Studies Abroad

May 14, 2008 10:32 a.m. café bar at the Heathrow Airport

2008-07-21T03:07:56Z

Last night we did not make it to Stourhead, but did get to stop at the site of an old castle and chapel called Old Sarum. Now only the hill (outside Salisbury) and some ruins are left. It was closed, but most of the group jumped the fence to look at it. Brooke and I stayed out and I took a doze in the lovely grass (I adored the grass in England!)
We could not have gotten a better closure to our trip than the visit to Salisbury. The cathedral (the old Sarum liturgy upon which the 1662 Anglican liturgy is based, originated here) is my favorite of all that we visited on the trip, although we did not make it in time for evensong. It had some unique features. Most striking to me were the colors used, like the deep blue stained glass window behind the altar and the various tans and other colors blended in the upper windows. The vaulting in the ceiling down the center of the cathedral had been painted in more of the same reds, tans, and other colors, unlike some of the other vaulting we had seen that was predominantly white or gilded or one color. There were also pictures painted on the ceiling. I could see most of the organ pipes, some of which were incredibly huge. They still had the large wooden semi-circular cope chest, too, in which the vestments used to be kept.
After seeing the cathedral we found a pub for our last English dinner, called the New Inn, and established 1777. The food was great. I ordered the cottage pie (like shepherd’s pie) and a half of hard cider (I had hard cider for the first time in England). The pie, drenched in this great brown gravy, came with good green beans and peas on the side. I grew quite fond of that gravy.
After dinner we drove a bit more to Reading where we stayed in a hotel for the night. It was quite nice to shower and crash onto the soft bed. Morning came all too soon, but we had determined to get all packed and ready and beat the guys to the door, so we had to get up on time.
Finally, after returning our royal blue rental van and riding the shuttle to the airport, we are sitting at a coffee shop enjoying a bit of breakfast. Josh and Erica got searched during the checking-in process because they had letter openers in their carry-on bags, but all turned out well. I think Erica had to buy a small checked luggage bag to send her letter opener in. Our flight home leaves in an hour.

May 14, 2008 10:32 a.m. café bar at the Heathrow Airport remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 13, 2008 3:36 p.m., Tinturn Abbey

2008-07-21T03:06:58Z

What a treat Wells Cathedral turned out to be! That, I think, was the most moving of the Evensongs we have been to so far, especially for me because the last anthem they sang was the Tallis “If Ye Love Me” that Mrs. Norbut tried to teach the choir in Carbondale a year or two ago. (I love to remember now, after having returned from England, those moments of beauty. They are rare.)
Also while in Wells we ordered take-away pizza, which, unlike take-out in the States, is more like gourmet pizza. Father Boonzaaijer also took the ladies out for drinks and sent Josh and Nevid away to get the food and drinks. By this time in the trip, I was so tired that any alcohol just about knocked me out! But I managed to drink my half pint and walk back to the park in front of Wells Cathedral where we ate and watched some native college-age guys doing flips and handsprings, and the like. Free entertainment.
We drove that night to Wales to spend the night with Fr. B’s seminary buddy Jonathan Isaac and his wife Caroline at their beautiful home in Cardiff. It was a nice place to stay, very comfortable, and the fellowship enjoyable, but the visit for friends too brief. I liked how their house seemed all centered around the tile floors—it seemed as if the floor attracted the primary attention, and all the architecture and furnishings coordinated with and complimented it. The Isaacs graciously served us meals and allowed us to take showers.
That was yesterday—this day, or last, we came to Tinturn Abbey, which is an impressive ruin on the bank of the River Wye. The setting is beautifully wooded and hilly, which provided us with a place to hike for a couple of hours or so and eat lunch. Afterward we headed out thinking we might make it to Stourhead Gardens and maybe evensong somewhere.

