After all our travel, we were excited for a quiet, restful week.  We were sad to send my parents off back to the US the Wednesday after we returned from the continent.  We were just a little homesick after having family with us for over 5 weeks.  Saturday we stayed at home, watched old reruns of the Cosby Show, ate grilled tuna sandwiches, and finished the evening with a good American film - Men In Black (It was on after the Cosby Show marathon, and since we were being lazy, why bother to change the channel?).  Nothing like some good American sitcoms and comfort food to make you feel back at home.

Sunday we had to speak in church, then back home for a dinner of chicken and dumplings, then a call home to DJ's family.  A perfect weekend, well rested, and ready to jump back in to life in London!

The Continent

Our final adventure with my parents in town was a whistle stop tour of Europe.  5 days, 4 nights, 6 cities, 14+ trains, and lots, and lots of really good food.  We Eurostarred from London to Brussels, passing to the main continent through the Chunnel.  We landed in Brussels, where we had just enough time to eat a fresh, hot Belgium waffle (so delicious!) before catching the train to Amsterdam.  Then, a night in Amsterdam, a night in Zurich, a night in Bern, a final night in Frankfurt, then back to Brussels and home to London.  We were exhausted when we finally reached British soil again on Monday.  

Amsterdam was a fun surprise.  DJ was expecting Red Light District and marijuana.  In fact, It is a beautiful city of canals and old architecture.  We had a lovely evening in the town, first enjoying a dinner of traditional Dutch food, a stop for dessert (apple strudel, cream puffs, and Belgium waffles - yum!), then a canal tour of the city.

 The main Amsterdam harbor.

 From this view you can see seven bridges extending into the distance (easier to see when the picture is enlarged), depicting one of the hallmarks of the old Dutch city, it's miles of canals and bridges.

 The Ann Frank house and museum.  

 This picture represents Amsterdam better than anything else - bridges and bicycles.  There are hundreds of bikers in the city.  Be careful, they'll run you over if you're not watching!

 Sunset on the Canal. 

 After a night in Amsterdam we caught the train for Zurich. Switzerland is a beautiful country!  The landscape is bright green, with rolling hills and pastures.  The water in Zurich is crystal pure and the most beautiful aqua color.  Tucked in the hills were several Swiss villages with traditional Swiss cottages and villas.  If I were to Live in Europe for a long period of time I would want it to be Switzerland.  Switzerland is the homeland of Michelle's great grandmother.  It was a special experience for my mother and me to be in the land of our ancestry.

Zurich.  This is the main harbor of the city and it feeds the river that runs through the city. The water was so clear you could see right to the bottom. People were swimming up and down the river.  On either side was the beautiful Swiss architecture, as you see above, with the mountains in the background.  So pretty!

All bibbed up for my dinner at a traditional Swiss restaurant.  We had blueberry drink and chicken grilled at the table on a hot stone.  So delicious!

 We had to detour to this Swiss town to catch the train to Interlaken.  Look at the Alps in the background!

 View from the train window - such a pretty ride!

 From Zurich we took the train to a Interlaken in the Swiss Alps, and from there to Grindewald.  We just had a few minutes in Grindewald to enjoy the beautiful scenery so near the tops of the Alps.

 This picture only does partial justice to the beautiful aqua color of the lakes all throughout Switzerland.  It was incredible.  Good thing we didn't have our swim suits, the beauty of the water was so irresistible, we would have been in the lake for a swim and missed our train!

 After Zurich we went to Bern, where the Swiss temple was located.  We visited the temple Sunday morning and stayed for a sacrament meeting.  The Swiss temple was the first European temple, dedicated in 1955.

 And finally an evening in Frankfurt.  We walked to the center of town, the old city, where we enjoyed traditional German architecture, history and delicious food.

 Pickled herring, Spetzle, Pork Schnitzel, Goulash, and Apple Strudel for dinner.  When in Frankfurt, eat as the German's do!  The only thing missing was a traditional frankfurter sausage.

After Frankfurt we caught the train to return to Brussels.  One last Belgium waffle with ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce, and one last Eurostar train, and we were finally back home to our London apartment, exhausted but full of so many wonderful memories of our whirlwind tour of Europe.

Lake District and Preston

Stephen left us to return to the states the Wednesday after our trip to Bath.  The next day on Thursday evening, we went on an English road trip to visit the Preston temple, see the Lake District, and watch the British Pageant.  

 Our first night we stayed at Chorley, the town where the Preston temple is located.  DJ and I went for a morning run, passing the above church.  Lovely town, beautiful architecture.

