The Canterbury Tales

Nothing I’m about to write about even compares to the excitement of Monday (with the tour of Parliament and the amazing musical that night), but Tuesday and Wednesday were both still fabulously fun days! I had class in the morning on Tuesday, which wasn’t too bad. I’ve been reading a packet my professor gave us about the Cold War and Gorbachev, the man in charge of the Soviet Union at that time. I really didn’t know much about went on during that time, except that Russia and The States just weren’t fantastic friends at that point in history. But I’ve learned a lot just from reading that packet, and I would have to say that Gorbachev seemed to be a pretty decent guy. At least that’s what I got from my material.

Anyway, after that I went on a cleaning rampage around our flat. It’s not that it was dirty and messy, but it was just really unorganized and after a while it just gets to me. So yeah, that was a good time. In the afternoon, a group of us walked to Regent’s Park to play ultimate Frisbee, which was really fun while it lasted. (My dad has helped me perfect my Frisbee skills over that past few years, so I can definitely fling a Frisbee better than I can throw a ball). Then, of course because we’re in London, it started to pour so we all decided to hike it back to our flats. It had stopped raining by the time we got back, but some people had to get ready to go to class and I had to get ready to see Colbie Caillat in concert!

A group of us girls had decided over the summer that we wanted to go see her when she was in London, so we bought tickets a few months ago. They were much cheaper than if we had gone to see her in America, that’s for sure. She was playing in Islington, London at a new, but small, venue that was “standing room only.” We got there fairly early, so we were lucky enough to be about three or four rows from the stage. Her opening act was an up and coming young British man, named Julian Perretta. He was really, really good and I would’ve been fine with watching him perform all night. Colbie Caillet finally came on stage, and of course she was fabulous too. It was a wonderful night, even though my legs were completely dead by the time I got home. :)

On Wednesday, we had our first official group day trip. After a two hour bus ride, we arrived in Canterbury. The town is very cute and quaint – it definitely reminds me of something you would see in an old English movie or even possibly during medieval times. The main attraction of the city (besides its claim to fame through Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”) is the Canterbury Cathedral, which was started in 1070. Again, something else that is almost 1,000 years old! Not only is the cathedral famous for its amazing beauty, but it’s also the place where Thomas Becket, a former archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered. Supposedly it was King Henry II who wanted him dead, but of course the king would deny having said that – or claim that he was “joking”. And for anyone who knows about “The Canterbury Tales”, all the characters in that piece of literature are on their way to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St. Thomas.

After visiting the cathedral and taking a million pictures, I had some fabulous fish and chips at a pub. Then we went on a journey to find the remains of St. Augustine’s Abbey, which are almost 1500 years old. There’s also an old Roman wall that surrounds part of the town of Canterbury, which is kind of cool. After that, there wasn’t a whole lot to do. I mean, there were cute little shops everywhere that were fun to go into, but most of the boys were ready to leave after about two hours. Girls are much better at browsing and getting little coffee drinks, but even I was ready to go.

I was so weird to me that that town is actually a place where people live, go to school, and work. It just doesn’t seem real because it’s like a town out of a story. Granted, there was a Starbucks right NEXT to the cathedral, but for the most part, it is very old-fashioned. A cute place to visit, but I could never live there. I’m sure that’s what people say about Selma and Muncie as well, though. :)

Until next time,
Rachel