May 13, 2008 3:36 p.m., Tinturn Abbey remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 12, 2008 3:20 p.m. Bath, the Crescent

2008-07-21T03:05:52Z

Avebury is a large henge near a long barrow and a mound, thought to have been used for burying the victims of pagan sacrifice. Many great, gray stones form a ring inside huge green grassy earthworks. This morning was pleasantly cool, sunny and breezy, just right for the walk around the henge. Chris managed to hoist himself (a daring breach of rules) onto one of the stones to a comfortable-looking seat before we all walked over to the small church in Avebury (St. Peter’s?) which began as an Anglo construction and was built over by the later inhabitants. Features of all the various building styles can be seen in this church.
As I sit on the sidewalk in Bath writing, it is rather warm, though a breeze is blowing. The houses are not as white as I expected them to be, which some of our group said may be due to the time of day we are here. The baths themselves are interesting, and still have water in them (which is green with algae), which we are not allowed to touch because “it has not been treated.” It’s rather touristy. I especially enjoyed getting to stand and listen to the live piano music in the pump room, getting a brief look inside Bath Abbey, and seeing the columns where one of the scenes of Wentworth and Anne is filmed in the movie Persuasion. We girls took each other’s pictures there.
We’re sitting here on the sidewalk by the Crescent waiting for Chris and Fr. B to pick us up in the van, after which we head over to Wells to see the cathedral there.

May 12, 2008 3:20 p.m. Bath, the Crescent remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 11, 2008

2008-06-24T02:39:38Z

May 12, 2008 9:50 a.m. en route to Avebury

It is exceedingly difficult to sleep in a rental van when you have nowhere to rest your head.
Brooke and I left Robert and Ann this morning, and I, at least, will miss the pleasant chats we’ve been having! But tonight we will get to cross into Wales to spend the night with seminary friends of Fr. B.
Last night I was too tired to write an entry, so I will record now the events of yesterday. After the early Morning Prayer and Holy Communion at St. Paul’s-by-the-Racecourse, we walked down a few streets to the leper church. This is a tiny chapel with a simple line, and has long been in disuse. The windows are boarded up and it is situated on the edge of a vacant, ill-kempt lot that has a for-sale sign in it. I suppose the property to be rather useless, because no one wants to destroy this church, yet the land can be used for little unless it is cleared. The history of the church is that it is the place the lepers from the nearby Lord Leicester Hospital were allowed to worship, since they were banned from close association with other people.
After a few moments looking at the church against the rising sun and listening to some history from Fr. Boonzaaijer, we continued our walk through the beautiful town of Warwick (which, by the bye, is pronounced “Warrick”), to Warwick Castle. On the way we passed St. Mary’s cathedral where Holy Communion service was still in progress, and could hear the organ and choir from outside (so glorious were the strains that I would have entered to listen had not propriety prevented!). Warwick Castle proved one of the most “touristy” spots we visited, but nonetheless was a fun bit of ground to cover. We watched a man shoot a longbow. I wished he had shot arrows over the wall, just to add a touch more drama, but he said there were people on the other side.
Then we walked around the premises some more, up to one of the towers and along a wall, where we got great views of the town and countryside, through the castle house, down into the dungeon, up to another tower or two and through some gardens. The castle used to be owned by Madam Toussad’s Waxworks, so lots of wax figures demonstrated throughout the house what people might have done in the various rooms. The dungeon sent a chill down my spine, the realities of the tortures that happened there being so easy to imagine. An iron cage hung from the ceiling, in which live men would be suspended indefinitely, as well as a pillory high on the wall. No doubt, after many years of habitation by prisoners and rats, this damp stone chamber would have been a terrible place to be incarcerated.
We enjoyed the gardens, though the roses were not fully blooming yet. They kept a peacock garden, so peacocks roamed the grounds in stately, gorgeous featheriness.
Next we drove to Cirencester (pronounced variously by natives; I prefer “Sē-rən-chester”), stopping on the way outside Stratford-upon-Avon to see Anne Hathaway’s (who was Shakespeare’s mistress) cottage and the beautiful surrounding gardens. After a restful stroll through the park-like orchard, we popped over to an ice cream joint where each of us got a uniquely shaped cone with a unique flavor of ice cream. Each cone had a pointy cone shape, but the top accommodated two scoops of ice cream side-by-side (kind of like a double-barreled gun).
As we continued toward Cirencester after passing Stratford, we passed more delightful countryside—it is so green there, with the green of the fields broken by the white dots of sheep, and alternating with squares of solid gold, the rapeseed fields in bloom. Some distance up in the hills we stopped for about 40 minutes at Chedworth Roman Villa, an ancient Roman villa that has been unearthed outside Cirencester. In the town itself we were able to stop for a half hour or so also at a Roman amphitheater, which is still covered by grass and buttercups. One can still see the stairway and some of the other features of an amphitheater, however, and perhaps one day they will unearth the stone structure.
Because it was Sunday, we had some trouble finding an inexpensive place to eat and ended up getting pizza at a nice Italian restaurant (Subway and Tesco were both closed). It made for an enjoyable meal, although we probably overspent the budget a little. After dinner we wound back into the hills to a public footpath in a sheep pasture for evensong. Some of us ventured over the stile, and I, who was barefoot, stepped in stinging nettle. We sang most of the way back to Warwick.
This is all a record of what happened May 11, though I did not begin the entry until May 12.

