Canterbury was magnificent. More than any other place we have seen so far, the city has maintained a medieval look. It streets are narrow, its buildings look old, its atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The city has been drawing tourists for hundreds of years to its streets. Many early travelers came to see the remains and shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett hoping that the stories of his bones� miraculous healing properties were true. Later, tourists came to see the city that had inspired the famous Chaucer work. Today, people come from all over the world for any number of reasons. We came for the cathedral.
Canterbury cathedral is one of the most awe-inspiring works I have ever seen. The outside is splendorous, the inside is infinitely better. Gothic arches rise towards the heavens as foot upon foot of windows rise with them. Most of the stained glass that would have originally adorned the windows, thanks to the English Reformation and the efforts of Protestants during the Civil War, no longer exist. And yet, there are enough remaining pieces, and new ones commissioned since the originals were broken, to give the visitor a sense of what it must have looked like when originally conceived. And it takes your breath away.
On our trip, we have seen many churches. I have noticed that most of them, especially in Scotland and Ireland, want to emphasize the present rather than the past. The greeters at these churches want to speak only of their mission, not the history of the buildings. England, however, is different. In both Canterbury and Salisbury, the churches emphatically embrace their past. Guides fill the churches looking for any opportunity to tell visitors all they know of the building and those buried inside it.
After leaving the cathedral, we went to a somewhat kitschy place called the Canterbury Tales. OK, so I have a real weakness for Chaucer. I consider his Tales to be one of the great works of English literature, so the opportunity to indulge myself was too great to pass up. The exhibit is set up to tell five of the tales from the book � the Knight�s, the Miller�s, the Wife of Bath�s, the Priest�s, and the Pardoner�s. Personally, I think they do a pretty good job of summing up the tales for visitors, and the hour we were in the exhibit was thoroughly enjoyable. Some of the figures looked pretty life-like. Oh, and they also piped in �smells� that were supposed to enhance the atmosphere � not something that Colleen enjoyed too much.
For the remainder of the day, we just hung out in the hotel room and relaxed. England beat Wales in soccer, which was good for us (no rioting in the streets). Before the game, they held a moment of silence for Ken Bigley.
Otherwise, things have been kind of quiet. This morning was spent browsing through shops, and now we are, as I have said, on the train to London. We sincerely hope all of you are doing well. We will be flying to DC on Wednesday and will be there until Sunday. Colleen has some doctors� appointments, one of which involves an ultrasound (I�ll post pictures of the little one, if I can), so we have to fly back for those. Please feel free to give us a call while we�re in the US. Both of our cell phones will be on.
Paul and Colleen
Back to home page