Building...for now, or for Eternity?

Glasgow...we made it into the city center before the shops began to open. A driving tour is the best way to initially see a new city, though it does not exactly give you your bearings without a good map! We did not have time to walk all of Glasgow, so photos from the bus and from a few times when we got off the bus, will have to suffice. Glasgow is definitely a place worthy of a return visit though!     For a little history, it is worth noting that this city grew like crazy during the Industrial Revolution, as most large cities did At one time it was known as "The Second City of The Empire" meaning that it was second after London. While industry has changed over the centuries, with banking being huge in Glasgow (ever heard of the Royal Bank of Scotland?) it is a very vibrant city. The architecture ranges from many centuries old to the very new.

     

This is the Museum of Modern Art which started as a town home in centuries past and has been renovated over the years. The tower on top was added as were the Corinthian Columns on the front. The statue is the Duke of Wellington. (You find these statues a lot in the UK!)

You will see more of this later, but it is Glasgow University located near Kelvingrove Park

I am pretty sure this was the original train station. Check out that clock!

This cute little building is now the Tourist Information Center. I love the way they saved the old buildings and found practical new uses for them. So much better than demolition of a great history!

This is another Art Museum and I would best describe it as the Scottish version of our Smithsonian museums. Practically everything from Scottish history can be found here.

I had this one in here for a good reason. I seem to have forgotten the reason. A lot of these buildings are red sandstone.

This is the OLDEST medieval building in Scotland, right here in Glasgow. They try to keep it clean but it is constructed of sandstone, which is soft, so that is a chore. It has a nice charm to it. We did not get to go inside the Provand's Lordship, but it is near the Glasgow Cathedral which you will see later. This was built in 1471 and was originally a part of St. Nicholas' Hospital.

I do recall a story about these cranes but this photo was important to someone, so I thought I would post it. Glasgow is an ever growing city and still has the largest population in Scotland.

I could do an entire blog on the Bridges of the River Clyde. There is even a Historical Trail that leads you to each and every one of them. This is a fairly new bridge and they are really into suspension bridges in Scotland...and strange ones at that. This one is unique because you are looking at one span, one arc. It starts on one side of the highway and ends on the other so the suspension cables are pretty interesting. Someone in our group took the top photo, but I snagged the second photo from the Glasgow site because we did not get to see the bridge at night and I thought it was pretty incredible. While I love people, I also love architecture and though math and physics don't come naturally to me, I find the physics of this stuff just fascinating! I hope the kids got the value from it too!

This is called the Second Rotounda, because there must be a first one somewhere. It is not really often that you see circular building so they are pretty unique when you find a good one. It is nice that they are saving it.

Because I ran across quite a number of versions of this shot, I picked the best one and figured it was worthy of posting because CLEARLY the kids found it quite fascinating. I am guessing those are not Fords in the parking lot.

This was a short post but I thought you might like a quick tour through the city. We did make a couple of stops where we were able to get out and stretch, snack, stretch, eat....we did a lot of that and the kids enjoyed it EVERY time!

Buildings as you know are things and really don't have the eternal value that souls do, but they are interesting to study at any rate. It is particularly interesting to see buildings that have stood the test of time and have lasted over the centuries. This makes them special because they have been here so long, but it makes them really special if things of eternal value take place, or took place, within those walls. You will get to see some of those types of buildings along the way.

For today, maybe it would be good to consider and evaluate what we are building in our own lifetimes. What are we investing in? Do we spend all of our time and money on things that will rust, wear out, and just deteriorate in a landfill....or do we spend a significant part of our time building for the Kingdom? It is something we all should continually evaluate because we never really 'get there' do we? Hopefully this trip is/was a real growing experience for the young people involved, and for all of those who are following the blog. As for me, I try to invest in things that have something happening for the Kingdom, whether it is a building project at church, or the creation and continuation of a unique school like TMA where The Master is the really important thing. Admitedly, it is very hard to stay on task, especially when I spend too much time near the Apple store....but things that involve the Word of God and the Souls of Men are really the only things that will survive into eternity.  Just a little food for thought for myself today!

Blessings!

Off to Glasgow - Detours are not always a bad thing.

Though most of us were ready for some real sleep, we became fully awake when we were met with the cool, brisk...no, frigid, blustery, Glasgow morning air. The short walk to the bus felt a bit longer than short and the residue from the rains of the past few days was still puddling along the curbs and in the 'car park' potholes. The bus was a welcome sight!

Loaded up and warming up, students and their daybags were quickly on the bus. We met Davey, a true Scot, and our delightful bus driver. The kids warm up to new people quite quickly which makes a trip that much more fun!

