Yorkshire and London

This last week Ben took some time off work.  We hired (= rented) a car and took off on a few road trips.  It was great to get out, visit friends, and explore new territories.  This last year has been full of change, transition and new chapters.  All in all, it’s been an incredible year for us, but nevertheless, a bit exhausting.  And as a result, it’s not left much energy or time for travel.  I was quite happy to get out and do some exploring.  Sometimes I need to remind myself I live here, in England…and that I love this chapter of our lives.  And that I don’t want the time to pass by without making the most of it.

First, we did a short weekend away up north to West Yorkshire to visit our friends Angie and Steve who just recently had their first child, Jed, who is birthday buddies with Samuel.  Our friends Charlie and Helen, who live in Durham, also met us there.  Road trips are a bit difficult with Samuel in tow – he doesn’t do so well being strapped in a car seat, but who could blame him?  Those things look miserable!  And apparently he gets motion sickness, which we found out the hard way, after lunch of course.  Poor guy!  Despite our unhappy traveler, we had a wonderful time with friends.  The weekend consisted of yummy food, walks through the quaint village, and a great time with ‘old’ Durham friends.  As Samuel wakes up quite early, we were up well before the rest of the house and managed to get out for an early morning walk.  Getting out for a brisk walk in the fresh morning air, while soaking in that early morning sun was beyond therapeutic.  We had fun spotting pheasants, several hares, and even a fox!  It was great fun and the perfect way to start our day.  We are so grateful to have quality time with good friends.

Following our time up north, we went to London for a few days to visit our even ‘older’ friends Tim, Rachel and Joy.  We know Tim and Rachel all the way back from our Portland days through the Pearl Church.  They have an adorable daughter Joy, whom Samuel adores, and they’ve recently moved from Rome to the outer London area to work in the underprivileged area of Southall.  It was great seeing their neck of the woods and hearing more of their work in that community.  We also did a day trip into the big city one day! The highlight of the day was St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is perhaps one of the most amazing cathedrals I’ve ever seen.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a coffee and snack on the steps of the cathedral and somehow I managed to get pooped on by some bird.  There’s a first for everything, and I guess if you’re going to be pooped on, what better place than the steps of St. Paul’s?  Lucky for me, it was only on my scarf and my amazing husband washed it out for me.  Later that day we walked across the Millennium Bridge and along the Themes by Shakespeare’s Globe and towards the tower of London. The day was short and sweet, but enough to make me want to go back.  Being more of a small town girl at heart, I’m always surprised by how much I love London.  And with that, I’ll leave you with photos of our time.

The town of Holmfirth

Helen and I with little Jed

The gang

Angie and Steve have a cute little chair for Jed. Samuel loved it.

We went out for Sunday lunch at the garden cafe down the road.

Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, in Yorkshire!

The boys

Samuel giving Jed loves

A rooster strutting his stuff in the morning sun

Out for our morning walk

Hello!

The village church

Good morning world!

St. Paul’s Cathedral

In front of St. Paul’s

Free = happy boy

Strapped in, and not so happy.  Just to prove he’s not always happy.

In front of St. Paul’s

My boys

St. Paul’s

View of St. Paul’s from across the Millennium Bridge

Shakespeare’s Globe

In front of the Tower of London

Tower of London Bridge. Love this view!

Tower of London Bridge. Love this view!

Spring and summer highlights

Wow…it’s been ages since I’ve blogged!  I keep meaning to, and haven’t been able to find the energy to actually sit down & do it.  But, I’d like to be better so I thought I’d start by giving a bit of an update.  This spring & summer have been some of the busiest months for us.  It’s been a complete whirlwind of amazing things.  In the beginning of May we went on a trip to Berwick upon Tweed with our lovely neighbors Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor.  We found out I’m pregnant shortly after this!  I got to tell my brother & sister-in-law in person a week & a half later as they came to visit.  It was so nice to see them & get time to hang out.  We explored Bamburgh, the Lake District, Stonehendge, Oxford & Durham with them.  The next day we had to say good bye to Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor as they were moving back to the States.   A week later we went to Rome.  Amazing.  Another week later Ben went up to Scotland & me down to London – each for work reasons.  Two weeks later Ben went to London for a conference & came back with the Johnson’s!  We had an amazing time with them & were able to do lots of fun little trips around the area – we explored York, Edinburgh, the Northumbrian coast, and Durham.  However, all things come to an end, even good things – and now we’ve each been getting back into a more normal pace of life.

