Ah, our Last Port of Call -- England

Jolly Old England

Our last port of call was closest to home in many ways, but we came to England with new eyes.  Austin's first words as we entered a shop were, "Can you bargain here?" Sydney asked if we could drink the water.  Charlie wanted to know the exchange rate and was disappointed to learn one dollar only equals .66 of a British pound.  Indeed, when he checked the price of a chupachup lollipop, it was a whopping $1.50!  He said sadly, "The good ole days are over." Yes, gone were the days of 1 rupee lollies.

We were met in London by our wonderful friend, Samantha Evens.  We first met Sam in 2009 when Kerry and I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.  Sam was in our group of trekkers, and we bonded at the end in the brown waters of Aguas Calientes.  Four years later, when we were visiting Petra in Jordan, Samantha facebooked me to tell me she was in Israel.  The next day we met serendipitously in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.  That was the first time we met her boyfriend, Jake. The next year, Jake brought Sam to Washington, DC, as a surprise for her 30th birthday, and we spent an amazing week together.  So, it was fitting, that just one year later, we would meet up with Sam and Jake in London and get to stay with them in their adorable new house.

The first thing we did was go up the London Eye to get an overview of the city.  London is truly massive and beautiful.  We then walked over to Westminster Cathedral and then to a wonderful Mexican restaurant for our first real guacamole in four months!

Sam and Jake live in Crystal Palace which was the site of the Great Exhibition in 1851 where an enormous glass structure was built.  The palace is gone today, but the neighborhood still sits on top of a sprawling hill overlooking London with beautiful homes, gardens, and a wonderful park that goes for miles.  We spent some time navigating the park's maze and racing to the center. Kerry won.  After a tasty burger at traditional pub, we headed to the British Museum. 

The treasures of the British Museum looked surprisingly familiar to us.  After all, Britain colonized nearly half of the countries we visited on our trip.  In the museum, we enjoyed the best of the whole world under one roof.  The only consolation of this plunder was that these treasures might have been destroyed if not amassed by the British.  Now they will live on forever.  We recognized many of the beautiful artifacts from around the world:  masks and drums from Africa, jade combs from Japan, Chinese vases, Indian sculptures and paintings, even Roman mosaics like those we just saw on the ground in Morocco.  The kids were also mesmerized by the mummies from Egypt, even tiny cat mummies!

On our way home to Crystal Palace, we stopped at one of Sam and Jake's favorite Indian restaurants.  Oh, our tummies were so happy to taste authentic curries and naan again! 

Our last day in London included a wonderful Beefeater tour of the Tower of London. (Or, as Sydney noted, if the Beefeaters became vegan, they could be called Bee Feeders.)  With the buzz of the royal baby about to be born, we surveyed the place where so much British history has taken place.  All of us were mesmerized by the Crown Jewels.  Even the boys stood in awe of the giant egg-shaped diamond in the king's scepter!

We then stopped off at Borough Market for the best street food we've ever tasted!  We enjoyed German bratwurst, Chinese gyoza and fried udon noodles, Indian aloo gobi, and French chocolate cookies.  Come to think of it, you don't have to go around the world... just go to London!  We topped off our day with a visit to Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Tate Museum of Modern Art, where we analyzed the Picasso and Dali paintings.  Sam treated us to a delicious barbecue before we played a rousing game of Loot and went to bed.

Saturday morning we headed north to Oxford where we met our dear friends, the Ramsden family, at the Turf Tavern for a great pub lunch and a lovely tour of Oxford.  Michael and Anne have lived in Oxford for years, and they gave us an insider's look at this magical place.  My favorite stop was outside a church where it is said C.S. Lewis worshiped.  As you walk out of the church doors, there is another door across the way with a lion's head knocker.  On either side of it, are two gold fawns carved into the wood. And just to the right is an old black streetlamp.  It is said that this was the inspiration for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Who knows?  (Photo compliments of Caroline Turner.)

After an obligatory stop at Bob's Cookies and Moo Moos, we headed to the famed Blackwell's bookstore for a break.  All five of us plopped down in a nook with books in hand to read for an hour or so.  I guess I didn't forget to read after all!  Austin said, "This is so fun.  Can we stay here a long time?"

We stayed near Oxford with our wonderful friends, Frog and Amy Orr-Ewing, and their boys.  Frog is the vicar of the Latimer Minster church in Beaconsfield, which we visited on Sunday morning.  The Minster meets in a tent on acres and acres of farmland.  Cherry and apple trees bloomed nearby.  Baby chicks including one named Cluckleberry Finn, huddled under their mother, Pickles.   Little lambs came running when we stopped by their pen. It's an amazing place of natural beauty, with life everywhere you look.  The Life continues in the giant yellow and red tent, where you are met by welcoming Brits offering home-baked sweets.  In this place, God is worshiped and praised with vibrant music and cogent, relevant teaching from his Word. I loved every minute we spent there.

After church, we enjoyed a delicious English chicken and leek pie, then headed to the red clay tennis courts to hit some balls.  It turns out the Orr-Ewing boys are tennis wizzes, and the youngest who is just 6 years old, ran me ragged! He is amazing to watch.

We had a lovely dinner with Frog and Amy and some friends of theirs, enjoying lasagna outside on the patio with Eton's mess for dessert.  This is a mixture of fresh meringues, whipped cream, strawberries, and raspberries.  Amazingly light and delicious.

Our final day in England, Frog treated us to a proper English breakfast of bangers (sausage), bacon butties (bacon sandwiches), fried eggs, and broiled tomatoes.  A brisk walk took us to the town of Gerard's Crossing, which was lovely with the springtime sun shining on lilacs and new green grass. Alas, it was then time to head to Heathrow for our final departure of our grand adventure. Thankfully, we got one last Semester at Sea fix, as we ran into Connor Smith, and his mom, Darcy, who had missed their flight to Iceland.  We had just enough time for a quick lunch together before we boarded our flight and headed home to the United States.