Day 4: Much More Relaxed
After so much walking yesterday, we were all so tired that what we really needed was a relaxing day where we could enjoy things but not be SO tired. That is exactly what we ended up with even though it was not entirely intentional.
What we have tried to do is talk every evening about the plans for the next day. We had a long list of places to visit that I originally generated from multiple “Catholic pilgrimage” websites. Those were whittled down by Maria and Nico to where we could still fit in the last portion of the trip, to Italy. We had left for today those places North of London: Oxford, Cambridge, and Our Lady of Walsingham. From our perspective originally in the US, they didn’t seem that far away, and so it would be a piece of cake to do all three. In looking at Google maps from here about how to get to each of the locations via train, we realized that there was no way. It is a two-hour train ride from the train station closest to our hotel to Cambridge, another hour ride from there to Oxford, and another hour and a half to Walsingham. We knew right away that Walsingham would not be doable.
As morning broke, even Maria started to ask, “Why is it that we are going to university towns again?” We had included Cambridge and Oxford because of the long history (Oxford being the oldest English language university in the world and because of the Catholic history of Chesterton, Tolking, John Henry Newman and others being associated with one, the other or both.
As I completed yesterday’s blog entry, which took quite a while to complete, I kept asking myself where Nico and Maria were. I typed, made corrections, added photos, and still they stayed inside the hotel room. I kept thinking, “I have more to write, but they will be out any minute now. I’ll have to write on the train.” But they still didn’t come out. I wasn’t watching the time, but it definitely felt like I was writing for a long time before finally they appeared ready to go to breakfast. It turns out that Nico had just kept sleeping and sleeping. Maria was content with the silence to pray and read, while Nico’s pillow did not allow him to awake.
While eating breakfast, we looked once again at the plans for the day and decided that we had to choose between Cambridge and Oxford. We really didn’t think that we could do both. That ended up being wise, as the closest train station wasn’t open, which caused another delay. Even with only going to Cambridge, we still didn’t make it back to our hotel until about 9:30 at night.
What we have tried to do is talk every evening about the plans for the next day. We had a long list of places to visit that I originally generated from multiple “Catholic pilgrimage” websites. Those were whittled down by Maria and Nico to where we could still fit in the last portion of the trip, to Italy. We had left for today those places North of London: Oxford, Cambridge, and Our Lady of Walsingham. From our perspective originally in the US, they didn’t seem that far away, and so it would be a piece of cake to do all three. In looking at Google maps from here about how to get to each of the locations via train, we realized that there was no way. It is a two-hour train ride from the train station closest to our hotel to Cambridge, another hour ride from there to Oxford, and another hour and a half to Walsingham. We knew right away that Walsingham would not be doable.
As morning broke, even Maria started to ask, “Why is it that we are going to university towns again?” We had included Cambridge and Oxford because of the long history (Oxford being the oldest English language university in the world and because of the Catholic history of Chesterton, Tolking, John Henry Newman and others being associated with one, the other or both.
As I completed yesterday’s blog entry, which took quite a while to complete, I kept asking myself where Nico and Maria were. I typed, made corrections, added photos, and still they stayed inside the hotel room. I kept thinking, “I have more to write, but they will be out any minute now. I’ll have to write on the train.” But they still didn’t come out. I wasn’t watching the time, but it definitely felt like I was writing for a long time before finally they appeared ready to go to breakfast. It turns out that Nico had just kept sleeping and sleeping. Maria was content with the silence to pray and read, while Nico’s pillow did not allow him to awake.
While eating breakfast, we looked once again at the plans for the day and decided that we had to choose between Cambridge and Oxford. We really didn’t think that we could do both. That ended up being wise, as the closest train station wasn’t open, which caused another delay. Even with only going to Cambridge, we still didn’t make it back to our hotel until about 9:30 at night.
We had to take three separate trains, one national train to the Underground, then one in the Underground to take us to the separate station to go to Cambridge. Our plan was to pray morning prayer together on the train, which meant finding a seat together. We grabbed the first we saw, but in the row in front of us were a group of what we all thought were “frat boys.” It was still morning and they were deep into their second or third beer, wine, or both. They were harmless, but very loud. It wasn’t until a young woman got on later with a dog that they quieted down a little. It was far from possible to pray. Finally, they got off the train, even though one mentioned still having a long way to go before arriving at the festival to which they were headed. We had just enough time to pray before arriving at the station where we needed to switch trains.
The Underground was as packed and noisy as always. We eventually found our line and jumped into the packed and sweaty train.
After a short ride, we hopped off, made our way through the maze of people and platforms to the next train. Again, we filed on board and tried to find a quiet place. There was not a chance of quiet, as getting on with us was a group of loud women. Before too many stops they moved further a way, but were followed by another group of older men with similar quantities of beer and wine as what we found on the first train. So much for quiet! At least we weren’t walking miles and miles like we did the day before.
When we finally arrived at Cambridge, we had no idea where to go. We had imagined that the university would be at one set location, but according to the information desk, the university was “all over the entire town.”
We ended up purchasing an all day bus ticket that would allow us to ride any bus throughout the rest of the day. We still had no idea really where to go, but at least we had a way around. As we got on the first bus, Maria asked what we could see. The driver shared some touristy ideas, “lots of shops,” etc., but even that didn’t excite us. We ended up riding the bus until the end of the route and having to switch to a separate bus to ride it back. This time the first driver got off the bus and explain to the second that we were looking for something Catholic. She ended up helping us to get off at the right place and send us in the right direction.
