I have returned. England was absolutely amazing, in every way. I had a rocky start (as many of you know), spending the flight from NYC to London with intense abdominal pain, then my first night there in the ER. But God provided in amazing ways, giving the doctors wisdom to give me the right medication and keep me relatively pain-free for the rest of the trip! Because of all the medication, I was able to eat almost normally! Yay!!! I did try some traditional English dishes (Alas, not Fish and Chips), including a Trifle, which I was then taught how to make! I stayed with some dear friends (from London originally, but they've relocated to America) and their family, who live in London. They were more than happy to take me around and show me as much as they could from my (rather long) list of sites to see. I saw many things, including:
Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Framlingham Castle, Leeds Castle, Highclere Castle, the Tower, The Royal Observatory, the Prime Meridian, the 2012 Olympic Stadium (and several other Olympic sites), the National Gallery, "Much Ado About Nothing" (starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate), "War Horse," "Flare Path" (starring James Purefoy, Sienna Miller, Sheridan Smith, and directed by Trevor Nunn), the London Eye, the British Library, the British Museum, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the Charles Dickens Museum, the Globe Theatre, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's Church, St. Bartholomew's Church, Southwark Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Scotland Yard, the Royal Albert Hall, the Albert Memorial, the Greenwich Naval College, and more!
Sorry, I know that's a lot, but people have been asking me what I saw while I was there, so those are the main points. :D
God perfectly orchestrated my time there so that I could A) feel relatively normal, B) spend some quality time with my friends and their family (and experience England with the locals!), and C) witness His kindness and care in every single detail, from the sites I saw to when I saw them to exactly what I saw there. I'm so overwhelmed by His kindness and His grace. As my dear friend (whose family I stayed with in London) pointed out, I did not need this trip. I wanted it, badly. This long-awaited trip was the kindness of my Father to His daughter. I'm SO grateful that God cares about what we care about! That's what I learned about the most on this trip. I saw things I've dreamt of seeing for most of my life, and they were absolutely incredible! And the fact that that mattered to God was even more amazing. I knew that before, but I experienced it in a major way on this trip. He's amazing!
Here are a few pictures! Until next time, cheerio!
Below:
Highclere Castle, The Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace/Victoria Memorial, Kensington Palace, and Leeds Castle
