No Ticket

Tuesday, July 14

It was our last morning in Edinburgh and our last morning together. We left the Rose's house rather quickly in order to meet the bus that would take us to the airport. We walked to a different stop than before, arriving just minutes before it was due. A few minutes after the bus was to arrive, we wondered if it had come early and we had missed it! But sure enough, the 35 bus came up and we were safely on. Resuming our normal spots in the top level front row seats, we took in our last views of Edinburgh. 

At the airport, we hugged goodbye very quickly, because Anya's plane to London was due to take off in a short amount of time. I, on the other hand, had a few hours to kill. First, I thought I would check in (if it wasn't too early). There was no line, so I walked right up, handed my passport over the counter, and waited for my ticket to print. Unexpectedly, the lady looked up and rather than issuing a ticket, told me that I wasn't on the flight. What?! But I had the time of the flight I wanted and had booked it months ago! Something wasn't right, so I went into my emails to try and solve the mystery. And here is the lesson I learned: to read ALL of my emails, fine print included. Thinking I had booked my flight months ago, I had only booked that price for a flight. The email explained that I had to go to another website, use the reference I had been given, and then I would have booked a flight. So I was in the airport with no ticket. That's a first. :) (blonde moment to be sure)

Fortunately, the problem was easily solved. I used the Internet wifi to buy a new ticket from my phone. It cost a little more than it would've previously, but because it was a hopper flight, it wasn't too bad. 

I went back and checked in (now I was in the system). After security, I had an English breakfast (I had been craving one and now that I had more of an appetite, I could order one). The time passed pretty quickly until my flight, and the short flight was smooth. 

When I landed in Belfast, I was directed to a bus that would take me into town. Leanne and I had arranged a meeting place, but it was in a couple of hours, so I found a Starbucks that had wifi and plugs for charging and did a bit of reading. 

After awhile, I decided to walk around (I was in a cluster of shops). At the arranged time, I met Leanne. It was so good to see her! We caught up over dinner which was at an amazing restaurant called Skinny. It had a healthy menu AND it was delicious!!! I even ordered a shot of apple cider vinegar, honey, and garlic! :)

After dinner, Leanne drove me around a little bit, explaining some of Northern Ireland's current history. There was still evidence of recent parades from their "celebrations" on the 12th and 13th of July. 

From a massive bonfire 

Then we drove to her house where I settled in, we chatted awhile, then went to bed. 

Arthur

Monday, July 13

Unfortunately, whatever I am sick with just won't let go. In fact, I felt it start to get worse again, so I slept in Monday morning while Anya went to the National Museum of Scotland. I met up with her at Carrubbers Cafe because I wanted to see the new renovations. We weren't hungry so we didn't stay to eat, but just looking around brought back several wonderful  memories from my missions trip. 

From here, we walked down the Royal Mile, past the Hollyrood Palace, and up to Arthur's Seat. Considering my condition, I probably shouldn't have gone, but it was the one thing I had really wanted to do so I went ahead and did the climb. Naturally, as soon as we were nearing the top, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain lightly. Still, it was nice to be at the top and see what we could in the haze. 

Coming down, you'd think we could follow the same path, but we were distracted and also following a few girls in front of us. We suddenly realized that we were on a grassy slope going down a different way we had come up. But we went with it. The slope led us to a road that brought us around the back of Arthur's Seat. By looking at the map, we were able to find our way to the Meadows and thus to our home. We were a bit damp from the rain, so we warmed up inside. I took a nap and Anya read in the living room. 

We had plans to meet Sarah at her flat for dinner. We could've walked, but I had used more energy than I should've on the hike, so we took the bus. It was very easy to do. When we arrived, we saw that it was a five story building with one to two flats on each floor. We managed to get inside the building as someone (walking several big dogs) was coming out. We hadn't seen Sarah's name on the "buzzing-in panel" so we asked if he knew. He wasn't sure, but gave us his best guess. So we walked up a couple of flights and knocked. The owner answered. Nope. Not Sarah. We tried another two doors and listened in to a couple more but couldn't find it! Once we were outside again, double checking the address (yes, we were right), Anya noticed the flat number in her email. We knocked on that one, even though it had a different last name on the outside of the door, and there was Sarah!! :) The name was her landlady, which is why we were so confused. 

Dinner was delicious! She served us roasted chicken with avocado and pomegranate salad tossed in a homemade dressing. It was so nice to have a home-cooked, nutritious meal! Dessert was equally good. She made Cranachan (toasted oatmeal sprinkled on strawberries covered in cream, whipped with honey and a tiny bit of whiskey). Yum! We continued chatting while drinking tea and coffee in her living room, the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack playing softly in the background. :) It was a lovely evening. Sarah drove us home and said goodbye. Then Anya and I packed our belongings and went to bed. 

