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Last Saturday Brunel International sponsored a daytrip to Canterbury, and of course I couldn't pass up the chance to go. We had a very knowledgable tour guide who shared a great deal about the history of the city and Canterbury Cathedral. He took us on a walking tour of the city, and we had some time to explore the cathedral. A bit about Canterbury Cathedral:
The cathedral is best known as the destination of pilgrims seeking the shrine of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 supposedly by four of King Henry II's knights. (Remember reading Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?) The shrine was destroyed by King Henry VIII, but the site of the tomb is still marked in the cathedral. St. Thomas Becket is said to have worked miracles and some of the rare stained glass windows depict these miracles. At the beginning of World War II the windows were removed as a precaution. Although a large part of Canterbury was flattened by the German air raids and the replacement windows were blown in (the main body of the cathedral was unharmed), the medieval glass survived and was later returned to the cathedral. The cathedral also contains the medieval tombs of royals such as King Henry IV and Edward the Black Prince.
We had time to walk along the city's medieval walls and explore some other parts of the city. Unfortunately, the weather was not very nice--cold, windy, and overcast--although the rain held off until near the end of our day. At least the nasty weather kept the number of tourists down as Canterbury can become overrun with visitors.
In other news, I made my very first trip to a British dentist on Monday. The pain began while I was in Ireland (I do not recommend spending the night on the airport floor with a horrific toothache--not fun!) and was nearly unbearable all of last week. Luckily the pain began to subside at the start of this week. One week of extreme crankiness and inability to concentrate on my research was plenty! While I am not particularly looking forward to my root canal this coming Thursday, I am happy about the prospect of finally being pain-free. Plus, what better souvenir from my year abroad than a dental procedure? I will keep you posted!
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