Making the pilgrimage....

I will be the first to admit it. I hated The Canterbury Tales. I know most people think of me as a literary dork, but I really could not deal with this one... Why then, would I seek out the very place the pilgrims in that book were going? Well, honestly, just to say I did.

So here it was, Monday. No classes. The perfect day to go, right? Wrong. It was the coldest day since I arrived in London, and even though the weatherman said there was only a 20% chance of precipitation, it was steadily misting. O well. I was on a mission! And I don't get deterred that easily...

Let me just say that this week has really made me appreciate where my flat is. Waterloo station has trains to pretty much everywhere, so I never have to walk far or take the tube in order to get to a station that can get me to where I intend to go. And for this trip, I discovered that Waterloo is actually comprised of TWO stations- Main and East. Ahhh convenience.

That being said, I hopped onto the 10:30 train. And in an hour and a half I was in Canterbury! It was a pleasant enough trip, LSAT studying and a REALLY annoying recorded message being repeated after every stop aside. (*This train will split at ...Ashford International... the first four coaches will continue onto ...Sandwich... . The rear four coaches will continue onto ...Margate... . Please ensure you are in the right section of this train. The first four coaches will call at ...~precede to list ALL the stations it will call at~ and the last four coaches will call at ...~again, ALL the stations~. Thank you.*) Yes, I memorized it.

As I got off the train, I was told to follow the signs to the Cathedral. Um, what signs? Yeah, there were none. Until you got to the center of town. So, like anyone trying to look like they belong, I clutched my England Guidebook to my chest (subtle, right?!) and followed the crowd. Good thing I wasn't following a bunch of lemmings.

Finally, I got to a sign that pointed me in the direction of the Cathedral. Which just really pointed diagonally across a street. Odd. And then I came upon this gem of a pub...

The Bishops Finger... too cool for an apostrophe to indicate possession.

Ba-dum, chhhh. Insert dirty joke here. They make it too easy over here in England.

Onwards! I walked through the city center, which is really just a cobblestone road with lots of pubs and chain stores, and continued toward the Cathedral. Or so I thought. Their signs are not helpful at all. All I know is that I was headed down the main road, following the signs, and all of a sudden, the signs were pointing to where I had just come from.

Because it was right around noon, I was hungry. So I decided to head down this narrow alleyway that had a bunch of pubs in it to see what they had to offer. Funny how over here an alleyway is not something to be nervous about. If I had a 5 pence piece for every time someone gave me directions that involved an alley, I would be very rich.

...these may be famous last words.

Although the pubs had plenty to offer, for some reason I had a hankering for something with melty cheese. (Yes, I said "hankering". Deal with it.) I decided to venture on. And what did I find on the other end of the alley? Signs pointing in the direction of the Cathedral. Either: a) I am blind and missed the sign; b) Canterbury hid the sign from me; or c) Canterbury enjoys watching tourists wander around aimlessly, so they purposely do not have a sign pointing you down the alley toward the Cathedral. Which also contains the Canterbury Roman Museum. I believe it is choice c.

At this point, I just wanted to find the Cathedral in order to make sure it actually existed. And just like that, I found it. After making a mental note of how to get back to the entrance, I wandered further into the city in order to find some noms.

Nothing was really catching my eye. There were plenty of pubs, but none had anything that made me want to stop in. Just when I thought hope was lost, I rounded a forgotten corner and found Heaven in the form of an Italian restaurant.

Osteria Posillipo, the Italian restaurant in the shadow of the Cathedral

Now, my first meal in England was Italian. And it was good. I figured I was taking a chance coming into an Italian restaurant that was not in London. Would I make it to 56 days of continuous good food?

---Pause for dramatic effect.........---

YES I DID! Not only was this restaurant owned and run by ACTUAL Italians, (Hey, the accent can't lie) but it had an AMAZING menu! As I walked in, I realized I was the only person there. The nice waiter (who commented that a pretty girl like me shouldn't have to sit alone... how nice- Brownie Points for him!) sat me at the window of the restaurant at a huge table, and gave me the menu, a specials menu, a wine list, and a dessert menu. I needed the table just to hold all of this. Talk about choices!

As I hunkered down to read the stack of pages in front of me, an older couple came in. Good sign. They sat directly to my right. A few moments later, we were joined by an elderly man and a middle aged man, who sat to my left. They probably pitied me, sitting there by my lonesome. Truth be told, I wouldn't have had it any other way... if I had someone with me, I probably wouldn't have been able to eavesdrop on their conversations!

I finally decided on the Fettucini al Forno- whole wheat fettucini served with a homemade tomato sauce, minced meat, mushrooms, peas, basil, and melty mozzarella. All the produce used in this restaurant is bought from local markets. When my meal came out, both parties sitting to either side of me asked what I had ordered. This picture doesn't do it justice. I admit, by the time I took the photograph I had already dug in. I felt a little weird taking a picture of my food since I felt as though the people present were already judging me for being alone. O well. Just trust me on the fact that this dish was AMAZING. And I'm Italian. Nana makes the best pasta dishes ever, and I think I may have to request this one upon my return home.

...Also, can I just say that the pepper grinder the waiter used was 3.5 feet long. NO JOKE. Usually I don't get pepper put on my pasta, but I had to see this guy crank the giant contraption. Ahhh, entertainment.

Fettucini al Forno

The portion of pasta I got was perfect- it left me content, not full. That is one thing I love here. I never overstuff myself! As I was sitting, enjoying my food, I listened in on the conversations going on around me. Make that conversation. The old couple to my right said 3 words at MOST the entire time. I thought it odd. However, it may be due to the fact that we were all listening to the conversation going on to my left.

