Kristen is home...

Just talked to Kristen and she is in the Atlanta airport and about to be picked up by our friends Charlie and Nancy Harris. I miss her already. We had such a blast in England and Scotland. I can't wait to make some of those type memories with Eliza as well. In some ways I like that Kristen is sad to leave me, she cried in the airport, it makes me feel special and loved. In other ways it crushes my spirit to see her sad. Two more weeks I will be home. I am really glad that Kristen and I are that type of married couple who actually enjoys each other company. Sometimes she will laugh so hard at me for no real reason. She is something special.

I did read in a book called Babywise, yes Kristen I have started it, that the best thing a parent can do for their child to make them feel safe and secure is to love their spouse. A good marriage filled with love, warmth and laughter and putting your wife or husband first, not the kids, shows the children that all is secure and helps them feel a more secure part of the family. In no way am I a perfect husband, but I do think that loving Kristen is something that seems so natural to me.
So here's to my beautiful wife whose smile warms my heart and feeds my soul.

Alone again.

Kristen and I went to Gatwick airport this morning but apparently were running a bit late. They had already closed the flight, but then did let Kristen and this one other lady onboard. We got there at about 10.15 for a 11 a.m. flight so I guess in London at least you have to be there truly 2 hours before just to be sure. But she did get on okay.

I am back in my little closet of a room, this is the fourth one I have had since I have been here. Kristen and I had a double room and now I have a single. So not sure what to do today as Monday starts another week of research. I am already missing Kristen and feeling my little baby kick. ALthough Kristen says that every time she is kicking and then I touch her stomach she stops, I believe that is because I have a calming influence on her. Can't wait to hang out with my girls come September. I miss them already.

Friday our last day together in London....

Well today we were pretty tired from the Scotland trip and I let Kristen sleep in a bit. I am afraid that our frenetic pace over here has worn her out. But she says she is fine and is enjoying herself a ton. Today we went to the National Portrait gallery together and saw many priceless paintings of famous British people from Beatrix Potter to Queen Elizabeth herself. It was very awe inspiring. Then we went and toured the inside of Westminster Abbey. We saw Chaucer's tomb (the Canterbury Tales), the tomb of Mary Queen of Scots, Henry VII, Edward I, and of course my favorite Elizabeth I. She is buried right beside her sister Mary I even though in life they had troubles. The Latin on her tomb reads:"Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of the Resurrection."

Then we went to eat at this little Italian place in Leceister Square where Kristen loves the pizza and I love the Kabobs. Kristen had a fun idea to see if we could see another show so we got tickets for the Lion King. It has to have been my favorite. The set, the costumes, the music, it was overwhelming it was so good. Our seats were up high but we were on the first row of the balcony so in some ways they were awesome seats. It was so good.

Tomorrow I take my love to the airport and have to spend two more weeks here in solitary. I still have some work to do and some documents to look at but I sure will miss that beautiful girl who is carrying my little baby. I can't wait till I have two beautiful girls that have me wrapped around their fingers. Pray for Kristen's travels tomorrow. She should be stateside at about 3.30 p.m. EST. Charlie Harris is picking her up and she is spending the night with the Charlie and Nancy before heading back home. Cheers.

Scotland....

Well Kristen and I have just returned from a very quick two day one night stay in Scotland's capital Edinburgh. It began with a 4.5 hour train ride from London. I had to look at a manuscript of Queen Elizabeth's that is not published. It was a translation of John Calvin's institutes that she translated from French to English. So I had to go to the National Archives of Scotland.

I got a reader's card and Kristen did too since she was with me. The National archives of Scotland was small and so nice. The people were so nice. I saw exactly what I needed and was even able to make color copies of it.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast a few miles outside of town. And to be honest Kristen and I fell in love with Scotland. The city Edinburgh was so cool and the people were so nice and authentic. One guy on our train who took our tickets when he heard me speak asked if we were Americans and I said yes and he said he loved Americans because we were so polite. Hard to believe but the Scottish people were so cool.

Here's a pic of Kristen outside our bed and breakfast which was called Aynetree Bed and Breakfast right near Ballie Place.