Ben is working his butt off trying to finish his thesis by next summer so we can come home.  He’s finding quite a bit of momentum now that he has time to work, which is exciting & good.  I’ve been working, and trying to find all the rest I can in the time in between.  I’m feeling much better now, but was quite fatigued & exhausted up to 18 weeks, along with fighting nausea and a poor appetite.  It was strange having to force myself to eat…I’ve never really struggled with that one before.  Thankfully, my appetite has returned, and I seem to need food every few hours to survive.   And now that I’m on iron supplements & into the second trimester, my energy levels are starting to climb back a bit.  We are beyond happy & excited to have this incredible blessing of  life in our lives.  God is so good.

And in a nutshell, that’s what we’ve been up to.  Below are a few pictures to highlight some of our adventures these last four months!

Fun with our good friends in Berwick upon Tweed

In Berwick upon Tweed - What’s the secret?

In Berwick upon Tweed - Kisses from Eleanor…don’t know what’s up with my nose

With Jon & Kasse in Durham

Hiya!

Rome!!

York

The boys in London

High tea at Lumley Castle

And in the meantime, we try to find downtime make cookies (Ben makes, I eat)…

And I still try to play in my garden every now & then (this shot was taken in mid-July)

British Museum (part 2 of day 2)

(Posted by Ben)

The British Museum was definitely one of most impressive things we saw in London. It really is a spectacular collection of the ancient world. For a student of the Old Testament and ancient history, it was really fun for me. Sarah was a real trooper being dragged along at a painstakingly slow pace through the Assyrian collection. Anyway, below are a few pictures that I consider to be highlights, with a little of my commentary.

The Rosetta Stone: This is one of the most important finds for Egyptology. The stone contains a decree of King Ptolemy V (c. 196 BC). It is written at the top in Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, in the middle in Demotic (a script of Egyptian), and in the bottom Greek. This text was the key to deciphering Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics. For myself, I study a text that is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint for those who don’t know) and it was translated in Alexandria, Egypt. Thus, I find the Rosetta Stone immensely interesting.

Rosetta Stone

This next picture is a lion and me. I can’t remember what the lion is but I think it’s pretty cool. I’m sure it’s old.

awesome

This next picture is a relief from the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III an Assyrian king. The inscription reads ‘tribute of Iaua of the House of Humri.’ This is Jehu king of Israel of the house of Omri (see 2 Kings 9-10).

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC)

This next relief is from the palace at Nimrud. It depicts Assyrian soldiers of Tiglath-pileser III carrying captured idols from enemy temples (c. 728 BC). This is a great example of the ancient Near Eastern practice of taking a defeated enemies idols/gods and placing them in the temple of your god to signify your god’s defeat of the enemy god. Compare how the Philistines did this with the ark of the covenant. They took it after defeating Israel and brought it into the temple of Dagon. It didn’t work out so well for them though (1 Samuel 5).

The spoils of war: conquered gods.

This is another cool example of an ancient Near Eastern practice. This relief depicts the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III placing his foot on the neck of a captured enemy as a sign of that enemy’s submission. This is what the psalmist is talking about when he writes: ‘The LORD says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool”’ (Ps. 110:1).

Panel from Nimrud: Tiglath-pileser III receiving submission (c. 728 BC).

Who doesn’t like mummies.

Mummies!

This next one is a terracotta foundation record detailing the campaigns of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. The story of Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah can be found in 2 Kings 18-19. This record describes Sennacherib receiving tribute from king Hezekiah of Judah. Not something specifically mentioned in the Bible, but sure fits the biblical story.

 

Terracotta Foundation Record of Sennacherib of Assyria (c. 691 BC)

This next relief is from Ninevah, depicting the battle of Lachish. Here we see a great example of the use of slingers in ancient warfare. It was not heavy artillery but it was considered a legitimate artillery weapon. It does make David seem a bit more intimidating when he’s facing Goliath!

slingshot warfare

The next is a clay cylinder of Nabonidus, king of Babylon. Found in Ur and dating from around 555-539 BC, this cylinder contains a prayer for Nabonidus and his son Beslshazzar. A potentially interesting link with the record of Babylonian kings we see in the book of Daniel.

Cylinder of Nabonidus (c. 555-539 BC)

This is an example of a Saxon helmet from the very important find at Sutton Hoo. One of the most important archaeological finds for this culture. This is the culture that produced Beowulf, and it is the culture that J.R.R. Tolkien based his fictional Rohan upon.

 

Saxon Helmet

Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed this brief tour through the British Museum. Let me tell you, this is only a fraction of what is there. The place is immense! If you ever get the chance, go, it’s fantastic. I know I’ll be going back, but then again, I have an abnormal interest in ancient history.

