Dasy Sixteen and Seventeen: Europe or Bust
Last day in the UK!!!!!! We stayed with a lovely French family in their London apartment. They were so sweet and kind, and Arwen and I became great friends with their oldest daughter, Louise.
We spent our last day in London, seeing all the sights we missed the first time around. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace (a must see, if I might add).
After seeing the palace we walked around the park and garden nearby. It was probably the highlight of my day - from climbing cool trees to taking pictures of gorgeous flowers to visiting the monuments built to J.M Barrie and Princess Diana. It was time spent in nature, which always makes a day brighter.
After many hours spent in the park, we made our way toward the church of John Wesley and a graveyard nearby which held the graves of men such as Samuel Wesley and John Bunyan. Both places were full of monuments and memories, but also with joy for the lives lived by so many men of God.
We made a new friend!
Our final stop of the day was Parliament. I'll be totally honest with you, this was not the most exciting part of the trip. We were all hungry and tired and we'd already seen the building from a distance and, while it was truly magnificent, we really just got a few pictures and then rushed off to find something to eat.
We made it back to our flat late, which wasn't good because we had to get packed and then wake up at two o'clock in the morning to get to our airplane. It was actual torture. Fortunately security was a breeze and the seven hour flight wasn't too awful (she says sarcastically) and of course we were all happy little angels when we got in the car and prepared for a twelve hour drive from NYC back to our much-missed home in North Carolina. Fortunately we stopped in Virginia to eat at Cracker Barrel with some friends. Let me tell you, as amazing as English food is, there is nothing like coming back to your own country and sitting down to a meal of pancakes, bacon, coffee (real, not instant), sweet tea (iced, not piping hot), biscuits with butter and strawberry jam, fried okra and cornbread. It was glorious.
We got a more exciting evening than we bargained for, though, because halfway through the meal all the attendants of the restaurant came out and everyone started clapping. I was confused, being in a sleep deprived state, and only later did I learn that I had been dining in the same room as the ex-president, Jimmy Carter. He had been speaking at Liberty University for graduation and just popped into the Cracker Barrel for a meal afterwards! It was a surreal end to our vacation.
While I am heartbroken to be leaving England, I am incredibly happy to be home. It was a wonderful trip and I'd love to go back. Thank you all for tuning in!
I love you all!