Here's a traditional scottish breakfast. I could hardly understand anything our hostess said to us. Apparently baked beans go with eggs in the morning. I had hot tea and porridge (oatmeal) with mine. It was awesome.

We went to Edinburgh castle really early on Thursday. It was at the top of a huge hill overlooking the city and dated from medieval times. We saw the Scottish crowned jewels that Mary Queen of Scots actually wore. And we saw the little room that James I of England, Mary Queen of Scot's son, was born in. Inside the castle.

That's James on the wall and this is a little shot of the room. It was about the size of my hotel room in London.

We went shopping and walking around the city and I spent some more time in the archives looking at 400 year old letters. It was so cool.

We also went to the Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, a huge Gothic cathedral and it was so cool. When we walked in a choir from Maryville Tennessee was singing and included a few spirituals in their performance. They boomed all over that Cathedral. I loved being in such a huge house of God hearing East Tennessee students praise the name of Jesus.

These are a couple of other pictures. The sun came out. It was such a cool city. It may be our favorite now. Here's a picture of me with William Wallace, you know the guy from Braveheart.

Tomorrow we aren't sure yet what we will do. We have had so much fun on this trip. I also felt Eliza kick for the very first time and I got her a little Loch Ness monster doll. It is awesome. Cheers.

Tuesday..

Well today the weather was a little better so we started off the morning with a visit to the Tower of London. The inner part of the tower was built by William the Conqueror way back in the 11th century but most of the medieval and early modern monarchs lived her. Elizabeth was imprisoned here during her sister's reign when Mary thought she was trying to conspire against her.

We saw the spot where they beheaded Anne Boleyn and where her bones are in the church under the altar. The Yeoman warders kind of run the place, often called Beefeaters and ours was a great guide and great story teller. Here's us at the Tower.



This is a picture of what is called the White Tower as it was originally white washed on the outside and looked white. It had tons of medieval armor and swords. We saw Henry the VIII's armor. We also saw the crown jewels of England. Very impressive. Then we had some lunch at the Tower and looked around a bit more.


IF you look really hard in the picture above there are little black slits just to the top left of the middle row of windows. Those are little holes that originally emptied the toilets of the guards. The toliets were called Garderrobes and were mainly a hole in the floor that lead to a little slide that emptied out those slits in the building.

This is a picture of me sitting where many a guard must have had some really deep thoughts. Just think of those people walking around the buildings when there was a real possibility that you could be hit by your friends poop. They actually had a little wall built to try to contain the waste. We have come a long way.


Then we went to Harrods. It was a bit overwhelming with 1000000 square feet of retail space. Here's a pic.


We bought Eliza a Paddington Bear at Harrods. I am so excited. We have her many little Paddington Bear books to go with it. You can't buy these in the states.



Then to top off the evening we had a great supper in an Italian restaurant. And then went to see Spamalot. it is a musical adaptation of Monty Python Holy Grail. But it had plenty of new twists and turns and was so hilarious. We had so much fun. This is a picture of the Palace theatre. THere is nothing like seeing a show in London. The crowds are so pumped up and laugh and clap so well.




Tomorrow we take an early train to Edingburgh Scotland. I might not post for a few days. Cheers.

A brillant day in the midst of rain...

We awoke to find our summer day feel like we were in the middle of a very cold monsoon. The rain was blowing almost sideways and our little umbrellas made good for a Mary Poppins imitation as they blew their tops. But we boarded our train at Victoria station and headed south for Hampton Court Palace. One of the palaces that Henry VIII actually used for himself.

The palace actually belonged to a friend of Henry's, by the name of Cardinal Wolsley. He was second in command in England, Lord Chamberlain, and was so extravagant with his home that eventually he ended up looking better than the king so he gave the home, probably reluctantly, to Henry as a gift. It is still a showplace and was an awesome trip that I highly recommend.


It sits right on the river Thames and has lavish gardens all around it. It is a so amazing.



Pictures of me and Kristen outside the Palace. Since it was kind of rainy not many people were there. We loved touring all around the palace seeing different parts of its history.



They actually had all kinds of period actors from musicians playing the actual type instruments that were around in the 16th century to the Queen herself. They even had a special show going on where they had people working the Tudor kitchens in the same manner they would have for Henry VIII. They actually were making pies, and roasting beef, and we got to watch how they would've prepared food up close. it was so cool and smelled so good. We even ate some homemade bread and chicken casserole in the Privy Kitchen afterwards.

Kristen got a little bit into character in this picture.


Believe me she looks sweet but she can wield an axe like nobody I know. so watch out.
Then we returned back to the hotel for a bit and then went to the musical Wicked. It is an alternate telling of the story of the Wizard of OZ, making the Wicked Witch of the West out not to be so bad a character. It was AMAZING.


The set was awesome. The singers were awesome and the story was so good. In the end it turned out to be a romantic comedy, sort of, anyway we LOVED it and highly recommend it to anyone. It was so much fun.


Well tomorrow we might go to the Tower of London and maybe do some shopping at Harrods. Cheers to all.

Sunday afternoon...

Well Kristen and I went walking around London and saw a few of the sights. We saw Big Ben and the Parliament building and got our picture taken in front of Westminster Palace.

Then we walked around a bit more towards Trafalgar Square. We even got to look in the National Gallery for a bit and see some priceless works of Renaissance Art. Then we walked a bit more to Leceister Square (where all the restaurants and theatres are) and we decided we were pooped so we sat at this little ice cream place and ordered Kristen's favorite, gelato which was AWESOME.

Then we realized how tired we were and headed back to the ever so tiny room. We don't really have any floor space for ourselves with all the luggage. So we have to be creative walking around the room. But I am excited that Kristen is here to share this stuff with me.

Tomorrow we are going to go to Hampton Court, where Henry VIII used to live and then we aren't sure yet for the afternoon, and then Monday night we are seeing Wicked, the Musical. Very exciting.

But we did want to send out big time birthday wishes to our little friend Karisse Rose. Uncle Teddy and Auntie Kristen love you and will celebrate when we get back. Cheers for now.

Sunday....

Kristen has arrived. Yaaaa!!!She is a bit tired but happy to be here. After a long tube ride from Heathrow, filled with interesting experiences of a very mentally ill and manic shirtless and toothless man, talking very loud proper English, we arrived. Will post more later. Cheers.

Saturday...

Well today I got to hang out with the Milligan Humanities tour again which was fun. We first went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which apparently ever other person in the world wanted to do as well. It was very CROWDED. So I didn't see a whole lot once the soldiers got into the gates. But it was cool.

You can kind of see the crowds in this picture.



Here's another shot of the horse guards coming in. That is the Victoria statue in front of Buckingham Palace. See all the people.

Then we went to lunch at a really good Italian place. I had a mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich. It was delicioso. Then we went to the Britain at War museum. I think Algie would've loved it but it was kind of cheesy. It replicated a bomb shelter during World War II and had a lot of period artifacts but it was kind of smelly and smokey down there (as it would have been during WWII) and had a lot of manikins dressed up like soldiers.

Then we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Victoria was Queen of England. She ruled from 1837 to 1901. She was kind of depressed a lot though because her husband Albert died at 42. So she never looked happy in pictures after his death. But she was the longest reigning monarch in British history and built this museum which was full of all kinds of cool stuff.
She doesn't look happy does she? There is a really good movie about her called "Mrs. Brown" which has Judi Dench in it if you are interested.

In the Victoria and Albert museum they had this one really cool room where plaster models had been made of all kinds of cool artifacts all over Europe, tombs, statues, columns etc. This is a shot of me and England's second most famous Queen....Eleanor of Aquitaine. Wife of the most powerful medieval English monarch Henry II and She was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John who signed the Magna Carta.


Then me, Traci Smith, Carrie S, and a few students had afternoon tea at Harrod's Dept store.

It was lovely. Then i went to the kids section at Harrods. Harrods is one of the most huge dept stores ever. It covers 4.5 acres and has over one million square feet of selling space. So it is a little city. If they don't have it, you don't need it. So picture what kind of kid's section they would have. It was awesome. So I had to buy eliza some books to read.

Then we walked around forever, I was so tired, and then finally ended up eating at this Greek restaurant and it was SO GOOD. Then I said good-bye to my Milligan buddies as they are heading to Amsterdam tomorrow and I went back to my hotel to get ready for bed as my sweet love comes to England in the morning. She will get to London 12.30 my time which will be about 7.30 your time (if you are EST)

So all in all a brilliant day. Cheers!

the rest of today...

Well it was awesome to see those documents up close and first hand. I am going to go back there soon and look at them again. After I was done in Kew I stopped by the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery and saw priceless works of art. I never get tired of looking at them.

I didn't take these pics, Portrait Galleries frown on the use of cameras. But I found them on the internet. These are some of my muses, the things that inspire me. These are a couple of pics that I have seen up close and personal in the National Portrait Gallery. The colors in person are stunning so deep.

this is the coronation portrait of Elizabeth. She was twenty-five.


this next one is called the Darnley portrait, probably after an owner of the portrait. It was when Elizabeth I was 42 in 1575.



This last portrait is called the Ditchley portrait.


It is very impressive because it is 8 foot by 5 foot. It is huge. It is so impressive. I like to just stand and stare up at it. And it shows Elizabeth standing on England. It was in 1592 when she was 59. She really didn't like portraits that showed her aging so it very difficult to know exactly what she looked like when she got older.

After I walked back to the hotel, I was able to hook up with the Milligan Humanities tour people who happened to be in London. So I went to dinner with Traci Smith, Carrie S., and Kenny and Natalia Suit. We ate at this Japanese restaurant (not like Moto's) and it was really good. It was sooo good to actually have conversation with someone.

Tomorrow the Milligan Humanities people are going to two musuems (Britain at War, and Victoria and Albert) and I was invited to go with them. So I am meeting them at Buckingham Palace, in my area of the town and I will spend the day with them. That is so cool. I really freaked out a couple of Milligan students when they saw me, one asked if I lived in London?

Kristen is coming on Sunday. I will be so glad. I really really miss her. But I do feel like I am making some good progress on the dissertation.

Oh My Gosh...

Okay so I am at the National Archives in Kew. I convinced this guy to let me see the originals, instead of microfilm, of Queen Elizabeth's translations of Boethius, Plutarch, and Horace. Well everyone has to first go through security. But when I get to the room, the guy takes me into a private room all by myself that is locked and unlocks the safe and gives me the documents. I can't leave the room unless I ring the buzzer and they come and unlock my door. This is one of the greatest days of my life! And they even let me take pictures, the British Library does not.

Thursday night...

Nothing too exciting today. Spent most of the day in the room working on the dissertation. I was trying to track down a quote by Elizabeth in one of her speeches. I did and I think it is a significant find. I still have a tad bit of follow up on it to see if I can find it in a 16th century source.

Tomorrow I go to the little town of Kew, home of Kew Gardens, and the National Archives. I get to look at a manuscript of Elizabeth, her translation of Boethius' Consolatio Philosophiae. It probably has not been looked at in 100 years. I am excited to see it up close.

Here's a little glimpse into my life. These are pictures of my little room. It's not much but at least the bed is comfortable. It is 30 pounds per night, 60 bucks and about the cheapest you can find in London outside of a hostel.



Here's a glimpse of the little mall near Victoria Station (underground and rail) that I hang out at a lot. If I want to go anywhere in London I start at this tube station. It is huge and has a food court like a mall. It has a KFC, Subway, McDonald's and Burger King and a few other pubs and other fast food places. It also has a little grocery where I buy some bread, pb and j, and soft drinks. I have a little fridge in my room.




the last one is a picture of the phone booth where i call Kristen every night. For some reason my phone in my hotel does not take 800 numbers and that is what I have to call to use my calling card. Cheers.

