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After a crazy day walking around London, I was looking forward to a bit more of a relaxing day with the Prince family. Liz decided to take us to Canterbury, which is a cute city with a winding River, an old cathedral and adorable small pedestrian streets lined with shops and restaurants.
After getting to Canterbury, we walked to the local Cathedral that had been established in 1140. It was magnificent, with its stained glass windows, giant pillars, many chapels and sanctuaries. In the middle of the back sanctuary lies one single lit candle, in remembrance of a man named Thomas Becket. Thomas had been murdered by 4 knights of Henry II in the church in 1170. Henry later allowed himself to be flogged in repentance to the murder. There was a shrine built in Thomas's honor but torn down in 1538 by Henry VIII. Hence, the single candle lit in remembrance and respect.
There was also stained glass within the church that dates back to the AD 597 depicting pictures of biblical times. These had been taken out of the walls of the church during various times uprisings to help preserve them, which luckily it did.
After touring the cathedral, we had lunch at a local pub. Jason had ordered an apple-toffee flavored cider, which basically tasted like you were drinking a giant Werther's Original. The kids were so hungry by that point they resorted to eating lemons and limes that were in the water, which was fun entertainment to watch their sour faces as we waited for the food.
In the afternoon we got some ice cream and headed down to a historical boat tour. Charlie got more ice cream on himself and his dad than he did in his mouth, and was quite sneaky at getting my spoon while I was facing the other way. The boat tour takes place on the little River that runs through Canterbury, all self propelled by our captain and his oars.
During the historical boat tour, we learned about the history of Canterbury, a local theatre, the university and thankfully to Grace, if mermaids lived in the river. She had lots of good questions for the captain, most of them in regards to crocodiles, fish and mermaids. At the end of the tour, we saw a "dunking chair" that was hundreds of years old that was used to "dunk" women in the sewage waters of the river when they misbehaved. There was an older lady on the rowboat that was NOT a fan of this tidbit of history and shot our captain dirty looks and disapproving words for a good 5 minutes. Dave asked if he could buy one. Jason likes his sense of humor... I'm still trying to figure that out ;)
I'm continuing to learn more about the lingo over here... child minder = babysitter. Supply teacher = substitute teacher. The loo = the bathroom. Bloke = some guy. I have tried more "British" dishes including "beans and toast"and pretty much slather brown sauce on everything and you'll be happy with your food.
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