Our second day there...June 26, 2008

The day after we arrived we went to Ely. Below is the cathedral that this town is known for. The name of the town is pronounced EEL-EE. Apparently at one time the waterways around this town were teaming with eels, hence the name. And, the town hosts and annual eel-throwing contest. Apparently just about anything in the UK that isn't nailed down is worthy of some sort of throwing contest. Last year (or was it this) one of Deb's co-workers was the winner of the eel-throwing contest. I will have to ask her again, because I have forgotten now, if that man is American. If I recall correctly, he is. Here we are in front of the Ely Cathedral. It is indescribably beautiful, particularly the interior. Unfortunately the majority of the shots I took of it are in video form. So, remember to check back to these earlier posts after our return to see if I've added any video to them.



Chantelle, Al and Deb standing in front of the entrance to the cathedral. Behind Chantelle through the door is cut a smaller door that you actually go through to enter the cathedral. I would imagine they only open both larger doors when they have services there to allow for the congregation to enter, and not to make the parishioners go through the small door one at a time.



Below are only two of the scores of tombs within the cathedral. I will HAVE to add the video for you all to get the full impression of the grandeur of the cathedral and all its contents. It is the first time I have ever been in an actual cathedral. Yet again the sense of awe at being in such a place took my breath away. The church at Lavenham and this cathedral are both older than our beloved USA. There are literally hundreds of churches and cathedrals over here. As you are going to various sites, along the way you see spire after spire, and bellfry after bellfry of all these sacred places.







Some British ducks lying on the lawn in the shade outside the cathedral. I felt like curling up next to them for a nap. To get to the cathedral you have to walk for a bit, and of course, it is uphill.



After seeing the cathedral we walked down into the town of Ely to have lunch. We stopped at this place called Pizza Express. Now, by the name, I expected to have some sort of pizzeria chain tasting pizza, but to my pleasant surprise that was not what we received. We ordered Bruschetta, which I have never had. It is an Italian appetizer consisting of a small sized, flatter loaf of very soft bread, topped with a mix of fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil...and i can't remember what else...and it is FANTASTIC. All the food was the freshest I've had at any pizza place. The pizzas are 10" in diameter. I think they are intended to feed one person, but Deb and I split one with asparagus, artichokes, olives and tomatoes on it, and the kids split a pepperoni one. Also, in restaurants here and in Paris it seems that the soft drink products are exclusively Coca Cola products. You seem only to be able to get Pepsi products in the grocery stores and at the commissaries of the US Air Force bases here.

There are two bases near by where Deb lives. RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. Deb works primarily on the former of the two bases. RAF stands for Royal Air Force. The properties the bases are on belong, of course, to the British military and are leased to the US military, just as they are leased to the US by the host countries in multiple other places in the world.