History Lesson

     It's always nice to wake up in an unfamiliar place to a familiar person. I decided to have breakfast with Sydney. We're staying in the same room, and we woke up at the same time, so it was convenient, not to mention nice to catch up. She planned to go to Dane John Gardens today, and she seemed pretty excited about it. It sounds nice. It was one of my possible outing choices, but in the end, I didn't have time for it.
     My first actual outing in Canterbury was very enlightening. Not only did I get to learn a lot about the history of the town and see a few of its most famous attractions, but I did so for less than 20 GBP! I didn't even have to take a bus or a train! While the train system in London was very useful, it wasn't nearly as convenient as the transportation in this town. I can walk everywhere! It only took me about ten minutes to reach the center of town from my hostel. Though the attraction in the center of town was well worth a ten hour walk, if you ask me.
     The Canterbury Cathedral is the most well-known attraction in the town. It was enormous, and nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful. The history regarding the building was quite interesting as well (if a bit sad). Apparently, the King of England at the time, Henry the 2nd, had appointed a friend of his named Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury. However, there were a few disagreements between the two, and at one point during a feast in France, the King shouted in anger, questioning "who would rid me of this troublesome priest?" A few of his knights took his words seriously, and proceeded to travel to the Canterbury Cathedral and murder the priest inside. The King was severely saddened by the news, as he had spoken his words in anger, and had not truly wished for his friend to be killed. The Cathedral itself was ominous, and knowing its history made it all the more eerie. Still, not a bad excursion for 9 GBP.
(http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/visit/information.aspx)

Canterbury Cathedral

     My next destination gave me more of an insight on the town's history, and directly tied into the legend behind the Canterbury Cathedral. Due to the nature of the priest's murder, several hundred religious individuals made pilgrimages to the site of the murder. A 14th century poet named Geoffery Chaucer wrote a series of stories about these, and other pilgrims, that had traveled from London to Canterbury for diverse purposes. The stories are now referred to as the Canterbury Tales, and there is a special exhibition of them inside of St. Margaret's Church. Visiting the exhibition gave me insight into what life was like for pilgrims during that time period, and it also enlightened me to the importance of the murder at the Cathedral to the religious population. (http://www.canterburytales.org.uk/visiting/groups.htm)

Canterbury Tales Exhibition

     The town itself is culturally rich, and I can't wait to see what else it has to offer!