Europe Traveler

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury city is of course the home of the leader of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is located in the far east of England close to the eastern coastline and near popular tourist destinations such as Herne Bay where visitors can find traditional traditional English seaside recreations as well as modern water sports including jet skiing and sailing.

The city itself has a long history, and a visit to the Canterbury Heritage Museum will provide a fascinating overview of the past, with around 30 interactive displays and exciting hands-on activities plus artefacts dating back to ancient times. Canterbury being the birthplace of many well-known children’s characters, it is no surprise that   children  can here meet the real Bagpuss,  Ivor the Engine and Rupert Bear, all housed in an impressive medieval timber-framed building.

Canterbury city wall

More generally Canterbury offers great architectural beauty in the World Heritage site formed from the Cathedral,  St Martin’s Church and  St Augustine’s Abbey. There are also many other attractions to enjoy. Why not take a  tour on the river Stour which runs through the city, visit other interesting museums or experience the city at first hand with a walking tour.

The area of Canterbury has a climate suited to wine production, and a visit to a local vineyard makes a fascinating day out. Barnsole vineyard welcomes visitors and you can freely sample the local produce, take a full guided tour to discover how the wines are made or use the free picnic area. Car parking is free so this is a low-cost way to experience the area. If you don’t want the full tour, free mini-tours lasting about 20 minutes are on offer.

If you want to eat out there are numerous excellent restaurants, tea room and cafes and bars and pubs to try out. Whether you want a romantic meal for two, an eatery with buzz and energy or a quick bite to keep you going there is an establishment to suit your needs. After your meal you might want to visit the newly refurbished Marlowe theatre where you can take in a show, listen to internationally famous musicians and orchestras, participate in drama teaching sessions or enjoy a performance by a popular music group. The theatre holds frequent events throughout the year. Alternatively you might check out the Gulbenkian Theatre located in the University grounds where many famous personalities have performed over the years.

The Appian Way in Rome commonly refers to a road first built in 312BC by Appius Claudius Caecus, a Roman censor noted for his enthusiasm for constructing public works including the first aqueduct. At first measuring 56Km in length the road was later extended all the way to the city of Brindisi, a distance of some 560Km.

Today the road offers some very interesting attractions for the visitor. It was usual for the people of Rome to build their burial tombs on  roads leading out of the city, and many  remnants of them can be seen along the length of the Appian Way, though they are now little more than ruins. The most intact is the tomb of Cecilia Metella who was the wife of a Roman general, but many others exists such as the tomb of Seneca and the family tomb of Sextus Pompus Justus. Seneca of course was a notable Roman philosopher and was a tutor and advisor to  Emperor Nero.

There are many other historical monuments along the length of the road. You might for example start your journey at the San Sebastian Gate where you can explore the Museum of Walls before setting off towards Church of Santa Maria in Palmis.

Not far along you will pass the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, a major burial site said to be the final resting places of the early popes and of many saints. The catacombs are a labyrinth of tunnels and galleries extending over many acres.

Shortly afterwards you arrive at the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, a massive burial site for 4th century Christians. If you take the underground tour here be prepared for a dark and somewhat claustrophobic adventure!

Many other monuments will take your interest as you travel on to the final point, the Circus of Maxentius, a well preserved imperial circus used for the then popular sport of chariot racing.

If this seems like a walk too far for you, it is easy to hire a bicycle nearby and do the whole trip in the saddle, but be prepared for some rough cobbled surfaces! The ancient Via Appian is remarkably well preserved but was never designed for two-wheel transport.

Antwerp is a busy port situated on the river Scheldt which flows into the North Sea via the Westerschelde estuary. It is a city of some half a million people surrounding one of the most impressive cathedrals in the country. The city offers a eclectic mix of attractions for the visitor. In the old centre amongst the cobbled streets can be found thousands of art galleries, antique shops, excellent restaurants catering for all tastes, designer shops and of course the shops catering to the diamond trade for which Antwerp is famous world-wide.

There has been a settlement here since the 2^nd century AD, but the town was first named in the 4^th century AD and so has a long history. Nowadays it is easily accessible by motorway and major roads, by train and coach and of course by air to the Antwerp International Airport. Within the city there are excellent tram and bus services throughout the region.

Apart from experiencing the shoppers paradise Antwerp provides, the  diamond trade is something every visitor should experience. Take a tour of Diamondland and you will be able to see at first hand how diamonds are processed. Here you can see professional diamond cutters and setters at work and buy a souvenir of your visit to take home.

Also famous is the local zoo, one of the oldest in Europe. It makes a superb day out and is great for children. The home of many exotic species it will take you the best part of a day to see everything. It also houses some beautiful and impressive buildings and animal enclosures dating back almost 150 years. The zoo has a very active species preservation program for endangered species, funded partly from visitor income.

You should also not miss Aquatopia, a series of aquariums where you can experience habitats such as rain forests, swamps, river deltas and coral reefs as well as some extraordinary sea creatures. For children there are many activities to keep them occupied if the weather is bad.

The city is well endowed with museums of all types. Whether your interest lies in the fine arts, fashion, diamonds, sculpture and simply the history of the city and it’s river you will find it here.

Eating out is a pleasure. There are over 600 eating places in the city so you don’t have to travel far to find a good meal. Many specialise in a particular type of food such as the fish restaurant Gin-Fish run by a Michelin starred chef and owner. If you want to sample traditional Belgium food a restaurant like Grand Cafe Horta and many others will provide you with a very tasty meal.

Planning a trip to Eastern or Western Europe can be complex, and you need all the help you can get. Maybe the experiences of a reader will be of interest to you. The following is what he tells us of his experiences.

On my first trip to Ukraine I wanted to take a large electronic keyboard with me. Easy, I thought, just take it as extra baggage. I soon found that it was not so simple! To take advantage of budget airline prices I would have had to buy an extra passenger seat for the keyboard. Believe it or not, the airline would not accept it as checked baggage! So my options were to travel with an expensive airline, buy an extra seat on the budget airline, or travel by coach or train instead, a journey of some 3 days.

I wish at the time I had known about courier comparison sites such as Anyvan. It would have made my life much easier. On this site I could have found a reliable, inexpensive courier to collect the keyboard and transport it to my final destination, to arrive at my apartment door the day after I arrived. Using such a website takes the guesswork out of choosing a courier, because you have access to the experiences of others. It is the only way to get independent advice, and you might even pick up some good travel tips.

As it was, I had to carry this bulky, heavy item through endless coach and train stations and airports, making the whole trip a bit of a nightmare. Not to mention the problem of getting it through customs. Although the custom officers spoke a little English, and I knew a little Russian, it was not easy to explain why I was carrying this thing. With a courier service all this is taken care of by the courier.

My tip for a trouble-free journey then, is to send any bulky or heavy luggage by courier. This way you avoid check-in problems at the airport, worry about lost luggage and overweight charges, baggage reclaim delays and best of all you can travel light with just the items you need for immediate use. For me this is travel makes travel much better!