A Lady in London

On Saturday a friend and I took a day trip from London to Canterbury, the setting of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and home of the famous Canterbury Cathedral.

We left London’s Victoria Station in the morning and were greeted by beautiful blue skies when we arrived in Canterbury at noon. We walked along the old city wall and through a park, then weaved through the crowds of Christmas shoppers in the pedestrian zone to get to our main destination: the Canterbury Cathedral.

Normally I balk at paying the equivalent of $13USD to visit a church (Jesus couldn’t have afforded that!), but this one was well worth the entrance fee. Not only was Canterbury Cathedral the largest church I’ve ever seen, but the grounds around it were beautiful and worth visiting too. We took our time walking around and taking pictures before we headed back into Canterbury.

We ate lunch at a little Italian restaurant and then worked our way through some of the shops before we found ourselves in an outdoor Christmas market. We drooled as we watched the crepe vendors smothering glistening Nutella on waffles and pancakes, watched wide-eyed as the sausage vendors grilled their bratwurst, and were lucky enough to find some artisans selling great gifts. The market was no Strasbourg, but it fit Canterbury quite well.

Our lovely day ended with a train ride back to London and a good dinner with friends. It had been a perfect day trip from London to Canterbury, and I savored the memories throughout my long Sunday trip to San Francisco.