Circuitous Travel~Part 11

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

This day in London started off with my cutting Fred’s hair. Being in the U.S. military, he had a set way that he wanted his hair cut – as well as how often it should be shaped up. We had been gone from Germany for about 10 days now, and he was getting “shaggy” according to his specifications! It didn’t take long, but it had to be done!

We had arranged to take the bus to Canterbury on this day, and so we did. Fred and I had visited England many years before, when we lived in Wiesbaden, Germany. We knew we wanted to share this experience with our girls.

Canterbury Gate

We had an enjoyable time walking around the town and looking through the cathedral. It is a magnificent edifice, both inside and outside.

Once again, one of the amazing things about this cathedral are the parts that were built during the Norman times. It’s amazing to me that those areas – and stones – are still standing after all these centuries! According to Wikipedia, the cathedral was founded in 597 A.D. and was completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. The last alteration was in 1834. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England.

When Fred and I had visited Canterbury in 1970, we happened upon a building that was marked “Queen Elizabeth 1 Guest Chamber.”

1970 – Guest Chamber/Restaurant – second level

We had a meal there in the restaurant and it was quite lovely, and rather inexpensive, which surprised us. We found that much of the furnishings, i.e. tables, etc., were original to that time. The date on the front of the building states: 1573.   Elizabeth I visited Canterbury in 1573 and entertained the Duke of Alençon in what was then the state room of the Crown Inn. Apparently she stayed there for three days, celebrating her 40^th birthday. So it was definitely something we wanted to share with our girls. Unfortunately, at that time (1983), it was not a restaurant anymore. But we were able to have an ice cream, so our girls were able to see the inside we had raved about. It was so fun.

983 – Guest Chamber – second level

One of the most fun things about that day in Canterbury, was that we came upon a couple that had been in our church in Heidelberg! Roy and Vicki Crawford. We visited with them for a few minutes, and decided to have supper together at a local Chinese restaurant. We then went on our ways and met up for supper. We enjoyed that time together, knowing we probably wouldn’t see them ever again – which we haven’t.

Judy, Karen, Janet Wills with Roy and Vicki Crawford

It was a rather long – but fulfilling – day. So after supper with the Crawfords, we headed back to the B&B for another overnight.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: Canterbury, London, Travel, Travel Series