We set out for our visit to the monastery on what we would call an 8-lane Interstate (4 lanes going each direction). The traffic on these highways is awful, with the lanes packed and stopped or crawling along most of the time. Vlad, again, was working himself around and through – it seemed dangerous, but so far he has kept us safe.
It was good to be out of Moscow and to be able to see the countryside. We drove through forests and past farms. Many of the homes and buildings were less well kept than in the British Isles. We remember the collective farms of Communism and wonder what the balance is between private and government ownership.
We came to a sign, “The Holy Trinity” and found a parking place nearby, after Vlad checked with others to be sure we could park there. The walled town of Sergiyev Posad has grown up around the monastery. The area is 70 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The encyclopedia and Vlad call this a monastery – Marianna insists that it is an educational center instead. According to the Internet, the monastery was closed down by the Soviet government in 1920, and opened again in 1945 during Stalin’s temporary tolerance of the church during World War II.
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is about 70 kilometers northeast of Moscow, and currently is home to over 300 monks.
We learned that the monastery is celebrating the 700th anniversary of Sergius’s birth this week, so we’d come at a special time, and the complex was quite busy. Pilgrims come from all over Russia to worship – we women covered our heads out of respect – Vlad even told me to blot my lipstick. The worshippers crossed themselves when they entered and left and several times during their worship in the cathedral. Some kissed the feet of the picture of Jesus on the Cross. The monks were singing and it was quite beautiful. Vlad and Marianne took part in the worshipful time, wrote out names of people to be blessed- dead and alive, purchased candles and lit them, and crossed themselves several times at the entrance and inside the cathedral. We went in respectfully, but didn’t join in during the worship except silently.  Marianna says that relics of Saint Sergius are kept here.
We walked around the courtyard, had some ice cream and a drink that Vlad said he wasn’t drinking because he has to drive. I gave most of mine to Verle when they weren’t looking – I hope!
We took a more rural route on the drive back to Moscow. It was much more relaxing and enjoyable – no traffic slowdowns and lovely views of forests, farms, and small towns. Though perhaps farther, this route was great to avoid the constant slowdowns on the Interstate.
We stopped at Vlad and Marianna’s “country home” to water the flowers – we hadn’t realized that the place was on the way home. I helped a little bit with watering the flowers. Helicopters flew over from the military base nearby. We met their next door neighbor, Natasha and her husband-Sergei, and her sister-in-law, Marina. Natasha showed us her extensive garden, chickens, and flowers — her large yard was filled with growing things. She evidently markets some of this. Vlad is very kind to help me walking in the dark, opening car doors, etc.  When we got back to the edge of Moscow, we stopped at a Global mega-store for supper. We each took a tray and picked out the things we wanted to eat. That was fun – we chose dishes that were apparently Russian food – it was tasty and we were very full by the time we left!
We returned to “our” apartment. Vlad and Marianna each took a shower, since they can’t do that at her folks’ where the hot water is turned off. It was after midnight again by the time we went to sleep,

Planning to leave for the morning, Vlad took Dandee outside while Marianna finished getting ready. A little girl came up and the dog charged at her. It scared the little girl and her mother and us – the little girl was so sweet and recovered immediately.

On the way to meet Nicky, we stopped at their new home in progress to water all of the potted plants. We drove from there – it seemed like forever – across Moscow and outside of Moscow – the towns have grown together like at some places in the states – and picked up Nicky at a bus stop after 2 p.m. He is as tall as Vlad – or taller – and slim – a very nice young man, it seems. He was self-conscious about his English, but visited with us a bit. The way back to the apartment seemed less than half of the way to the bus stop. Perhaps the house they are building was not actually on the way.

We got back to the apartment, and Vlad and Marianna left us to rest while they went back to Marianna’s folks’ apartment – with the dog and Nicki. They told us to rest – we would go out for supper and then they would drive us around Moscow by night.

We had a good rest, I finished my book, and we played part of a game of Boggle before they got here to pick us up. We went to a pizza place – (my dressing up in a long skirt to eat out was quite unnecessary – but comfortable.) The first pizza place wanted to charge extra if we sat there at their one table to eat it – and objected to Vlad and Marianna bringing in their own pop and cups – we were uncomfortable about that also!; Vlad was (interestingly) quite upset about this. He really wants to show us a nice time.
After we found another pizza place where we could sit and eat (Dominoes), Vlad took us on a long night drive through the city of Moscow. It’s huge – and full of large beautiful buildings. Most people seem to live in apartments – we don’t see many private homes.

