From Dover to Canterbury: Grand Tour Day 10
Grand Tour Day 10: Canterbury, England
Written by Elise '19, photos by Shane '19
Today we started our morning with holy Eucharist at the Canterbury Cathedral. The looming arches of the ceiling and the stained glass windows, which illuminated the room with the warm glow of pastel hues, instilled an atmosphere of reverence. In the quiet emptiness of the room, the pastor’s words and our whispered prayers resounded, bouncing off the walls and surrounding columns. We spent the rest of our morning roaming around the cobblestone streets of lovely Canterbury town, which were lined with coffee shops, candy stores, flower boxes, and cottages.
After leaving the quaint town, our bus made its way to the multicultural cosmopolitan city of London. The past week of our trip in the ancient ruins, historical buildings, and countryside villas, were like a journey to the past. London, however, was as if we jumped back into the present modern world. Today alone we braved the fast-paced London Underground, called the Tube, watched our classmates assist an eclectic street performer undergo death-defying feats, tasted local cuisine in the marketplace (though many of us were satisfied having a hamburger and sweet potato fries), and absorbed beauty from the National Gallery. The amount of art available for us to view has been overwhelming. We are only beginning to grasp the extent of beauty that has been created. Experiencing the art physically and visually has greatly contributed to the depth of our understand more than one school year ever could. As we made our way to Evensong, a nightly church service at Westminster Abbey, we had a brief introduction to Trafalgar Square, a popular tourist destination and home to the famous lion statues.
Today we started and ended our chapter with devotion, in the morning at Canterbury Cathedral and at night at Westminster Abbey. It was as if we worshipped in the same place that our brothers and sisters in Christ did before us that the message of the Lord’s Prayer sank deeply into my heart: “Give us this day our daily bread.” In saying these words, I realized the importance of aligning our hearts with Christ first and foremost in our day. He is our provider and his presence is the life sustenance, or daily bread, that shapes the course of our daily journey. It is a blessing to be a part of a trip that values that. It was in these moments that our two-week trip was becoming a pilgrimage rather than a tour.
