Yesterday morning we went inside Canterbury Cathedral as soon as it opened at 9am and started in the crypt, which was closed last time we visited so was great to see. It is the biggest crypt I've ever seen, stretching nearly the whole length of the cathedral. It's also the oldest part, dating from the early 1100s. That means it's Romanesque, my favorite flavor of architecture, and it has some great carvings and frescoes from that period.


Side aisle in the beautiful crypt.


Romanesque frescoes in the crypt.

We had the whole place to ourselves for about 10 minutes, then busloads of people came streaming in the crypt and cathedral above. How rude! I think the cathedral should open an hour earlier for guests of the Cathedral Lodge, like Costco.


But some of the busloads were a men's choir from Germany, who sung beautifully while we took our photos. Press play to hear them!

A few more cathedral highlights:


Towers against a cloudy sky, which is what we were stuck with most of the day.


Interior architecture


Eagle lectern in the choir


Cloister


Roof boss in cloister

We stayed in the cathedral until almost checkout time at 11am, after which we put our stuff in the car (what a luxury to have a trunk!) and walked around Canterbury for an hour or so.






The first item of business in town was lunch, which turned out to be delicious soup and sandwiches at Pret a Manger, a great UK chain that we visited a lot in Oxford. David had tuna and cucumbers on a baguette with chicken and mushroom soup; I had a toasted tuna melt on multigrain bread with capers and Greve cheese and carrot and coriander soup. The soup was one of the best I've ever had. We ate on a bench in a little courtyard just off the main pedestrianized street.


The sandwich selection at Pret


My carrot and coriander soup

Then we visited the following sights before returning to our car:


Eastbridge Pilgrims' Hospital. In the Middle Ages, poor pilgrims who couldn't afford a place to stay would sleep crowded together on this floor.


Fresco in the refectory of the pilgrims' hostel.


Greyfriars Chapel, founded by the Franciscans in 1224. A river runs underneath it.

By around 1pm we were on the road again heading for Cambridge, which took 90 minutes and unfortunately was mostly on the motorway - including part of the big ring road around London (the M25). But the BMW sure seemed to like it! That thing is zippy.

In Cambridge I'd booked an apartment outside the city center for two nights. We had to call ahead upon arrival, so we decided to park behind King's College to take a few photos and call from there.


Parking spot


King's College from "The Backs"


Punters on the River Cam

The owner met us at the apartment about 45 minutes later, around 4pm. It's located on the fourth floor of a nondescript apartment building about a 15-minute walk from town. The location is a little inconvenient (especially with our aching feet) but the upside is that we have plenty of parking, more living space than usual, a washing machine and a kitchen! They've decorated it very nicely - entirely from IKEA, it appears.





After getting settled in, we walked around town for about an hour.


The park we cross to go into town (called Midsummer Common), complete with free range cows.


We passed the Cambridge University Press bookstore - I don't dare go in there or my luggage will become a whole lot heavier! I wanted pretty much every book I saw. (Oxford University Press is better, though. Obviously.)


King's College, St. Mary's Church, and a market tent

We had dinner at the outdoor tables of a place called Don Pasquale's. It was decent but not worth photographing. I had a pizza with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, and olives, and David had a chicken and vegetable dish called Chicken Mafioso. Then we stopped by Marks & Spencer for dessert to take home. Yum.


Don Pasquale's, Marks & Spencer, and the same market as above

Back to the apartment, we packed up our camera bags and tripods and drove to The Backs, the pretty meadow behind King's College where we'd stopped earlier. We were really hoping for some golden evening light or the buildings to be illuminated after dark, but we got neither. We got a few decent photos in the fading light, though.



This morning was beautifully sunny, so we headed out right after breakfast for photos in town. It has been very sunny and surprisingly warm today - it may have gotten as high as 75 F.

Some highlights of King's College, founded in 1446 by King Henry VI:








Then we wandered into St. Mary's University Church, which is right across from King's College, and I decided to climb the tower while David smartly sat it out. There were a LOT of stairs, and they were very narrow. But there were some nice views from the top.





We also visited the Round Church briefly:




We were going to spend this afternoon on a day trip to Norwich Cathedral (a 3-hour round trip), but decided instead to stay in the apartment for some much-needed relaxation, laundry, and computer work. That was a really good decision! We'll visit Norwich on the way to Lincoln tomorrow.

Labels: cambridge, canterbury, england