2019 UK Trip

2019 UK Trip – Day 5 (Edinburgh)

Hello Day 5 in cloudy Edinburgh – we are ready to see what you have to offer. Eric is back to putting on a tie, a blazer, and his fancy dress shoes! I, on the other hand, have worn my Cambridge boots every day since I bought them. I am still in love with them. We are getting ready to go get some yummy coffee and breakfast at Leo’s Beanery, just around the corner from the flat. Today we plan to do some sightseeing. We are also meeting up with an old friend of Eric’s who works for Young Life and lives here. Eric will meet with two professors today and I plan to wander around the town close to the college. It should be an interesting day.

The breakfast was so good! I can find lots of places here that have gluten-free, vegetarian, and non-dairy options. I love it!!! The weather has been nice so far today. It is still cloudy but not much rain. We enjoyed walking around and saw Princess Street Gardens. Going into the gardens provides a break from all the busyness of the town. We walked around the part of Edinburgh called Old Town a bit to get to the Edinburgh Castle. We had thought about going in for a tour but I will be honest… my free spirit personality is not a fan of guided tours, unless the tour guide is Eric. Plus we were running out of time before we needed to meet his friend. So we walked around the castle and up to the main entrance… and moved along. Like always, we like to find where Eric needs to be before it’s time for his appointment. So we located the Divinity School of the University of Edinburgh. This time, we made sure that we were ABSOLUTELY SURE we were in the right place! The building is called New College and we browsed a bit. It seriously looks like a castle itself… and sort of like what you might expect Hogwarts to look like. There was a big statue of the Scottish reformer John Knox in the courtyard. Eric tells me he’s a pretty big deal here.

We are now sitting at The Elephant House waiting on his friend. The Elephant House is a cafe and it’s famous because J.K. Rowling, the famous author, would come there to write. In this little restaurant she would sit, look out the window at  the castle, and wrote the story of Harry Potter.

So I am going to be honest here: apart from the Harry Potter connection to the Elephant House, I did not care for the place. They had very little options for picky people like me. They did serve some classic Scottish foods, like a “full Scottish breakfast” complete with baked beans. I think Eric enjoyed his meal but for me, it was just not working. I also think it is the only place so far where the coffee was… well, just OK.

We really enjoyed talking with Eric’s friend. He and Eric got to catch up on life… jobs, kids, ministry, etc. He shared with us about life in Edinburgh. He let us know that 2 percent of the UK population are believers. Of all the things that we talked about, that is the one thing that stuck in my heart. It made me sad. The fact that so many people in this country may be living without hope makes me sad, especially when I think about all that God has done to give us eternal hope. Daily I am faced with some kind of struggle in my own life; to know that I don’t have to struggle alone is the only thing that gets me through. So my heart breaks for the “ships” of the UK that have no harbor to keep them safe from their storms. God forgive me for taking for granted the revelation of your love for me. May I burn with a passion to show others the hope I am living for. So yeah the food at The Elephant House was average but the history was rich and the information life-changing. Eric and I are about to part ways so he can meet with professors and I plan to wander and shop along The Royal Mile (the old cobblestone street between the castle and Holyrood Palace). Here’s to hoping I do not get lost!!!

Well… I got lost. I have no clue how I got all turned around but I did. It’s literally a straight one-mile street and New College (where Eric is) is one block off of it. Also, I was OK with the sky being cloudy despite all the gray in this city. I was pushing through… until I got lost and it full-on started raining on me. Then my thought was, ”OK Vanessa, find a coffee shop and just chill for a while.” I was thinking that I could settle in at a coffee shop, get on wifi (so I can text and look at social media and stuff) and when Eric gets done he can find me.

Wrong.

