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!

This is one of the castles in Stirling...beautiful view, eh?

 

The Wallace Monument. Does Wallace look like Mel Gibson, or what?! Amy and I standing with a Scot, proudly wearing his family tartan kilt. 

Kate outside the girls "toilet."

 

On our way to Carbisdale Castle (a youth hostel), we stopped in Alness to have dinner with Kate's aunt. Kate described her as the definition of a jolly Scottish woman, and she was ("I'm with three girls who don't drink?! Good L**d! What's to be done?!") She is a storyteller by profession and has that captivating, lilting Scottish voice. She made us traditional kedgeree for dinner (codfish, rice, currants, and hard-boiled eggs in a fish-curry sauce) and told us a Scottish folktale. Very fun. 

Carbisdale Castle - the "haunted" Youth Hostel we spent Wednesday night. It was magnificent. Lots of art work. So fun! 

A sampling of some of the artwork inside the Castle.

 

A couple of the rooms inside the Carbisdale Castle...note the "stalagtite ceiling." :) Finished in 1917, it was an early experiment with electricity. Note also the plaid tartan carpet. It was all over Scotland!

Nessie! On Thursday, we headed up to Inverness to visit the infamous lair of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. (Un)Fortunately, this fabled terror popped out of Loch Ness long enough for Amy and Kate to get their picture taken with her! Below is the famous Urquhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness. 

Only in Scotland! Goodbye!!

 

Back In London!

Amy left London on Saturday morning, the day after we arrived back from Scotland. For the next 3 days, Ted guided me around London. I am standing in front of the Queen Victoria Monument in the center picture. Buckingham Palace can be seen behind the Monument. The other photos are of things we saw while walking from the Palace to the National Gallery. Literally everyone we passed on the sidewalk seemed to be from a different country - speaking a different language, dressing differently, etc...it was amazing!

This is the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. It was my favorite museum! Although I appreciate modern art, I am more of a traditional art lover. This museum housed so many original texts it was staggering! I saw works by Reynolds, Monet, Manet, Valesquez, Van Gogh, Mattisse, van Eyck, David, Raphael, DaVinci, Turner, Degas, Michelangelo, Boticelli...all hard-hitters! It was sweet!

This is St. Martin-in-the-Fields, one of my favorite pit stops. When we opened the doors, an exsquisite soprano voice met us. Haydn glistened from the vaulted ceilings as a choir and orchestra rehearsed for a concert that evening. I could have listened forever. 

Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament