May 28

Joined up with our tour group today and went on the bus to Canterbury Cathedral. We both felt that it was kind of nice to have someone else decide where we were going and how we were going to get there! Canterbury is a funny mixture of ancient and quaint buildings and modern shops and t-shirt shops, and the Cathedral is just as impressive as Westminster Abbey. Saw where Thomas a Becket was murdered and heard all about the pilgrims who came there - as in The Canterbury Tales.

Our next stop on the bus was Brighton on the coast. We had a tour of the Brighton Pavilion which is an over-the-top 1800's royal watering hole - Indian-looking on the outside and Chinese in much of the inside. Unfortunately we couldn’t take photos inside, but believe me it was opulent. Then on to our hotel for drinks and dinner and beginning to get to know our tour mates.