As it got dark and all the colored lights came on, we enjoyed the beauty of the city – at one point we stopped at a place where we could look over the city and its lights, It is a favorite stopping place, and there were many motor cycles and young people enjoying the view and the area. In all our driving, we didn’t see any misbehaving of any kind. We also felt safe.
We drove all around Moscow – we didn’t get “home” until 1 a.m.! Moscow at night was comfortable for driving. Vlad says that in the daytime it’s hard to get anywhere because of the traffic tie-ups.

We got back to our “home” at 1:30 a.m. Or later. What a great “tour!”
Marianna told us that all young men who don’t go on to college must go into the military. A military training facility is near their country home, and we see army jeeps and displays many places. It hits us strongly that we mustn’t just consider ourselves superior – it would be a terrible think to go to war with this country – or any country, of course.

Knowing that we were going to an exhibition park today, I wore a skirt and my black walking shoes. Both were good choices as we walked a very long way, and many were wearing skirts – also, it was quite warm for the first half of the day – and then cooled off to a comfortable temperature like yesterday at Vlad’s new house.

The first thing we saw was an exhibition of Soviet military tanks and trucks, etc. It was a bit sobering to think that these might some doy be used against us, and to be with Vlad and Marianna -Russians – as we looked at them

.
Another truck that was a street sprinkler went by washing down the street. Later we walked by an area where new strips of grass had recently been unrolled over an area. Most of the “lawn” was too dry except for the strip along the sidewalk which had received water while the sprinkler truck was washing down the sidewalk.

I asked Vlad for a review of his family’s being moved to Uzbekistan. As I understand it, in the 1920’s Stalin deported many people, often to Siberia. Vlad’s family was rich and was sent to Uzbekistan with the expectation that people like them would develop the area. Vlad’s mom was a child at this time.
Vlad and Marianna took their dog, Dandee, along to walk with us in the park. They don’t like to leave him at home alone. Dandee kept pulling at the leash – Marianna was getting tired – and Vlad took care of walking him later. They allowed Dandee to get in the pools in the park and kids were playing in some of the pools, too – different from home.

Vlad says that Marianna hates the heat – she and I are similar in that way, We walked through the entry arches depicting workers holding golden sheaves of grain. Many other things in the park were also decorated with gold. We went through the majestic entry arches with a gold star on top. Flowers abound everywhere, which we really enjoyed – especially Vlad and me. There were tree roses on long stems – Vlad calls them “stem roses.” As the day went on, the clouds started to build again like yesterday and it got somewhat cooler – which was a great relief!
There were 15 real gold statues around a fountain. Vlad says that each statue stands for one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Each republic had a pavilion and there was also a space pavilion. We didn’t go through any of them – it’s probably a good thing, because we spent most of the day walking as it was.

Vlad bought frozen ice cream for Verle and me – it tasted good. Vlad can’t eat ice cream or any sweets because of his diabetes. We walked past ping pong tables with people playing table tennis.
It seemed to us that this whole huge area is a source of pride and patriotism for the Russian people – and rightly so. It is very well done and a LOT of time could be spent here. It made us wonder about the decrease in the emphasis on patriotism in our schools and homes today.
We wondered how far we had walked by the time we finally returned to the car – it certainly was a long way.

We stopped for supper at a Vietnamese restaurant in a mostly Vietnamese shopping center on the way home.  It was fun to eat with chopsticks again, and the food was very tasty. 

Vlad bought me some soap souvenirs – cute – and the saleslady gave me a free soap piece from her!
Notes:
Writing on shirt: “Kiss Me In Paris.”
Vlad said that Dandee was a “tow truck” to Marianna.
We walked past a statue of Lenin – the founder of communism.
Vlad calls Dandee “The Little Monster.”

