Exploring England

I just had the most incredible weekend! Lots of traveling and exploring historic places...

On Saturday, October 4th, I went on a day trip to Blenheim Palace and Oxford. Blenheim Palace, which is the birthplace of Winston Churchill, is so beautiful...and HUGE! There were so many wide open areas, and the architecture of the building itself was so detailed. We went on a tour of the inside, where we saw the room where Winston Churchill was born (complete with locks of his hair in a frame on the wall...I found it kind of funny). There were so many tapestries and paintings all over the walls of every single room. It was gorgeous. After the tour, we walked around the gardens for a bit. However, it was very windy, so we were not out there very long.

Next stop: Oxford. Such a nice place! 4 of us ate lunch at Three Goats Head, where I had chicken and mushroom pie with chips (fries) and vegetables...mmmm. We immediately set out for Christ Church after we ate. Christ Church is famous for many reasons, but I have to admit...the most exciting thing was getting to see the Great Hall and the staircase where they filmed Harry Potter! The Great Hall was much smaller than I had imagined it, but it was still SO COOL! I took some pretty neat photos there. The inside of the cathedral was lovely--I could have sat and stared at everything for hours; just being in there was calming. After we left Christ Church, we walked to Bodleian Library, which, unfortunately, was closed to visitors.

The following Sunday, I went to a nice little Lutheran church, St. Anne's. It was a very small congregation, but the people were from all over the world, which was very cool. Then, at 3:00, I attended evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The bells were ringing as I walked up the steps, but as soon as the door closed behind me, all that remained was a still, magnificent silence. The cathedral is beautiful, and it took all of my energy to hold back tears as I wandered around, awestruck by every little detail. The usher showed me to the only remaining front row seat, and I held it together pretty well until the choir began singing the Lord's Prayer. The sights, the sounds, and the undeniable presence of God in that place was so astounding and so beautiful, and I left feeling more at peace than I have in quite a while.

I'm in the process of planning several trips, so I know that I'll have much more to write about! I miss you all; take care!

Oh, and here are the new pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/MariaKristineRoth/OxfordBlenheimPalaceAndStPaulSCathedral#
Much love,
Maria