The Land Of Canterbury & A Train Ride Through the Country

The Land of Canterbury and some tales on train… At least that is what was explained to us before we embarked on our journey outside of the city to the small town of Canterbury to see the famed Cathedral where St. Thomas was murdered and where all the inspiration for Chaucer’s tales came from.

We all meet at Charing Cross station to hop onto the DLR train outside of the city. Man did it feel good to actually see those rolling hills and green pastures and those classic houses all in a row with the dancing chimney sweeps (like in Mary Poppins). Ok maybe not the chimney sweeps, Matt and I came to the conclusion that they had the day off and said chimney sweeps don’t come out until Sunday mornings, not Saturday mornings. Well anyway, we boarded the train all paid for (thanks to Skidmore College… I am glad the 42K a year is paying off some dividends… I kid, I love Skidmore), and we embarked on our journey to the land of tales and a really famous church. Remember how I said before that I was really tired of going to see all the churches for awhile… well I guess this could be the one exception to the rule. The train ride was a blast, just being able to get away and see another side of London that isn’t normally seen was very good for all of us I think. There is one thing to constantly hear sirens going off and honking horns and then there is the sound of birds chirping and clear skies and horses and sheep grazing It’s London at its finest.


This is the entrance to the small town

First of all taking a trip with Matt, Mike, and Jonathan is quite hilarious to begin with, but spending the whole day was quite the treat. The laughs, the cappuccino from the trolley as well as a Strongbow (hard cider) at 11:15am, and the lunch at a small café was just more than expected and fun. We made good time and arrived around 12:30pm and had a couple of hours to explore the historic town before our tour of the Cathedral at 2. We walked around for a bit stopping in at various shops and such and finally settling on place to eat where they had a lunch special... Any pizza or pasta dish and a glass of wine or beer for 6.50 GBP. Not bad. It was perfect for what we wanted. Not the best Italian food, but very quaint little café that seemed to be quite popular with the locals. So why not?

We joined up with the rest of the group and began the tour. Man is the cathedral big and massive. Luckily we had a nice sunny day so the stained glass windows really showed off their exquisite nature. Our tour guide took us all over the Cathedral and really honed in on the fact that this was the Cathedral in which St. Thomas was order ed to be killed by Henry II for speaking out against the crown. Then his tomb that was beloved by all, had its remains removed and burned by Henry VIII. It was quite fascinating to see the many different levels of the church as well as the history behind it. The tour guide seemed a little timid, but very fact oriented and lots of pictures were taken by all.


Canterbury Cathedral courtyard

After the tour we were able to explore for a little while longer. Granted the town isn’t that big, but we stopped into this homemade fudge shop that was absolutely to die for. It just melted in your mouth. We were all debating whether or not to buy some, but we wanted to be good and not spend too much while we were here. We boarded the train and headed back tired, educated and full. The train ride at night made it harder to see outside, but coming past the London Eye at night was definitely a site to see all lit up and decorated.

There are just so many different aspects of England that you really can’t find unless you actively look for them. I can’t wait to see what other new adventures this trip brings.

Until I blob again…