We got up at about 8 a.m. Vlad and Marianna have been coming from her parents’ home to their apartment to pick us up at about 11 a.m. each day; we made it clear that we could be ready sooner, but they said that this time worked well for them. Vlad drove us to the house that he is building in a more rural area near a military training center. Their pet dog was all excited to go along in the car with us. Whenever Vlad plays a special song, the dog “sings with it.” He is such an active dog. I do my best to enjoy the dog, since they love him so much. (They insist that we take off our shoes when we come in from outside, so that we don’t track in any germs from outside that might infect the dog, even though they let the dog run at will (on a harness) when they are walking him outside.)

I was expecting a yellow house from the pictures Vlad has sent, but those were of unfinished plywood. Their house is blue with white trim – large and very attractive. They have a partially finished garage hooked onto the house. It was no surprise to see the yard full of flower plants and potted plants – which they have to water once or twice a week. One flower bed has white stones between the flowers – pretty. He has a lot of palm trees – they are a hardy variety that Vlad says will be able to endure Moscow’s winters. He plants the trees in pots from seed and is/will sell them on the Internet. geraniums, He has every kind of flower imaginable, planted in many different area – glads, tulips, canas, lilies, a butterfly bush peonies, marigolds, and many other kinds of flowers. He also has strawberries, tomatoes, and onions. It’s going to be an unbelievable yard when everything is planted and growing well. He has bought rolls of sod and laid them out over the soil. The grass and most of the flowers and trees look very healthy.

He has rock walkways and also in his garage. He will pour concrete over the rocks in the garage.
All of the basic building of the house and the walls for rooms are basically done. Water is into the house; he will do the wiring himself (he was an electrician for the railroad when he lived in the Ukraine. I asked Vlad why he had moved to Russia – he said that he knew he could do more and wanted to develop his skills.
We thought that Vlad was doing most of the work himself, but he has been hiring carpenters much of the time. There is a small building on the grounds where they have stayed part of the time, and the bedroom of the house can be used – sort of – when they come out to water and tend flowers, etc. Vlad has a dream of moving in yet this year, but Marianna says, “Impossible.” He wants to install heat first, and then he feels that they could move in and continue working on the inside of the house while they were living there – and tending the garden. In the later afternoon, it rained hard and soaked everything up! Marianna and Vlad grilled turkey white meat and pork on their grill. She’d also picked up Cokes, juice, salads, desserts, etc. to make our meal very special – with candlelight!
We thought that Vlad was doing most of the building on the house, but when I commented on the bed in the small house in the backyard, Marianna said that Vlad didn’t sleep there because he was hiring builders. The house when finished will have a garage, a porch entryway, kitchen, large living room bathroom, and a bedroom on the main floor. The stairs are in to the upstairs. They will have another bathroom, three bedrooms, and an office upstairs. Attic storage can be reached from the second floor hallway and from the porch/hallway. Windows are in, and some of the wire is into the room(s) — Vlad showed us the ceramic tile for the bathroom. Several times Vlad said that they got ideas for the building from our house! We’ll understand photos of the house and flower beds better now we he sends us information about their continuing progress. I think they have to stop sometimes to wait for more money to come in.
We felt bad that Vlad and Marianna are paying for us for food and entertainment, boat rides, etc. – so we pooled our American money and gave Vlad most of the cash we had. He phoned after they left us off at home and thanked us, saying it was too much – but they are having to spend for themselves, too, as they take us around.
Vlad and Marianna celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary on July 5th.
Ivan lives about 200 miles away from here. He and Lera have one daughter, Miroslava, about 1 and 1/2 years old. Ivan works for a German electric company.
Vlad and Verle and I went for a little walk with the dog. We had a chance to bring up religion again – he appears to understand the Gospel message well and to share a similar faith with us.

We woke up at 9:15 – very late – I had the phone alarm set, but it was still set on Great Britain time, and it’s two time zones later here than there. Verle had bad leg cramps in both legs as he got up. Vlad and Marianna had planned to come around 11, so our late start was no problem. We had a couple of scones and then had breakfast (like our breakfast at home) with them when they arrived.
We then left for a wonderful day in Moscow.
Vlad drove quite a ways and parked, and we took the subway from there, which is the end of the line, into the city center at Red Square – so interesting!