I walked a few blocks with no coffee shop to be found. It’s still raining and I am ill because I am lost. (I really need to learn how to get that under control.) I found a little fruit smoothie shop. They had wifi but no bathroom. I was on the verge of peeing on myself. I walked five stores down to find a bathroom, then back to the smoothie store… because a cold smoothie is just what one needs when it is cold and raining outside, right? Anyway. I asked two local people how to get to the school and, to my surprise, they acting like they had no clue where it was! I am literally like three blocks from the place and they are clueless. (Eric predicted that would happen. Before we parted ways, I said, “If I get lost I can stop somewhere and ask them for directions to get back to New College.” Eric said, “They won’t know. People don’t know where things are at the universities.” I think his experience at Cambridge has made him skeptical!)

I find Starbucks! Praise the Lord. I get on wifi to tell Eric I am lost. I pull up Google Maps on my phone. Eric sends directions on how to get to a coffee shop that is right beside the college. I screenshot the map and I go to figure it out in the rain. Believe it or not, I made it. Eric is actually in the coffee shop; he had a break between his two appointments. He walks over and hands me a note that says, “You made it! I knew you would. You’re a figure-outer.” That’s something we’ve started saying on this trip… we are constantly faced with challenges, but we figure it out because that’s what we do. We’re “figure-outers.” He told me he was about to hand the note to the barista, show her a picture of me, and ask her to give it to me when I come in.

Eric really enjoyed his time with the people at this college. He met with Dr. Helen Bond (the head of the School of Divinity) and Dr. Paul Foster. He says that both of these professors were really kind and helpful, which is especially cool because they are both big names in the field of biblical studies. Dr. Bond gave Eric a tour of New College and talked about what it takes for a family to relocate from the US and be successful here. Eric said that he really liked Dr. Foster’s personality and temperament. He gave Eric lots of great info about the logistics of moving to the UK and doing well at New College. Eric was specifically encouraged when they talked about GPAs and scholarships and Dr. Foster said that Eric’s GPA in seminary makes him competitive for funding at the University of Edinburgh. He’s worked so hard on his schoolwork; it was really encouraging for him to hear that he could be near the top of his incoming class.

We have made it back to the flat. Eric is now washing his clothes so he can lay them out to dry. There is no dryer in this flat. I am laying day for a much-needed nap. We plan to go to dinner later then pack up to go to St. Andrews in the morning. It’s a short train ride to Leuchars and a 15-minute bus ride into St. Andrews. I wake from my nap to the kitchen covered in clothes. I really should have gotten a picture of that! Eric and I are both feeling a little funky. We are heading out to get some dinner and to see if the feeling will lift.

Dinner was good but the funk has stayed. I cried at dinner. I don’t like this town. I know it’s not fair to Edinburgh, but I don’t. It is most likely all the rain, getting lost, and missing home. It is also different when you are looking at a place as a potential home instead of just a place to have a vacation. I don’t want to live here. In this moment, I don’t want to do this school thing at all. I ask Eric through tears, “Could we not just do this online?” I don’t know that I can do this. So honestly friend, we go to bed tonight in Edinburgh with heavy hearts. I hate that I feel this way. I hate to make Eric feel like I am giving up but tonight giving up feels easier. Eric is the sweetest soul. Really. If I were to say, “This is not the life for me,” he would lay down his dream – no, not “dream,” his calling – because his heart is so for me. I hold him tight tonight. Tomorrow will be better, right?

2019 UK Trip – Day 4 (Edinburgh)

Goodbye, Cambridge. We are on a train that will take us into Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland. I am trying to get settled for a long ride. We will be on the train for about five hours. Eric plans to read. He still has a lot of school work to keep up while we’re on our trip; summer semester at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary began on the day we flew out of Orlando. I am sure I will watch the hills roll by and nap off and on along the way. To be honest, I am still a little jet lagged. I am also still a little foggy from having to take my anxiety medicine two nights ago. Traveling and sleeping away from home is a fun adventure but it is still hard. So I may take these five hours to rest. Eric is like a superhuman. He amazes me. When he is not working on figuring out our next turn, he is working on school, or trying to keep me comfortable. He is doing way better at this traveling thing than me.