Starbucks

Well I needed to do mainly some paperwork so I thought why not leave my tiny room and go work at Starbucks. I did. But unfortunately they want you to pay for your wireless time there (10 pounds for an hour=20 bucks) So I drank my frappacino and then came back to my little room where at least I have wireless capability.

English people in general...

Sorry I am posting so much in one day, but I don't have anyone to talk to. Plus I am not sure how many people read this. But on the tube everyone either reads a book, listens to their ipod, reads the paper etc. No one talks, no one looks up, few even smile. Everyone is in a hurry. But I am convinced that is probably due more to the big city than English people in general.

But I do notice they seem really really interested in US. They spent like 15 minutes on their evening news talking about our presidential election. I gather that 99% of the people I know don't even know who the Prime Minister of England is. (No it is not Tony Blair). Plus the PM over here, Gordon Brown, came up with some kind of scheme to give British people some kind of tax refund, like we got, and guess what most of the people over here say "it's a bribe". People in America say, I didn't even pay taxes but I want some. Interesting difference.

done for the day...

I went to the British library to look at this Latin manuscript that is a translation of an English one. But the Latin and the English never matched up. Until I found out that I was comparing two totally different things. The book I needed was by the same author, Katherine Parr, but it had a different name. So once I realized that the words matched up nicely.

I am tired. I am not sleeping great over here. I miss Kristen and my friends. Apparently the dogs are driving her crazy without me. I feel bad that I can't help her get stuff done. I really like historical research and I like England. But I think next week will be better when Kristen is here.

Laundry and a bit of culture shock...

Okay I have done laundry in a laundry mat tons of times but it was a bit weird in England this morning. First it was a bit cramped and you had to put your money in a central machine and then type in the washer number or dryer number. Before you think it was high tech, most of these machines looked 50 years old. Well I expected it to take coins but I expected a change machine. No dice. So I ran across the street to a little conveinence store/market thinking I will pick up something and get some change.

Well of all the markets to run into, I started looking around and everything on the shelves was written in Arabic and it didn't matter anyway because I didn't recognize any of the food products. Even the cans with pictures, I had no clue. It seems I had stepped into Saudia Arabia. The tv had an arabic program on and women with the traditional arabic dress were in there. So needless to say I stuck out a bit. So I grabbed a can of 7up and a candy bar and paid and then asked the guy for change back "in coins". He was nice and gave me plenty, but it still was weird. I couldn't even fake it in the store like I knew what I was looking for.

Now I have clean clothes. Thank goodness. And I need to run to the British LIbrary to translate some Latin. How's that for a multi-cultural day.

today

Well I ended up going to the British Library after all as I needed to look at one of their collections. It is a printed book of Katherine Parr's Meditations or Prayers which was printed in 1548. Elizabeth translated the English of this into Latin, Spanish and Italian. Interesting. At least the printed Gothic Script was easier to read.

Other than that I ate at KFC. It is the cheapest around.

I really miss Kristen. Living in another country I can handle. No community makes it not very desireable.

Tuesday morning...

Well today I think I am mainly going to stay around the room and work a bit on my dissertation. I have some documents that I can look at on Friday in Kew, so I will wait till then to go back. I also want to go to Oxford sometime possibly this week or maybe in a few. But today i will take it easy a bit, do some typing, and hopefully get some stuff done.

the town of Kew...

I went to the National Archives today which is in the little town of Kew just southwest of London. It was about a 40 minute ride by train. I was really happy to see this other side of England, the small town side. London is awesome but I guess I like a smaller less hurried pace sometimes. Kew was a very quaint little town. It is a town because in England, you only call a place a city if it has a Cathedral. So Canterbury is a city, London is a city, but Kew is a town.

Here's a row of houses on my walk from the train to the National Archives.



The National Archives looked like a fairly new building and it was so nice inside. It took me a bit to figure out how to do things but finally I did. Unfortunately everything I wanted was on microfilm. But I was able to convince the librarian guy, who was really nice, that I really needed to see Elizabeth's translations (Boethius) up close because the microfilm was hard to read. He approved me to do this and on Friday I will most probably be the first person in a 100 years to look at her translations (I Know this because the last person to do this published them in a book and no one has mentioned them since). So I am excited.