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

We spent a lot of time walking around viewing the buildings that appear in photos of Moscow – so we saw Moscow as we had imagined from the photos. However, the photos always seemed drab and dark and like they were taken in winter time. Now they were painted and bright! We wondered if many of then had been painted for the World Cup soccer games that are going on this weekend. There are many tourists in the city for that. Many old buildings are being renovated and have scaffolding in place. A great idea, and one that I’ve never seen, is a plastic covering over the renovation area, with painting of the building and it’s windows on it, giving it a temporary lovely appearance instead of the unsightly view behind the plastic.

Buildings that we saw in Red Square:
Putin’s offices
Russian “Parliament”
Greek Orthodox church
Lenin’s tomb
Fancy shopping area
We walked through very expensive shopping areas in Red Square, and Vlad bought us special chocolate ice cream cones there – the ice cream goes all the way to the bottom of the cone.
A highlight of the day was a boat ride on the Moscow River. It was a beautiful day and the boat ride was such a wonderful way to see so much of the city. Vlad bought us each another ice cream cone, which we enjoyed again!
We started home again – taking the Subway back to Vlad’s vehicle, and stopping for wonderful baked potatoes with topping along the way, Vlad has developed diabetes, so he doesn’t eat some of the things we are eating. We arrived back at the apartment – Marianna was worried about the dog being alone all day. He was ecstatic to see us again and “kissed” me as I lay relaxing on the bed! Marianna made us some pasta with meat in it, homemade dill pickles (bright green instead of the dull color ours are – she doesn’t use vinegar – good) and salad.
We chatted awhile and then they left to go back to her folks’ home for the night.

NOTES:
Back of woman’s shirt: “EASY”
Vlad’s car radio: he plays American country music
Beginning religious discussion: both strongly emphasize icons, etc. ????

We got up at 2:15 a.m. We were easily ready on time, because everything was packed and laid out last night. Patrick had a car ready to take us to the Edinburgh Airport, leaving the hotel at 3 a.m. Patrick met us – dressed in his suit – and gave us each a breakfast box from the hotel. Patrick showed us to our taxi and we bid Patrick a warm good-bye. Our driver was very friendly and though he had a strong accent, he was easy to understand. We had plenty of time to find out where to go at the airport and to eat some of our boxed breakfast; however, we weren’t very hungry after our sumptuous supper last night, so we saved most of the food to eat on the plane.
We got through check-in, even though I set off the buzzer again because of my hip. They didn’t care about my hip replacement card; they made me take off my shoes and stand on the foot designs, but didn’t pat check me. Verle’s carry-on bag needed extra checking – they took his small toothpaste and put it in a zip-lock bag and waved him on.
Our flight took one hour and forty-five minutes from Edinburgh to Brussels – we had a 1 hour layover in Brussels, and then a 3 and 1/2 hour flight to Moscow.
We arrived in Moscow at 2:15 their time – Moscow is 2 hours ahead of the British Isles, so we had to set our watches ahead before we landed.
It took a long time to go through customs – a long line of people ahead of us – we were a bit worried that they might ask us the name of the hotel we were supposedly to stay at – we didn’t know the hotel name and our reservation sheets in English and Russian were in our check-in bags, which we couldn’t pick up until we got through customs. I tried to be ready to answer possible questions such as: Do you know anyone in Russia? Why are you entering Russia, etc. The lady took a long time studying our passport/visa, but finally waved me through without questioning anything. Verle was right behind me with another custom agent, who waved him right through, perhaps because we approached the examiners together and I had just been waved through.
We picked up our bags right away and excitedly met Vlad & Marianna. They took us to Tepemok, and eating place that served us blemy pancakes (two long e’s) — good! Nicky (Nikita) is 16 now, sick with the flu, and staying with Marianna’s folks. Vlad drove us around the city – traffic is awful and Vlad seems to be pretty aggressive with his driving – scary – there are no seatbelts in the back of Vlad’s big Avalanche pick-up, so we just have to trust the fact that he’s been driving in this traffic for a long time, loves his vehicle, and evidently hasn’t had any problems!
We stopped at a shopping center with aquariums – a great marketing idea!
We learned that a US dollar equals 63 rubles.
We reached their apartment and had some scones and hot drinks. We visited excitedly for quite some time, and Vlad and Marianna showed us how everything worked in the apartment and then left to stay at her folks overnight. The apartment is very small, and I had wondered how we would all function in it – they said that the apartment will be ours for the week. They took their dog, Dandji , with them. I was glad – he’s cute but very excited, and I don’t like pets in the house as much as a lot of people do.