Do you know what it is like to have part of your intestine removed? Well I sure do now, thanks "George" and his middle-aged lunch date. Yeah. Apparently, the younger guy had just had surgery for Crohn's Disease and was describing the recovery process in extraordinary detail to George, an old man with a thick Italian accent. How do I know that the older man was George, you may ask? Well, the younger guy said it in EVERY sentence. I mean it. "You know George, I was held back in my recovery due to internal bleeding".... "George, how do you like your new car?"... "Natalie is great, George. Thank you so much for sending her to me as a companion, George. She is truly the best thing that has come out of all of this George."

Um, wait. WHAT?! Back that up for a second! Companion? Thanks for "sending" her? I just hope Natalie was a nurse that the guy ended up falling for. As I sat and listened to their conversation, the entire thing ended up sounding like a scene from The Godfather. (George's accent kinda helped) Quality entertainment, even if I had to hear about all the internal bleeding. I think the couple to the right of me was a little freaked out though...

After being offered dessert, I politely declined, opting instead to stop for a spot of tea after my tour of the Cathedral. I paid my bill (a little peeved that they charged me for my water...) and then left the restaurant. It was finally time for the Cathedral.

First, I came to the official entrance of the Cathedral, which I had passed earlier. Unfortunately, the 'cool' entrance was under construction, so I used the small footpath to the side. LAME!

The entrance to the Cathedral. Finally!

As I walked into the entrance, I was amazed at the immense size of the Cathedral. Since it is surrounded by buildings on all sides, you really couldn't grasp it's size until you entered. Instead of writing a lot about the Cathedral, I will supply a little information here, and then just caption some of the pictures I took.

First of all, let me first say that yes, I realize that I have been to a ton of churches/cathedrals during my stay in England. I might as well visit them all right? HA! And here I was, the kid that HATED going to church when I was younger. And now what am I doing? I am so involved at church at school, and I can't visit enough churches here! If you told my priest from my hometown, he probably wouldn't believe you. I love that these buildings are older than any structure standing in The States. I love the gothic architecture. Nothing can really compare...

Ok, now onto Canterbury Cathedral. If you have read The Canterbury Tales, you know that the pilgrims in this book are making their way to this very spot. St. Thomas of Canterbury was murdered here by knights of Henry II. Originally, the cathedral had a shrine to St. Thomas, but Henry VIII (Grrrr) had it destroyed during his reign. Now, a very creepy monument to Saint Thomas is housed in the cathedral.

This cathedral is absolutely gorgeous, and even though the weather was pretty terrible, I couldn't have picked a better day or time to go. I was one of the ONLY people there. It was so peaceful! I actually ended up spending almost 2 hours wandering around the cathedral, its crypt, cloisters, chapter house, and library. Surprisingly, even though Canterbury is directly en route to London, the only part of the cathedral that was harmed during the World War II air raids was the library. Everything else is pretty much original!

So here are some pictures. Feel free to browse my Facebook for even more!

Canterbury Cathedral

I wanted my picture in front of the Cathedral. Apparently the guy taking the picture for me thought the entirety of my body was more important than the Cathedral itself. Nice.

Bell Harry Tower

The original shrine was an ornate gold tomb for St. Thomas, which was then destroyed by Henry VIII. It has been replaced with this freaky thing. Who OK'ed this?! I want to know, and I want to smack them.

Entrance to the Quire... so ornate and SO pretty!

Above and Below: The view as you enter from the Quire... how amazing is that?!

Ok, I took over 100 pictures, so I obviously didn't post them all here. But believe me, this Cathedral had so much to offer.

After about two hours of touring the Cathedral I needed a rest. On my way from the little Italian restaurant to the Cathedral I saw a cafe had posted that it served Cream Tea for £3. Score. I decided to head over there to drink some hot coffee and have some scones to regain my energy.

As I walked in, I discovered that I had sat down at a table next to the one the two ladies in the above picture were sitting at. Yes. That woman is wearing a yellow fur coat. And the one in the pink suit was a witch. They both sounded like men... yay smoking! Sitting at the table with them was a nice old man.

As I sat down, the woman in pink started questioning the old man, who turned out to be her husband. "Me and Mary want to go shopping. Why don't you want to come with us? You should come with us. Why are you content to just sit here? I want more out of life! I want to go OUT!"

Um, wow. Take a chill pill. I give the guy credit though- he calmly replied, "I like this cafe, and I always have. I am content to sit here while you and Mary shop. Take your time. I'll be waiting right here."

In a huff, the wife and her yellow-fur-clad friend walked out. The man took a deep breath, exhaled, and slumped into his chair with a smile on his face, and then put his hands behind his head. I gave him a polite smile. He looked me in the eye, and went, "This is the first peaceful moment I have had in awhile. You learn to savour them when you can!" I chuckled. "Well said, sir. I'm sure my future husband will feel the same way!" He laughed.

For the rest of my time in the cafe, we sat at our tables in silence. Yet I felt a connection to him. There was no need to talk. Although I will never know his name, never know his story, I felt we had bonded in that small moment. The sharing of a glance, a joke, and a laugh. And that was enough. I was left to look casually at my guidebook and make my own assumptions about the life this man led. I'm sure he had his own assumptions about me.

It is experiences like these that I will always remember.

O, and here is my cream tea...

I stayed in the cafe until the man's wife and her friend returned. Once again, the man took a deep breath. As I got up to leave, I gave him a faint smile. And just like that, our story ended.

I went on to explore the city for another hour. Soon enough, it was 4:30- time to catch the train back to London! The temperature had dropped drastically, and just as I entered the station, it started to rain. I like to think Canterbury was sad to see me go! Haha! I know I was certainly sad to leave- I had really enjoyed my time here!

...I feel as if I say that about every place I visit here. It will truly be hard to leave come June.

Until next time, cheers!