July 9 - Canterbury

We were up quite early this morning.  Our rooms face the road and they are working on repaving (with paving tiles) the road.  The workers were out at 7:30 this morning (groan).

After breakfast we wandered around the streets of Canterbury for a bit...

and then headed to the the cathedral, as during our last visit there was a graduation ceremony going on and the main part of the church was reserved for a service for graduates and their families.  

This time we were able to visit all of the cathedral but opted to focus on the nave and the main floor.

The nave was dominated by an incredible display of glass amphorae suspended in the shape of a ship.  According to the write up about the Each one represents a year of remembrance since 1918.  It is intended to honor those who died in WWI but are also symbolic of the human journey from cradle to grave.  Regardless of meaning, they are breathtaking.

There were also two other pieces of modern art that seemed to fit well within the centuries old cathedral architecture. 

The "Pilgrim's Boat" is an art piece composed of Glass, Steel and Sand.  It is intended to  represent "...the colorful cavalcade of Europeans who came as pilgrims as news of Thomas Becket's martyrdom spread throughout the Continent."

The other piece is composed of squiggly wires and is called "Unity, Diversity and Equality".  It hangs in the Corona gallery, one of the most sacred parts of the cathedral.

And we very much enjoyed the traditional elements of the cathedral as well.  It is so beautiful.