CONCERT IN THE CRYPT OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

Late Friday evening, November 4^th, 2011 Canterbury

Music filled the air under the vaulted ceilings in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral tonight and Nancy and I were enthralled by the sounds. It’s nearly midnight as I sit in my attic room on the third floor of the old building with a view of the spires of the Cathedral outside my window. Nancy and Barbara are in the new main building tonight, much the same view, but being on the first floor of their building just doesn’t give them the same perspective that I’m enjoying.

Our day began early this morning when we met for breakfast in the dining room; the largest selection of food that we’ve seen on this entire trip all set out buffet style. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was the hot chocolate for the girls…it wasn’t on the menu and therefore wasn’t quite what they’d expected. My coffee was delicious!

About 10 am we all walked over to the Cathedral for our first view of the inside; the fee for entrance is included in our room fees. Nancy and I walked the length of the Cathedral…longer than any other we think…maybe not as wide but definitely longer. We’ve discovered that the Archbishop of Canterbury is actually like the Pope and head of the Anglican Church. He doesn’t have any part of running this particular church; most of his time is spent in London.

Back to the hotel to sort our laundry…yes…it’s laundry day finally! We dropped Barbara at the hairdressers and we walked to the Laundromat; about ten minutes away. Along the way we walked part of the wall that surrounds the old city. Doing three loads of laundry took twenty two pounds and a little over two hours but it sure is nice to have some clean clothes. A small dog (a Jack Russell I think) with his owner kept us entertained as we all did our laundry.

At three we all headed out of the church grounds (remember our hotel is located within the church grounds) and enjoyed a delicious late lunch at the Old Butter Market restaurant before having some fun in the Cooking Shop next door. Both of these are located in the square outside of the Church Gate. The Fudge Shop was next for some desserts and then Nancy and I hurried back to the Cathedral to finish our touring. We walked the Cloister, stopping in the Chapter House; and then finished the Crypt before leaving the Cathedral at the closing time of 4:30 pm. As we were leaving we saw a man who looked just like the Archbishop of Canterbury. I asked a clerk and she said possibly it could be him as he has been in town this week. We were very excited.

At 5:30 we were all back in the Cathedral for Evensong Service in the Quire of the church. It was a forty five minute service complete with a full choir of a dozen men and eighteen boys from ages 8 (or so) to probably fourteen. They were all decked out in their choir robes and it was so difficult not to sneak a photo but I was good and controlled by urges. Accompanied by the massive organ their voices soared up into the high vaulted ceilings. We did see our possible Archbishop again and on the way out Nancy spoke to him. Not the Archbishop we discovered; he’d grown his beard so that he would look like Brahms. Oh well….

Back to our rooms and then a quick trip to McDonalds that is about four blocks away for some fast dinners for all of us. Then back to the Cathedral for Nancy and myself; we decided to attend the Advent Concert in the Crypt this evening.

Hanging in the Crypt is the body of a man made of nails that were recovered during repair work in the original part of the Cathedral. Definitely square nails, handmade, and according to a parishioner next to us…traceable back to medieval times. The artist is Anthony Gormley and the piece was done in 2010 and is called Transport.

The Advent Concert tonight featured a young girl in her late teens that played the violin, the harp and sang like an angel. Her mother was the featured Soprano and there were two other singers with them plus the piano player. The program featured various selections from “The Marriage of Figaro”, “La Boheme” and other operas. The pianist played “Automne” as a solo. We had Christmas Carols and more. The program was a fund raiser for one of the churches charities and lasted about an hour and a half; a wonderful way to spend an evening.

An added touch of excitement happened just before the Intermission; we heard loud booming noises. We were told that they were fireworks being set off in the Cricket Field in honor of tomorrow, November 5^th, to celebrate the date that Guy Fawkes tried to burn down parliament hundreds of years ago. At Leeds Castle yesterday we saw them preparing for a fireworks display there so it must be happening all over England this weekend!

Now you can see why I didn’t rush to type this tonight. It was an exciting and wonderful day in Canterbury and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our special day. Tomorrow we move further south for our final “unplanned” day and then it’s Sunday in Rye at the Mermaid Hotel.

Will Be Posting Tomorrow!

For my faithful readers...its been such a full day and has just ended at 10 pm that I'm going to post tomorrow morning. sorry for the delay but wanted to do justice to this wonderful day in Canterbury. Martha

LEEDS CASTLE & CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

Thursday, November 3^rd, 2011 Canterbury

I forgot to mention yesterday that I was very proud of my parking...yes...it was I that got in and out of that spot with only a few extra moves! You probably wondered what in the world those photos were all about. We were only parked there for five minutes as we discovered we were in the wrong area of town for the Salisbury Cathedral and had to move the car...then found a parking lot that was very easy to park in as well as an easy walk to the Cathedral.

