Despite only having visited three locations today, I think we can all agree that this was one of the most exciting days of this trip so far. Our day began with some breakfast, prepared by the wonderful Angela and North, which consisted primarily of toast and bagels. Afterwards, we boarded the van that took us to the town of Canterbury. Along the way, we did the site report for Canterbury Cathedral and the Cliffs of Dover. Mr. Grisbee had the fantastic idea of recreating the plot of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The story is about fourteen men walking from London to Canterbury Cathedral as a pilgrimage. Along the way, they had a competition over who told the best stories, and whoever did won a prize. This is, in essence, one of the activities that took place in the van. We all took turns thinking of and telling a story, and the author of the best one, judged by Mr. Grisbee and Ms. Mayhew, would win a special dessert. Ultimately, the winner was Andrew's "Iguana Massacre". If you want to know what it was about, you'll have to ask the creator.
Our first stop, which was an impromptu decision by Mr. Grisbee, was a ruined Roman monastery which dated back to 508 A.D. This was also our first view of the English shoreline, which was spectacular. Several fantastic pictures were taken, which I'm sure you'll see in today's photo blog, and ankles were damaged. The first official stop was the famed Canterbury Cathedral, in the eponymously named small town. It dated back to 1070, was the place of the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett. The cathedral itself was absolutely colossal, overshadowing the entire town by dozens of meters.
After the cathedral, we ate lunch at Chapter Pizza, but due to a misadvertised special, we were surprisingly presented with an entire pizza for each of us. Nonetheless, we now have a supply of food for the following two days, minimum. A short drive later, and we were in Dover Castle, one of the oldest castles and the largest castle in England. We did see, however, the Roman Lighthouse, which is the oldest structure built in England, built in 43 A.D. by, you guessed it, the Romans, shortly after invading England. We walked through and around the castle, and briefly got lost inside it.
As the sun was setting, we made our way over to the Cliffs of Dover and hiked to a nice spot in which we could see the snow-white cliffs. It is safe to say this was one of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen. We were all amazed at the stark white color of the cliffs, and the shore of France peeking over the horizon. Beautiful pictures were taken, and several chalky rocks were thrown. However, with our hearts filled with wonder, we made our way back to London. Upon arrival, we all collapsed on the couches, then had stir fry (and microwaved pizza) for dinner.
Today was, without a doubt, one of the most breathtaking and exhilarating experiences of the trip yet. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, it is greatly appreciated, goodbye.
-George
Our first stop, which was an impromptu decision by Mr. Grisbee, was a ruined Roman monastery which dated back to 508 A.D. This was also our first view of the English shoreline, which was spectacular. Several fantastic pictures were taken, which I'm sure you'll see in today's photo blog, and ankles were damaged. The first official stop was the famed Canterbury Cathedral, in the eponymously named small town. It dated back to 1070, was the place of the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett. The cathedral itself was absolutely colossal, overshadowing the entire town by dozens of meters.
After the cathedral, we ate lunch at Chapter Pizza, but due to a misadvertised special, we were surprisingly presented with an entire pizza for each of us. Nonetheless, we now have a supply of food for the following two days, minimum. A short drive later, and we were in Dover Castle, one of the oldest castles and the largest castle in England. We did see, however, the Roman Lighthouse, which is the oldest structure built in England, built in 43 A.D. by, you guessed it, the Romans, shortly after invading England. We walked through and around the castle, and briefly got lost inside it.
As the sun was setting, we made our way over to the Cliffs of Dover and hiked to a nice spot in which we could see the snow-white cliffs. It is safe to say this was one of the most breathtaking sights we have ever seen. We were all amazed at the stark white color of the cliffs, and the shore of France peeking over the horizon. Beautiful pictures were taken, and several chalky rocks were thrown. However, with our hearts filled with wonder, we made our way back to London. Upon arrival, we all collapsed on the couches, then had stir fry (and microwaved pizza) for dinner.
Today was, without a doubt, one of the most breathtaking and exhilarating experiences of the trip yet. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, it is greatly appreciated, goodbye.
-George
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