Sunny Views and Nights Out

Over the past week, we've had a few more days of exploring parts of London, including the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Regent's Park, and Primrose Hill.  We also had some more lunch and dinner meetings, went out on boys nights and girls nights, and took lots of naps in between.  We have also had the opportunity to reflect on our time in England and with St. George's as our internship with the church comes near to a close.

Last Friday we had another touristy day.  First up, we rode the bus down to Southbank and took a trip on the London Eye.  This enormous Ferris Wheel offers incredible views of the city of London and we were very lucky to have a gorgeous day on which to go up.  The tickets were expensive, but we allowed ourselves to splurge a little bit in order to have the experience, as it had been so highly recommended to us.  As was advertised, the views were fantastic; we even got a picture of the Olympic beach volleyball arena across the Thames from the Eye.

Next, we were feeling a bit hungry, so we went off in search for some food.  We happened across a world fair, which had a stall selling Mexican food.  We decided to give it a try, and ordered a grilled chicken burrito with guacamole.  We were not disappointed.  It tasted much like a Chipotle burrito, which was good, but it did make us miss our home in Southern California just a bit more.

We then took a trip down the River Thames on the ferry, called The Clipper.  This is where our tourist day started to go a little downhill.  We had to get in a line to buy a ticket, then wait in a line to get on the pier, then wait in a line for the ferry to arrive, then wait in line to get on the boat, all of which took about an hour total.  The trip down the river was not fast at all, and it took us a while to get down to Greenwich, where we supposed to be headed for the afternoon.  We went to Greenwich primarily to see the Royal Observatory, which marks the center of Greenwich Mean Time, the point from which all other time zones are measured.  Unfortunately, we did not check the website beforehand, and arrived just as an Olympic event being held in Greenwich had ended.  We felt like salmon swimming upstream as we pushed against the waves of Olympic fans exiting the area.  We finally stopped to ask for directions to the Observatory, only to be told that it was closed today (but it would be open tomorrow...).  Bummer!  We then spent a little bit of time in the National Maritime Museum looking at models of old ships before boarding a bus to head back toward London.  The bus was another adventure, as it was diverted twice after we got on, and we were not sure how the route would be affected.  As it turns out, we were able to get off at Tower Bridge, but had a bit of a walk to our next destination: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.  We eventually found the theater, but were very hungry.  The closest place to eat was Pizza Express.  We shared a Margherita pizza, and half way through noticed that we were the only ones eating the pizza with our hands; everyone else was using a fork and knife.  Such is the American lifestyle in England...Oh well!

At the Globe, we had booked tickets to see The Taming of the Shrew.  We stood amongst the crowd in front of the stage, in the pit area.  One of the best features of standing was that the actors sometimes entered and exited the stage through the crowd.  There was one scene in which the Shrew was chased through the crowd by her suitor.  Brian happened to be standing in her way and received a stage punch in the face from the Shrew (she didn't actually make contact, but it was loud).  By the end of the show, our back and legs hurt from standing for three hours, but it was worth it in order to experience Shakespeare in a place very near to where it would have originally been shown.

Saturday we slept until 11:30am.  We spent the rest of the afternoon recovering from the day before.  In the evening we walked up to Islington to have dinner with some St. Georgianites, Richard and Sophie Brooks.  We had a wonderful dinner and learned a lot from them about the church in England, how they met one another, and their time at Cambridge University.  They offered to connect us with a student pastor of their church in Cambridge, which we accepted.  We made plans to go up to Cambridge together on Saturday, August 11th.  We are very much looking forward to going!

On Sunday morning, we went to a service at All Soul's, Langham Place, in order to get a different experience of church in England.  The service was a little bit more liturgical than St. George's; they had a printed bulletin and said the Collect for Purity together.  We also read a Psalm together.  They sang hymns to contemporary tunes, but these could have been done a little bit more simply.  They had many different instruments involved, including brass instruments, a guitar, drums, an organ, and a keyboard, all playing along with a choir.  The sermon was very good; it was an evangelistic sermon on Romans 5.  All Soul's, along with St. George's, and probably many other churches in the area, are being more evangelistic during the Olympics due to the number of visitors.  On our walk back to the Valentine's, we walked past the theater that Hillsong London rents every Sunday for their services.  It was great to be walking in London and hear Christian music coming from a theater. Once we were back, we joined the Valentine's for lunch and then relaxed to get ready for the evening service.  We went to the evening service with very few plans for the week ahead, and by the time we left the church we had dinner booked for almost every night of the week! Yet another testament to St. George's hospitality.

Monday afternoon we had lunch with Anders Litzell, his wife Kate, and their eight month old son Henry.  Anders is the new curate at St. George's, and we had met with his family at Focus, but we wanted to get together again.  We went by their place and had some of the largest burgers we've ever had.  They were delicious, but left us all very stuffed.  We compared notes on how one secures a curacy in the Church of England versus how one finds a job after seminary in the US.  It does seem that England is much better organized in this regard.  The diocese is much more involved in the process, and pays the stipends of all clergy.  We commiserated over moving, and had a great time chatting the afternoon away, and playing with Henry.