We have made it to our second flat of the trip. We had a short walk from the train station to where we will be staying for the next two days. The walk was not long but not the most pleasant. Because Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, it is way busier than Cambridge. It is raining as we walked out of the train station, but we were ready for it. We got our umbrellas out. But I am learning something about myself: I am not a skilled umbrella user. Navigating an umbrella while pulling a suitcase up a cobblestone street filled will lots of other people and their umbrellas is really becoming problematic for me. Also… it is a challenge to keep up with my wonderful navigator while not running my suitcase into the people walking in the opposite direction. But people, we made it!!! The very best news is that Eric knew my neck had been bothering me; while I was sleeping on the train, he booked me a massage in Edinburgh! So we are dropping our stuff at the flat to head to lunch and let me get a massage! I am so thankful!!!

I had a very neat experience at my massage. The therapist only had 30 minutes to give, which I was happy to have. He was actually a Canadian who relocated to Edinburgh to finish his studies. He met a girl… and you know how that story ends. His massage process was different than mine but he did make my neck feel better. I really enjoyed getting to talk for an extended time to a person from the town. When Eric goes to his meetings, he gets to talk with people who live, work, and study locally. But I’m not going with him to his meetings, so my communication with locals is limited to what I want to eat or drink. It was nice to get a local person’s perspective on Edinburgh. Now that my neck is feeling better we are off to explore.

The weather has been messy and so has our attitudes. I think the long day of travel is getting to us. Also, this town feels gray… and I am not just talking about the skies. The streets are gray stone and gray concrete, lined with huge gray stone buildings. Gray below us, on every side of us, and above us.

However, Eric has researched this town ahead of time looking for places he thinks I’ll enjoy. He leads me to a colorful little neighborhood called Dean Village. It’s cute and it makes me happy; the houses are yellow and red and brick, there are plants and flowers on every doorstep, and a pretty little river runs through it. We walk around even though it’s raining because that is what people do here. There are a few runners out running the steep hills in the rain. So we just keep going.

We are back in the flat for the night. We had a neat dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant was really, really small. We once again ate dinner super close to other people. We enjoyed a pizza together. I was excited to try vegetarian pepperonis. I quickly realized they were too spicy and not for me.

Eric and I are still tired and our emotions are a little messy.  We may be a little homesick also. It sure is a beautiful thing that just getting close to Eric and praying aloud to my heavenly Father can comfort my soul. I am so thankful to have this special relationship with this human. I can be thousands of miles from home yet I am at home as long as I am connected to him.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. Eric will meet with two professors from the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. We will also have lunch with one of his old friends from undergrad who actually lives here. There are also more sites we will like to see tomorrow. We need some good rest and better attitudes. Praying for sunshine!

2019 UK Trip – Day 3 (Cambridge)

People, let’s get excited – it is day three of this wild adventure! Eric has made some wonderful coffee (my coffee nerd brought his Aeropress from home!) and I am enjoying a banana. Today is the day of first impressions and figuring out if the shoes fit. It’s getting serious. Eric is putting on a tie, a blazer and his fancy dress shoes! Off we go!

YES, people! Dreams do come true! I am now the proud new owner of boots that lived with a British person first. The good old Salvation Army did not let me down. The shoes fit perfectly. I plan to prance around England all day in these things. Eric’s “man bag” is the perfect size bag to carry my tennis shoes in. I am sure he won’t mind, right?

Now that the shoes are taken care of, what is the plan for the rest of the day? Long before we came to the UK, Eric researched the schools he thought he’d like to attend and started reaching out to professors who could advise him as he pursues his PhD. He has his first meeting today with Dr. George van Kooten at the Divinity School of the University of Cambridge. In fact, Dr. van Kooten invited Eric to attend a New Testament seminar today at 2:15, followed by a chat “over tea”!  We really need to get some brunch before Eric goes to the seminar. We also need to change our American dollars into British pounds. I may just be a little bit of a control freak, but I believe we need to find right where Eric needs to be before we do anything else. So we are off to find the location of the seminar. Dr. van Kooten said the seminar was in the Lightfoot Room of the Divinity School. Eric found the Divinity School on Google Maps and we walked right past it yesterday on the way to go punting. We’ll go there first, then get food. I hope we don’t get “hangry.”

