On this drizzly morning in Canterbury we found the famed Canterbury Cathedral in somewhat of a mess.

Ongoing renovation works were extensive –  mostly on the exteriors – but it was a bit disheartening to see such a famous landmark not entirely looking its best. As it was raining anyway it wasn’t hard to focus on going inside to see what there is to see, mainly the grandeur of such a structure as well as who was famously buried there. As we found out Thomas Becket and King Henry IV topped the list.

Thomas Becket, probably the most famous of Archbishops of Canterbury and canonized saint unusually had a special-looking tomb – the top part a colorful but traditional sculpture of him on his back, hands clasped, resting in repose, and a bottom part of him emaciated and naked apart from a carefully placed sculptured cloth. Artisanal but I didn’t dare take a photo given how eerie it was. As for the rest, the history of almost a thousand years was enough to keep me interested for every second we were there, and very much justified its status as a World Heritage site.