In the afternoon we had a chance to sit down with John Valentine, the vicar of St. George's, and ask him some questions.  We talked about clergy schedules, church planting, and the Saturday School of Theology which he was instrumental in setting up at Holy Trinity Brompton.  We talked for about two hours, and it was one of those conversations which was filled with wisdom.  We wrote down a few things and are hoping that we can remember the rest.  Thankfully, he said that we could email him whenever we would like if we have more questions.

On Tuesday, we went to the staff meeting in the morning.  We were able to share some of our reflections on our time with St. George's with the staff members in attendance, and answer some questions about what we would be doing once we returned to California.  Like the meeting last week, it was an informal staff meeting, just to catch up with one another and pray together.

After the meeting, we took the tube to meet Zhen, our house mate (who was in the opening ceremony for the Olympics).  She took us to a Malaysian restaurant near Hyde Park where we got to try some traditional Malay cuisine.  We're very thankful that she was with us, not only because then she could tell us what each dish was, but there was a sign outside the restaurant saying that non-Malaysians were not allowed unless accompanied by a Malaysian.  We got to chat with her about her coming to London to study, her family, and what she hopes to do once the summer holiday is over.  Once we were done with lunch we tried to find the market on Portobello Road together, but we got a little turned around, so we were unsuccessful.  Instead, we found a Starbucks and had a drink together, accompanied by more conversation.

After this, for the first time in our six weeks here, we split up.  Brian went off to Leicester (pronounced 'Lester') Square to meet John and Anders for a boys night.  They went to see the Dark Knight Rises and then grab a pint together at a pub.  Mandy returned home and had a lovely evening with Catherine Valentine.  They wandered around Covent Garden, and eventually settled in a the local Italian restaurant, Ciao Bella. They talked about almost everything, from home decor, to most of Catherine's past work experience.  Mandy got a giant calzone, which was bigger than her face, and very yummy.  Lucky for Brian, she only finished half, so he could have that for dinner once he got back to the Valentine's with John later that evening.

Wednesday provided much evidence that we are getting old.  Brian wanted to look through a book from which he will be teaching a course in the Fall, and he found out that the British Library had a copy.  However, after we walked up to the library, we discovered that the British Library only allows "real researchers" to look at their books, otherwise we were welcome to see the exhibits (which we had already seen).  So that endeavor was a flop.  We then walked next door to St. Pancras station to pick up our train tickets for Paris, and then walked around the shops in the station for a bit.  After that short walk and two errands, we returned home exhausted and fell asleep for two and a half hours.

Consequently, we were well rested for our dinner date that evening with Simon and Abi Todd.  Their flat is further north in London than we had yet been.  We took the bus up into their neighborhood and found their place, and were delighted to eat dinner out on their balcony (accessible only through their kitchen window, which made it feel a bit like a treehouse).  We stayed out there chatting until well after the sun had gone down, and then went back inside for a bit more conversation.  In our time with the Todds, we talked about dating, church styles, movies, the public health sector, the difference in the education systems in the UK and US (grading, etc.), self-esteem, and more.  We then caught the bus back home for more sleep.

Thursday we resolved that we would not sleep the day away again.  We had heard that Primrose Hill has some of the best views of London, so we made a day of it.  We packed a lunch and walked over to Regent's Park (about 45 minute walk), which is just south of Primrose Hill.  There we enjoyed the gardens, which included Queen Mary's Rose Garden, with over 12,000 different varieties of roses.  Mandy got some fantastic pictures of sunshine, flowers, and the English countryside.  We found a place in the shade of some trees to enjoy lunch, and then continued walking up towards Primrose Hill.  Throughout the park there are many paths with fountains, manicured lawns, statues, and more gardens.  Each garden seemed to have a theme, although since we don't know much about plants, we just enjoyed the beauty of nature.

Once we got up Primrose Hill, we got to soak in the view of London.  It was a beautiful day with high visibility.  It felt very much like a San Diego day; 78 degrees and no rain.  Mandy even got a little tan.  From the hill we could see all of the skyscrapers of downtown London, along with the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, the House of Parliament, and other famous landmarks.  A sign nearby identified the tallest buildings which we could see, which was very helpful.

We then descended Primrose Hill and walked back through a different part of Regent's Park.  There is a small lake in the Park and you can rent paddle boats (for a pretty sum) to go out onto it.  There were a lot of people (and birds) around, enjoying the sunshine and the lake.  We stopped at an ice cream stall and each got a scoop.  Mandy got caramel crunch and Brian got strawberries and cream.  While it wasn't quite as good as the amazing ice cream we got in Hyde Park, it was wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer day.

We stopped briefly by 221B Baker Street on our way, where the Sherlock Holmes Museum is located.  Brian remembers going there as a child and wanted just a brief look.  There was a long line outside and we were running out of time, so we didn't not go in.

We then walked back across London to the Valentine's for another round of boys and girls nights.  Brian and John went to meet another friend of John's to go see Prometheus together and then grab a pint at a pub.  Mandy joined Catherine and Zhen in a ladies night.  They went to Bea's of Bloomsbury for afternoon tea, which included teas, scones, clotted cream, and jam, and then returned to the Valentine's for a girlie romance movie: Two Weeks Notice (Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock).  We all reunited later in the evening to watch the wrap up for that day of the Olympics.

And that was our week.  It was very busy, but also with some significant down time.  We have a few more engagements with friends here at St. George's and then this Sunday is our last official time with them.  We'll then be off to explore Oxford, Paris, and Antwerp before coming home to San Diego.