20! That’s how many minutes we have to order and eat before Eric has to be back for the seminar.  We found his location. We went to the gate of St. John’s College and asked the porter (the nice lady at the front gate who gives info and lets people into the college) where the Lightfoot Room is. She said, “Oh, it’s right across the street at the Old Divinity School.” We crossed the street, went inside, and literally walked up the stairs to find the room he needed to be in. Then we found our way to this cute little French cafe to eat. I am planning just to hang out here while he goes to the meeting. Hopefully he gets to eat first.

Bad news or good news first?

OK, good news first. Eric had just enough time to eat. Our waiter was super sweet and made it happen. Bad news… when Eric got to the Lightfoot Room for the seminar, NO ONE WAS THERE. He asked three different people if there was another Lightfoot Room somewhere… everyone said “No, this is the only one!” Finally he found someone who knew where Dr. van Kooten’s Lightfoot Room is located – in a building called the Divinity Faculty ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN! We found the WRONG building! WRONG room! WRONG place!!! Eric missed his chance at a smooth first impression. Now he has a decision to make – give up and miss his meeting with Dr. van Kooten or try to salvage this opportunity. We came all the way across the Atlantic to meet a professor at the UK’s #1 university (#5 in the whole world!) What would he do now? An opportunity that seemed almost too good to be true was falling apart.

Please take a moment to gasp… now laugh. Eric has just run back out of the cafe for the second time. We are keeping our phones on airplane mode to avoid international fees (we’re new to this… trying not to run up a $1000 cell phone bill) and he can’t just text me to let me know what’s up. So, he came back to the cafe to let me know what was going on. I could tell it got to him a little bit, but he did not have on his “angry eyes” (that’s a Toy Story reference) so I think he is going to be ok. If he walks quickly he can still make it in time for tea but, at this point, he will miss the seminar. I am feeling really sad for him. He was really excited about attending it; he really loves nerdy stuff like that. I think I should now have that gluten-free chocolate muffin calling my name.

Hello, waiter! Yes, I am still here. I am still sipping my coffee, people-watching and using your WiFi! Where is that handsome guy who left me 3 hours ago? Well… that I don’t know. I am sure he will be back at any moment now. Still sipping my cappuccino made with oat milk…

Finally! Prince Charming is back! It is around 5:30PM. Yep, I’ve been at this cafe for over three hours! We are going to look around the town a bit and get an early dinner. We leave tomorrow to go to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Eric has plopped down in the chair and he seems breathless… and happy. I am sure Eric will fill me in on the meeting over dinner, but right now I think I have worn out my welcome at this cafe.

Cambridge is such a neat town. Earlier, we made it to the post office to get money that actually works here. We saw a bride taking pictures outside of St. John’s College. We stopped to get a few pictures at the Corpus Clock and the King’s College Chapel. Cambridge has a big grassy park in the middle of the town. We cross it every time we walk into town from our flat, and I love it! Some people were having a picnic while others play a game of ball. People were laid out on blankets reading. It’s like a classic “quad” in the middle of a college where students loiter, but it’s much bigger and all kinds of people are there. It was a very neat sight.

There were a few times Eric almost got run over by bikes! Really – he almost got flattened. There are way more pedestrians and bike riders than cars in this town. Here’s a random little thing I’m thankful for – I appreciate that the street tells me which way to look before I cross the street. No joke! It’s painted right on the road, “LOOK RIGHT –>” or “<– LOOK LEFT.” I guess they do this so crazy Americans will not get run over because we drive on different sides of the road.  Anyway. We are learning how to walk safely through Cambridge.

We checked out a little book store. We walked in like five minutes before closing so we did not have much time. Eric took a minute to change out of his fancy shoes into his tennis shoes. Not quite as cool as a Superman wardrobe change, but still cool. We are now at the Pint Shop to enjoy some dinner and conversation.

