Author: Sagacity

by

Chester, England

Some of you have already noticed, but I uploaded a whole lot of photos yesterday.  About 250 actually were in the batch.  It includes the rest of the photos from Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France.  I did not upload any photos from Scotland or England.  They will have to wait for the next chance I get.

We are now staying with the Byrom family in Runcorn, England.  Today we went to Chester and walked the walls.  We went through the cathedral and went down the main shopping streets.  It was a beautiful day for what we were doing.  We quite enjoyed ourselves.  We each had a pasty and a vanilla finger.  She liked it but it was too much.

We stopped by Ellesmere Port on the way home at a outlet mall.  We picked out a couple of suits and bought them.  However, we were not convinced we had the best deal so we took them back.  For as much money as we were paying, I didn’t absolutely love the suits.  With our buyers remorse, we took them back.  Interestingly, on the way out, we stumbled upon another store.  I found better quality suits that were on sale for almost half of the cost for the other two suits.  Hands down, Amanda and I both liked the second store over the first.  Now I have some new suits, one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Europe.

We had dinner this evening, some amazing lasagna.  Rose has always made great lasagna.  Afterward, Rose, Amanda, and I went to visit an older lady I taught on the mission.  She was such a sweet soul and she proved to be the same.  We have all aged, but the sociality has not diminished or changed with time.  I think Amanda quite enjoyed Jane Young and her quaint little home in the English countryside.

Yesterday, we had dinner with Jack and Brenda Millington from Howe Bridge.  Jack used to cook us as missionaries some wonderful homemade pot pies.  Visiting with him on Sunday, he offered to make me and Amanda one.  We agreed and met with them yesterday.  The pot pie was as wonderful as ever, boiled cabbage, and homemade trifle.  We really had some good laughs.  Jack even sent us off with a couple of parting gifts.

There are so many people that nearly 10 years have changed nothing.  We don’t always remember each other’s names, but the feelings are still the same.  Memories seem to come back quickly, surprisingly.  What will heaven be like?

by

Liverpool, England

Today was our visit to Liverpool.  It is a short report as Amanda was feeling ill most of the day.

We visited Old Rufford Hall in the morning, drove to Liverpool, and visited the Anglican Cathedral and Albert Docks.  Afterward, we drove back to Wigan through Upholland so Amanda could see the church where one of her family lines lived.

Tonight we had curry for dinner.  That was definitely a treat.

by

Wigan, England

It was Sabbath in Wigan.  Therefore, not a whole lot in the way of mention of traveling or exotic places.  However, we did go to church and visit a few people.  A quick couple of thoughts.

Church was great.  Funny how even though I lived here for a couple of years, I still really struggle with some of the accents.  In Sacrament alone, I totally could not understand the second speaker.

The pure Wigan accent is simply unable to be replicated by me.  I don’t think I could even try.

We went to visit a couple of people.  Jim and Julie Monks, Dawn Rhodes, Ceri and Lorraine Jenkins, Charlotte Ainscough, Alan and Rose Aspey, Brian and Sylvia Burtonwood, and Rene Simpkin.  We had a very good visit with the Monks, Jenkins, and Aspeys.  Dawn Rhodes was unable to be found in the location we were given.  We were either given the wrong address or she has moved.  She was the only convert in the mission I felt like I really oversaw the entire thing from finding to baptism and even some of the new investigator discussions.  Alas, she is not active and it seems nobody really knows where she is.  Except for Brother Monks and she either moved or he gave me the wrong address in Aspull.  I was very disappointed.

Sadly, I found out Rene’ Simpkin passed away around Christmas of 2003.  That would explain the stopping of letters.  I am disappointed nobody ever notified me.  I will have to find her birth and death information so I have it for my records.  I really came to love the lady and she the church, but she just couldn’t give up her wine.  The Burtonwoods remembered her.  She was a fine lady.

In visiting with Alan Aspey, he let me know an Aspey from Wigan is definitely related to him.  I will have to let my Aunt Lolane know that her Margaret Aspey who came from Wigan is very likely related to him.  Interestingly, Alan also commented about his Aspeys living in Upholland and Ormskirk.  We told him about Amanda’s Ashton relations in Upholland and he knew the name as having some in his own line.  However, he knows of no relations who joined the Mormon church and moved to America.  This would be a first for him if we could show a link.

I found out from President Monks that Gheorghe Simion, my second to last companion from Romania, now lives in Liverpool.  We will have to try and find some contact information for him so we can meet up while we are near Liverpool.

Charlotte Ainscough still has the little stuffed animal I gave her when we baptized her.  I found out she named him Ross.  How sweet is that?  The Jenkins and Charlotte were very excited to see us.  They gave us their passes for the British Trust sites in England.  We will have to mail them back when we leave the country, but it includes a parking pass.  Meaning we can save well over 200 pounds with the passes for much of our travel throughout the UK in our remaining time.