Back to today......

I shared a room with Barbara last night and we woke up about 8 am. Nancy, who’d had her own room last night complete with terrible smells (there were no other rooms), came up about 9 am and we went downstairs together to protest the bill that had been tucked under the door. First of all about 10:30 pm last night…the FIRE ALARM went off! False alarm and they apologized with a letter under the door within an hour; they said that someone was smoking in their room and that is what activated the alarm??

Then this morning’s bill charged us for the breakfast which had been promised to be complimentary because of the problems with the rooms last night. So, since I was getting those charges removed we decided to give it a go for some credits on Nancy’s room. They were very nice and gave us a 60% credit against the charge for her room because of the odors. So overall it turned out to be a reasonable price for what we got!

The breakfast was really wonderful and well worth the price. And, we had a wonderful room so I could recommend the hotel if you have occasion to stay at a Premier Inn. By 10:30 am we were in the car and on the road. Weather wise it is very cloudy but dry. During the day we had a few sprinklers but nothing serious. We had the hotel call Windsor Castle to make sure they were open today for touring; turns out the Queen was there this weekend and all of the state rooms are closed. So…change of plans and we’re heading for Canterbury.

Along the way we saw signs for Leeds Castle and Barbara said that it was really beautiful. Nancy, in the backseat for a change, did some reading in the books and decided that yes, it would be a good castle to see.

Arrived about 1:45 pm and really enjoyed our visit. We rode with Barbara in the Handicap Van to the castle; enjoyed the tour and then we walked back to the entrance while Barbara rode in the van back. The grounds were nearly as pretty as the inside of the castle. No one said a word so I took lots of photos you’ll enjoy. Notice the black swan on the lake; they were so beautiful, a nice change from the white swans.

While I think of it…Jim will enjoy knowing that we are listening to classical music as we drive; seems to come in better on the radio. Also, in Europe they have the ability to break into your radio programs with traffic information regularly. And, it’s about four times louder than whatever you’ve been listening to…can be very jarring!

Back on the road we missed the road that we wanted and ended up on about ten miles of road like we had last night in the rainstorm, but not nearly as bad in daylight and no rain. We came upon an accident just before we arrived at Canterbury. See the photo we snapped as we went around them.

Drove into Canterbury…still daylight…so nice…but ended up on a dead end street at the edge of the pedestrian way. Nancy said she’d stay in the car and off Barbara and I went in search of a hotel. Found the Tourist Information Center next to the Cathedral and first went to the Cathedral Gate Hotel….very old, winding twisting steps and the mattresses looked like they were made of straw. Prices were good and the clerk was wonderful but Barbara could not handle the tower type stairs. Back to the TI and they found some rooms at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. We got the last two rooms and tomorrow Nancy and I have to change rooms but we’ll be here for two nights! It’s within the Cathedral grounds…FANTASTIC.

I went back to find Nancy and the car; she was beginning to wonder where we were…the car alarm went off three times while she sat there. Not sure what caused it as she had the keys with her inside of the car. She was very happy to see me and then we backed the car out and found our way to the parking for our hotel which is also within the cathedral grounds. More photos tomorrow as it was dark by the time we had finished checking in.

Off for a walk and night shots of the Cathedral; by the way we all have fantastic views of the Cathedral which is lit at night with floodlights. They are repairing one section but that seems to be the norm in Europe. Decided on dinner at La Trappiste Restaurant and I enjoyed fish & chips with a pint of beer.

Right now I’m sitting in a wonderful paneled library on a soft leather couch with free wifi that works very well. Last night I had to pay three pounds for thirty six minutes. We’re looking forward to two days here in Canterbury; hope that you’ve enjoyed our day.

ROYAL CRESCENT AT BATH & SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

Wednesday, November 2^nd, 2011 Andover…along the highway

This morning the weather was overcast and looked like rain all day; but it didn’t actually rain until evening. We were at breakfast by 9:30 this morning….the cut off for service. While I waited for the girls I signed on to the wifi and made reservations at the Ibis Hotel near Heathrow for our last two night.

