Day 0: Canterbury

Well, I have to admit — it wasn’t the smoothest start to the next few weeks of travel. Despite running around West London for the past 3 days, buying last odds and ends, the final pack and departure for Canterbury was still quite stressful.

Nathan and I made it to Canterbury for lunch, a mediocre burger in pub near the center. We walked through the very charming streets to the Cathedral Gate Hotel, which is extremely well located just across the street from the Cathedral (this would come in handy later). Unfortunately, I realized I had left some important medication back in London, and after discovering that British pharmacies couldn’t refill my Italian prescription (fair enough), I ended up spending my afternoon in the Kent Hospital getting a new, English, prescription.

Leaving the hospital I rushed back to town and made it to Evensong at the Cathedral only a few minutes late. The service was beautiful — it’s truly remarkable hearing the choir reverberate in the massive stone space. Afterwards, I was lucky enough to receive a private pilgrim blessing — a solemn and extremely touching affair. I would recommend it to any pilgrim.

I almost left the Cathedral without — gasp — getting my first stamp in my pilgrim passport. Thankfully, Nathan was able to run back to our hotel room and grab the credential, and I departed the Cathedral ready for my walk to Sheperdswell the following morning.

We finished off the day — my last day as a non-pilgrim, I suppose — with a glass of Kent sparkling wine at Corkk, next to our hotel. Allegedly, due to climate change, the weather and soil in Kent is reminiscent of what it was in Champagne years ago. We had dinner in town and then retired to the sounds of drunk teenagers seeping through our hotel window — a real throwback to my Trastevere apartment.

While the day had its ups and downs, I felt liberated from the pressure to have everything for this trip go as planned (something that I know would be impossible). Let the adventure begin!