It was a sweet day in Wigan.  It made me feel good so many people remembered me.  If not my name, at least my face.  They all adored Amanda and commented on how beautiful she was.  Some even recognized her from our wedding announcements.

by

Preston, England

Another more relaxed day in England.

Today we received word the paperwork and everything has all been signed for our home.  The paperwork is off to Oklahoma City for the official closing on Monday.  I don’t know what could really change now.  By all accounts, we are now the proud owners of a little home in Oklahoma City.  Or at least we have a title to a home with a significant lien for a bank somewhere.  Hopefully everything continues to work out like it has so far.

We ran to the Preston England Temple today.  It is one of my favorite temples.  There is something in the simplistic beauty of it I adore.  Amanda agreed.  It is on par with the Rexburg and Vernal Temples for the simple elegance within.  We snapped a couple of pictures.  We also ran into a member I knew in the Wigan Ward.  He is now in the Temple Presidency and enjoyed a good visit with him.  We were supposed to go over and visit this evening, but our plans crowded it out in the end.  We had to reschedule it for tomorrow sometime.  We are going to work it out in church.

Afterward, Amanda and I ran into Preston.  I showed her the town center where the missionaries preached the gospel for the first time in the British Isles.  It is in Preston that the longest continuing unit of the church operates, the Preston Ward.  We ran out of time to go to the flat where Parley P Pratt and Orson Hyde were attacked by the legions of the devil.  We did not get a chance to see Avenham Park or the beautiful River Ribble where the first baptisms took place outside of North America.  We did not get over to see the apartment where President Hinckley received his famous “Forget yourself and go to work” letter on Wadham Road.  Perhaps sometime in the future.

We came back and were relaxed some more with the McCabes.  They treated us to a fine meal of South African descent.  They lived in South Africa for a number of years.  Later this year they are immigrating to Australia!  How is that for exciting.  When we make it to Australia, we know who we will be calling on!  Amanda and I made a call at Tesco today and purchased a Pavlova.  Boy, was I glad to get my hands on one.  We consumed it after dinner as one of our desserts.  Mmmmm.

I realized yesterday was the anniversary of Joseph Smith’s death.  I wonder specifically what he is doing these days.  What or where is he up to doing work?

Tomorrow we are off to attend the Wigan Ward.  Then we will go visit some of the new converts I helped bring into the church.  Sadly, I don’t think any of them are active.  But we shall find out.  I did find out Jim Monks knows where one of them lives.

by

Hindley, England

We are now in Hindley, Lancashire, England.  We drove down here today to crash at the home of Hilton and Rhona McCabe.  I met them while as a missionary here about 8 years ago.  The friendship has continued and we have kept in contact.

We are waiting to hear word from Salt Lake City.  We are supposed to be closing on our home in Oklahoma City.  Hopefully everything works out.  We will find out tomorrow I guess.

Last night we spent our evening in Edinburgh, Scotland.  We walked throughout the city, saw the castle, the Holyrood residence, and the cathedral.  Amanda got to see her world famous Mary Kings Close.  It was very interesting.  We got our hostel for the equivalent of $30 which we thought was a gonga deal.

We landed in Prestwick on Thursday after flying out early from Charleroi Airport near Brussels.  We then picked up our hired car and drove to Glasgow and on to Edinburgh.  It took me a little bit, but I quickly adjusted to getting back on the wrong/left side of the road.

It is late and I am too tired to write more of our travels today or of what we did in Edinburgh.  We did stop to visit Downham, Clitheroe in Lancashire today where the entire town joined the church and later emigrated to Zion.  Now we are back in the old mission.  My second visit since being released.  It is good to be back.

by

Lausanne, Geneva, and Paris

We did not have internet in Paris, so there has been a long silence.  Perhaps that is a good thing.

As a note, I did upload some photos on the blog.  They were the ones from Dresden.  Well, a few.  I hit my limit for the month for how many photos I can upload.  As soon as July 1st hits, I will start uploading again.  Sorry.  There are some great pictures from Dresden and Meissen.

We left Bern and started making our way to Paris.  We were planning on hitting the temple in Bern but after trying to figure out the buses, taxis, or trains with attendant costs, backpacks, and traveling all day in our church clothes, we threw in the towel.  We just started out for Paris.

We made stops in Lausanne and Geneva.  Lausanne was beautiful.  The view coming in over Lake Geneva was amazing.  Some of the Alps between Bern and Lausanne were breathtaking, much like the Alps we passed through in Northern Italy.  We were supposed to catch a train directly from Lausanne to Paris, but it was fully booked.  We were able to book a train from Geneva so we knew our time in Lausanne was limited.  We decided to hike up to the Lausanne Notre-Dame.  We stopped at some church on the way, St. Michaels or whatever.  We heard an Oomp Pah Pah (who knows what they are really called) in a park near the cathedral.  It was so hot, the sun was killing us, and we were wearing our backpacks climbing an asphalt mountain made for a welcome arrival at the top.  We enjoyed the hike back down to the station to head off for Geneva.

