Friday, June 19, 2009

Day 3 - Stones and Shakespeare.

Day 3 takes us to the United Kingdom via the chunnel from Brussels to London. The train pulled in to the St. Pancras Station, and we walked a few blocks to pick up our rental car. Driving a manual shift from the opposite of the car on the opposite side of the street is a little tricky. Brad caught on in minutes. 


But we couldn't stay in London today - we would be back the last day and a half of the trip. Today, we had stones to see.
Stonehenge - one of the most famous sites in the world.  Some archeologists believe some of the stones were erected as far back as 2500 BC.  I don't know.  I do know that they are big.  They are very big.  


From here we drove to Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare and home of The Swain Family!  Such a quaint town (population 25,000). I can't talk about Stratford without mentioning how God divinely crossed our path with the Swains. Back story: Before I left Nashville, I had been in touch with Julia via Facebook to try to coordinate our arrival and when we could meet up with them. Unfortunately, we hadn't made firm plans before I left Nashville. I just assumed I would be able to get online or communicate via cell phone once I arrived in London. Not the case. I hadn't had access to a computer and the number I had for them was not correct. So, Brad & I just drove to Stratford thinking that we wouldn't get to see them at all. We made our way toward the town center, and AS SOON as we pulled into this little parking lot, guess who was walking RIGHT IN FRONT of our car!! THE SWAINS. (Again, this is a town of approx 25,000 people). I just sat there for a second with my eyes focusing and my jaw dropping. I said, "Um...there they are." Brad said, "Uh, yeah, I thought so." And we both were thinking, "What are the chances?" Thank God! I jumped out of the car and yelled, "Julia!" It was amazing. I love it when God does that...shows up in seemingly small (but really magnificent) ways. Their beautiful daughters walked into town to meet us, and we were able to spend the entire evening with them, walking around the city and enjoying a wonderful dinner together. I'm so thankful for the time we shared with them. They are a very special family to me.

Julia and I standing on the pedestrian bridge just after we spotted them.


Michael, Julia, me, and Brad


Brad and I in front of the house where Shakespeare was born.


me, Brad, Kathryn, Emma, Julia, and Michael...such a great evening.

Chunnel to London, Stonehenge, Stratford, and The Swains. Day 3.

1 comment:

  1. Whoa, that is awesome! Why didn't I hear this story yet about running into the Swains?!

    ReplyDelete