The Quaint and the Queen

Whew. I sat here trying to recount today and realized what a day it has been. So much has happened! 

This morning we enjoyed a breakfast in our hotel. It was an "English Breakfast." That includes a fried egg, baked beans, a large cooked mushroom, bacon, sausage, and a cooked tomato topping it. It was amazing. Mmm! 

After packing up we drove maybe two minutes to Canterbury's center towns. We parked the car and walked into the center of the town. It started snowing! A local woman loudly explained to me how she hates snow. Another man told us this was the coldest it ever is there. We apparently were seeing the brunt of it. 

Canterbury is a smaller town, but well established by any definition. With the cathedral in the middle and shops on cobblestone streets budding out from there, the town is wide awake. They are even strict about who comes in! 

We walked around the streets, peering in shop windows and watching passerbys. We went to the cathedral. But we elected the admissions price was to high to justify going inside. So here is the gate! 

As the snow/rain continued to fall, we ducked into the Royal Museum and Library. It said it was free. Obviously we went! It was very neat. I was quite impressed. Exhibits included animals of Canterbury, historical artifacts from the World Wars, and a gallery of paintings. It was a well put together museum. It even included historical dressing up for the kids - and me. 

We concluded our "shopping" with going into a pottery shop. Stef was replacing a broken cup at home. After much lost searching we finally found the certain shop, tucked in a corner of a collection of shops. Inside were two floors of detailed handmade pottery. The man who owned the store and makes all the pottery kindly greeted us as we walked in from the cold. Stef explained what we were looking for and the man immediately showed us were they were. As Stef checked out, the man talked excitedly with us. As we ended up talking with him we discovered he has lived in Canterbury his whole life. He even got married in the cathedral! He has owned this pottery shop for 51 years. Stories flowed from him about snowy roads, tourism, and his experiences. We finally had to leave. As we left, all three of us acknowledged how nice it is when a stranger is like that. Before we left Switzerland, Sigmund had adviced me to talk to the folks in Canterbury. He said those were the English people you want to have a discussion with. From the brief exchange with the potter, I could tell Sigmund was right. 

We decided to grab lunch before we left Canterbury. We went to the main square of shops to look for a place to eat. We found a little restaurant that looked warm and not crowded. Good enough! Inside it was an old movie themed place. The walls were covered in pictures of old movie scenes- many from Casablanca to my delight! They played old movie theme songs to complete the circle. I got a shepherd's pie because I felt that most appropriate. 

Next up, London! It's an hour and a half drive to London from Canterbury. The beautiful scenery buzzed past and I took a power nap. But I did manage to capture one picture. 

We arrived at our hotel. Alright, let me again brace you. I'm going to sound like a girl from a small town in Colorado or Alaska or something crazy like that. We arrived at The Conrad. It is located downtown London about a block from the Westminster Abbey. It's... Yep. It's amazing. The vallets took our bags to our rooms as they memorized our names so they could greet us properly from then on. The rooms? Spacious, elegant, from mini bars to iHomes to TV's built into the walls to... Goodness. Nirvana. Okay, thus ends my country girl rant. In case you missed my point, it's awesome. 

But Stef informed me the best part of this hotel is its location. Sure enough, a block down the street is the Westminster Abbey. And if you study a map of London you discover, that's all the tourist spots in a stones throw. We did a speed walking past the main features. The Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, down the side of the River Thames, Charing Cross, down to Buckingham Palace. I was euphoric. Yes, I said euphoric. It completely blew my mind. 

We will take the next two days to see more and let me gawk more, of course. But what a way to see so much! In that little square, you have history, architecture, stories, and more than enough to melt your face. And it most certainly did. We are going back in to main London for dinner tonight. I can't wait to see it at night. I'm sure it will be beautiful. Then, after a comfy night sleep, we will continue to conquer London tomorrow. More stories will follow as always!