It was a walk of a few blocks, but even then none of us seemed overly excited. Then we arrived to the beautifully ornate church with refreshing cool interior, and it was like we were filled with a sense of joy.
The church is called Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs and was one of the first Catholic Churches built after the Reformation. There are multiple stained glass windows dedicated to the clerics martyred during and after the reign of Henry VII with St. John Fisher being the central figure and of the laity with St. Thomas More being the most central.
In addition to the martyrs there was a statue of Our Lady (one of the photos below), which dates back at least to the 16th century. Some believe that it dates back even further to a statue that was a source for many pilgrimages dating back to the 11th century, but the documentation for that is lacking. I’m surprised that it at least survived the time of the Reformation to still be around today.
The Underground was as packed and noisy as always. We eventually found our line and jumped into the packed and sweaty train.
After a short ride, we hopped off, made our way through the maze of people and platforms to the next train. Again, we filed on board and tried to find a quiet place. There was not a chance of quiet, as getting on with us was a group of loud women. Before too many stops they moved further a way, but were followed by another group of older men with similar quantities of beer and wine as what we found on the first train. So much for quiet! At least we weren’t walking miles and miles like we did the day before.
When we finally arrived at Cambridge, we had no idea where to go. We had imagined that the university would be at one set location, but according to the information desk, the university was “all over the entire town.”
We ended up purchasing an all day bus ticket that would allow us to ride any bus throughout the rest of the day. We still had no idea really where to go, but at least we had a way around. As we got on the first bus, Maria asked what we could see. The driver shared some touristy ideas, “lots of shops,” etc., but even that didn’t excite us. We ended up riding the bus until the end of the route and having to switch to a separate bus to ride it back. This time the first driver got off the bus and explain to the second that we were looking for something Catholic. She ended up helping us to get off at the right place and send us in the right direction.
It was a walk of a few blocks, but even then none of us seemed overly excited. Then we arrived to the beautifully ornate church with refreshing cool interior, and it was like we were filled with a sense of joy.
The church is called Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs and was one of the first Catholic Churches built after the Reformation. There are multiple stained glass windows dedicated to the clerics martyred during and after the reign of Henry VII with St. John Fisher being the central figure and of the laity with St. Thomas More being the most central.
In addition to the martyrs there was a statue of Our Lady (one of the photos below), which dates back at least to the 16th century. Some believe that it dates back even further to a statue that was a source for many pilgrimages dating back to the 11th century, but the documentation for that is lacking. I’m surprised that it at least survived the time of the Reformation to still be around today.
Maria suggested we find a place for a soda, but we ended up having an early dinner at a bar close to our bus stop. We had burgers (or at least burger type food, as Maria and Nico had chicken sandwiches). I couldn’t enter a pub or bar and not have a beer, so had to order one. Nico stuck to his favorite, water, while Maria had sparkling water, her favorite. We were again hot and tired, but the liquids felt good. The food took a LONG time, but we were happy to talk and then finally eat before heading to the bus for the trip back.
Maria wanted to stop at the Tower of London, but by the time we were back in London, it was already closed, so we decided not to stop. Nico wanted to purchase a deck of cards with an image of the Underground system, so we got off the system and walked to where the website at least showed they sold them. It was far from being the best area in London, being the first time that Maria said she felt like we should hurry out of, and then they didn’t even have any playing cards. We left, disappointed and walked back to the station past the woman yelling on the phone and another vomiting on the street. It was not a relaxing place to be.
We finally made it back to the National Rail station thinking that we would hop right on and get back to our car and then the hotel, only to find out that, due to strikes, the way to our destination wasn’t available from where we were. Luckily, a friendly agent was able to hunt online and consult with another to find us a way back without having to purchase additional tickets and ride a bus instead. We finally made it back tired, but nowhere near as much as the night before. In comparison, we walked only about 4 miles and the temperature was about 5 degrees less, but it was still a long day.
Tomorrow, today as I type, we head east towards Canterbury and sites around, including a Carmelite Priory, so Maria will be happy. The church I found for mass, being that it is Sunday, has mass available multiple times including one in the Extraordinary Form, in the Ordinariate Form (Anglicans who have come back in union with the Church), and in Polish. If I can get Nico up on time, we should have a good day. We do have to switch hotels and drive to there, but I am looking forward to what we will see.
Maria wanted to stop at the Tower of London, but by the time we were back in London, it was already closed, so we decided not to stop. Nico wanted to purchase a deck of cards with an image of the Underground system, so we got off the system and walked to where the website at least showed they sold them. It was far from being the best area in London, being the first time that Maria said she felt like we should hurry out of, and then they didn’t even have any playing cards. We left, disappointed and walked back to the station past the woman yelling on the phone and another vomiting on the street. It was not a relaxing place to be.
We finally made it back to the National Rail station thinking that we would hop right on and get back to our car and then the hotel, only to find out that, due to strikes, the way to our destination wasn’t available from where we were. Luckily, a friendly agent was able to hunt online and consult with another to find us a way back without having to purchase additional tickets and ride a bus instead. We finally made it back tired, but nowhere near as much as the night before. In comparison, we walked only about 4 miles and the temperature was about 5 degrees less, but it was still a long day.
Tomorrow, today as I type, we head east towards Canterbury and sites around, including a Carmelite Priory, so Maria will be happy. The church I found for mass, being that it is Sunday, has mass available multiple times including one in the Extraordinary Form, in the Ordinariate Form (Anglicans who have come back in union with the Church), and in Polish. If I can get Nico up on time, we should have a good day. We do have to switch hotels and drive to there, but I am looking forward to what we will see.