Town of Worshopping (that's a combination of worship and shopping)

Norman Cathedral
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We cut Dover short to see the city of Canterbury. And that was a very relaxing rest of the day. I suggest going there if you are like me and have gobs of time to spend. Not in my tops places to go if you're not here for very long. Canterbury's famous for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, of course, which unfortunately I have never read. It is also home of the Norman Cathedral which is absolutely gorgeous! It is also where Thomas Becket was martyred.

The town was great driving into, I've seen more American shops there than anywhere else thus far. Blockbuster, Addecco, McDonald's, Burger King, even a Pizza Hut. To get to the cathedral we had to walk down some narrow streets, and then all of a sudden on our right-hand side the old buildings turned into a stone wall and just down the way a huge gateway waited for us. The wall was so thick we really couldn't see anything on the inside so the anticipation was growing. We walked under the archway and it opened up into this wide expanse with an immense church right in the middle. Very powerful and moving. The gothic architecture really does take your breath away. The entrance to the church was surrounded with beautiful carvings of martyrs. When you walk into the church the expanse above your head makes you feel like you're in closer connection to heaven, which I suppose is the purpose of the insanely high ceilings. If there were an invisible string running through your body, it would be pulled up high and tight, making you stand up straight, square your shoulders, appreciate how tall you felt.

Splendid market day.

Ceiling in the Church
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The Stained glass windows, of course, were amazing, as they usually are in these huge cathedrals. The catacombs under the church were simply breathtaking as well. They had these side rooms opened up and when you walked in, it was like walking through a time portal. The original ceiling paintings from the 12th century were still intact and they it was amazing. To look at something that human hands have made from that long ago that were still in "working" condition, the colors appeared to be just as bright and vibrant as the first day they were painted there. There were also Plexiglas covering over some portions of the walls. It took me a long time to figure out why they were there. They were very sporadic and even if you stood and stared for a while (which was what I did) you couldn't make out what was there. It was only when I was passing by a wall and was almost even with it when the light caught the etchings just right. Merely scratchings in the surface of the rough stone blocks that made up the church. How incredible it was to move to and fro trying to see what the tiny lines made, ancient drawings of even more ancient people. When these monks etched the people, the subjects of their artwork was legend to them, meaning that they were at least 1,000 years old. That was moving being that close to history.

Amazing inside that makes you look up with your mouth open. (Something you should NEVER do)
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Leaving the cathedral with 2 hours left to wander, I made my way to the heart of town through the narrow streets and over-hanging second stories of Shakespeare's time. The middle of town was a wider street with a market running down the middle of it and less-than-common shops on either side. There were lots of used book shops and thrift stores and souvenirs galore! I was amazed at how relaxing it was just roaming the market with troubadours in the background serenading purchases and setting the mood for my hunt for the perfect souvenir. Splendid day.