I arrived at the hotel at 10:00, but my room wasn't going to be ready until noon. I had wanted to go to Easter services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, but I was so tired (having slept little on the plane) I didn't have the energy to move. Church started at 11:00, and having rested for half an hour, I boarded a bus for Westminster, whereupon I would change to another bus for Elephant & Castle, where the church was located.
The nightmare of finding the proper bus stops, and then finding the church was epic, and it was compounded by the fact that it was snowing and sleeting. I nearly returned to the hotel twice in the process (only to find the proper site at the last minute). I finally found the church at 11:25, five minutes before they closed their doors. I was utterly exhausted, and couldn't stop shaking throughout the entire service.
The service ended at 12:10, and I waited fifteen minutes for the bus that would take me back to Victoria Station. I walked back to the hotel, went into my room, and crashed. I didn't leave the room until the following morning.
On March 24th, I rose early to catch a train to Stratford-upon-Avon, to visit my host mum and dad and brother, whom I hadn't seen in thirteen years. Again, it was snowing and raining and sleeting at ever-changing intervals. I arrived in Stratford a little after 11:00, and Bob and Chris (my host mum and dad) were waiting at the train station. We walked into town and stopped at a cafe, as our lunch reservation wasn't until 12:30 (I think).
It was so nice to see them again! They've hardly changed at all. And Stephen joined us for lunch. I can't believe he's 26! He has a girlfriend and a car, and is far taller than I am now.
I finally took a picture of Shakespeare's house (below), as I had somehow not done thirteen years ago. Stratford itself was in sad shape. When I was there before, it was a bit touristy, but now....there's a carousel across from Shakespeare's monument (and an entire, though temporary, amusement part near the train station), and they've demolished the theatre. They've also closed the Swan and renamed The Other Place to something I cannot recall. It is so commercialized, it's just sad.
After lunch, we went back to my host family's house. It was so nice to see it again!! It was just as I remembered, and I wish I'd had more time to stay and visit with them (and my mum bought me my favorite...Penguins! and digestive biscuits, which I had to sneak back into the States). Well, I've decided that next time I visit England, I'm going to avoid London and travel around the countryside, so I'll have more time then.
I returned to London in the early evening, and my friend Emma joined me at the hotel around 8:00. We went to Victoria Station for dinner and ate at a really great French cafe, and returned about 10:00, and then stayed up until 2:00 in the morning chatting and watching tv.
Between the two days, I put in nearly 7.5 miles.
Bob and Chris, my host dad and mum.
Street performers
Shakespeare's House. Isn't it beautiful?
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