We had limited time at Geneva as well.  We walked over and saw the famous Jet d’Eau and enjoyed what little comfort the breeze brought to us from it.  It just made us want to jump into the water for some salvation from the heat.  We walked through the park to see the flower clock, which all these watch-makers got together to show their prowess.  This massive clock set in a flower bed.  However, it was more than 6 hours off, not one of the hands was on the right time.  Watch making prowess must have been a think of the past.  We then walked up to Saint Peter’s Cathedral where we toured where John Calvin taught.  The University of Geneva is right next door.  It was all very fascinating.  We then had to make our way back down to the train station so we could head off to Paris.

The ride to Paris could have been better.  We ended up in an assigned seat going backwards.  Plus this train was going much faster than the other trains we have been riding on it and it swayed back and forth.  I got sea sick on a train!  Boy was I glad when we got to land.  I wasn’t feeling well.

The next few days in Paris were a blur.  It was miserably hot, again, for the first two days.  We walked loads and both of us ended up with blisters on our feet.  Probably more from the swelling of our feet rubbing.  I was fortunate enough to get blisters between my big and index toes on both feet.  Amanda got them on top from her flip flops.  But it was quite the couple of days in Paris.  We hit all the big sites, except the Pantheon.  Arc de Triumphe, Place de la Concorde, Place de la Bastille, Champs-Elysees, Montmarte, L’Opera, Saint Denis Cathedral, Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, Louvre, Tuileries Gardens, Invalides, Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Palais Versailles.  I am sure that is not even a full list.  But we saw them, and much of Paris in between.

Since it is late here, only a few highlights.  Amanda got to see the sun set from the top of the Eiffel Tower on the longest day of the year.  I was there too.  How romantic is that?  We had a fancy, full french meal before ascending the Eiffel’s nearly 700 steps to the second state.  Mine included deep fried turkey and marinated (basically pickled) red peppers.  I probably could have done without the peppers.  My baklava was amazing!

We climbed more than 1000 steps between Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower in one day.  On other days we climbed mont marte and a whole list of other stairs.  Add to that the oppressive heat, and some days we were about as good as dead when we got back to our hotel room.  Our hotel had no air conditioning!

We enjoyed French pastries every morning and every time Amanda would let us.

We did see the Venis d’ Milo and Mona Lisa, along with scores too many of other artworks.

The Metro of Paris is wonderful.  We could get to nearly anywhere in relative comfort.  However, some of them were hot and the air hung with a motor oil smell and greasiness.

We are glad to be back Oostrozebeke, Belgium for a day of laundry and relaxing.  Thursday we fly out for Glasgow.  Britain, here we come!

by

Venice, Italy

I sent this one zesterdaz, but it did not go through for some reason.  Sorrz.

Just a quick update.  Internet here costs us roughly $10 an hour, so we are using as little time as possible.

We are in Venice.  Right on the Mediterranean, we are feeling the heat and humidity.  I am loving it, Amanda not so much so.  Last night, I had real Italian pizza and Amanda had real Italian pasta.  We are living the life of luxury.  We are in a nice little flat right off a campo (miniature piazza) and the place buzzes at all times of the day.  We arrived safely here from Salzburg.

by

Bern, Switzerland

Hallo from Bern, Switzerland.  It has been a verz long daz working our waz through Northern Italz up here to Swityerland.  Zes, we are back to a German kezboard+  About the onlz thing reallz noteworthz todaz is that we made a stop over in Milano, oh and Zurich.  We will be seasoned train travelers the waz we are going.  I cannot forget to mention the endless tunnels as we worked our waz through the breathtaking Alps.

We left the Mediterranean humid heat to come to the Alpine drz heat of Bern.  Aren`t we luckz?

I know I onlz made passing mention of Venice in our verz short time on the internet there.  It was an interesting citz.  We enjozed our different Italian meals and some of the sights.  However, it was hot and sultrz.  We both ended up with blisters on our feet and enough swass for the rest of our lives.  It is the worst laid out citz on the planet.  Between the canals and small allezs, we never knew if we were coming or going.  There were manz wonderful things there, but neither of us think we will go back.

Bern has to be our favorite citz so far.  Dresden is definitelz a match, but unfortunatelz war removed most of its everz daz walk of life.  Bern was fortunate to maintain and hold most of its medieval roots.

We are learning a new currencz here.  We were feeling rich knowing the dollar was worth more than the Swiss Franc, but we are feeling poor watching how much higher everzthing is priced.

Tomorrow we hit the temple and start the long, long, long, long, long train ride to Paris.