May 11, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 10, 2008 Leamington

2008-06-17T17:32:59Z

We may get to bed a little earlier tonight, though not much. Brooke and I are getting the royalty treatment here in Robert and Ann’s home (their last name quickly escaped me) in Leamington, near Warwick. Fr. B had some way of contacting a small Anglican church called St. Paul’s by the Racetrack, in Warwick, and arranged for the three ladies to be hosted by church members, while the boys slept on the church floor. While the boys will be waking up perhaps a bit stiffer, hospitality has taken on a new meaning to me.
Our hosts met us at the church, having waited for an hour or more because we were late, and drove us to their home. Brooke and I both got our own rooms, in which Ann had placed baskets of bath supplies, as well as books about England on the nightstands. My room had its own sink, where I did our hand washing, and Ann took the laundry to dry in the dryer downstairs. She also brought up tea and biscuits (cookies) with lemon slices while I was in the shower—how wonderfully relaxing after four hard days of touring! Then Brooke showered and I talked with R and A downstairs for half an hour or so about their interests, church, daughter and grandchildren, etc. Oh, I forgot to mention, this brave English couple had hung several small American flags in the decorative greenery along the stairway in the downstairs hall!
We started this day by waking up an hour late, then scrambling around frantically to get dressed, packed, and to the train station by 7:05. By some miracle, we made it on the dot, and boarded the train breathlessly, yet trying not to bump the other passengers with our bulky packs. Someone muttered, “Campers!” as we walked by. Well, we were only the next step up from campers! The train took us to the rental place where we picked up the high-roofed, royal blue 9-passenger rental van, which would take us to the rest of our destinations.
From there we traveled to St. Alban’s, our first stop really outside London. How wonderful it felt to be out of the cigarette smoke and crowds of the city! After looking around the church for a while (notes previous), we (minus Chris and Fr. B) walked through the town in search of food. The open market proved most satisfactory, after we found the right stands, and in the mean time provided interesting visual stimulation. We did end up at a Tesco for drinks, as well. I especially enjoyed the butcher’s stand, the fruit and vegetable tables, and the fish stalls (and accompanying smells!)
Successful, we set out through the town again to find the park near some Roman ruins Fr. B had directed us to. We wandered around for a while, and finally asked a couple of nice old chaps for directions. Then we were able to find the park and meet up with Chris and Fr. Boonzaaijer who had gone to park the van near St. Alban’s cathedral.
From here we drove on to Oxford, the girls singing and the guys napping (again excepting driver and navigator). Here we spent the afternoon and evening, most notably stopping to contemplate the small bricked cross in the middle of the pavement on one of the streets, which marks the site of the martyrdom of Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer. We visited St. Mary’s Cathedral and I admired the lovely organ, and made it to St. Paul’s in the college complex for evensong. The all-male choir overwhelmed me by its beautiful presentation of the liturgy. I believe we all heartily enjoyed the dinner at the pub as well—I know now that the plowman’s lunch is definitely a worthy choice from the menu, although bleu cheese is a bit stronger than the cheeses my American palate is accustomed to.
So! After yet another full day, we are winding down and preparing to turn in, with plans to be back at St. Paul’s by the Racetrack for Matins at 7:30 or 8:00. The boys will start without us if we’re a little behind schedule. After that, we head onward to broaden our horizons yet more!

