so the story goes... when we arrived in Canterbury, we were all ready to murder each other. the baby was super fussy, sis had been up since 3am w/ the baby, she was carsick and hungry, i was on edge because she was on edge, etc. we tried to find a place to eat, but in a couple places we walked in the door and they said, "we don't allow babies." sis grew increasingly frustrated, until we found that little italian place and sat down. liam (baby) continued to fuss in the quiet restaurant, we were all still edgy and trying to calm him, marcus was about to skip lunch and take the baby outside, but i grabbed liam, told sis to order me the prosciutto rigatoni, then took liam outside to give my sis and BIL 10 minutes of peace & quiet.
so finally, we sit down to lunch and i'm reading my guidebook noting that we should finish up soon because the cathedral closes for services at 2:30. we finish up and walk to the cathedral gate. it's closed. sorry, they say, come back in 20 minutes. they'll let us in to the cathedral courtyard, we can walk around outside, but can't go in the church unless we attend services. i was livid. we easily could have eaten lunch after seeing the cathedral. and they closed the gate early before 2:30 for choir practice. ugh. i was already disappointed we had missed france, now we come all this way and can't see the cathedral. i was not a happy camper.
at any rate, we walked around a bit more, went back through the gate 20 minutes later strolled around the cathedral grounds. dammit, i thought, i at least need to see the inside. i can't just stand out here. my sis knew that i would go off on my own to take pix of the place outside, so i mosied up to the front door. maybe i could sneak a peek inside even if i can't take pix. maybe services are going on - i saw well-dressed people go in. would they notice if i stole a glance through the door? so i walked up to the door. put one foot inside.
then another.
then another.
then walked through another door.
no one stopping me yet.
hmm, no one around... maybe i can walk in further...
maybe the services are in the center of the cathedral, and this back area was just for use for large ceremonies. so i walked around some more.
and some more.
and more.
no one stopping me yet, so i pulled out my camera. i was inside for a half hour. didn't tell my sister i was trying to get inside, and i wasn't about to turn back. she's smart enough to know i wouldn't wander back outside the gates and she'd probably figure i was off somewhere with photos, and we'd meet up eventually. inside the once off-limits cathedral, and no entry fee. sweet.i got my Canterbury Cathedral after all.
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