April 29, 2012

007 Picture - forgotten, but just for a moment...

Oops, I forgot to put this one with the Bunyan pictures.
The Bunyan places we visited were especially meaningful to me because 
I was already quite familiar with his life and works. 
We actually saw this later in the week when we visited Bunhill Fields in London.

 John Bunyan's Grave

 For a list of other notable names in this cemetery, including Susanna Wesley, go to

~ A Song of Joy

Cambridge, England 007

We only got to visit Cambridge for the greater part of a day, but I did enjoy it. I do wish we had had a little more time to feel the place. We practically flew everywhere!



 Punting anyone?


 
Look familiar anyone?

Ready? Set?
.....

RUN!

 Clock-tower... (chiming in the background)

 
and courtyard in...

Chariots of Fire!
(Love that movie!)

Actually, all the above pictures except the first two are part of this courtyard.
Too bad I can't remember which college it was. Go watch the movie or something... :)
 Really neat place!

I like this picture, because this is what Cambridge was like.
Lots of bikes. Think MAJOR college town because, well, it is.
Hustle, bustle, and tourists!

We spent all morning in a great bookstore before we hurried off to our tour. (which we were late for because in between, we decided to take a shopping excursion for teapots) Fun memories!

~ A Song of Joy

April 28, 2012

Bristol, England 007


 Traveling to Bristol on Tuesday
This was the only rainy day we got on our whole trip!
We were expecting more, but I couldn't have been happier
that it came on this day. Windy, drizzly, and all from the inside of a private coach!


D, Caleb, and Caitlin outside Bristol Cathedral
We did a midday concert here.

 The side of the Cathedral

 This was our WARM-UP ROOM!!!
Talk about acoustics! Second only to St. Paul's and the choir room there!

A typical English sight

 Tortworth Court (four pillars hotel)
Yes, we stayed in a CASTLE!
Manor might be a better word, but the two nights/days there
were definitely highlights!

 The back of the hotel looked out on this...



 and beyond...

*sigh*

a fairytale!

(go search "Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel" to see more!)


*larger sigh*

ANYWAY...

 Our breakfast room!
*even LARGER sigh*

I could live in this room!

We went to Wesley's Chapel
 and the Bristol Lord Mayor's House
where we met the Deputy Lord Mayor.

We also did a concert in Bedford and visited the John Bunyan Museum where we got to see
the door to the prison cell behind which John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress.
In the chapel there, we saw these eight beautiful stained glass windows.





 Whew! Getting them all on here was a nightmare, but finally, I did!
I'm skipping around just a bit, but hope y'all enjoy!

~ A Song of Joy

April 26, 2012

London, England 007


My first plane ride was on this trip.
Oh my! We look like babies!

 Windsor Castle
This was our first stop after getting off the plane
and man were we tired. That ride my eyes kept slipping shut
and I kept wrenching the open again, and again!

 The Queen was at Windsor celebrating her birthday while we were there.
We couldn't go in some places because of that, but it was cool to think we were so close!

 Later that night, (Saturday, our first night there) 
we went to see the London Eye.
Amazing!

 Our view from the Eye.
 Cool huh?
 
 The Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge)

 Siblings at the Tower of London on Sunday afternoon.
Btw... the marathon was taking place this afternoon.
TALK about traffic! I think one of our coach drivers 
even got a ticket that day while letting us off somewhere.
 The Crown Jewels were right through this door!

Another part of the tower.


St. Paul's Cathedral
Where we gave a noontime a cappella concert on Monday.
The sound just wafted around long after we finished singing.
A once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure!

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag!"
On the front steps of St. Paul's

There is a brief overview of our three days in London.
These pictures are courtesy of my mom as mine were taken on 
FILM *gasp*
I know, unbelievable right?
Well, our trip certainly was!

~ A Song of Joy

April 23, 2012

As a Vapor They Pass

Life is short and we never know how many days we, or the ones we love, will have.  I found this video a while back, but in light of recent events I thought it was appropriate.

 

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

~ A Song of Joy