There and Back Again – A Canterbury Tale by Rori Baggins
Today is September 12, 2013 and I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. Why? It marks 10 years since I left to study abroad in Canterbury. I think about it and can’t believe that much time has passed by and that I’ve known my overseas friends for that long. I had turned 20 a couple of months before and also got my first (and huge) back tattoo.
Luckily I had parents that talked me into staying for a full year. I was skeptical, but when I came home for winter break, I was so happy that I was going back.
TIme has changed Canterbury a bit, as it does with every place, but a lot of it has stayed the same. My honeymoon with Dr. Awesome was the first time I had been back since I studied abroad in London for my master’s. That was seven year ago.
That experience really shaped me into the person I am today. It opened me up to a whole new culture and also introduced me to people from all over the world. I was way out of my comfort zone when I had got there (even though I had been to England before). All of a sudden, I was allowed to go into a bar and drink! And lets just say, I built up a huge tolerance with many pints of beer.
My friend had introduced me to the comic genius of Ricky Gervais by showing me The Office. On Monday, I had seen him speak at the Times Center. It made me feel like I had come full circle.
And now, I post some photos from 10 years ago. Say what you want about the quality of the photos, but that camera is still kicking!
Record store. Never went in.
Canterbury Cathedral. It never gets old.
The buses from town would squeeze through there. (West Gate) It was cool to experience.
And not so much anymore. (See the van going around it?)
The view of the cathedral from the University of Kent at Canterbury. It was an amazing view that I got to see every day.
West Gate gardens.
My address was Farthings Court. And then someone took off the “h”. Hehe. And yeah, I took photos of EVERYTHING.
The cathedral gate.
I’m drunk. We were outside. Someone was taking a photo of us and then someone on the inside banged on the glass. Epic.
High Street.
And now, I take you to London (for one photo) and Stone Henge. Just two of the many trips I took during my time there.
At the Tate Modern. (London)
It was windy. And I still make that face.
A really cool cloud formation. We were walking back from the henge to Salisbury. We went to the cathedral which has the Magna Carta.
Here are a few photos from mine and Dr. Awesome’s trip last year.
The beginning of High Street.
The best fish and chip shop in the town: City Fish Bar. And it still is. Dr. Awesome was impressed. We had many, many meals here. One of my friends wanted to try everything on the menu before we left. They had fried mushrooms, mars bars, etc. He never did get to try it all.
Still looks the same!
2003
Nothing’s changed, cept my hair color, glasses and probably wrinkles 🙂
More High Street. Looks almost the same.
The sign at Canterbury West station where we caught the high speed train (new!) back to London. Took us 50 minutes. When I was at school, could take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2. Definitely nice that we could go round trip this time and not be on the train forever.
Thanks for taking this trip back in time with me. I’m glad that Dr. Awesome indulged me during our honeymoon so I could show him the place that had a huge impact in my life. I can’t wait to go back 🙂
I YUM New York 