Malverns and London

I got several chances to go sightseeing this past weekend that were too good to pass up. On Friday, I joined the ELCO teachers and students for a day of walking on the Malvern Hills. On Saturday, a group of Lifehopers were taking the minibus to London to attend a wedding and they had several empty seats that they offered to anyone who wanted an inexpensive ride to the city. A couple of us accepted quite gladly.

Malvern Hills is a cool area packed with interesting tidbits of history and culture. My favorite part was this story:

One chilly winter day, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien went for a walk on the Malvern Hills.

 



Afterwards, they went to this pub for supper and a drink.

 



 

While they were there, it snowed. When they came out, Lewis looked down the street and saw this lamppost, dusted in white, and thought, "That would be a good scene for a story."

 

 
London was fun. For this trip, the goal was to get aquainted with the city, so that next time, I can invest more money and get the most out of it. Towards that end, I learned many useful things about public toilets, rubbish bins, and the tube system. (That list is so British. At home I would say public restrooms, trash cans, and the subway.) We did see lots of interesting sights, including Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Millenium Bridge, Westminster Bridge, the Thames River, Globe Theatre, London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, Salvation Army International Headquarters, and a bunch of fun street performers. The weather was nice (meaning not raining and not freezing) which was a blessing, since we were outside for most of the day.