London letters

So, I decided to write my first church visit paper on Holy Trinity Brompton, the church I attended in London. Which required me to dig out my London archives, so to speak. Which is, to be perfectly honest, extremely painful. I have all of the maps of all of the galleries we went to on a regular basis. When just picking them up and glancing through them, I can recall almost every step, every scramble to write down the information on the placard, every laugh at something ridiculous, every near tear shed over something excruciatingly beautiful. And then, of course, there are little things that bring great delight to my heart over the sheer silliness of it all. For instance, the Winnie-the-Pooh shop I stumbled across in Canterbury, the Mexican restaurant in Angel Carolyn and I braved over break, and the Tea Rooms some of us gals went to while in Canterbury. Then...my very first paper topic, and advice from Londoners in years past. Then there are the MAG assignments. Then there are concert programs. I even still have a train ticket from our trip to Bath! Also, also, also, the LICC's Summary of Vision & Activities. And then a map of the Imperial War Museum, which contained exhibitions regarding Crimes Against Humanity and The Holocaust. Papers I have neglected to look at. My plane ticket from Newark to London, of course. And, this makes me chuckle: actual menu items at the National Gallery cafe: smoked mackerel pate with apple, chicken liver mousse with roasted garlic, and Potted Old Spot pork with prunes. Blech! All these things bring me great joy in remembering, but also great sadness in knowing I'm not there! I felt oh so alive in London. I don't want to not live and not inhabit my time wisely here in Houghton, but I miss it oh so much. Oh so much.
I'm heart sick for the city. I realize this sounds a bit pathetic, sentimental, and perhaps like an idealization of London, but I swear that's not the case. It was not all bliss and beauty. It was flat out hard. And of course, I can't forget being pickpocketed, and my computer dying the Sunday before a paper was due.

From a relatively recent journal entry:

So what, in fact, was it that made me feel so alive in London? Was it the exchange of ideas, or the just right foggy chill? Was it the people I suffered and rejoiced alongside with? Was it the interaction with the professors, wells of brilliance, and You--spouting the wisdom of this world you deem as foolishness, yet which still defines the West today, and subconsciously works its way into us? Was it You? Learning what it is to depend on You much more radically than I think I had before? Seeing Your very active presence in the small percentage of British/international Christians? Seeing You as much bigger than I had conceived before? Being among so many people, so many beautiful reflections of You--both in number and ethnicity and language? Was it the romance of the whole thing? Was it the sheer impossibility and blessing of the whole thing? the sense of connectedness to Western history? the aesthetic architectural beauty of the city?

I took a bath in Bath. My life is complete.

Just got back from the town in the southwestern part of England named Bath.

It's really an adorable little city with about 100,000 residents.

Its claim to fame is that Jane Austen resided there for a brief period of time in here life (she hated it there), her novels all mention Bath, there are remains of Roman baths from the first century, and Edgar (first king of England) was crowned at Bath abbey. Also, there is a neat set of building called the Royal Crescent: the hotel in the center of the crescent charges 850 pounds a night (roughly 1700 dollars)-it's the town's most exclusive hotel. There is also a set of buildings that make up the circus (circle). It's quite dizzying, actually. Speaking of dizzying, we went into the Assembly Rooms in Bath and went into the ballroom and attempted to waltz and tango with each other. It's times like that when I really wish I had any dancing skill at all.

We stayed in this adorable little hotel = Pratt's hotel. It was AWESOME. There are no other words right now. We had Twinings tea (the best kind ever) along with chocolate chip shortbread. The room had a trouser press (which I didn't actually end up using), and two chairs (armchairs) besides the beds -perfect mattress softness, perfect pillow firmness, and perfect weight and warmth of sheets. Our dinner was three courses: my first course was fan of melon drizzles in strawberry sauce, then I had chicken with a bacon sauce, then I had a tart for dessert.
Debbie (my temporary roommate and I) felt very pampered, and conceded that the only thing that could make our lives better at that moment was to be rescued by knights in shining armor.

Going to the Roman baths was an enriching experience, for lack of a better adjective. I don't think I've ever encountered something so obviously ancient.

The Bath Abbey is gorgeous and TALL.

There are lots of little shops around town, and one of my favorite parts of the trip was buying several pains au chocolat at this little bakery on Pulteney Bridge.

I also liked just walking into Bath Abbey and being in awe of its majesty. At the front of the cathedral, there are 56 different stained glass representations of the life and death and resurrection of Christ, and in the back, there are numerous Old Testament stories depicted.
Gorgeous.