The entrance to the National Archives.



There were geese all over the place, and ducks and the little ducklings, geeslings, ducken, goosen, many more moosen were not afraid of me at all. I thought those geese were from Canada..how did they get over here?

Tomorrow I think I am going to Oxford to try to see what I can see in their library. THere is a chance I will not be able to because I didn't have the form filled out by my advisor before I left america. I have two letters which tell everything the form asks, we will see how flexible they are. I probably won't wear my Oxford hoodie when I go. I am sure they won't be impressed.

On another note, I must seem to look like I know what I am doing as I have had many people ask me directions. That is a laugh for those who know me. I did also find that in Kew the English people seemed much nicer and even twice strangers approached me at the Tube station when I looked confused staring at the map asking if I needed help. So I guess the big city types just are in more of a hurry.

Sunday morning..

Well I had a bit of a hard time getting out of bed this morning, but I did and then went to church at Westminster Cathedral. The service was awesome. It is Trinity Sunday so the sermon focused on that on the idea that God is inherently in a relationship with himself and that we find completeness in our relationship with others. I liked it. There were more people there than I imagined and everyone was really friendly. The music included a huge pipe organ and a boy's choir and the sounds of all that really resonated to the tops of ceilings. The service was Anglican, very formal (but I like that), and included tons of scripture reading, prayers, and the service of communion. I went forward to partake and truly felt God while seeing the sun shine down through the stained glass windows. I lit a candle in the Cathedral and prayed for Kristen and my little baby girl. They are coming to see me in about a week. I will be so glad. I am starved for conversation.

Then I went to Leceister Square and enjoyed the day a bit. It actually was sunny. Tons of people were out. It is Buddha's birthday so they were throwing him a party in Leceister Square. I ate at Mr. Wu's Chinese Buffet again. I am a regular. It is cheap and good. Then I went to the National Portrait Gallery just for a few minutes (it is free) and just stared a bit at the people of the past, Elizabeth I, Mary, Anne Boleyn and Edward VI. Very nice. Then went on a bit of a stroll, as per usual, and then eventually made it home.

Now here I am at the hotel for a bit. I might go walking around later not sure. I might work a bit on the dissertation or take my characteristic Sunday afternoon nap. I feel better today, it was so cool to worship God in a place that so designed for it.

Cheers,

Saturday..

Well it's Saturday in London and apparently the day of one of their biggest soccer games. The fans over here are very passionate and loud. Reminds me of nascar fans really. There were tons of them walking through Victoria station in their team's shirts yelling and singing at the top of their lungs. The London Police were out in force because they fear these people getting out of hand as they did the other night when a group of them attacked a policeman.

The tube was so filled with people going to the game, I suppose, that I just walked around and looked at shops and then returned to my room. Today I have been quite lonely and missing everyone especially Kristen.

Everything is so expensive. I went grocery shopping and bought some bread, peanut butter, and some sandwich meat. For about the cost of 7 pounds I can eat for a week. Luckily my room has a little fridge.

Well not much happening sorry this post is kind of boring. Not sure what I am doing tonight but tomorrow I am going to get and got to church somewhere probably Westminster Abbey. There is a church near my hotel too. Not sure. I will miss my small group of friends at La Campina tomorrow.
Cheers

a lazy evening

After all that paperwork I went up the road to get some food and stretch my legs. I ate at some kind of chain restaurant called Garfunkels. I had cottage pie, it is a British food which kind of resembles meatloaf mixed with mashed potatoes and some gravy. It was so good. Eating is so expensive here.

SO I am back to work a bit on my notes and then I guess just hang out. It is a tad cold here so walking around at night doesn't seem much fun.

Paperwork

Well today I have stayed in the room. I am trying to organize my handwritten notes into typed ones. It is a bigger job than I thought it would be. Plus since I am not doing my average 20 miles a day (perhaps an exaggeration) My legs feel so stiff. I am going to try to finish up this stuff and then go get something to eat at Victoria Place. I think I am going to Church this Sunday at Westminster Abbey. I am in the town of Westminster so it is very conveinent.

