An afterthought! This is a sampling of British sweetums and souveniers!

My Trip to the United Kingdom!

I arrived to a drizzly, cold London March 25, 2006 at about 10:30 in the morning (tho' my body said it was 2:30 am). First impressions (beginning with the airplane ride): Wow! English Accents! I loved listening to the different way the English express themselves...including the little things--the steward saying, "Cheers! Cheers!" while throwing away our "rubbish," friends referring to each other as "mate," etc. Once in London, it surprised me how close buildings were to one another! Incredible specimens of 13th century architecture were smack next Victorian buildings which were smack next to Bauhaus structures which were smack next to the most avant-garde architecture of today. Those beautiful old buildings we've seen so many pictures of actually exist...and without too much fanfare...they are just there, everywhere, as part of the city. Also, I noticed lots of people wear scarves! Especially the men. After getting my luggage and attempting to figure out the train system, I arrived at Paddington Station in Bayswater, London, close to Ted's flat. Directly after I dropped off my things, we headed out to ride a ferry down the Thames! You can see a picture of Amy (we taught in Taiwan together and she served as a missionary in London) and Ted (whom Amy taught on her mission. He was our amazing London benefactor!)

We rode the ferry to Greenwich, England...the city which marks the starting point of every time zone in the world! It rests at zero degrees longitude. Here I am standing both East AND West at the Royal Observatory.

You can't tell from here, but Amy is standing across from the FIRST SHOP IN THE WORLD! It is at .4 degrees longitude! :)

Watch out for humped pelicans! We later learned that a "humped pelican crossing" is a crossing for pedestrians monitored by traffic lights, unlike a zebra crossing, which is not.

The Victoria & Albert Museum was the first museum I visited in London. It would have taken hours to wander through. We absorbed an exhibit on the evolution of fashion, among others. All the museums in London operate by donation only. It rocked.

Inside the gardens of the V&A. 

The magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral. Beautimous. It is undergoing an exterior cleaning right now...note the contrast between the stone on the picture on the far-left versus the stone in the other pictures! In the picture on the far-right, you can actually see a visible line where they cleaned and where they did not! 

We attended church in the Hyde Park Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the building with the golden spire). I was amazed to discover that the English were far outnumbered by others from all over the world! People from New Zealand, Australia, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, the U.S., Canada, Africa...amazing! Yet we all embraced the same beliefs, loving the same truths.

Talk about avant-garde architecture! This looks like a factory, doesn't it? Well, it's an office building! 

The Tate Modern from the "The Millenium [Foot] Bridge" across the Thames. 

Inside the Tate Modern. Behind me is a piece of interactive art where, as Amy put it, one becomes an actual part of the art whilst moving about it. 

The Globe Theatre! The construction of this building was carefully researched by scholars and is thought to be an exact replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. 

The interior of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Yes - it is an open-roofed theatre and yes, plays are still performed inside! Trying to keep things as authentic as possible, they've left space in front of the stage for standing tickets. 1000 peasants would typically squeeze themselves into that small space! There are boxed seats behind the stage for the "educated aristocrats", chairs for the upper class, and benches for everyone else. Being at the theatre changed the way I envisioned Shakespeare and the times! 

Ted with Mili, our cool Turkish waiter, at the Globe Cafe.

Us at the Globe Cafe. I love this picture of Amy.

 

Covent Gardens--famous for its markets, side-show entertainment, and pick-pockets! 

Monday evening (the 27th) we saw Les Miserables. I have been intoxicated by the story and have known all the music since I was about 10, but I had never seen it live! My dad once described it as "life-changing." I was very moved by the performance. I felt a longing to contribute my life, death, and love to such a cause. 

Scotland

Early Tuesday morning (and I mean 3 a.m. early!) we headed to Stanstead Airport catch our 6 a.m. flight to Glasgow. Here we are waiting!

 

First views of Scotland from a rainy train window.

 

Amy and Kate, fellow missionaries back in the day. We stayed with Kate while in Scotland. She is not only a hilariously amazing person, but an amazing tourguide as well! We travelled over 600 miles of Scotland together! And yes, it was cold outside.

My favorite thing about Scotland was the frequent rolling green hills dotted with sheep.

The first castle I saw was called "Cairnhill" or the "Buchanan" castle near Drymen. We nicknamed it "Ted's Castle" because Ted was brought there to recoup as a WWII soldier, straight after his service in Asia. It has special significance to him (and us) for that reason. It looks very different now! The owners burned off the roof in the 1950s to avoid paying a roof tax. Thus, it has fallen into ruin. It looks Romantic, don't you think? We snuck into the castle and explored it's overgrown beauties...moss grew everywhere and trees were rooted into its tumble-down towers. We toured around the whole thing--climbing up the dirt-packed staircases, peaking through silhouetted windows, and minding our steps carefully for fear of falling through the floor! It was exciting to wander all about this little-known sanctuary, uninhibited by tourists or tour-guides.

A picture of a Scottish B&B just for you, mom!