Day 7: Our beloved Canterbury

After riding the train north, we turned around and headed south to our old home town of Canterbury.  We were able to attend our old ward and see lots of friends.  We were bummed because the ward invited us to a BBQ the day before, but that was when we were travelling back from Preston.

Our friend Andrea came over from her ward in Deal to see us!

We also got to meet her darling daughter, Hannah!  They were so sweet and brought a picnic feast to share with us after church.

We also saw the Lewers, McKelvies, Whites, and Jackie.  I didn't get pictures of them as we were hoping to return the following Sunday.  We ended up changing our plans, as that would be the day before our early morning flight to Mumbai, so we decided to stay in London.  I also missed seeing my friend Aimee who was travelling to another ward with her stake calling.  I'm so glad we've kept in touch with such great people! 

My silly kiddos out on the church's back lawn.

After church we took the kids to the "old" city entering through the Westgate.

As soon as you enter the gate there is one street on the right- St. Peter's Place, our old stomping ground.

We had to visit #46.

And show our kiddos where we lived 16 years ago!

If you go straight through the gate, you end up on the best (in my opinion) high street in England.  The street is filled with historic buildings (the Pilgrims Hospital dates back to 1180 and was built to shelter those who journeyed far to visit the cathedral), great shops, and yummy restaurants.  

The Black Griffin was called the Hobgoblin when we lived here.  Even though we don't frequent pubs, we love the feel of this place.

The Old Weavers dates back to 1500.  We ate some yummy traditional British food when we lived here.

The canal that snakes through the town has a life of its own, and I am in love with it!

Evidence of Ali's daily naps in England :).

This is another one of my favorites.  The middle floor dates to 1573, while the top floor dates to 1698.  We ate there when we lived here too and I remember the floors were so sloped it made me feel seasick.

Just as the Westgate begins the high street, St. George's clock tower ends it.  The tower used to belong to a whole medieval church, but it is the only thing left after it was bombed by the Germans in 1942.  Apparently, Christopher Marlowe was baptized in this church.

I had to snap a shot of this as it's from Leonard's Alma Mater.  He finished his Master's degree in the beginning of September 2000, however the graduation ceremony wasn't until the end of November.  We couldn't afford to live in England for 3 more months and we couldn't afford to fly back for his ceremony, so sadly we missed it.  At least we now have this memento!

Parallel to the high street is another fun street that leads to the old buttermarket outside the cathedral.

Even though it's spelled differently, Noé was thrilled to find this Noa Noa boutique.

There are 3 sides to the buttermarket square (it's not a triangle, tee hee).  I love the white and black, and pink and white buildings of this side.  One of them used to be an ice cream shop, where Len and I had our first cone with a flake.

This side has fun little souvenir shops and the building on the left was a Laura Ashley store when we lived here.

The other side is home to the gate to the cathedral.  It is quite impressive, however the "green" Jesus statue has always creeped me out a little bit.

The one and only Canterbury Cathedral!  It truly is an amazing place to visit.  It's nice to come on Sundays as there is no entrance charge, however you can't explore the beauty inside the cathedral unless you are attending worship services.  You can visit all of the grounds around the cathedral though and they are lovely to see.

A favorite arched door.

There was a wall covered in these gorgeous lavender ladies.

Another favorite door.

Behind the cathedral is the Kings School that was founded in 597.  (Orlando Bloom was a student here.)  This staircase dates back to the Norman period of the 12th century.  It takes me to Hogwarts though!

I am so glad medieval architecture is still standing to inspire us!

Peeking through the cloisters.

Here is the front entrance.

The building is covered in statues of early religious and political leaders.

They are old and many are missing pieces, like William the Conqueror's hands here.  Some are even missing their faces or entire heads.

They have been updated throughout the years, as the lady on the right here is Queen Victoria.

The lady on the right here is Queen Elizabeth I.  And here are the 2 newest additions, Queen Elizabeth II on the left and her husband Prince Philip.

Back at the buttemarket, here's our favorite Fudge shop!

Don't be scared little fudgy, I'm only going to eat you!

Bwah ha ha!

The Sun Hotel, where Charles Dickens stayed back in the day.

I don't remember the name of this place, but it has lots of color.

See what I mean?  Gorgeous!

The King's School shop's door has been painted many colors over the years, but it has always been crooked as the building has shifted and settled.

"...a very old house bulging out over the road... leaning forward, trying to see who was passing on the narrow pavement below..."  Charles Dickens 1849.

If you look closely you will find plenty of old cemeteries all throughout the town, including behind this wrought-iron fence.

However, I liked this shot better.  It's from the cemetery behind St. Dunstan's church.

We're back to the canal (lots more pictures to come!).

Wouldn't it be lovely to have your home back onto the water and have your own sweet little boat to row on?

One day I will go on one of Canterbury's water tours!

We were on a bridge near the Marlowe theater.  This is the view of the water facing one way, while the previous picture is facing the other way.

We've come full circle and we're back to Westgate Gardens.  This park is right across the street from our old flat and where we used to go jogging.

I'd love to live in this house too.

Or just close enough to come and visit lots.

Enter the secret garden.

This rose was huge!

While this little star was quite tiny.

These just seemed like cheerful pompoms to me!

We left the more populated area and headed down towards the children's area.

You could imagine Mr. Toad and his friend Mole paddling by...

...right under these willows.

While this view made me think of a place we visited in France.  Monet's home is another place I'd like to live.

We made it to Toddler's Cove and the kids were thrilled to burn off some steam before we had to get back on the train.

Gavin and Teague loved the Viking ship.

Ali loved the zipline and Kaleb is a great big brother helping her ride it.

Noé and Hiram loved the big circle swing (as well as making silly faces!).

Goodbye Canterbury, until we meet again!