The View

Sunday, July 12

Still recovering, I slept in and met Anya in Carrubbers at noon. The walk to Carrubbers is about 25 minutes, so before I left, I downloaded a sermon by Alister Begg (I thought him an appropriate choice in Scotland), listening to it as I walked, and finished just as I arrived. 

We were invited to have a picnic lunch at the Botanical Gardens by Sarah. We stopped by Tesco's to buy some food, then drove to the gardens. It was so beautiful there!! We met up with her friends, Jenny and Michael with their three children and Michael's brother, and tried to find a spot in the ever-elusive sun. Anya and I had scones with cream and jelly for lunch (a must while in Britain!) and relaxed while we got to know the others. 

After lunch, Anya and I said goodbye and walked over to Calton Hill. It is a hill in Edinburgh that contains ruins of a partially built, but never finished Acropolis. It also happens to offer incredible views of the city and surrounding landscapes. 

On our way, we stumbled across this pub. 

I found the secret entrance! ;)

We enjoyed the view for awhile, and then parted. I needed to rest and take a nap, but Anya was able to keep walking around, shop, and even read by the castle for awhile. We reconnected again at the Rose's and had toast for dinner (we were slightly obsessed with toast in Edinburgh...I don't think we went a meal without it. :) ) (Crimea- River). But as soon as we were finished, Cameron Rose came in and started putting water on, sticking bread in the toaster, and invited us to join him and some people from church (evening service) for toast! We declined the toast, but we did end up staying to hang out for awhile. What an eclectic group we became. One of the great thing about the Rose's is their hospitality. Cameron will invite anyone over after church and they often have people staying at their place, Anya and I being one of the many. During our stay, a couple of French men were also staying, so they and another Frenchman that they had just met that night at church, along with us two Americans, another Scottish man, and the Rose's were seated around their table discussing various topics. The Scottish man I was seated next to has been attending Carrubbers but isn't a Christian and is trying to learn about it (from a very philosophical background). I was able to talk with him for a little while, because he was surprised that Anya and I would go to three services in a day, plus bible study during the week. He wanted to know why. The Frenchman that everyone had just met also wasn't a believer but just walked into the church that night because he had liked the singing and was interested in church architecture. The Frenchmen mostly talked to him in French so I'm not really sure what took place at that end of the table. That night, I also tried some homemade Orange and Lemon Wine that one of the Frenchmen staying at the Rose's had made at his house in southern France. It was very sweet but very strong as well. We had small portions. :) It was an interesting night, but after a little while, Anya and I excused ourselves to go to bed. 

A City of Castles, Cobblestone, Cemeteries, and Churches

Saturday, July 11

This morning we had a problem. Anya and I had bought a ticket online for a bus to take us from Baker Street (nearby) at 8:40 to the Stanstead Airport. (A great option! It takes a little longer, but is very well priced) We had booked the ticket late the night before, and it needed to be printed before we left. But we didn't know how to log in to the computers in the computer lab, and the front desk wouldn't open again until 8:00am. We figured that they could print the ticket for us at 8, and we would have plenty of time. So we waited by the front desk at exactly 8...then 8:05. A couple minutes later, someone arrived. He said that if I emailed him, he could print it. But it was something I needed to go to the website, download, and then print. He was not being helpful, but thankfully, another guy came along and began helping us. We tried the computer lab, but the printer in there wasn't working for some reason. Finally, he just allowed me to use his computer to print from. We finally had our ticket and literally ran out the front door to the nearby tube station (fortunately I was feeling much better that morning!). 

Our next obstacle: I had run out of days to use my Oyster card, so I had to top up before going through the the gates. We tried to find a short line somewhere, couldn't, and I ended up just running up to a few girls before they were about to start, told them I was late, and could I just top up? Graciously they said yes, and the three of us were pulling out random change to pay the machine. Then we ran through the station and caught the train. We exited Baker Street, then ran down another street until we found our bus stop at 8:35. There was no bus, and he ended up being a little late, but we certainly got our adrenaline rush in for the morning! Anya and I said goodbye to Joe, and an hour and a half later, arrived at the airport. We were two and a half hours early for our flight (haven't been that early in...years?). 

And the Gentleman of the Day Award goes to Joe because he carried (ran actually) my pink backpack across town. 

Our next shock came in the form of a hidden fee. I know that certain airlines have been charging extra fees for so many little things, but Anya and I found another one. RyanAir wanted to charge us £15 each just to check in at the airport!! We were about to do it online over our phones, but the front desk man obviously thought the charge was ridiculous too, because he just a did it for us without charging. 

