Since I moved to England I have been told a lot about the Kent well-known place of Canterbury.  I have mostly heard of its Cathedral, which became a major focus of pilgrimage after the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Canterbury and history served as the frame for Geoffrey Chaucer‘s 14th-century classic The Canterbury Tales, that you can experience as a tourist attraction (information there).

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

I have waited for the first buds to appear to visit Canterbury, when the weather is still wild enough to discover the countryside and imagine what life might have been in the Middle Age… Tough I appreciated the approaching spring to enjoy the nearby beach front.
But let’s concentrate on the historic city… Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and despite many buildings have been destroyed, you can still discover old places everywhere…
In this Royal Museum, I discovered many objects that could be likened to a “Cabinet of Curiosities”, and quite surprisingly there was a special exhibition presenting collections of vintage star wars toys and original cinema posters!

Some ancient buildings are now occupied by famous brands, and modernity seems to cohabit quite harmoniously with history.

Some buildings are quite astonishing too … like this old bookshop from the 17th century, which has gradually become crooked with the years and the door has to get fixed regularly. Look at Charles Dickens‘ quote written in 1849… the fact was already famous…
I saw also some funny buildings, questionably promising sun …

And as usual, I played with my camera with the reflexions in the windows…Either with a jewellery reflecting real life…
Or with this Italian restaurant reflecting nice timbered buildings…
And with this Cafe, where you can’t see the limit between the inside with carnaval masks, and the outside life…

The Cathedral of Canterbury

Last but not least, I was impressed by the Cathedral. Its size, height, its inside with full of architectural treasures…
I was surprised by the many colours inside…
I liked this view angle through the arcade…
The Black Prince (on the right) requested to be buried in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral and a chapel was prepared there as a chantry for him and his wife Joan, Countess of Kent.

Isn’t that entrance to the choir impressive?
Even the ceiling of the Cathedral was amazing… Some colours are still remaining on these domes, and the beauty of it is memorable…
I appreciated wandering in the peaceful cloister and nearby gardens… And I took time to enjoy the view of the glass windows, very bright, that sometimes showed modern patterns.

The whole sensation was enhanced by the fact that an orchestra was rehearsing when we entered the Cathedral. Everything was made to surprise me and it surely left a mark on my mind.

To finish this post, I’d like to refer to these lines from Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales:

“Purity in body and heart
May please some–as for me, I make no boast.
For, as you know, no master of a household
Has all of his utensils made of gold;
Some are wood, and yet they are of use.
The Lord calls folk to Him in many ways,
And each has his particular gift from God,
Some this, some that, even as He thinks good.”

The place was worth a spiritual thinking … !