A quick start out of the B&B this morning put us at Canterbury about 11:00 am. I was very excited to have the chance to visit this cathedral. It's the seat for the Archbishop of Canterbury who is essentially the CEO of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion worldwide, of which the US Episcopal church is a part. In more simple terms, this is the mother ship for Episcopalians...ha! This is also the site where Archibishop Thomas Beckett was murdered within the cathedral by knights following orders from Henry II who famously asked who among him would get rid of Beckett.
We arrived in time to participate in a midday Holy Communion which was downstairs is the quiet crypt chapel. It was essentially lit only by light coming in from the short windows at ground level and there were only about 10 of us there. A pretty spiritual event really. We then began our walking tour and were able to see the spot where Beckett was martyred, the chapter house, the chapel where Beckett's remains are interred, the steps that millions of pilgrims have trod over the years, and some pretty impressive stained glass.
We were honored to have been invited to dine with Dr. Eric Binnie's sister and her family for dinner. On our way, we had an amazing double rainbow appear. We arrived at their home on the south side of London about 6:30 and had an absolutely wonderful evening of laughs, friendship, amazing food, and fellowship. I love having personal time like this whilst traveling; it really adds to the experience. Again, a big thank you to Agnes, Russell, Allison, and Gareth!
We are turning in at our lodging in Windsor. We return Phoebe to Hertz tomorrow and then head into London for the day. Can't believe it's our last day of touring...it's gone by very quickly.
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