Then longen folke to goon en pilgrimage...
The dates will be off for these next few posts, because it's been a few days since I was able to get to a computer with time to summarize! I'll start with Monday, July 9.
Chris returned to London early morning and we organized and set off for the train station. Our first stop was Canterbury Cathedral. It was awesome to be in the place where Chaucer's pilgrims were headed, and easy to see why they did. The countryside was beautiful: green, rolling, quiet. After greeting Richard, Chris's friend who works in the Cathedral precincts, we stored our bikes and took an audio tour of the church.
Standing on the exact spot where Thomas Becket died, and hearing the history explained while you looked around was truly a privilege. The Cathedral is a beautiful space, Gothic and majestic with touches from other periods. One of the periods which touched it unkindly was the Puritan destruction of some of the stained glass, in their effort to rid religion of unnecessary worldly trappings.
After the tour, we had lunch and waited for Jane, who cycled up from her house at St. Margaret at Cliffe to meet us. Jane is training for a cycle trip to Rome in August, so she was glad for the chance to ride. Our trip through the English countryside was actually a bit hair-raising. Picture roads that are about as wide as our bike lanes back home. They wind through 12-foot high hedges, and I do mean wind. Your sight lines are about 100 yards when things are good. You are on the left side of the road! Cars come and patiently wait, but at times either you or the car, or the tractor has to pull over to let someone pass.
We had about 28 miles like that to do. About 10 miles into our trip, it started to rain. Hard. Then it hailed. Then, Chris got a flat, or a puncture in England. All we could do was laugh, change the tire and push on. We were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the sea when we reached the coast, and were even able to see the famous White Cliffs, since we were near Dover.
Additional rewards included the knowledge that a hearty stew was in the oven, and Richard had arrived home and offered to run me a warm bath. That was the most luxurious and indulgent thing a host has ever done for me.
Dinner was excellent and their house and property gorgeous. They were just married about a month ago, and built their house themselves on Richard's family property. We felt too dirty after the rainstorm to even go in, but they made us feel welcome and we spent a great evening trading stories.
Chris returned to London early morning and we organized and set off for the train station. Our first stop was Canterbury Cathedral. It was awesome to be in the place where Chaucer's pilgrims were headed, and easy to see why they did. The countryside was beautiful: green, rolling, quiet. After greeting Richard, Chris's friend who works in the Cathedral precincts, we stored our bikes and took an audio tour of the church.
Standing on the exact spot where Thomas Becket died, and hearing the history explained while you looked around was truly a privilege. The Cathedral is a beautiful space, Gothic and majestic with touches from other periods. One of the periods which touched it unkindly was the Puritan destruction of some of the stained glass, in their effort to rid religion of unnecessary worldly trappings.
After the tour, we had lunch and waited for Jane, who cycled up from her house at St. Margaret at Cliffe to meet us. Jane is training for a cycle trip to Rome in August, so she was glad for the chance to ride. Our trip through the English countryside was actually a bit hair-raising. Picture roads that are about as wide as our bike lanes back home. They wind through 12-foot high hedges, and I do mean wind. Your sight lines are about 100 yards when things are good. You are on the left side of the road! Cars come and patiently wait, but at times either you or the car, or the tractor has to pull over to let someone pass.
We had about 28 miles like that to do. About 10 miles into our trip, it started to rain. Hard. Then it hailed. Then, Chris got a flat, or a puncture in England. All we could do was laugh, change the tire and push on. We were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the sea when we reached the coast, and were even able to see the famous White Cliffs, since we were near Dover.
Additional rewards included the knowledge that a hearty stew was in the oven, and Richard had arrived home and offered to run me a warm bath. That was the most luxurious and indulgent thing a host has ever done for me.
Dinner was excellent and their house and property gorgeous. They were just married about a month ago, and built their house themselves on Richard's family property. We felt too dirty after the rainstorm to even go in, but they made us feel welcome and we spent a great evening trading stories.
posted by Maggie and Bob @ 7:36 AM
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