We left on our bus at 8:30 as scheduled. The tour group has done very well being at the right place as scheduled all through this trip. Dan continued Ellie’s devotion yesterday on Jesus going after the lost sheep. He pointed out that context is so vitally important, because when Jesus teaches us about restoring someone who has sinned against us in Matthew 18, it is in the context of keeping our relationship healthy within the church body and not losing a single brother-like rescuing a lost sheep.
Three bridges lead out of Edinburgh – a rail bridge, and old highway bridge, and a new suspension bridge. There is also a ferry. Patrick called this area the Kingdom of Fife.
We drove through the pleasant farming area of the Scottish highlands – very lovely and interesting. There are a lot of sheep. As was true historically, barley and sheep were basic to existence, whiskey was the spirit of life, and porridge was the mainstay of their diet. Potatoes can be seen growing in many fields. Rock fences abound – they are not as high as in Ireland, and they are more tidy. The farms have more outbuildings here than in Ireland.
In all the areas of this tour, we have noted the efforts of the people to maintain and restore the old rather than tearing down and building new, as we tend to do most of the time in the United States.
We arrived at St. Andrews and the ruins of the St. Andrews Celtic Cathedral. St. Andrews is the Patron Saint of Scotland. The cathedral was the largest and most important church in medieval Scotland, but was destroyed during the Reformation, and people took stones away from the ruins to use them for themselves. The church supposedly houses relics of St. Andrew – a finger bone, etc. Patrick says that houses here are more expensive than in Edinburgh.
We visited a university here. US students come here to study. Ben Franklin is listed as having received an honorary law degree here in 1759, Carbohydrates were identified here. Lovely begonnias abound – bigger flowers than at home.
We drove through the Ochils hills to Sterling Castle, from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. Because paint fades, it is important to repaint castles so they will look rich and powerful. We listened to a young people’s choir from Colorado sing in the cathedral. The hall took 35 years to restore. An articulate guide named Jenny taught us much about the castle, although we had to miss the last part in order to meet the bus as scheduled. This castle controlled the bridge to the highlands and lowlands, and a military garrison continued here until 1964. Jenny’s tour contained a lot of history of the area.
We visited the ancient royal golf course and returned to our hotel to prepare for the closing supper supplied by the tour leaving at 6 p.m. – a wonderful 3 course Scottish supper with Scottish entertainment. There were dancers and singers – at one point McNeil was coaxed onto the stage to dance with the girls! Fun. They sang Amazing Grace and we all joined arms to sing Auld Lang Syne – such a fitting ending to our wonderful time here together. We spent time back at the hotel saying goodbyes to these wonderful Christian people who have become our good friends. Patrick will be involved with getting all of us to the airport at varying time for flights home or for some of the flights will take us to our next destination. For us that destination is to Vlad Budnik’s in Moscow.

NOTES:

Sign: “Church for Sale.”
Along ocean: tidal inlets and seaweed
Old well-kept homes and towns
Cupar in Fife, a market town
Archery was as important here as golf is to us – but needed for defense
Polite sign board: “Drive with consideration.”
Another: “Thank you for driving safely.”
Lavender plastic covers for hay bales

