Day 5 - a picture of somewhere you've been

Outside shot of Canterbury Cathedral

I've been to many places that have been beautiful and meaningful to me...the woods behind my house where I played as a child, the snow-covered hills of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky and the magnificent Ukranian Orthodox cathedrals of Kiev, the ancient ruins in Belize and the beaches in San Pedro and the Bahamas, the mountains in Virginia and the river at Jamestown...even the countryside around my house now. However, the most beautiful and serene place I have ever been was Canterbury. During my sophomore year in college, I went on my first study abroad trip to London for a theatre program. Overall, the trip was fantastic - we went to see plays on the West End almost every day and visited many of the great sites in England - Stratford-on-Avon, Stonehenge, the cliffs of Dover, Bath, and Buckingham palace. Out of everything, our trip to Canterbury was by far my favorite. The blend of history, architecture, nature, literature, and just a sense of the divine was overpowering. I actually started crying when I entered the Cathedral, it was so beautiful. Every time I need to think of a peaceful place, I go back in my mind to that vivid green courtyard in Canterbury and just imagine myself lying down in that green and staring up at the clear blue sky framed by the stone arches of the cathedral.

Me in the courtyard

One of my favorite views - I love how you can see the Cathedral through those darling street lights

Outside the Cathedral - I'm the little person in the white coat.