Past security, we were too early to have a Gate, so we found a little cafe and had breakfast while waiting. We ended up being a little too comfortable and had to rush to our Gate, but we made it just fine. 
Edinburgh welcomed us with cooler weather, a green landscape, welcoming people, and a double decker bus that took us into the city center. We were the first on the bus, so we made ourselves at home on the top level and in the very front row. We had such a great view for the hour drive! We did have to eventually consolidate into one row as the bus filled up, and there was one very friendly Brazilian who was very chatty to anyone who would talk to him, but otherwise, it was a quiet ride. 

We got off our bus at "the meadows" (a beautiful park) and walked the remaining distance to the Rose's house. 

Hope this is the right one!

We arrived in the middle of their granddaughters playing dress-up and giving a show, but we were still given a warm welcome and offered tea and coffee. We accepted the warm beverages and sat for awhile to chat with the Rose's and meet their granddaughters (very beautiful and fun!). 

Anya and I were anxious to reacquaint ourselves with the old city again, so we took off and explored. 

We walked through Greyfriars Kirkyard (where you can also pay your respects to Greyfriar's Bobby-the dog who supposedly guarded his master's grave for 14 years until he too died) and enjoyed a beautiful view of the old houses climbing up to the castle. 

A Stirling relative?? ;)

We walked through many different streets, saw the castle, walked the Royal Mile, passed by Carrubbers, John Knox's grave (in the parking lot) and walked over to Princes Street. 

Yum...

Haha...poor Waldo :)

A small street paved with quotes from famous Scottish writers

John Knox's grave

Carrubbers!!

So many different fashion statements going on here...

Since I was still recovering, I was getting tired at this point, so we turned around. We did stop for awhile in a Starbucks to read, but then continued back to the Rose's house. We started winding down for the night, but then stayed up talking when a friend, Sarah, stopped by to say hello. It was a good time of chatting and catching up. 

Strikes and Sickness

Thursday-Friday, July 9-10

For the past few days, I had been feeling worse and worse, and come Thursday, I couldn't push myself any longer. I stayed in bed almost the entire day, sleeping for most of it. The only outing I could manage was in the morning to grab waters, medicine, and something small to eat from the store across the street. And although it was a beautiful day outside, it was actually a "good" day to be sick. 

As mentioned on Wednesday, there was a tube strike. London recently announced its intention to provide a 24-hour tube service starting in September (as of now, it shuts down for a few hours in the middle of the night). Not wanting to work night shifts, the tube employees planned a strike, and it happened to fall during the time of our stay. Being observant, Whitney had forewarned us of the upcoming delay in transportation, so we were able to plan accordingly. Joe and Anya walked to Blandfords Café for a proper English breakfast and then to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. 

According to my reliable sources, this was THE best latte.

Just look at the presentation!

Sherlock's rooms

Near our flat is a plaza that was showing Wimbledon on a big screen. Loads of people came out during their lunch break to watch. 

Then Joe worked while Anya walked around town and did a little shopping. That night, we were supposed to see Shakespeare in a park. Anya and Joe went, but it ended up being sold out so they changed plans and walked around to several church history sites instead. 

Friday was day four of sickness for me and I still didn't feel any better. To make sure I wasn't dying (ok...maybe that's a bit dramatic) and also to see if I would be well enough to travel tomorrow, I decided to see a doctor. Even though it was exhausting, it was so nice to be outside again. The visit determined that I was still sick but should recover in a few more days. With new hope, I returned home and was able to eat some toast (the first real food in awhile) before napping for the afternoon.

Meanwhile...

Joe and Anya had another English breakfast at a place called Loaf. It was good, but they decided that the first place was definitely the best. 

Joe worked again, and Anya went to Notting Hill to meet up with Debbie (grew up in England, but recently spent a few months in LA and came to Foundation). They enjoyed walking around the streets, finding scenes from the movie, and Anya especially loved the open air markets. Afterward, they walked along St. James' Park toward Buckingham, then found Westminster Chapel, Martin Lloyd Jones' church.

Some fancy event was happening at Shakespeare's Globe

That afternoon, they explored more of London, then met up with Joe and Jonathan (a friend of Joe's who is now a pastor in London). Funny story: they had all predetermined which tube exit to meet each other, but since it was rush hour, there were quite a lot of people. As it turns out, they had all arrived at the same time, but couldn't see anyone familiar. They finally connected when Deborah, who has never met Joe, walked up to him, and asked if he was Joe Z. A little surprised that someone knew who he was, he eventually realized it was Anya's friend. 

They all had dinner at our favorite fish and chip spot, Masters Super Fish. 

That night, when Joe and Anya returned, we were able to hang out a little. Then Anya and I packed and eventually went to sleep. 

Although I'll not miss that bed, I am so thankful that I got sick while we were at one location for so long. I am also EXTREMELY thankful for both Anya and Joe. They are so considerate and kind and always asking what they can do. Several times, they went out to buy me waters, food, or anything else I might need or want, even if it meant going out of their way to do so. And if they ever read this, they'll hate that I even mentioned it, but I am truly thankful. :)