"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."
I never cease to be amazed by our God's handiwork - especially whenever traveling to a new place. This was certainly the case on our recent vacation to the UK.
I could probably write post after post about all my favorite parts of the trip and hundreds of pictures, but I'll keep it short. We spent half our time in London and the other half in Edinburgh, Scotland.
London: I was most fascinated by all the old architecture and buildings that seemed endless. Not to mention being able to tour locations that you grew up reading about in your history books. Obviously the United States is not that old of a city in comparison to many other parts of the world. It was truly amazing to walk through castles and other parts of the city that have been there for hundreds and hundreds of years! And to stand so close to so many famous icons took my breath away.
We also got to attend two Arsenal soccer games while we were in London. And I have to say, there is nothing like experiencing a live European soccer match. It was the most fun I have ever had at a sporting event. The crowds, chanting, and momentum of the game are nothing like the sporting events here in the US. So worth it! Kyle and Joel were also interviewed by arsenal.com while we were there for a special video feature about overseas fans. We also got to meet several of the podcast's UK listeners. We will post a link once the feature is up so you can see it!
London is truly a diverse city, as are many large cities of the world. The fashions, types of people, multiple languages you hear constantly, etc reminded me we were quite a distance from home. I joked with Kyle numerous times on the trip that he missed the male skinny jeans and pointy shoes memo. ;)
One thing that surprised me about London - the affordable all natural/organic take-out food. Our favorite place to stop was a place called Pret a Manger. Apparently they have a couple locations in Chicago and NYC, which I will for sure look up next time I'm there! The food was incredible and so much cheaper than anywhere else! Dear Pret a Manger, please come to Indy asap!
To wrap up, I would visit London over and over! And next time, I plan on going when the weather is warmer. :)
Scotland: My Dad's side of the family is Scottish, so I was naturally very excited to visit Scotland. We took a train from London to Edinburgh half way through the week. The views from our train ride were spectacular and ranged from rolling hills and grazing sheep to sheer cliffs and ocean views. The city itself is built up on a hill and features old cobblestone streets and plenty of local shops and restaurants. We took one full day just to explore the city and the next day went out on an all day tour up into the highlands. The weather reminded me of Colorado summers - can be bright and clear one moment and within minutes a storm is blowing in.
I also learned more about our heritage. My maiden name 'Foster' comes from the Scottish clan 'Forrester.' The Forrester clan lived mainly in the city of Corstorphine, a suburb of Edinburgh. (Unfortunately, the old Corstorphine castle no longer exists.) Because there are so many small clans, most are found under a few core clans. Forrester comes under the main clan 'MacDonald.' Each clan has its own style of plaid, crest, etc and it was fun to walk through all the stores looking at your own clan's specific items. Needless to say, we had a blast exploring Edinburgh and I felt very proud to be from such a place!