Decided to drive the car to see the sites in Bath; the hotel recommended the city bus but we didn’t listen. We found the Royal Crescent rather easily and then began the search for the Roman Baths. The Royal Crescent is a famous building in the shape of a crescent; nearby is another similar building in a circle…yes…called the Circle. We always found ourselves back at these two buildings no matter which way we drove. Finally asked someone and they said best to park and walk or take a bus as the City Center is basically a walking only zone. So…we decided to forget the Roman ruins and headed out of the city of Bath.

Driving on beautiful country roads, awash in colors of red and gold, for an hour or so took us to the town of Salisbury. It is famous for the tallest steeple in England on the top of its Cathedral. A beautiful little town with a stream running through it; I think you’ll enjoy the photos of the stream and especially the swan.

The Cathedral was magnificent; huge and beautiful. While Nancy and I explored all the nooks and crannies; a Baptist Minister named Kevin who is in the military service and stationed nearby, sat down next to Barbara and they had a wonderful conversation about God, the church and life in general. We had the benefit of a docent who gave us several special pieces of information on the Cathedral. For example, there is no basement, only several feet of gravel. If the gravel becomes too dry…the Cathedral would start to sink. She showed us the special hole where they measure the water level each week. If it is too dry they tell the people who control the rivers leading into the town and more water is let in. She also pointed out the bend in the pillars that support the steeple. By the way; the movie Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson was filmed in Salisbury.

By four o’clock we’d finished the Cathedral and gift shop and then stopped at an Italian restaurant called Prezzo for a late lunch and early dinner. Then it was off to the Cooking Shop for some fun shopping for things to take home. Nancy and Barbara each found several things they’d been looking for on our journey.

By this time it was dark and raining harder and harder. We finally found a road number that we recognized and headed down a narrow, dark two lane road with the rain creating large puddles alongside the road that we had no choice but to drive through. Hairy stuff but we survived for about ten miles and then entered a dual carriageway…heaven! Now the cars could easily pass us instead of putting bright lights on to try to make us drive faster.

We decided to find a hotel as soon as possible. After several attempts we ended up getting the last two rooms at a roadside chain motel called Preimer Inn. Their computers were down all evening and they opened three different rooms for us before finding one that was actually empty. Nancy has the single room tonight and it is a wheelchair equipped room; completed with a fully handicapped bathroom…check the photos. There is one of Barbara standing in the hall with our luggage as we waited for them to try different rooms after we walked into one that had a computer set up on the desk. Fortunately the guest had left for some dinner.

They have given us free breakfast tomorrow for the inconvenience of the room mixup. But the good news is that we are off of the highway. Tomorrow we plan to go to Windsor to see the Queen’s castle. Maybe stay there or go on to Canterbury. We plan to spend at least two nights in Canterbury. It’s been an exciting journey with lots of twists and unexpected turns; but those are the things we’ll remember long after we’ve forgotten the best parts of our trip.

WEDGWOOD CHINA

Tuesday, November 1^st, 2011 Bath

Woke up to bright sunshine at our Comfort Inn outside of Chester; couldn’t believe it was 8 am…wow…that’s the latest I’ve slept on the whole trip! Checked next door and the girls were up and moving so we were down to breakfast before the 9 am deadline. It was not a full English breakfast but an expanded Continental Style breakfast. We enjoyed the warm croissants with ham, cereal and fresh fruit.

Off to the south through the outskirts of Chester with a destination of Shrewsbury. It was only an hour away and the plan was to stay at least one night. Driving through Shrewsbury we decided to change again: Barbara suggested we’d like to see the Wedgwood Factory at Stoke on Trent this afternoon and then head south for Bath.

Stoke on Trent was about an hour north but all on Motorways; and, it was a glorious day for touring the countryside. We’ve decided that England is greener than Ireland. This is probably because of all the fields. Ireland has a rockier soil and less expansive fields. It looks like they’ve recently planted the winter crops and from a distance it looks like broad fields of green grass.

We arrived at Stoke on Trent about 1 pm and just as Barbara said; the posting of signs to the Wedgwood Factory was unbelievably good. Piece of cake! They had a wonderful Tea Room where we had a delicious lunch before heading over to the show rooms. No tour of the factory available but two showrooms and then the Outlet Shop. Wedgwood is owned by an American Company and they also own Waterford Crystal among several other fine china companies. So we had lots to look at in the shops.

After about an hour and a half we were back on the highway heading south to the M6 then the M5. The sky was getting darker as we headed further south. By 4 pm we were getting some rain. Barbara slept in the backseat and Nancy was my number one co-pilot. She did a super job getting me around the large cities and from one Motorway to the next.

