Monday, 27 August 2012

Canterbury, White Cliffs of Dover, and Whitstable


Canterbury, UK
We had a 3 day weekend and decided on a trip to the Southeast part of the UK.  We stayed in Ashford (a good central location) and travelled out from there.  A good trip 

Here's a little history introduction to the Canterbury Cathedral
In 597 AD, Pope Gregory sent Augustine to convert King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. After the conversion, Canterbury, as a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the centre for an episcopal see in Kent, and an abbey and cathedral were built. Augustine thus became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.[9] The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles and leather. By 630, gold coins were being struck at the Canterbury mint.[10] In 672 the Synod of Hertford gave the see of Canterbury authority over the entire English Church.[8]

In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life during Danish raids. In 978, Archbishop Dunstan refounded the abbey built by Augustine, and named it St Augustine's Abbey.[11] A second wave of Danish attacks began in 991, and in 1011 the cathedral was burnt and Archbishop Alphege was killed. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066.[8]William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, the castle was rebuilt with stone.[12]
After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket at the cathedral in 1170, Canterbury became one of the most notable towns in Europe, as pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine.[13] This pilgrimage provided the framework for Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century collection of stories,The Canterbury Tales.



The Gateway into the Cathedral Area

The Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories were written by Geoffrey Chaucer back in the 14th century as a part of a story telling contest as they travel together on a journey to the shrine of St.Thomas Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral.  Most high school students will remember it, not necessarily fondly. 
Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury when he was murdered due a conflict with King Henry II.  He was later venerated as a saint by both the Catholic and Anglican churches and his body laid in rest in the cathedral until King George VIII destroyed it as a part of the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1500's.    





Nave in the Cathedral




THE TOMB OF THE "BLACK PRINCE", Canterbury Cathedral, Kent

Edward, Prince of Wales, (the "Black Prince"), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England. Although he never became king - he died before his father - he is remembered as a great medieval warrior, after victories against the French in The Hundred Years War.







Visit to Dover - Dover Castle and the White Cliffs of Dover

view of the harbor (France in the distance ~ 30 miles away)


One of many ferries that cross the harbour (4-5x/day).  60% of goods still travel by ship or ferry, 40% now use the Chunnel.  Note the buses and cars queued for the ferry.  Cars and buses travel by day, trucks by night.  


Entrance to the Medieval Fort.



I was just born a few centuries too late... 




Old church on the site and a Roman Lighthouse beside it.



View from the tower...

After we left the castle, we went looking for the Dover visitors center (in one of the guidebooks) to get a better look at the white cliffs and maybe take a hike to the South Foreland Lighthouse.   The visitor parking lot was full so we went further up hill to find additional parking... never found any so we kept going and stumbled across St. Margaret's Bay.  Its a small city just northeast of Dover, has a great parking lot right on the water which looks up at the white cliffs.  We walked up the hill and found a public footpath for the lighthouse (~ 2 miles?).  The cliffs are made of chalk (100,000 years to make 1 cm of chalk) from  the remains of a tropical sea on the area  millions of years ago.  The trail walk was the highlight of the day (you can walk right up the edge of the cliff, if inclined to do so... but they've have landslides (see below).

FILE - This is a Thursday, Feb. 1, 2001. file photo shows the lighthouse on top of the White Cliffs of Dover, England, after a large segment of chalk fell from the cliff after a landslide.







cliffs at low tide.. this areas was underwater when we returned from the lighthouse trek



The cliffs are make of soft chalk..  

 path from the sea to the lighthouse.. 


Beautiful scenery.. this was closer than I wanted to get to the edge... 



South Foreland Lighthouse





This land (Samphire Hoe County Park, just south of Dover) was reclaimed from the "chalk waste" from digging the chunnel. The sea was up against the cliffs before the reclamation.   


Whitstable, UK

We stopped by Whitstable on the way back to Derby.. very fresh seafood and oysters..  You can see the largest sea wind farm under construction in the distance.  Worth a couple of hours




England Countryside - Surprise View


Surprise View



Trip up into the Peak District to view the hills



Lori met a friend very quickly


Hiking in the Hills





Lori amongst the Heather








Pic taken in July - a little cooler in the Peak District
(but shorts!)





This area attracts a lot of Rock climbers





Olympics on the big screen in the Quad in Derby

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Paris








Paris 

We had the opportunity to go to Paris with Megan while she was over here visiting.  Had a great time - got to relax, see the sights, and create some memories. 



The Arc de Triomphe
 The arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories, but he was ousted before the arch was completed. One of the worlds busiest roundabouts - 12 streets come into and leave the large roundabout.



Avenue des Champs Elysees leading to the Arc.


A lion outside the Louvre Museum.  


Riverboats on the Seine River with the Eiffel tower in the background


 Megan with the the Eifel tower lights starting to show


Having fun on the first night


View of the Eiffel tower from below

Joan of Arc statue in Saint Maria Madeleine


One of the surprises of the day - a tour of the Sainte Chappelle.  Built by Louis IX to house the relics of Christ (piece of the crown of thorns, and a piece of the cross - later moved to the Notre Dame), each stained glass window depicts a visual of a books of bible - Genesis through the crucifixion of Jesus. 


Notre Dame Cathedral built between 1163 and 1345 


Stained glass window in Notre Dame


Gargoyles guard the lookout on the top of Notre Dame


The Notre Dame bell


A view from the top of Notre Dame


Relaxing dinner ..



Taking a tour of the Seine.  It was a nice night - people came out with the picnic baskets with their wine and had dinner by the river


We almost had an incident by the chocolate fountain.. (actually, no damage, a lot of self control...)


The Louvre museum.  We could have spent days in there and still not have seen everything..


"Victory" was estimated to have been created around 190 BC. It was created to not only honor the goddess, Nike (pre-swoosh) , but to honor a sea battle.


The Mona Lisa, the most popular attraction in the museum.



 Venus, created sometime between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty



More Lions


Sphinx from Ramses II ~ 1750 BC


6 Roman goddesses 
(ok, the two in front, and 4 way in the back......)



Long Day, first causality.... 



An interesting bridge... tradition is to attach a a padlock to the bridge and throw the key in the Seinne.  Lot's of couples and engraved wedding day padlocks.  


Newly married couple with their lock... just from the looks of it,  someone may be getting a hacksaw to that one in a year or two.. (no offense meant :)  ) 

Had to take a tour up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Went earlier in the day and didn't have to wait very long.    




Lunch along an open market in the streets of Paris. 


Last Night - great trip...