Canterbury Cathedral. . .8/4/07

This was an awesome trip because all I had to do was get on the bus and follow the train. It was so nice not to have to be staring at a map or making sure I'm getting on the right train and such. It was a pretty long train ride to Canterbury, which is in Kent, about 2 1/2 hours away from Cambridge. But that was on a bus. . .of course the bus and taxi drivers here think they're driving sports cars. . .anyway, it's southeast, relatively close to Dover. The town is small, but it's a huge tourist attraction because of its medieval cathedral and ancient roman ruins. [editor's note: there is a fire somewhere because it smells like smoke. But I don't think it's my dorm, so don't worry. If it is, I'll keep you posted. I just needed to comment on it.] The streets are super narrow with charming stone roads and beautiful old buildings, and it's really interesting to note that the gate to the cathedral is in the middle of a line of stores. But the gate was there first, ok? The cathedral is enormous. It always blows me away to look at these huge buildings, but not just because they're aesthetically pleasing, but to think about how they were made thousands of years before cranes and steel and hard hats. And all the craftsmanship is done by hand, which makes it so much more amazing. The cathedral started out as a smaller wooden castle, then upgraded to a stone church, and then added on for a monastery, with a couple more wings added here and the roof raised there. . . but it looks so consistent. The ceiling in the main nave, which is the long narrow part of the cathedral, has these un-real super high vaulted ceilings with beautiful flying buttresses. We had a guided tour that lasted about an hour and a half, but then I spent another thirty minutes wandering around. There are so many stories and great history associated with the building, but I won't get into it here because I already write too much; suffice it to say that I was enthralled.
I tried to take a picture of myself to prove to you that I was there, but it didn't work very well because I'm not very tall and my arms are pretty short.
I ate my subway sandwich (I broke my promise again because it was cheap---er) in the plaza out in front of the gate, where I was serenaded by a guitarist, a violinist, and then two guys on guitars. Luckily, they all took their turns and didn't play at the same time. I wonder if there is a sign up sheet to perform (and put your hat out for coins) in the plaza? I should see about that because I can sing "Sweet Home Alabama" just as well as they can. The violinist was really good though.
Before we met to take the bus home, I went into the cathedral for "Evensong," which is an evening church service. I wanted to hear the music there, and it turned out to be a choir from Christ's Church University in Kentucky. I think. Pretty random, but it was absolutely astounding. I could only stay for 15 minutes, but I'm glad I did. So pretty.