West Malling Abbey
Whenever we arrive in West Malling, the small town where my Nanna lives and where my Dad grew up, we take a long walk.
For me it serves two purposes. First - a way of countering the jet-lag and staying awake. It is much harder to fall asleep when you are walking and the sunlight helps to adjust your internal clock.
Second - it helps me to reset where I am. It is comforting to walk the town, seeing the sights that have been familiar to me since childhood. I like to see what has changed (usually nothing) and what is new (again...usually nothing). Walking around helps me to adjust from America, a land of new and shiny, to England, a land of history and stone.
One of my favorite places to visit is the Abbey. Parts of the building have been standing since 1090 and it is inhabited by a group of Anglican Benedictine Nuns. One of my favorite things about being home is the way that history is integrated into life. No one tiptoes around the past, they live alongside it - adapting but not forgetting.
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