Dinner was really good! I enjoyed a meatless burger while Eric had the lamb. We are truly the perfect pair. No stomach issues tonight, so that is a win. Actually, let me tell you about the real win of the day – Eric’s meeting. He quickly found where he needed to be. Imagine a handsome nerdy guy in dress shoes, khakis and a blazer walking VERY quickly down the cobblestone streets of Cambridge under a black umbrella. That’s my nerd! All the way to the OTHER Lightfoot room, he kept telling himself, “I WILL NOT be easily discouraged or dissuaded. I WILL make the most of this opportunity.” He actually got there in time to catch the tail end of the seminar. He rushed into the Divinity Faculty building and took a minute to gather himself and try to cool down… he was hot from all that fast walking and buildings in the UK rarely have air conditioning. He asked the lady at the front desk if it was permissible to walk into a seminar late and she insisted on showing him the way to the CORRECT Lightfoot Room so he could participate. She knew that Dr. van Kooten was expecting him and she was very reassuring. She said, “Just sit there at the end,” and he boldly walked in. At the front of the room there was a long oval-shaped table with about twelve people sitting at it. The room was wide and not very deep at all. In the back of the room there was a row of chairs with another five people sitting and listening. Eric was still a little shaken by the whole ordeal but so thankful to have made it. He walked in and sat down in the last chair at the end of the table. As he got his bearings, he noticed that all of the people at the table were older than him (some MUCH older). A guy sitting at the back of the room gave him a funny look. Then he remembered what Dr. van Kooten said in his email… “The professors will sit at a table and students will sit in chairs at the back of the room.” HELLO first impression!!!  My nerd was sitting at the table with some of the world’s top New Testament professors! He calmly got up and went to a seat with the students… and next to an open window with a wonderful breeze. His nerdy heart was super happy as he looked around the room at professors who had written commentaries he had quoted in papers at seminary. One day he will be at that table!!! There is no mistake about that.

Eric and Dr. van Kooten had a great discussion over tea about post-grad studies at Cambridge. Dr. van Kooten is a Dutch scholar who specializes in the connections between the Gospel of John and classical Greek philosophers like Plato. Eric loves stuff like that.

Day three has come to an end. We are chilling in bed. Tomorrow will be a long day of train travel, so we are settling in for the night. Cambridge, you have been good to us.  

2019 UK Trip – Days 1 & 2 (Cambridge)

Today we leave for the UK. A trip of a lifetime! Eric and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. We are also exploring another change we feel may be on the horizon. You know, nothing big… just moving to the UK for Eric to get his Ph.D. We have tried to keep the dual purpose of our trip hidden from the kids, but I am pretty sure a few of them know more than what they are letting on. They will be staying with friends and grandparents. Wish all of us luck!!!

We have dropped the little kids off with Eric’s mom. The older one is off to work. We are on the road to Orland to catch our plane. I really wanted to find a cute pair of black boots to take with me. We shopped in town with no luck. I am secretly hoping we can make a quick stop at trusty TJ Maxx on the way. We are on track to get to the airport four hours early when really we only need to be there three hours before departure… which, by the way, I think is crazy!!!

Ok… I take it all back. First of all, TJ Maxx is not as trustworthy as I thought. You guessed it! No boots. Also, no bathroom! What kind of store has no bathroom for its shoppers?  Anyway. We needed every bit of those four hours. Between Florida’s toll roads and my overactive bladder, we needed ALL the extra time. So I thank you, Orlando International Airport, for making us arrive early. This is the first time we have flown from this airport and even finding the right place to park was challenging. Eric and I went into this adventure knowing from day one that we would have challenges to face. We made the decision that we wouldn’t get overwhelmed or angry at the challenges. We decided we would just embrace them and roll with them. Who knew the first challenge would be toll roads and parking?!?

