Friday, August 10th at 5:15 pm our flight left SLC and arrived 9 or 10 hours later in London Heathrow Airport at 10:00 am. So it was a long long overnight flight and we didn't sit right next to each other so that was kinda a bummer, but oh well. Going through customs was scary and stressing me out, but it was fine. We just stood in a long line and were deemed not terrorists. We picked up the rental car, which was a huge long line and everything worked out in the end, but it was stressful and exhausting. We had a Mercedes A-class which made us feel fancy but we were also so tired and Matthew was probably stressed about driving on the OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD but we made it.
I surprised Matthew with a photoshoot in London that afternoon. So we actually drove to the photographers house, which was outside London and about 30 minutes from the airport. She was the very kindest and let us shower and freshen up and she even ironed our suitcase-wrinkled clothing. We walked to the train station, and took the train into Waterloo station. That was pretty neat. Then she walked us around London for about an hour and a half. We crossed the River Thames, saw the Eye (which is just a really slow ferris wheel) and Big Ben(but he was covered in scaffolding and not very cool) and all sorts of cute alleyways and sidewalks and cobblestone and window boxes and cuteness!!!! And then ended at St. Paul's cathedral which was gorgeous and took a cab back to the station, the train back to Surrey, and a cab from that train station back to her house where we met her husband Matt (haha) and her two cute children, Oliver and Annabelle. Darling kids, darling accent!! We parted late afternoon as happy friends and drove several hours west in an area known as the Cotswolds.
We had some trouble locating our Airbnb for the next few days, but we drove to the village's local pub, the Ebrington Arms, got some directions, and soon found it. It was darling. The owner, Sam, was a Scottish lady that we now consider a friend. She had a border collie named Caffrey, and a small cat named Marble that breathed really loud. We saw beautiful vista, cute little cottages and it just about blew my mind. We walked all over everywhere and anywhere. Every corner I'd stop and say: "WOOOOOOWWWW!!!" But we loved our three nights there. Sam cooked us some of her prize-winning eggs from her three hens out back (adorable) and she was seriously such a delight.
In the Cotswolds we walked into Chipping Campden, drove to Snowshill and saw the last bit of blooming lavendar for the summer. We could smell it in the car before we saw it! Chipping Campden had a beautiful chapel that was special to me simply because it was the first parish church we visited. We also visited Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter, and Broadway Tower. We went to the churches in each town, and it was so special to see these old buildings of worship. They are such historical buildings, and to sit in their hard wooden pews was very peaceful. I read somewhere recently to never pass a church or place of worship without stopping and revering the Lord. I love that.
One of my favorite stops was Hidcote Gardens, which was a 4 minute drive up the road from our airbnb in Ebrington. This magnificent house and garden was the result of a very wealthy American woman and her son, Lawrence, who traveled the world searching for plants and brought them home to his garden. I had discovered this place online prior to our trip, but I had forgotten I think. So when Sam mentioned that both Hidcote and Kiftsgate were just five minutes up the road- we had to see at least one of them! I'm so glad we saw Hidcote. Kiftsgate was literally across the lane, and it looked equally fabulous so we will have to visit that one next time. Hidcote was stunning and the house was covered in roses, clematis and massive wisteria! I just stood in the gated entryway soaking up all the pea gravel heaven as I stared at a stunning mansion. The green lawns, the hedges (which were in the middle of being pruned!!) the cobblestone and gravel walkways... The symmetry of gates and pathways, and then floppy wild natural growth. It's such a pleasure to wander acres of well maintained grounds. I was in awe of it all. In the center of the space was a section called the Long Walk. It was a narrow field of green green green grass, contained on both sides by a massively tall hedge of holly and it ended open to "Wilderness" as the map explained. The view was of golden hills divided by green hedges and trees. The sky was blue with big puffy white clouds slowly passing over, as if they wanted to glimpse all the garden's beauty as well. We learned that small pergolas spaced throughout the garden were lined with Dutch tiles, which kept foods chilled for warm summery evening garden parties. There was a mural on a wall with classy men and women playing croquet in the Italian Garden and I just about died. Although there were people milling all around, it consisted of older women taking notes about the different plants in their gardener notebooks, and mothers with children running about in their Wellingtons. It was entirely pleasant.
The morning we left the Cotswolds we stopped at a local grocery called Vegetable Matters. All along the dirt entry were rows of happy yellow sunflowers. These were the sunflowers that had won 3rd place at the village's garden club the Saturday before. Our host, Sam, had won 2nd prize with her dark purple sunflowers and she was very proud. The owner of Vegetable Matters had gotten 3rd, as I said, and his wife had won 1st place with her own collection of sunflowers! We bought some apples and a pint of the most delicious cranberry juice I've ever had for our long drive. I kept the bottle because it was too cute a size to throw away.
