tiny little shops, most of them punk (think British Hot Topic). Then there are a couple of open/indoor markets that are pretty much mazes of shops, many punk but some souvenir shops, some Claire's-like places and (my personal favorite) international bazaars with artifacts from pretty much everywhere.

You could easily lose yourself and accidentally spend 3 hours in there. I did.

• National Gallery. Free. Pretty art. British children are 98543 times more considerate than American children.

So today I took a bus to Canterbury for a day trip. The whole time I kept thinking "THIS is the England I missed." It's everything I remember small English cities being, with its small town squares, narrow cobblestone streets, tiny shops next to high-end stores, houses that are likely not as old as they are built to look, and the occasional ancient stone structure in or next to an intersection.






Altogether a lovely place.



I think the thing I appreciated most about Canterbury was that it didn't commercialize the crap out of the Canterbury Tales. There was a museum dedicated to them, and it was good (more on that later) but other than that, Canterbury is it's own town, rather than a place that milks every penny and tourist out of it's one connection to fame.

YES I am looking at YOU, Salem.

The first thing I visited was the iconic Canterbury Cathedral. There are a bazillion pictures, because it was absolutely gorgeous.



From the entrance to the grounds. Admission was 8 pounds, but it was well worth it.



My semi-artsy attempt to capture as much of the outer cathedral as possible.



I walked around the outside of the building. This picture doesn't do it justice, but standing underneath the main spire was surreal and humbling.



The hall by the courtyard.






A plaque on the wall of the hallway. This guy died in 1073. I'll say that again. Ten seventy-three.






"Europe...where the HISTORY comes from."

Seriously. Read the dates.



The inside was breathtaking. I hope the pictures here can capture that.


















This is where the altar for St. Thomas used to stand, the altar that the characters in the Canterbury Tales (and many people around that time, apparently) would go on pilgrimages to visit. Henry VIII got rid of it for some reason.

After this I went to visit the Canterbury Tales museum, which I thought was really well done. I had a hand-held audio cassette that retold some of the more famous tales, with timed lighting, animatronic exhibits and projections to reenact them. It was really cool. No pictures, obviously, but a very cool experience.

Norwich (UEA!) then Nottingham tomorrow.

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Comments

[Peg]

Great Pics
Hey Sarah...we are following you and love all the pictures. Sounds as though you are right at home....We will share your adventure with everyone here. Lots of our guys are asking for you.