We started the day with a tour of Edinburgh Castle, entering the castle with the first group of tourists. It’s good that we did this, because the castle area was starting to get crowded. The castle is built as a fortress on Castle rock above the city. A huge cannon powerful enough to knock down city walls was on display along with several of more normal size. To control the castle was to control the kingdom, and the castle has witnessed many sieges.
I was especially interested in the chapel for St. Margaret, also referred to as Meg. To control the castle was to hold the keys to the kingdom. The castle has changed hands many times. In 1314 it was retaken from the English in a daring night raid by Thomas Randolph, nephew of Robert, the Bruce. The views of Edinburgh from various places in the castle were interesting.
From the castle we went to the Queen’s Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II spends a week in residence here at the beginning of summer each year, as she carries out the range of official engagements and ceremonies. It was interesting to visit the dining room, banquet hall, bedrooms, and studies and to stroll through the lovely gardens. We each had our own private tour guide using audio speakers that explained each room, so we could move at our own rate. There are many woven tapestries, opulent ceilings, and paintings. The Queen’s crown was on display – during World War II, it was hidden below a medieval latrine closet to prevent the enemy from finding it. The castle was for defense and the palace was for comfort.
Reformers: Martin Luther, John Knox, John Calvin. The Geneva conference provided the blueprint for reformed Protestant society.
The Catholics, trained in Greek and Hebrew, wanted to be the only one to explain the Bible. The Reformers made Bibles available to the populous and challenged the Catholic Church’s claim to be the only interpreter of Scripture.
We visited the 15th century house where John Knox, an ordained Catholic priest who realized the shortcomings of the Catholic church of that time and was drawn to the ideas of the Reformed religion. He became the leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Church, and in lived in this house for a short time before he died. Mary, Queen of Scots, opposed John Knox.
“John Knox is able in one hour to put more life in us than 500 trumpets continually blaring in our ears.”
As has been common the last few days, various types of entertainers were doing some sort of entertainment to try to collect money from tourists. Today we passed a man playing a harp, a man dressed as a monk and sitting like part of a statue, and a lady spinning yarn and singing — she put words into her song about people who take photos but don’t leave money!
St. Giles Cathedral was the next stop on our walking tour. Like many other cathedrals, we admired the arched ceiling, the ornate carved wood and the stained glass windows, Most enjoyable of all was a 30-member gowned boy’s choir, whose beautiful voices, especially the high soprano voices of young boys, reverberated through the great cathedral. We had shakes for lunch and then went back to hear the Boys’ early afternoon concert!
Patrick told the story of a man named Brady, who was a locksmith by day and a thief at night. He made a second key for himself, so he could easily enter to steal. He was caught, found guilty, and executed. (He evidently needed to steal to support his gambling habit and his 2 mistresses and 5 children.) Another Dr, Jekyl and Mr. Hyde story!
The bus driver drove us around the city and Patrick explained what we were seeing. A busy but great day – again!

Notes:
England was Lutheran and Scotland was Calvinist.
When water was unclean, beer was safer to drink than water.
The Church of Fourth Bridge (strange name for a church
Yum Yum Kurdish Kebob House
A “Proper” Hamburger
Statues of people – pigeons standing on their heads
“Follow the stair
Turn right at every door
But tall folks should beware
The Caldoneans used to be lower.”
1517 date of Reformation in Europe
Edinburgh was called the Athens of the North because of coal smoke.
Open windows in apartment buildings in Edinburgh show no air conditioners.
A public clock near a railroad station has always been 5 minutes fast

Doug Dwyer led devotions with us in the bus as we started our day. He used 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people…..” And illustrated it with England’s “God-thing” when the call went out for prayer and God spared them as Germany “mysteriously” ordered that their army not advance – it has been called the “Miracle of Dunkirk.” Doug closed with the thought, “Never be afraid to trust my unknown future to my great known God.”
Leaving Stratford, we traveled north through the midlands of England toward Edinburgh, Scotland, where we will stay for the last three nights of our tour. We rode the bus most of the morning through Nottingham, where Robin Hood and his Merry Men “robbed the rich to help the poor.” The clouds were heavy, and it was a bit chilly – AND we had a few drops of rain – the first of our entire trip. As through the entire tour, Patrick arranged for regular stops for bathroom and a bit of shopping and snacking for some. Also the bus driver has a government limit on how long the bus driver may drive without taking a break – they are usually about a half hour long.
As we drive along, Patrick shares all sorts of related and miscellaneous information. Today he talked about cricket and rugby among other things.
Around noon we came to the town of York, about a third of the way to Edinburgh. Before visiting the Edinburgh Cathedral, we took a walking tour through York, a true representation of Medieval England. We enjoyed the shops which all temp us to buy fudge or whatever. We stopped in an Ecco shoe store and came to an entertainer. He called himself “the man with the big balls. As the title sounds, part of his show was suggestive or off-color, which were disappointing, but he was excellent at working the crowd, and stood on the big ball above a row of steps and juggles, even on one foot balanced on the ball. We had seen him at the Shakespeare presentation yesterday, but he didn’t perform while we were watching.
After our stroll through the medieval town, we met at the York Minster Cathedral, England’s largest and tallest cathedral and the center of Christianity in the north part of England. It has a huge stained glass window dating back to 1338. We didn’t have much time and joined a tour with a leader there, but he was very hard to hear and not very interesting. He did say that the great size and light of the temple were seen as a sign of God’s presence there. Needing to leave at 2:45, we could only do the first half of his tour because we have a long drive yet to Edinburgh.
As we continued through north England and into Scotland, we saw larger farms, more extensive farmsteads, rolling hills, crops, sheep and goats, and a lot of grain fields. This is definitely an important farming area of these two countries.