May 10, 2008 Leamington remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 10, 2008 St. Alban's Cathedral

2008-06-14T16:12:59Z

The art above the altar in the apse of St. Alban’s cathedral was done by the same sculptor (Gilbert) who made the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus. He was not able to finish this scene of the Resurrection, because he fled the country from his creditors.
Also above the altar, behind this Resurrection scene, is a detailed screen supporting many statues of saints and other important figures from church history. The second from the right at the top is a statue of the only Anglo-Saxon pope, who is also buried at St. Alban’s. In 1877 Harry Hams erected the screen that is now here, although the original was made in 1484. During the Reformation the original screen was torn down as part of the revolt against Catholicism. The picture I posted of St. Alban’s cathedral shows the new screen.

May 10, 2008 St. Alban's Cathedral remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 9, 2008

2008-06-14T16:11:52Z

I am overwhelmed at the moment (10:45 p.m. Greenwich) by how much I could write, and weary to the bone with much walking, running, standing, listening, and looking, not to mention talking and eating. I have enjoyed St. Christopher’s, but we will be on the move tomorrow and I must say I am looking forward to being out of London.
The events of the day: matins in our room, then the Maritime Museum and British Observatory (quite a trek up the hill!), St. Martin-in-the-Field’s for a piano concert by an Australian college student (Jayson something, curly-headed, pink-cheeked, cheerful chap, skillful pianist), the Cabinet War Rooms, and the National Gallery. Then we returned to our room for evensong and a relaxed dinner. As a graduation “special event,” Taylor got to go out back with Fr. B and Chris and smoke his first pipe.
We found lots of cool artifacts in the Maritime Museum, and interestingly several rooms devoted to Lord Nelson. Many of his personal items have been preserved, including a suit of clothes, a crew list book, a mug with a porcelain toad in the bottom to surprise the drinker, weapons—too much to list. In the same complex but atop a steep hill sits the British Observatory, housing a trail of various stages of chronometers. That is also where the Prime Meridian line is that we straddled to get pictures taken.
I am glad we got to go to a short concert, but I could not see him playing. Watching the performer is quite important to me when I listen to live music, as somehow it helps me hear all the parts better if I can see them being played as well. Jayson performed a Beethoven piece, Liszt (if I remember correctly), and Chopin.
At the cabinet war rooms, we saw so many reminders of WWII, yet the history here was different for its very nearness. While many of the other historical artifacts we got to see, and the buildings, and ruins, were from hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago, WWII is less than a century in our past. We saw the cabinet meeting room, the chair Winston Churchill occupied in their meetings, the old telephones, the sleeping quarters, the map room (and all the pin-pricks from marking ship and troop locations, etc, and apparently a caricature of Hitler that I missed)—wow! It really made it all come alive. Unfortunately for Brooke and I, they had installed what we later learned are anti-juvenile devices called “mosquitoes,” which emit a high-frequency whistle at intervals as a deterrent to the young and irresponsible. Only Brooke and I could hear it (it is extraordinarily high-pitched) enough to be bothered by it, but believe me, it was painful. We were glad to get out by the end of our time there.
Finally, the National Gallery! We arrived there around 4:30 p.m., and closing was at 6:00, but unlike America, closing does not mean now you start to leave. Closing means everyone has been flushed from the furthest corners of the building and shooed briskly and not exactly politely from the front door by 6:00! So, we had about an hour to look around undisturbed, which allowed enough time to find some of the high schoolers’ assigned paintings, and a few others, and then to scramble for the entrance. Someday I would like to spend a whole day or maybe two in there.
That evening, we had a good, relaxing dinner at the pub below St. Christopher’s. Funny story here: I went to the bar to order my dinner, and asked for a half pint of Guinness. Aussie bartender asked me for ID, which I had but not on me. So, I raced to the door of the hostel, my card key didn’t work, so I borrowed Nevid’s. Up the three flights of stairs (wearing my lovely, tiered white swing-dancing skirt) I dashed, and fumbled with the key to get the room open. Rifle, rifle, through my satchel to find my license—there it is! I floated swiftly back down the stairs, and arrived breathless at the bar to try again! Mr. Aussie-with-the-friendly-smile accepts the license, takes my order, hands me the half and a pint for Chris, and takes my order for an Aussie burger.
I took the drinks to our table and started on mine. By the time my burger came I had drunk about half of my half and, having worn myself out during the day, was resting my head sleepily on my hand. The poor bartender handed over the burger, murmured “Cheers,” and disappeared. What a burger! Besides the normal fixings, it also had a fried egg and slices of beets. Definitely, it was all worth the trouble.
For a while after dinner I stayed with Brooke, Josh, and Nevid while Fr. B, Chris, and Erica took Taylor out to the smallish courtyard behind the bar for his first pint and pipe. Then Erica came up and I went out with the men. We didn’t say much, but sat and, well, they smoked and I just sat. Pipe smoke is not unpleasant.

