Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh: Train from London & Princes Street Gardens

Today we traveled to Edinburgh! This involved a four-hour train ride from London to Edinburgh, which wasn’t bad at all, because we purchased things from the snack trolley going through (mainly to further emulate Harry Potter’s first trip to Hogwarts even more–we left from Kings Cross station and everything!) and looked at the beautiful scenery out the window. The English countryside is mainly very, very … Continue reading Edinburgh: Train from London & Princes Street Gardens

London: Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral & Camden Market

Today was another busy day in London! We set off a bit later than usual because of our late night at the performance of Wicked last night, and our first stop was the Hard Rock Cafe shop, because a few of the group wanted to purchase souvenirs there. We then headed past several war memorials and arrived at Wellington Arch. We went to the top, … Continue reading London: Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral & Camden Market

Warwick Castle, England

London: Warwick Castle & Wicked in the West End

​Today was a great day–we took a 1.5 hour train ride to Warwick Castle and got to see part of the English countryside, which was very pretty–lots of sheep, dairy cows, and a few horses, with pretty rolling hills and everything is very green! (Our guess was that it’s because it rains so much here). ​The castle was very big, and the most fun I … Continue reading London: Warwick Castle & Wicked in the West End

Hampton Court Palace, London

London: Hampton Court Palace, Leicester Square & Chinatown

We started our second day in London with a hearty English breakfast of beans, bacon, and eggs over easy at our bed and breakfast. Beans for breakfast was better than it sounds, though the bacon was more like ham than what we think of as bacon. We also had some toast and fresh-squeezed orange juice, so it was a strong start to the day. Michaela … Continue reading London: Hampton Court Palace, Leicester Square & Chinatown

First day in London

London: Trafalgar Square, Big Ben & Kings Cross Station

Well, after a very long layover at the Minneapolis airport and an uncomfortable flight almost as long, we made it to London! We got through customs, got our luggage, and got on the Underground towards our hotel. It didn’t really start to feel like we were in a different city until the subway started going above ground and we could see all the classic English … Continue reading London: Trafalgar Square, Big Ben & Kings Cross Station

The People of Mexico: Travel Gets Personal

Short bios of some of the wonderful people I’ve met in Mexico through Casas por Cristo home-building trips! Luis was a little boy I met on my first trip to Mexico. He lives in Acuña, and when we went back to visit him last time I was there he was staying with his aunt, but his mother said he still asks about me and about … Continue reading The People of Mexico: Travel Gets Personal