We're here!

All of our luggage ready to go. London, here we come!







We had a fairly easy journey over, arriving mid-day Friday. We immediately went to our new flat to drop off luggage and meet our landlords. Peter and Judith are delightful and the flat is just perfect. After having a look at the flat, Peter took us on a tour of the neighborhood.  Our flat is across from a small green space/park. The neighborhood is mostly pedestrian only--quiet for London, although the house next to us is under construction (we'll see how that goes!). Exmouth market is just down the street (photo below), and thankfully we have several small groceries within an easy walk.

Pedestrian street with local shops and restaurants, many international. Peter took us to a small bakery for tea on Friday and the food was lovely. We are really looking forward to exploring this area.

We then took the train to Cambridge, arriving around 9pm. Stacey was concerned all the restaurants would be shutting but when we stopped at an Italian restaurant we remembered that this is Cambridge and not Spokane--normal dinner time is after 8pm! Dinner service was in full swing, but we were just late enough not to have to wait long for a table on a Friday night.  I love the architecture of the building the restaurant is in; you'll have to move over to Facebook to see a photo of the gorgeous ceiling--having trouble downloading some of my photos from my phone.

We had a wonderful time catching up with friends in Cambridge and Manchester and touring some of the sights, and also a lovely walking holiday in Shropshire. Photos are also on Facebook. Being back at StAG (our old church) was an emotional experience. We had not expected to know many people as the turn-over is fairly high (as everyone kept reminding us), but it took at least an hour to say hello and promise to come back soon and to make time for tea or a meal so we could catch up properly with all of our friends who are still there. Everyone looked much the same, and it was actually difficult to realize so much time had passed until we looked at all their children! We still haven't been back to the evening service, the service we regularly attended, but hope to soon.

Manchester was brilliantly sunny and warm (which we are told is not common!), and it was a joy to catch up with our dear friends there. He works in a large urban church nearby (on a beautiful park), and they live across from a mosque in a very multicultural part of the city and have a wonderful ministry. We also discovered a park called Whitworth Park and an art gallery called Whitworth; I wonder if the 19th-century personage after whom these are named has any relation to our own George Whitworth, founder of our university.

After a couple of days in Manchester, and an outing to a nearby National Trust property, Jonathan and I took the train to Church Stretton in Shropshire for a couple of days of walking. Spectacular weather again, and after a warm-up 6-7 mile hike our first afternoon, Jonathan convinced me to walk a 20-22 mile loop the second day, with lots of climbing up onto moorland and then dropping back down into verdant valleys -- with the obligatory stop for a pint at a country pub half-way through. We had forgotten that a pint of English bitter is actually not a bad thing to have half-way through a walk, since the alcohol content is so low (c. 3.5% or less). Jonathan in fact attributes my willingness to go on with the long loop to the softening effects of my mid-day pint!

Pint at a local pub

Wild Bilberry or Whortleberry, cousin to the Huckleberry. Didn't taste as good as our huckleberries!

The Long Mynd

Really amazing being on a road that has been here since Neolithic times--5,000 years old!

The town we stayed in

We then arrived back in London yesterday afternoon and have been setting ourselves up and exploring our flat and the local area. Peter and Judith were very thoughtful; the flat is already stocked with everything we need to start off--toilet paper, soap, cling film...even a sewing kit. Our flat is really amazing--200-years old and unsurprisingly has lots of character. The building we live in is five floors. Our flat takes up the bottom two floors, which has been made into a basic two up, two down floor plan with a large bathroom on the bottom floor. Our upstairs neighbor is a retired editor of the Sunday Times (not yet sure if he was "A" or "THE" editor). Photos with descriptions below. We have new mobile/cell numbers and we have wi-fi in the flat. Still figuring out best ways to contact people in USA.

I am standing in door into flat. This is the study/library side of room.

Window out to front square with door to front entrance mud room on left.

Dining section of room and door leading to front entrance on right. Door to rest of flat on left. We love the art hanging throughout the flat. They have prints of Très Riche Heures pages hung up in the hallways!

Kitchen with huge window to back garden.

Kitchen corner (left side of picture above)

Living room with window looking out on square

We've flipped the chairs so we can read and lounge in the living room while looking out the window. Window boxes of flowers are at perfect height to hide us from passers-by on the pavement. :-)

Living room opposite window.

Bedroom with window overlooking the back garden, including beautiful birch tree. We have plenty of closet/drawer space for our clothes and room for all of our luggage--yeah!

First dinner in the back garden.

View of kitchen from back garden.

Breakfast in the back garden.

Pavement outside flat (and J with groceries).