May 9, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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St. Albans open-air market

2008-06-03T20:31:17Z

I loved the open air market! Most of them sold fruits and vegetables, but we also saw (and smelled) fresh fish, other fresh meats, fabric and crafts. We discovered a few protesters standing in the market with signs calling for the downfall of Tesco, the chain grocery where we frequently bought lunch while in England. Here is the fruit stand where we bought sweet plums and cherries in St. Albans. Taylor said it may have been his first time to eat cherries.

St. Albans open-air market remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Note!

2008-06-03T20:32:42Z

You do apparently have to be a member of Travellerspoint to post comments. It's free to join, and I would enjoy hearing from you!

Note! remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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St. Martin-in-the-Fields

2008-05-29T20:43:22Z

St. Martin-in-the-Fields remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 9 National Gallery

2008-05-29T20:31:51Z

May 9, 2008—
I regret the constraints that prevented us from spending much more time in the National Gallery. But I was able to take notes on a few paintings that stood out to me, and some day I will be able to spend a day or two, sitting and contemplating many more. Here are my notes:

“Portrait of a Young Man in Red” by Domenico Ghirlandaio
-Portraits during this period more commonly are done in the three-quarters view, which was replacing the profile view done in previous times.
-In this portrait, sunlight comes from above the man, who is in the foreground with countryside and mountains behind him.
-His bold, plain features contrast with the detailed yet unobtrusive backdrop

“The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist” by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1499-1500
-This is a sketch in sepia tones, with John the B. as a child and Christ in Mary’s arms leaning toward him. Mary smiles at Christ, while St. Anne smiles at Mary and points upward.
-soft lighting and indistinct lines

“Self-Portrait at the Age of 34” by Rembrandt, 1640
-He seems to be treating himself rather kindly—the lighting is soft, illuminating mostly his face.
-He shows himself in the pose of a particular Italian poet.

“The Umbrellas” by Renoir, 1881-6
-I think the liberal use of slaty colors gives the picture a rainier look.
-The people seem to be friendly, and enjoying the rain.

“Lake Keitele” by Gallen-Kallela, 1905
-What struck me is the amazing use of white; up close the picture is nothing but big smudges of blue, green, gray, and white, but from a distance the surface of the water appears to reflect the snow-capped mountains and a wooded island.
-It looks shiny and clear, like real water.
-The subject, Lake Keitele, is a real place north of Helsinki.

May 9 National Gallery remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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St. Albans

2008-05-28T21:25:26Z

St. Albans remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 9, 2008

2008-05-28T18:01:55Z

Discovery of Literature
Winston Churchill won an award in school for this poem he composed (at age 14?) in 1890:

The Influenza
By Winston Churchill

I
O how shall I its deeds recount
Or measure the untold amount
Of ills that it has done
From China’s bright celestial land
Into Arabia’s thirsty sand
It journeyed with the sun

II
O’er miles of bleak Siberia’s plains
Where Russian exiles toil in chains
It moved with noiseless tread
And as it slowly glided by
There followed it across the sky
The spirits of the dead.

