I spent the past two days in Canterbury and then Dover as I attempted to explore more of this country. This trip was a surprise adventure, as I didn't know I was going until a week or so ago when one of my classmates mentioned tickets to a performance of Verdi's Requiem in a cathedral located in Canterbury. Sooo I hopped on a train (trains are soooo niiiiiice) and listened to Mumford and Sons on the 2 hour trip, all the while hoping that I was actually on the right train; it was NOT very clear at the station because apparently the train was going to split in half part way through the trip so I had to make sure I was in the right part of the train?!! Annoying and kind of stressful, but it was nice once I'd figured it out.
So anyways I arrived in Canterbury to find a bustling little town with the cheerful air of a festival; it feels OLD, unlike London which gives off the vibe of "Yeah, we're old, but we're going to pretend like we're not." Canterbury celebrates and continues its traditions and old buildings, so I had a great time strolling along the square listening to live street music, eating cheap food, and poking my nose into random shops. I'd done some research to try and figure out how to spend my day, so I went to the visitor's centre to find a map (partially because I love maps and partially because I get lost a lot). My first stop was the beautiful cathedral that you can see wherever you go in Canterbury- this was also where I would later get to see Verdi's Requiem. I then decided to take the map's tourist advice and take a punt boat trip down the river to see some more of the historic buildings along the river (Great Stour river). Punts are the traditional boat from Canterbury, and it was a really beautiful, calming trip. There were several other tourists with me on the boat, and one young couple had an adorable daughter who I played with throughout the trip. We also got hot water bottles, which I had to giggle at because I've only heard of them and they're so very British (sooooooo waaaarrm and lovely). After the boat trip I trotted off to see a Norman castle and then St. Augustine's Abbey before meeting Rachelle and her two friends for dinner. I was surprised at how nice it was moving at my own pace, not having to worry about what others wanted to do, stopping when I wanted, etc.; exploring on my own was really perfect for me!
The Verdi concert was stunning. And I mean absolutely mind-blowingly powerful. This picture doesn't really capture the beauty of the space- I think it rivaled Notre Dame. At the end of the picture is the choir doing their dress rehearsal.
I should also mention that the walls of this church are lined with plaques and graves, as well as the many chapels with important dead people in them. When the second movement of the requiem came around (this is the part where the choir sings about the terror of the Day of Judgement, so the music is, understandably, terrifying), I felt myself edging away from those plaques a little. I was listening to a song for dead people while surrounded by dead people, so I was a little nervous! Also, because I was sitting a few feet away from the bass drum, I jumped every time it came in during the most terrifying part of the movement. Moving on from the part where I was feeling the inevitable nature of my own mortality, there were also many moments when I was transported by the beauty of the calm, expressive solos about the Lord's lamb and stuff like that. So basically, it was...indescribable. Afterwards, we went on the lookout for a pub but ended up hanging out at a chocolate restaurant; much consumption of chocolate ensued therein. And a cocktail.
I spent the night in a hostel! My first hostel, it should be mentioned. It was actually a lot nicer than I expected, aside from the part where they didn't provide towels so I had to be creative with showering. The rooms were clean, the sleeping bag was comfy, and my roommates were only a little noisy. The fun part came the next morning when I was tasked with finding the Canterbury EAST train station (there are 2 train stations, thanks Canterbury). I gave myself an hour to do this, and it took me every bit of that hour. Directions from 3 different people, getting caught on the other side of town, walking for ages without breakfast later I finally got to the station. Did I mention that it was raining? I mean the hard, bitterly cold, sheeting kind of rain the entire time I was getting lost with all my shit in my backpack (it was very heavy). A kind soul finally walked a thoroughly bedraggled me to the bloody station, where it was unclear how to get INSIDE the station- there were signs everywhere and none of them were clear. I finally asked for instructions again and luckily saw my friends waiting outside the station for me, but I was almost in tears at that point.
So, needless to say, I was pretty miserable when we got on the train to Dover. It was raining still when we got there and it was pretty cold- probably 8 or 9 Celsius with wind. That was when we decided (I was unhappy about this decision but I shut up about it) to explore the enormous old castle on top of the hill that has protected Dover for centuries. That journey was entirely uphill, and I was feeling like punching someone at the end of that. We went inside and explored the tunnels that housed the British army during WWII and then on to the castle. The castle was cool, but I was not interested considering how cold and wet I still was. We even took a bit to hold various clothing up to the high speed hand dryer in the bathroom in an attempt to dry off! That was fun, but a futile attempt as we soon went outside again to climb up more damn stairs to see the castle that wasn't that cool. I begged a stop for lunch, where I had soup and bread and crumble with custard. Afterwards, we went back down the hill (stupid hill) to see if we could get a better view of the White Cliffs of Dover; it had FINALLY stopped raining and we went out on the pier to see Dover from the sea (ha, WORD PLAY!). We caught a glimpse of France from across the channel, which caused much excitement from my companions. The view was really beautiful, but I was still cold and not entirely dry and my feet were wailing like there was no tomorra! So I didn't really appreciate it. I was really quite happy to get back on the train to London, as I was able to rest in a mindless stupor on the journey. That was yesterday and I'm still exhausted!
I'd like to take a moment now to mourn a very important figure in my journey to London so far: my boots. They survived for so much! But the zipper broke after this weekend's ordeal, and alas, one of them is no more. I might be desperate enough to see if I can have the zipper fixed, but perhaps not. Goodbye my faithful friends! I shall be forced into wearing leggings with normal shoes as a gesture of my loss.
That's all for now folks! Cheerio. (Weird mix of American and British culture for ya there)
Yours truly,
The Management
Also: Updated Mailing Address!
Elise Massicotte
Mansion Residence Hall
Manresa Road
Chelsea, London SW3 6NA
United Kingdom
