The last day in England was spent traveling to Canterbury. This is the tale of our journey.
The beginning of the day was a hot mess of everyone scrambling to figure out what the game plan was. One group already planned a trip to Windsor. Others were shopping. And our group hoped for a trip to the bleach white cliffs of dover. We were unsure of the price of a train ticket round trip and had to call the station. Finally, we learned that the train tickets had a deal that would make our tickets only ₤17, much less than the expected ₤60 we calculated the day before. The fab five (Chris, Juli, Kerry, Ruben and Todd) traveled to Paddington to buy the tickets. When there, the ticket lady determined our best option was to buy the ticket in Victoria station, which is where the train left. With 25 minutes before departure, the team sprinted to Victoria via tube. The tube was nearly about to depart when the fab five squeezed in. A few stops passed until the team reached the station. To our dismay, the queu to purchase tickets was half a football field (European version) long. Risking the situation, the group jumped into an adjacent queu that was nearly empty. The ticket master approved our request and gave us five tickets. With under ten minutes to spare, the fab five rushed to platform 3. After a stressful and time crunching morning, the team successfully hopped a ride on the train.
The train ride to Canterbury was similar to that of the trip to Stonehenge with much of the trip being through the countryside. We arrived to Canterbury around an hour and a half after we left Victoria Station. Immediately upon entering the town of Canterbury, we were greeted by views of the Canterbury Cathedral, parks, and an old wall that previously marked the boundaries of the town. The town was in someways similar to Salisbury and it had the traditional quaint English feel. The streets were almost entirely stone along with many of the buildings and there was a much heavier presence of the Tudor style as opposed to London. We spend the afternoon walking around and met to have lunch with one of Juli’s friends who took us to an awesome pub that was unlike an other that I had been to while in London. After lunch we departed on a train for the Cliffs of Dover.
We certainly made the most of our visit to Canterbury and Dover. Our experience with the tube paid off and we felt comfortable navigating the rail way. I thoroughly enjoyed the company and I laughed more than I had all week! The perfect spring weather gave Canterbury a dreamy feel which felt sublime. I agree that Canterbury was the quaint English town one associates with Great Britain. The historical buildings that line the streets are picture perfect showing the many hundreds of years they have stood. The striking Tudor style does dominate the facades and the modern architecture has been skillfully built adjacent to the streets so not to ruin their charm. We enjoyed the weather, sites, food, and each other!
Per my request Ruben played the song “Funky Town” as we walked into the town of Canterbury. If you have ever watched the movie Shrek 2 you would understand why. In the movie the song plays as Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey arrive in Far Far Away. This may sound like a bunch of nonsense, but arriving in Canterbury was just like we were arriving in Far Far Away. It seriously was like going back in time. The entire town was full of the Tudor style of Architecture. The streets were all pedestrian friendly. Only an occasional taxi drove down the streets, but for the most part there were no 21 century annoying noises. The only things you heard as you walked down the streets were street performers, people talking, and every hour the bells of the massive Cathedral that was located in the center of the town. The town was truly amazing and sort of like something out of a dream. The cliffs of Dover were beautiful and well worth the 5 pound train ticket. I could have spent all day staring at the cliffs and the amazing view of the English Channel. The entire day turned out perfect. Somehow we managed to catch the train at Victoria Train Station with only a couple minutes to spare, the trip ended up costing much less than we expected, and I really enjoyed the group of people I was with! I cannot wait to go back someday!