III
The Ural peaks by it were scaled
And every bar and barrier failed
To turn it from its way
Slowly and surely on it came
Heralded by its awful fame
Increasing day by day

-on display in his handwriting in the Cabinet War Rooms Museum, along with a punishment log book that records a flogging he received for damaging school property!

May 9, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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11:47 p.m. Greenwich

2008-05-28T17:34:51Z

11:47 P.M. Greenwich--
After the museum we walked to a small green park, stopping en route to pick up bread, cheese, oranges, pears, and drinks for our lunch. I got bottled blackcurrant juice. The park provided a display of gorgeous flowerbeds and many people took advantage of the lush grass to spend time sunbathing. Then we progressed to the British Library, where I saw the original score of a Chopin piece, some of Beethoven’s work, Charlotte Bronte’s diary, the oldest copy of Beowulf, and an old copy of Shakespeare’s works with a famous portrait of him in the front.
Then, let’s see, we took the tube to St. Paul’s for the Dome tour. Being there must have been the highlight of the day! I cannot do it justice with a description. I do not remember the number of stairs we climbed—those narrow, winding, spiral stairways and narrow passages past dusky, dusty, mysterious chambers—but I do know that my legs trembled with fatigue once I had reached the second level! At the first level, we could walk all the way around the dome on the inside, and supposedly (when everyone else is quiet) one can be heard whispering from one side of the dome to the other, and that is no mean distance! We came to the next level, outside, where we were able to get some panoramic shots of the city of London. Unfortunately, the line to the very top was too long and time did not allow for us to wait for a turn. We came across a lot of Dutch students on tour whom Fr. Boonzaaijer enjoyed conversing with in his native language.
The races through he train stations and the crowding and jostling in the process of getting on and off are becoming rather enjoyable challenges! I tripped on the escalator today and scraped up my left ankle. It hurts, but my pride hurt worse.
After the St. Paul’s Dome we made it to Westminster Chapel for evensong, and by dint of Fr. Boonzaaijer’s mentioning that we students were a good choir, they gave us an exclusive tour, short but sweet. We then walked from there to the gardens near Buckingham Palace, then on to the train to head back to the neighborhood of St. Christopher’s for supper and bed.

11:47 p.m. Greenwich remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 8, 2008

2008-05-24T23:06:18Z

May 8, 2008—7:15 a.m. Greenwich
I’m still lying in the bottom bunk under Brooke where I slept soundly all night and have awoken in good health and fine spirits. The sky is clear, the birds are singing, and the air from the open window feels refreshing. Now all I need is my new clothes, my hair to be brushed, and a good breakfast. I may be subsisting on dry cereal, however.
I need to write down some interesting phrases before I forget. One is the frequent reminder to “Mind the gap!” spoken by an automated voice on the tube and painted on the sidewalk alongside it, to make passengers aware of the small gap between the sidewalk and the train. Another is a tidbit Fr. B related about his seminary days concerning the pouring of milk into a teacup—whether before the tea, after, or not at all. The names for this, in order, are pre-lactarian, post-lactarian, and a-lactarian!

Notes from the British Museum, May 8, London—
These correspond to pictures I took, or are simply interesting items I came across while exploring the wonders of history which have been preserved here.
-Assyrian relief of a war scene; warriors with bows, spears, shields; more detail, curved lines, palm trees, and beauty than the Egyptian art
-Nereid Monument, ruins found in Xanthos, Turkey; a tomb for Arbinas, a Xanthian dynast
-Centaur tramples a falling lapith, who is taking up a stone to throw (Roman)
-Rosetta Stone
-cuneiform clay tablets (Mesopotamian) about 1-1/2” square
-Barnak burial (a skeleton), between 2330-2130 BC, Cambridgeshire, England
-bone needles and combs (used for weaving) England
-cavalry sports helmet, called the Ribchester Helmet, used in cavalry sports events, England
-relief scenes from the Passion (Rome, AD 420-430)
-bronze helmet inlaid with silver wire
And this, inset on the floor in the large open central room of the museum:
“And let thy feet in millenniums hence
Be set in fields of knowledge” --Tennyson
So, those were the things I noticed most about the British Museum!