We arrived outside of Bristol about 5:15 pm. With the time change last weekend it was dark by this time and we had to find A4 to Bath. WE GOT LOST BIG TIME! After many U Turns…some of them illegal; one road after another…we finally decided to get off the Motorway and find a gas station; we were down below a quarter of a tank.

Found the gas station and Barbara found a very nice gentleman who explained to us how to get to Bath. We were less than a quarter of a mile to the road we were looking for and it was clearly marked when we arrived. He was right; from that point on the signs were clearly marked to Bath.

But, after getting gas we decided to stop at a Pizza Hut for a great little dinner of pizza. Hit the spot after hours of driving. Heading to Bath was somewhat of a challenge because it was so dark. More wrong turns but we finally arrived and decided to stop at the first hotel we saw: Holiday Inn Express. Nice rooms and we can catch a bus here to go into Bath town center tomorrow to tour the Roman Baths, etc.

I must have gotten a bit testy towards the end of the day as both girls suggested I take the single room for a good night’s sleep. And that’s where I’m headed as soon as I finish posting my blog. Tomorrow’s another day and we’re not driving very far.

GRASMERE AND CHESTER

October 31^st, 2011 Chester

Happy Halloween! I had an early morning chat with Barbara and then she went back to sleep and I got out my computer! I shared her twin room last night and Nancy had the single room. We were all in the breakfast room by 9 am for a wonderful English breakfast before heading out for the day’s journey.

Yes, we’re moving again. The weather was a soft rain all day. We headed further north in the Lake District for the town of Grasmere to visit the Beatrice Potter Island; one takes a ferry boat to reach the island. But, we found out that yesterday was their last day for the season. Drove by the ferry dock but didn’t go over. Then we stopped at Dove Cottage that was owned by the poet Wadsworth. You’ll love some of the photos that we snapped on our drive along the shores of the lake this morning.

While we were in town we stopped to visit the Gingersnap Shop of Sarah Nelson; purchased some gingersnap cookies and homemade fudge…there goes the diet today! But we really enjoyed the freshly made sweets. Had a bit of a scare when I was parking the car to go to the store; there was a small (low) picnic table in front of the building and I nicked it a bit as I was pulling in. Car is okay…bench is missing a fifty cent piece of wood.

Then back over the same narrow road along the lake until we reach Windermere and then headed south towards the M6 motorway. Nancy will be happy to never see a stone wall again (it’s her job to tell me when I’m too close to the wall) and I really scared her when I went through a big puddle and created a “rooster tail” spray on her side of the car. Reached the M6 and enjoyed the three lane highway that took us all the way to Chester; fast even with the rain but not nearly as pretty as yesterday’s scenic ride through the twisting roads.

We arrived in Chester about 3 pm; found the city center and stopped on a corner to let Barbara and Nancy out to check with the Tourist Information Office about hotels. Barbara stepped out with her pillow in her hand…no purse or coat; suddenly there was a huge bus about to crash into our car and I had to move immediately. Nancy was still in the car and off we went! Three blocks later we found parking and walked back to where we’d dropped Barbara; taking her purse and coat with us. There she was, rather sheepishly holding her pillow (it’s the size of an airplane pillow), in the drizzling rain waiting for us to return! Check out the photo! You’ll love it.

We then went into the Information Office and worked with them on Hotels. Nothing in the price range we wanted in the center so decided to try one by the train station. Before going back to the car we decided to tour the Chester Cathedral before leaving. Our plan was to check into the hotel and then drive back to the center for dinner. Good thing because we never made it back!

We got lost finding the hotel…finally did find it but didn’t like the area so we decided to go back to the outskirts of town where we’d seen a lot of B&B’s plus hotels on the way into town. Oh boy…we really got lost….we went by the Zoo at least four times; Barbara swears it was ten times…saw a magnificent double rainbow during all of this. We were in residential areas, commercial areas, etc. etc. etc. We finally decided to just head south, leave the Chester area and find something on the highway. About this time we realized we were in the right area and stopped at the Comfort Inn that we’d seen on the way in. Anything in a storm! It leaves a bit to be desired but it has wifi, clean sheets and walk in showers…it’s do for one night.

We walked across the street to the local Pub/sports’ bar and had a nice dinner. On the way back across the street we actually had two trick or treaters that stopped us for a treat; the girls gave them some coins. And so we’re tucked in again for another evening. Tomorrow we’re heading for Shrewsbury. We’re hearing fireworks; I guess they use them to celebrate Halloween.