 Our run took us to the temple.  As all temples are, it was beautiful.  The surrounding grounds included gardens and lawns, an MTC and mission housing.

 A pond of lily pads on the temple grounds.  As the sun rose more and more flowers opened up.

Friday we left Chorley for the Lake District.  The Lake District is a British National Park, but it is unlike our National Parks in the US.  Much of it is privately owned and you drive past pastures of sheep, small towns, private residences on large estates, and several hotels and resorts.  The Lake District is beautiful, reminiscent of the mountains and canyons we left back at home, but with a definite English twist.  The above picture was where we stopped for a lunch picnic the first day of the trip.

 Every time we passed a river, we would lose dad.  He could stand there for hours scouting out the best fishing holes.  Oh, how I wish we had a fishing rod for him!

 Time for lunch! Sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crackers, and, of course, English cookies.

Finally, DJ is out of the city and back in his natural element, among the mountains and trees and streams. 

 We stayed the night at Ladore Falls, a very beautiful resort/hotel near Lake Derwent.

Just outside our hotel was a stream with the bridge, pictured above.  DJ is getting a fishing lesson as my dad describes where the fish will be and how you would catch them with a fly. 

 A picture of the valley and adjacent mountain that our hotel faced. 

This was lake Derwent, the lake where our hotel was located.  You could canoe, kayak, and sail on the Lake.  We just walked along the shore. 

 All hungry and ready for our three course dinner at Ladore Falls!

 Yummy smoked salmon for the appetizer - perfect starter for our resident fisherman!

 Saturday morning DJ and I went for a morning run, passing the above and below scenery.  Beautiful pastures and mountains and fields.  So much fun!

 Our last adventure in the Lake District, we went for a 4 mile walk along a nearby trail.  At the turn around we stopped for a snack.  Dad impressed us all with this rock-skipping abilities, almost beating his record with a 12-skip throw.  Not too shabby!

Saturday night we went back to Chorley to see the British Pageant.  It was a full house!  This was the first year of the pageant and it told the story of the early saints in Britain.  Something I did not realize was that the English missionaries converted more members in the British Isles than were baptized in America.  When the British saints emigrated to the US and joined the saints there they quadrupled their numbers!  The British members of the church, even today, take great pride in the faith and sacrifice of their ancestry and the contribution of the British members.  They are quick to point out that it is not an American church and, indeed, they are right!  It is not.  The pageant was very well done and the house was packed.  Hopefully this will become a tradition and not just a one time event.

 On the way back we drove through Nottingham and Sherwood Forrest.  As luck would have it, it was the annual Robin Hood festival that weekend. The forrest was full of people dressed in period clothes.  There was food and entertainment, dancers, musicians, and even a jousting tournament.

Little John and his fellow merry man in a quarter staff battle.  

Bath with Stephen and Whipple parents

On July 31st we were excited to welcome Michelle's parents, who came to visit us in London for the next three weeks.  It was so much fun to have family with us, first with Stephen and then with my parents.  We had a busy several weeks exploring and seeing as much as we could fit in. 

 DJ went to the airport to greet Michelle's parents off the plane.  Here he is waiting at the arrivals gate, ready to escort them back to our apartment.

 The first weekend with my parents we visited Bath. Stephen and my parents took the train out Friday afternoon, explored the ancient ruins of the Roman Baths, and stayed the night.  Early that morning they took a tour bus to see Stonehenge and Lacock, a small nearby village where scenes from Harry Potter and several Jane Austin movies were filmed.  We joined them later that day to explore Bath.  Jane Austin lived in Bath for a period of time and there is now a museum there on her life and writings.  Jane's family moved to Bath after her father retired from the ministry.  While in Bath, her Father passed away and Jane and her mother and sisters found themselves without income (her Father's pension ended with his death, leaving the women to fend for themselves).  Her time in Bath was apparently a very difficult time in her life and Jane wrote very little while she lived there.

 This represents some of the Georgian architecture of Bath.  This building, called the crescent, sits at the top of the hill of the city, and is where the wealthy and affluent  would have lived.  Through Jane's time in Bath she moved several times, starting in a home near the above buildings, and with each move getting further and further down the hill, closer to the river, symbolic of her financial hardship and decline as her time in the city continued.  After a period of time she left Bath and moved back to the countryside to live in a cottage owned by her wealthier brother.

 An odd shaped tree in Bath, with boughs perfect for reclining on a lazy summer day to a nice book - maybe a good Jane Austin classic.

 Bath has a very nice botanical garden, with so many varieties of plants, it seems you never see the same plant more than once.

 At the botanical gardens...