London

Well, I'm having some technical difficulties with the pictures, and Fritz is never around when I need him, so I'm going to do a picture-less post.

We've been in the London area now for just over two weeks. We've been staying at the fabulous Manna House in one of the suburbs of London, Bromley. Manna House is a hospitality house run by Operation Mobilisation, a christian Missions and Aidwork organization. Their world headquarters are here in England, and Manna house is a place where the workers can stay for a minimal fee while they are here for conferences, business, or vacation. Fritz and I ran the place while David and Judy Stump, who are the regular hosts, went on vacation to visit some friends in South Africa. We've met interesting, wonderful people from all over the world. Our main responsibilities were to cook, clean, and wash sheets and towels after people leave.

Those responsibilities didn't take up all our time, so we've also had many excursions into London by train, and looked at a whole host of museums and botanical gardens and walked around a ton. I went up to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, which was great, and I'm told has as good a view of London as the London Eye, which I didn't do because it is freaking ridiculously expensive. When I get the picture thing figured out, I've got a couple good pictures, but when I'm in town I mostly walk around gawking and forget to pull out my Camera.

I went to Harrods yesterday. Wow. It was fun to wander through. The food halls in the basement put New Seasons SERIOUSLY to shame. They even have bulk liqueurs and whiskey, along with high end nut oils and fancy vinegars that you can put in elaborate glass bottles to take home.

Today I was tired of the city, so I rented a bike and went for a ride. It was my first venture out on Britain's roads, and it was quite a lively, and sometimes harrowing, experience. I did 25 miles, but it took forever because I had to stop every mile (or less) to check my map. Not only do they drive on the left side of the road here, but these towns are all from the middle ages and no one had thought of town planning back then. Roads can change names 2 or three times in the space of a mile, and not all streets have signs saying what they are. It was pretty frustrating at times. I was never actually lost, but I THOUGHT I was lost several times. I've got the bike for the weekend ( a really nice LeMonde) so I'll probably go out again tomorrow- armed with better maps- and try to get more out in the countryside. I'm not sure if there is any around here, but I'll do my best.

It's time for me to cook dinner for tonight's crowd, so I'm off to boil up some Pasta.