I Feel Like A Princess When I Go To A Castle...

Friday I was up and ready before most of my friends in the states had gone to sleep Thursday. Breakfast started at 6:00, and after eating a packing a quick lunch we were off to board the coach by 7:00 AM. Which is usually the time I get up here.... A quick 2 hours later (quick because we all fell back asleep) we had arrived at Dover. Which is not only home to white cliffs, and a spectacular view of the Channel, but the Dover Castle! Before touring the Castle, Roman Lighthouse, and Saxon Church we went on the tour of the "Secret War Tunnels" that they used during WW2. They even had a hospital wing underground, it was really amazing. However if there is ever an incident in which WW3 breaks out I'm pretty sure it would be useless. I'm not really sure why they are still called the "secret" war tunnels anymore!

Anyways after that we climbed the largest hill of my life to check out the castle! It was spectacular. From the very top you could look out over the green valley, and the channel. I was in awe of the beauty there. This my friends, is the England I always pictured.
After we finished there we boarded the coach again, ate our lunch, and arrived in Canterbury. Our original plan was to head straight to St. Augustine's Abby, however, due to a mistake with scheduling our tour person was not there yet. Not to fear, Dr. Seeley had the brilliant idea to walk up to St. Martin's to kill time. Now one could easily argue that St. Martin's is the oldest church in all of Britain. In it's walls there are even bricks from the Romans. But to fully appreciate St. Martin's you have to know about Bertha.

Bertha was a Christian woman who King Ethelbert wanted to marry. Her father made him promise that if she married him she could still practice Christianity. Ethelbert agreed, and gave her St. Martin's to worship in. Through the righteous example of his wife, as is often the case, Kind Ethelbert was Baptised and Christianity began to flourish in the land. Bertha is truly an example to me.

Anyways, as we approached St. Martin's I fell in love with it because it had a cemetery. Now if you don't know this, I've always had this love of cemeteries, they really are sacred ground, and the beauty and quiet that is in them has always been special to me. We walked to the door of St. Martins and much to the Seeley's delight and surprise it was open. A local parish member was there watering the flowers and she told us that we could come in and she would tell us about the church, and that we could sing some hymns for her. Despite knowing everything about this church Dr. Seeley had never been inside and his excitement rivaled that of a 5 year old at Christmas time, and it was just as contagious. As I walked into this small church I was in love with the history, and age of it. The little parish lady told us about it's history and about Bertha and such and then Dr. Seeley got up. He told us to remember that all of our ancestors that came from here worshiped like this. Most of them went to local, small churches of this size every sunday. They we married there, baptised their children there, sometimes buried their children there, and sustained their firm belief in Christ their until the day that they were buried there. It hit a cord with me. As we sang Nearer My God to Thee, I Am A Child of God, and then pushed the envelope with The Spirit of God I felt the spirit so strongly. One of the things I've learned the most from this experience so far is the value in Christianity, even on it's own. The Apostasy is looked at as a time of darkness because we did not have the full truth on the earth, and while that is sad and true, it was also a time of great things... many wonderful things were preserved, and taught to others. Joseph Smith would have never found the truth if he didn't read the Bible, know of Christ, or know how to pray. This is a wonderful way to look at things to me, and the beauty of it is astounding.After possibly the most spiritual experience of my stay thus far we walked back to St. Augustine's Abby. There we were admitted and set free to roam about the beautiful ruins. The idea of ruins being something beautiful was foreign to me, but no longer! It is so beautiful. I loved the time we spent there.
After that we walked right into the center of town, and as a street performer sang "Losing My Religion" for whatever change people could spare we stared up at the gate to Canterbury Cathedral. Now, St. Paul's is still the number one in my book, however this was a beautiful. We split into groups and began a tour of the place. This is that Cathedral that Thomas Beckett was murdered at, and so obviously there is lots of history here. I've learned that where there is lots of history there is lots to tell, but our little guide far outlasted the 1 1/4 hour the sign said we would get. I thought she was going to give us a tour of the loo too at the rate she was going. It was beautiful however, and I am still in awe that I can learn about something in class one day, and be there experiencing it the next.And as if going to all these places was not pleasure enough, none of this photos were edited. It was just that remarkably beautiful of a day!

And now I just want to end as I always do, shouting (electronically) I LOVE LONDON!!!

And all of you for reading :)