Tuesday morning we left early and started driving north. We stopped in the Lake District and went to Beatrix Potter's house. It was pretty wet and sooooo green!!!! I couldn't believe how green it was everywhere!!! Her house in Hill Top was full of tourists, so that was kinda a downer, but it was fun to see anyways. Then we continued driving further north, we passed into Scotland and saw forests of pine trees like I've never seen before. We were way up in the hills, and these big banks of fog would roll over us and then pass and fade. It was nuts.
In Scotland we stayed in a small town called Penicuik, just outside of Edinburgh, which on the east side of Scotland. I wasn't feeling super good when I got there, but soon was feeling better and we saw some beautiful things. We visited an old estate called Penicuik house that had burned down, so you could walk through the ruins. I also met a very attractive Scottish man there. So that was cool. It was often raining, but when it broke, we went for a walk behind our airbnb, and came upon these happy cows. But pretty soon it started pouring again, and we were not prepared for the mud that came our way! Our first night in Penicuik we ate dinner at the Flotterstone Inn. Matthew had a delicious steak and ale pie, I had a gammon steak, and we shared a delicious baked Camembert and then an apple and rhubarb crumble with hot cream. Oh it was so delicious I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
We visited an ancient church called Rosslyn Chapel, its supposedly where the Holy Grail had been buried. Very interesting history and fascinating carvings. We also visited a small coastal town, North Berwick, where I had fish and chips for the first time and they were delicious. As we drove away from the town, we saw the ruins of a massive castle along the coast, so of course we pulled right back over and explored the ruins of Tantallon Castle. It was totally amazing!!!! Its crazy to think that it was built in 1350 or whatever, and then Oliver Cromwell's armies completely destroyed in in 1520 and it wasn't ever inhabited after, that's how thoroughly he wrecked it. But it was awesome to see. Then we went to another small coastal town called St. Abb's that was totally gorgeous. Nobody was there, and that made it even better. We walked on a trail alongside the coast, and saw some stunning views. The water was a deep deep blue and it was stunning. Barely any waves, and I couldn't believe that I was looking across water towards Norway! I love how the these pictures turned out. I used my film camera for all these images, and I didn't do any heavy editing with any of them. The grass was really that green, and the water was truly that blue!
Then it was time to head to York. On our drive south back into England, we stopped at Alnwick Castle, which people still live in today! Some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed there apparently, as well as Downton Abbey so that was cool. It was gorgeous and totally massive. Every time we walked past an arrow slit in the castle walls, Matthew would draw back his imaginary bow and arrow, and take a shot at a ghostly Scot down below! In York we stayed with Helen Douglas, a lady Matthew got to know really well on his mission. We walked on the York walls, saw the minister, and had a lot of walking and fun that day. Then we drove in a small town called Pontefract, where one of Matthew's companions lives with his wife and son and that was super fun. On Sunday we went into Keighley, where Matthew began his mission and ended it. Met incredible people and visited so many. We met Rick and Joan, who matthew always imitates their voices, ya know? They were so happy to see us. They have a framed picture from our wedding announcement on their living room window sill. That day we also went to a town called Howarth to spend time with a convert, Lorraine, as well as see where The Bronte sisters lived. It was darling.
Monday we drove down to London for our last night, walked into Hyde Park and Kensington gardens a little bit, got some dinner and then crashed at our airbnb. The gal was very kind, but she was definitely a hoarder and had 5 cats. Hahaha. We got up super early the next morning, had pancakes and nutella and strawberries for breakfast and drove to the airport. We dropped off the car, checked our bag, had a yummy meal at a french cafe in the airport and then boarded the plane at 10:15 and arrived 10 hours later in SLC around 1 pm. I watched a lot of movies. Mom and Boma picked us up at the airport and it was fun to see everyone and sleep in our own bed.
So. The lessons I've learned:
-there are so many people in this world
-and they just live their lives, all with worries and concerns and happiness and sadness
-you never know what someone is going through. ever. so we should just always be nice
-there's so many great ways to live and make your life happy
-england is green and gorgeous and I think we should go move there
-God is so good and knows so much more than I and truly makes beautiful things
-even though America is very different from England, and the UK in general, that is were our start came from and I'm grateful for the individuals who braved crossing the ocean to find this land for us
-church members across the world are doing their utmost to follow God's commandments in whatever way they can. And if doesn't look exactly like church in an Utah ward, that's totally ok. We can still feel His spirit if we sing without the organ or if class meetings are small.
If you read all the way to the end, or at least scrolled through to the bottom, here's some favorites from our kind friend and photographer, Zosia Zacharia. Check her out for beautiful work at her website, linked here.
If you read all the way to the end, or at least scrolled through to the bottom, here's some favorites from our kind friend and photographer, Zosia Zacharia. Check her out for beautiful work at her website, linked here.