London, day 3

We had a wonderful last day in London.  The theme for the day was walking, shopping, and parks, which for me in combination with some sunshine is the recipe for a perfect day.  It’s kind of sad to come home & go back to normal life, but I guess I’m ready to sleep in my own bed however uncomfortable it may be (in comparison with our amazing bed back in the States).  Our last day started off fighting our way through the Tube to get to Notting Hill.  Apparently we weren’t the only ones with that idea.  It took us awhile to figure out that the line we wanted to take didn’t operate on Saturdays.  We figured it out soon without too much of a wait, but only to discover we had to do half the trip on the tube & the other half on the bus.  I can honestly say I’ve never been on a more crowded bus in my life.  There was standing room only, and barely any of that.  I guess it’s all part of the London experience, & you just take it as it comes & try not to be bothered by all the people, or to be in a hurry (at least that’s what I kept reminding Ben)!

Once to Notting Hill, we followed the crowds & made our way to Portobello Market.  It was fun walking around, although we didn’t last long as once again there was barely standing room.  Next time I’ll have to try & do that on a weekday.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice long walk through Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park which together are about 1.5  miles long.  It reminded me a bit of New York, although I suppose it should be the other way around.  The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring other fun areas of London such as Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, and Leicester Square (although the latter was under construction).  All in all, it was a wonderful day & a wonderful trip.  We walked lots, saw much, ate some good food, and most of all had a great time together in a fun new city.  More pictures below…

Portobello Market...it was crazy busy

This awesome store full of old sewing machines - I think my mom & grandma would love this place

Kensington Palace, located at the edge of Kensington Gardens

Kensington Palace off in the distance...this was the home of Princess Di.

Coffe, & scones with clotted cream & jam...yum!

Kensington Gardens

Piccadilly Circus

Turkish Delight from Fortnum & Mason which is basically a very fancy department store full of candy, chocolates, preserves, and other yummy treats. I can see why Edmund was tempted...

Yummy Turkish Delight!

Buckingham Palace from St. James Park

The London Eye from St. James Park

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace behind

Our room...not very fancy, but clean & great breakfasts each morning

creepy painting on the wall in our place

London, day 2

Today wasn’t nearly as crazy as yesterday, yet very exhausting.  I don’t know if we just wore ourselves out from yesterday but I struggled to find the energy to keep going today.  Our end goal was the British Museum so we set off walking & stopped by Trafalgar Square on our way.  Trafalgar Square is right in front of the National Gallery.  I don’t think we’ll have time to do the National Gallery but it has quite the collection of European paintings including those of Leonardo, Rembrandt, van Gogh, & many others.  I went last January with Em & it was great.

We were running a bit behind due to me walking so slow (and I think it had something to do with the big breakfast I had…bacon, sausage, toast, baked beans, muesli, grilled tomato, an egg, juice & coffee).  It was good, but it was a bit much for all that walking.  I’ll be better tomorrow.  The British Museum – it was amazing.  But it completely took everything out of me.  Ben was in heaven in the Egyptian & Assyrian sections.  More to follow on that later, from Ben.  I think you could easily spend an entire day there.  It has the world’s greatest collection of artifacts from Western civilization, including the Rosetta Stone.  My personal favorite was the mummy exhibit.  I’ll let Ben share his favorites later.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch of Thai food (I talked Ben into this, although it wasn’t too hard).  Then we ventured home on the Tube which I’ve decided I very much dislike using during rush hour on Friday afternoon.  It feels like New York on steroids.  Not my favorite place.  But, it gets you where you need to go.

Well, I’m off to bed.  Follow up later for more on the British Museum.  Until next time…

Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery

In front of the National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

The British Museum

Thai food!!

Phad thai

London, day 1

I can certainly say our first day in London was great.  We started off with a lovely English breakfast at our B&B, followed by 2 great cups of coffee at a nearby coffee shop, we saw Buckingham Palace, enjoyed a lovely walk through Green Park & St. James Park, thoroughly explored Westminster Abbey, saw the Houses of Parliament, walked along the River Thames, saw the Millennium Bridge, St. Paul’s, the tower of London, the Tower Bridge, enjoyed a Indian cuisine for dinner & ended off the night with going to Wicked.  Phew!  I’m sure we walked at least 8 miles and we didn’t want to double that so we took the Tube home.  And I really have to add that Wicket was amazing.  Words don’t describe.  And on that note, I’m off to bed – it’s been a long and wonderful day.  Goodnight.

Starting the morning off with a great cup of coffee...

Buckingham Palace behind us

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Big Ben's

The Houses of Parliment and Big Ben

The London Eye with the Houses of Parliment and Big Ben way off in the distance

The Millennium Bridge & St. Paul's

The Tower Bridge

The Tower of London, but really more of a fortress and castle

Seriously Wicked