I actually think that one of my favorite parts about being here is being able to go to CHurch in Cathedrals. The singing is so much better in them, and often times the song selection as well.
Cheers,

Off to Hogwarts....

It just so happens that King's Cross Station, where the British library is, is also the gateway or portal to Hogwarts. Who knew? So I decided to take a visit and transport myself through the portal. This one is for my niece Hannah.







OKay all you muggles I read that so many People began taking pictures in King's cross station that they put up a sign and a little book cart that is just partly showing. I had to stand in line to get my picture taken there.









Today went to British library. Then I left and went to the British Musuem. I saw lots of cool things including the Rosetta Stone (The stone that had Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian demotic, and Greek) They knew how to read the Greek so a Frenchman named Jean-François Champollion deciphered the Script in 1822. Pretty amazing. Some of those Europeans just thought the hieroglyphics were simply pictures.




Here are some of the Metopes from the Partheon in Athens. In fact there is a huge room in the British Musuem that has tons of Partheon parts in it. It kind of makes you wonder what the Greeks must think about the Brits having all of this stuff. There is even a plaque on the wall that attempts to justify why the Brits have all this. (They were stopping the Greek people from vandalizing it). Oh well. It is beautiful.



Then I went to the National Portrait Gallery and saw a ton of original portraits of Elizabeth I and Edward VI, Anne Bolyen, Thomas More. It was amazing. The colors are so deep and bright.

Tomorrow I am not going to the library I am staying in my room and typing up my notes and doing a little writing to my dissertation. I need a day where I don't have to walk 10 miles. My dogs are barking.

In other news. I miss my beautiful wife. I talk with her everynight but this is the longest we have been a part. I miss her and my little baby inside of her. She is coming in about a week. Can't wait.
Cheers,

Rainy day in London

Well its my first rainy morning in London and I can't seem to find my umbrella. Off to the library.

Wednesday...

Hung out in the British library (suprise) a ton today. Found a lot of stuff. Found about 12 letters that Elizabeth I wrote to James I when he was only king of Scotland (he would later succeed ELizabeth). These are letters that have never been published to my knowledge and did not make the edition of her Collected Works. Not sure if her editors just missed them or left them out for some reason. The script is so painfully hard to read. She is much older and writes in a wacky cursive. Thankfully some scribe made a copy of almost all of them and it is much easier to read but still difficult. They don't seem to say much except that Elizabeth is real sorry that she ordered James' momma's head chopped off. (Mary QUeen of Scots)

Actually she denies having anything to do with the deed. Mary Queen of Scots was her prisoner as she had tried to overthrow ELizabeth and take the crown of England. Her son James VI (later James I of England) became King of Scotland because she was in jail. Surprisingly I found a letter from James basically saying there were no hard feelings about his mother's execution. Amazing huh. I don't think they were real close. And it was to his advantage to keep Elizabeth as a loyal friend and cousin as he probably knew he was going to succeed her when she died.



Then I walked around and found Leceister Square (pronounced lester). I ate at Mr. Wu's Chinese restaurant right near CHina Town. It was a buffet and was awesome. Then I bought kristen and I theatre tickets for Wicked and for SPamalot. Very excited.

Then I walked my butt off again. I went to the National Gallery and saw many works of art that are in the Humanities Books. My favorite one was by a Mannerist named Tintoretto. It was of Jesus washing the disciples feet. It was awesome.



I actually ache I have walked so much. I really have nothing else to do. Walked along the river and saw Lambeth Palace where the Archbishop lives and by Downing Street where the Prime Minister lives. Then I walked back to where I live. Here's a couple of pics.





Leceister Square. People just buy food and sit in the
park and eat.


another shot of the square not sure why
I took this one. oh well.



My attempt at Photo Art with a 4.1 megapixel
camera. It really was a beautiful shot of
Westminster Palace (Parliament) through the trees.
Lots of streets in England but almost everywhere they
have a park to go with it and it has tons of people hanging out
playing football, or just relaxing. Love the English.
Cheers.