So now we are on the other side of check-in. I feel like it is a secret club of some sort. I held my breath for the lady checking my passport, afraid she would tell me I am not who I think I am. Better yet, she might tell me that I cannot go because I have too many library fines! Yep… that’s how my brain works, and we haven’t even made it to the TSA screening yet! Luckily I made it through check-in and security. Now I am in the “club” sipping my overpriced sparkling water and hanging out with a few thousand people as we wait to board our planes.

Well folks, that was a wild ride! We got on the plane around 5:30 pm (our time) and landed in the UK at 6:00 am (their time). No problem right? I should have slept like a baby through the night in first class. Only I was not in first class and there was a fussy dad sitting right in front of me… and by “in front of me,” I mean so close he’s almost in my lap. And yes, I said fussy DAD. I can deal with a fussy baby – I had four of them. On this flight, the dad was the problem. He was very loud with his “parenting,” which is putting it lightly. Anyway, I am off the plane and drinking a tall cup of coffee in the Gatwick International Airport, south of London. I do believe we now have to catch a train to Cambridge. I am not completely sure what this day will hold but I am pulling for a pair of black boots and a nap! In the meantime, Eric has to figure out where to pick up the train tickets he bought in advance and how we are supposed to get on this train. New things at every turn!

I will take a train over a plane any day. I just had the best nap on that thing. It could be the jet lag, time change, or pure exhaustion.  Whatever it was, I will take it. Eric couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes; he wanted to see London as we pulled out of town and all the beautiful English countryside as we made our two-hour trip to Cambridge. We got off the train and headed to a little coffee shop nearby to wait for check-in at the flat.

We have just walked from the train station to our first little flat, only about a block away. It is super cute! I would love to just stay here and rest, but the day is calling. There is a good chance it will rain tomorrow, so we would love to get in as much sightseeing today as two tired travelers can. We are off for window shopping and punting. It’s a pretty famous thing to go “punting” on the river Cam in Cambridge. It’s basically taking a ride in a flat-bottomed boat directed by a tour guide who pushes the boat with a long pole. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the boats in Venice, it’s basically the same thing. I am sure there will be some coffee mixed in there also.

So guess what friends… I found them! Cambridge has my little black boots on the other side of a store window, waiting for me! Only the store was closed; apparently, it’s a bank holiday in England. Do you want to know where I found them? Across the Atlantic in a local Salvation Army thrift store! The boots were perfect! So window shopping was a win. Well, I am not really sure yet because I don’t even know if they are my size. We are hopeful.

Guys, punting was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was so relaxing. The weather was perfect.  The punting tour took us down the river Cam to see the back sides of all the colleges. The University of Cambridge is made up of 31 different colleges. Eric enjoyed all the history talk. I enjoyed the chill-out time. We saw lots of beautiful things, including the “mathematical bridge” (a bridge designed by a student of Sir Isaac Newton) and Trinity College (built by King Henry VIII). It was the perfect way to end the day.

We are now just enjoying dinner at The Eagle. The Eagle is a famous pub, but not just for its pints of ale or fish and chips.  Scientists James Watson and Francis Crick often hung out here after long days of research at the University. On February 28, 1953, they busted through the pub doors and announced to the patrons and staff that they had discovered “the secret of life,” the double helix structure of DNA. This is our first meal and a pub and it took us a minute to figure out how to order here. We are going to share the fish and chips, which is a famous meal here in England. Please, dear Lord, bless this gluten-fried fish I am about to consume. Please!

Being up for 32 hours, drinking way too much caffeine, walking seven miles, and the stress of traveling may have just caught up with me. I spent the last 30 minutes feeling sick and riding the waves of a panic attack. I have a history with this monster so I was not totally caught off-guard. I took the little magic blue pill. I walked myself out the back door with a wet cloth to feel the cool of the night on my face. Before long the waves of panic had calmed.  So… here we are, in Cambridge and very ready for bed. Eric meets with Dr. George van Kooten tomorrow, a New Testament professor from Cambridge who could be his Ph.D. advisor. It is also the day we find out if those little black boots fit. No time for worries. No time for fear. We are fully leaning into where God is leading. Rest, Vanessa.