Our first stop was at Coventry Cathedral. It was bombed during the blitz of the second world war and has since then been a symbol of unity and hope. In the middle of the ruins, the cathedral stonemason saw two charred wooden beams lying in the shape of a cross and tied them together. It's on display in the new cathedral they built right next to this one. That's where this picture of me with the stained glass comes from. It was very touching to me. Something I wasn't expecting about traveling to London is that I now have a greater awareness of the two world wars. There's such history here that we don't really feel as much in America. I'll be walking down the street and notice that some of the buildings have chunks of them missing from the blitz. Evidence of the war is all over this place and it's impossible to ignore. It makes me so grateful that, at least for the time being, we don't have to deal with anything like that. I think about how life would be if all of my dear boy friends were shipped off to fight in a war and I get distraught just thinking about it. I can't imagine the horror and the sacrifice. I am just so grateful for the soldiers in those wars and grateful for the relative safety we enjoy now. I sincerely hope that nothing of that magnitude will ever happen in our world again.
This is Anne Hathaway's cottage. I wish I'd had my camera for this one! It was so enchanting and beautiful. I basically felt like snow white and I'd stumbled upon this beautiful little cottage in the middle of the woods. There were gardens and woods and statues surrounding it and you could wander around and get lost. So lovely!
These are some pictures from Kenilworth castle. It was originally built in the 1100's then added upon over the years. It used to have a huge moat around it but now there's just grass. I guess a lot of royalty used to live here? And there were parties and hunts and jousting tournaments. It was pretty fun to run around pretending like we were knights and princesses which I think is totally appropriate and not childish at all.
And this is Oxford!
Me climbing up the steps to the Great Hall...anyone recognize these steps? The first two harry potter movies perhaps? I felt like a first year waiting for Mcgonagall to come lead me to the sorting house... :-)
And here's the Great Hall! Pretty cool, eh? Kind of pricy to get in considering how small Oxford is, but you could really feel the history here. Harry Potter references aside, Louis Caroll, J.R.R. Tolkein, and C.S. Lewis all walked these halls among many others. And for me that makes it akin to a spiritual experience. Might be blasphemous to say...but oh well :-)
And Blenheim Palace. Very expensive and beautiful and ornate and the grounds were just HUGE. The gardens kind of reminded me of Versaille. Just beautiful. My favorite was this huge library they had inside that kind of looked like the one from Beauty and the Beast. Anyone who knows me knows that having a legit library is one of my life goals...all you boys out there. Take a note from the Beast. Giving a girl a library is the way to her heart :-)
In case you can't tell I am feeling a little bit crippled without my camera... :-(
There were SOOO many other cool things we saw this week and I guess I could go through more facebook photos and steal them but I don't know if I have the time... maybe later? But I did have such an amazing week and I can't believe it's almost over!
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