May 8, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 7, 2008

2008-05-20T18:30:51Z

Today—well, what a day. I spent a great deal of the flight fighting a migraine and consequently nausea, and the last hours of the flight I spend in tortuous motion sickness. Once on the ground, I thought it would be over, but then began the marathon of riding various branches of the “tube”—British for subway—for over an hour. Father Boonzaaijer and Erica took turns carrying my bag as I half-blindly followed the group. I made it to the hostel, up the stairs, and into a deserted hallway (our room was not ready) where I collapsed while Brooke and Erica changed. How wonderful it felt to sit in still, dark quietness! I made nearly a full recovery, after having stayed behind from St. Paul’s and the Tower of London.
Erica and I (she kindly offered to stay with me) popped over to Greenwich Park and took a nap, then headed over to St. Paul’s to meet Fr. and Brooke and the boys. We waited outside for an hour, having just missed the entrance to evensong at 5:00 p.m., and watched the rehearsal of some sort of military display during that time. None of the police or security people seemed to really know what was going on. Then we caught up with the group as they exited from evensong, and made our way to a pub (lovely and clean compared to St. Christopher’s where the hostel was) called Pimm’s, where I ordered sausage and mash, my first pub meal. After dinner we found time to take a nice walk along the Thames and across Tower Bridge before heading back on the tube to St. Christopher’s, our lodging for the next three nights.
At St. Chris’s we all eight shared a very small room with but eight bunks—I found that rather awkward at first, but attempted to make the best of it. We also shared three showers with locking doors and three toilets and sinks with all the other hostel guests, male and female. The showers are fun but somewhat complicated. They operate with a push-knob that pops back out after a few seconds and shuts the water off, so you have to keep pushing the knob to keep a flow of water. The windows were open because of the unusually warm and sunny weather--they stayed open the whole time we were there. One or two guys decided to keep their shoes on the outer window ledge during the night (thoughtful!).

May 7, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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May 6, 2008

2008-05-20T18:18:19Z

We have arrived at DFW Airport and gotten through the checking in without problems of any sort. Brooke and I are sitting together on one side of a circle of seats at the British Airways terminal gate D14 and the rest are ranged around the circle, mostly reading, or are ranging around the airport. We will be boarding for the nine-hour flight to London in about an hour—excitement mounts, but I do not yet feel the full import of what I am about to do!
The British airways terminal is relatively quiet, compared to the Southwest and American terminals that I have been in. Behind and to the right of me is a lady drinking coffee—it smells good. I am in the mood to enjoy the smell, but not to drink it. I look forward to being able to sleep on the plane, having brought a blanket roll as a carry-on. They should serve a meal on the plane, as well.
We will lose 6 hours tonight, so will arrive in Heathrow, London, around 9:30 a.m. their time, and begin the first busy day right off the bat! I especially look forward to the possibility of an organ recital, although I am sure everything new will be so exciting.
I hope that this will be but the beginning of a lifetime of sporadic international travels and the experiences and learning that I will gain thereby to make me a more useful person. This is so amazing—that I am about to—nay, that I have already—embarked on one of the dreams I have had for several years, and at so young an age! I did not think that I would get such and opportunity for many years yet.
Before going on to describe the trip, let me describe the group. Our leader and male chaperone is Father John Boonzaaijer, former school administrator of Good Shepherd School. He has been to England before, and knows a lot about church history as well as the more general history of England. His knowledge will be a great source of enrichment for the trip. Our female chaperone is my roommate Erica. She and the high school student Brooke (9th grade) are the only ladies besides me on the trip. Brooke is the girl who helps me in extended care at GSS daily--she's a great addition to the party. We have three high school boys: Joshua (10th grade), Nevid (9th grade) and Taylor (graduating high school senior), all three of whom helped make the trip more colorful in their different ways! Last but not least, Tayor's brother Chris (graduating senior from UNT in Dallas) made the eighth member of our group. We got to know one another quite a bit better by living in close quarters and spending these 9 days together.
I am posting all this after the trip, so forgive me if I confuse verb tenses!

May 6, 2008 remains copyright of the author ehemstreet, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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