Notes:

Community gardens an the edges of towns
“Crooked Hat” – title of a shop
Two nuclear plants – Patrick says France is 75% nuclear and builds the plants in England. Germany is reducing its nuclear facilities.
Many Scotch farmers emigrated to New Zealand. They see to be big guys.
Shop: “Old Gray Mare”
Bakeries in England also sell baked goods containing sausage or meat
In every country on this trip, we’ve seen many terraced houses – groups of identical homes in a row – each family has a section from ground floor to second or third floor for their home.
The Three-Legged Mare pub
Bruce: www.castironbath.com.UK
Biker’s shirt: Cycology
“Wain” is Scotch for child
Edinburg Holiday Inn (011) 44 871 942 9206, www.ihg.com

We got a bit of a late start because the hotel porters didn’t pick up and of our bags outside our rooms as scheduled. We almost took them down with us when we went to breakfast since they were still sitting there, but we were afraid that would confuse the porters if they came for the bags.
Bill Henry led our devotions featuring C.S. Lewis, since we are visiting Lewis’ church, the Holy Trinity Church, Headigton Quarry this morning.
Our first stop of the day was at that church. The church has a stained glass window and an etched window with symbols from Lewis’ stories, especially from the Tales of Narnia. The placard on the bench beside that window, states that this bench was where C.S. Lewis sat for services. Some of us sat in his seat just for fun. The choir was practicing “Because He Lives” while we visited the church, as we had been given permission to do. As we went to join our bus-mates, we noticed 3 couples from our group sitting in the back two pews of the church. Patrick had given them permission to attend part of the service. It was so wonderful to worship with this church group in England. The service was rather formal, but very meaningful. The church was over half full. They had a baptism for twins, Aryana and Oren van Zwieten Desai. The baptism itself took place by a big font at the back of the church. It was a very meaningful service and church members appeared to be a real fellowship of ‘believers. I cried when we sang together, Because He Lives — one of my favorites.
The rest of the group visited C.S. Lewis’ home, The Kilns, whose restoration was completed in 2001. Lewis has written, “I never hoped for the like.” Since 2002, the Kilns was dedicated to serve as a focal point of Christian hospitality, study, reflection, and learned conversation between Christian scholars, artists, and laity from the world over.
The tour paid for our lunch at The Eagle and the Child Pub; the name supposedly refers to a story of a noble-born baby having been found in an eagle’s nest. This pub became one of the gathering spots for C.S. Lewis and his literary-minded friends, including J. R. Toliken. The pub was hot and crowded and our meal took a very long time to be served because they were so busy. I had fish and sweet potato chips with dessert of ice cream and delightful round chocolate candies stuffed with creamed candy – called profitaroles – delightful and popular in Britain.
From there Patrick led us on a walking tour of Oxford College, which is a collection of 30 colleges, all seeming to be high level and proud. Patrick pointed to the one that was his – it sounded like Balliol. A stone bridge connects two of the colleges. Patrick pointed out Bodleian Library, a research library that claims to have access to every book that’s been published. Many buildings are built using a golden rock from a nearby quarry.
Driving through beautiful small villages, farmland, and rolling brooks and bridges, we stopped briefly at Anne Hathaway’s cottage.
We then continued to Shakespeare’s home in the picturesque village of Stratford-upon-Avon. This former farmhouse has been developed into a pleasant tourist feature which includes his original house and many exhibits of great interest. A costumed male and female were acting out scenes from Shakespeare’s plays; visitors could request specific plays. Their acting was excellent. I asked them if they had any vignettes where both of them interacted together. They did a short piece and included Verle and me in it — it was very amusing!
To be or not to be — that is the question.
The bus took us to our lodging close by in Nottingham: Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park – Oxford, Chipping Norton, UK 011-44 1608 673 333 www.ihg.com