Terry, who probably thought we would NEVER arrive, was happy to get the day moving along. We dropped him at the airport 'Holiday Inn Express" (Does that sound funny to anyone?) to pick up his bag and while we waited, we had our first experience with the airport security. The guard was gracious however, and let the bus remain parked at the curb for Terry's quick run in and back out. I guess we see the same thing at the Orlando Airport where they monitor traffic at departure and arrival lanes, but we think of it as keeping traffic moving. We are not quite as accustomed to keeping vehicles out because of what they might be carrying. (There was no danger, but evidently Glasgow experienced a car bomb a few years ago)

Since our morning was a 'flex time' schedule, we were not sure what to expect but it turned out that Terry had a full day ahead for us and even let us see a good bit of Glasgow. (Flex time, because you have to expect that the flights will be delayed, so we made no promises for Glasgow sightseeing.) We were thankful that God gave us a nice tailwind coming across the Atlantic, so even though we arrived early and had a fair amount of wait time for the changing of our 'fashionistas'....we still had quite the early start. Nothing opens in Glasgow til 10 AM, so we were not sure what we would actually see. Departure from the airport was around 9 AM (or for those in the US...about 4 AM in your snuggly beds!)

The bus had massive windows, great for sightseeing and photography, tables for four, and a few backward facing seats. (It takes someone with a 'strong constitution' to sit in a backward facing seat!) It also had a nice intercom so EVERYONE could hear Terry! (unless they were sleeping, of course!...day sleeping...what a WASTE of a great trip!)


Leaving the airport was quite a trip! We passed through the airport about twice after we left. It is funny the way a lot of the journals indicated that Davey was lost, but actually, he was continually encountering detours due to the flooding and trees blocking roads. It would be as if the exit to SR 417 were detoured back though the airport and then through SR 436 to Underhill and back to SR 417. Crazy, but we get that stuff during hurricanes, and what they had just experienced in the previous few days had been hurricane force wind and rains. But it was ok, because it was still VERY early!

We got to see a bit of the country side before getting into Glasgow, but I will lump all of those photos together. 

The kids kept asking about schools. We saw a few but only captured a few shots from the road. The school has children already at recess! School goes until around 4 PM. 

Lovingly known as THE ARMADILLO, this is the Clyde Auditorium. It is located right beside the River Clyde, which is the main transport thoroughfare that runs through Glasgow, making it such an important city. It does not show here, but the building is shiny and silver!

*****

Detours often lead you to the most remarkable places. Spencer had mentioned to me throughout the planning time that he was so excited to go to Scotland because of his ancestry. He did not tell me until right before the trip that they were from an area called Renfrewshire. This is located about six miles west, just outside of Glasgow, which is in the central Lowlands. I thought it was so neat that we were actually in the AREA of his ancestry! Now...take a look at the photos below

Formerly known as Renfrewshire, the town is now known as Renfrew and our detour took us right through it!

Many of us tried our best to get some great shots, but from a moving bus, you get a lot of movement that was not intended! We saw a lot of things with the name of Renfrew though.

Minus the graffiti, the photo would have been a bit better, but this was one of many Renfrew roads, streets, or lanes!

I did find that there is something else special about good ole "Renfrewshire." Far back in history, the area was known as "The Cradle of the Royal Stewarts."  In 1397 it became the County Town of Renfrewshire. The CURRENT Barrow of Renfew is His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay. (back in Jolly olde England, His Royal Highness is more often referred to as The Duke of Wales)   Evidently the family is still a large landowner!

And of course, you want to know more!
The History of Renfrew by J.A. Dunn
www.Renfrewshire.gov. uk

I guess the message here is that you can plan your day, but if you leave God in charge of where you are going, you might just get some really swell surprises! Spencer may or may not descend from British Royalty, but he is a child of the only King who really counts!  It really pays to be flexible when you travel because you just never ever know what God has in store for your day!

Blessings!

Air Time

Day One of our trip was all about Air Time - being in the air, or wanting to be in the air! Most of the students had some challenge with packing. Most over-packed. I over packed, I almost always do, but I tend to think of what I might need for the kids. This thinking probably should stop now. They are pretty self-sufficient! Thanks, Kristin, for showing us how to fit everything into only a carry on bag! Three of the group managed to do that!

 Orlando International Airport: 8:30 AM. Whether they were really 'morning people' or not, everyone made it on time and we did not have to send out texts to find out when anyone planned to arrive! Because I had set up a group check in with Continental Airlines, the check in process was very smooth. Totals: 23 Boarding Passes. 20 Checked bags with the crazy colored tags.

Challenge Number One:                   Parents, say 'Farewell, for now."          The kids were pretty much ready to go!  (I did wonder who would be homesick  first...students or parents?)                                                                                                                                                                           "You will never be lonely from the start of the day til its end...   if you walk life's path with love in your heart, and side by side with a friend."  (Anon.)

I wonder how many people know that in each terminal, just after you pass through security, you can find a small chapel. It is always nice to take a moment, gather in that little chapel and thank God for His blessings on us, and to ask for traveling mercies as we set off across the world.                                                                                         "For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."                                  Joshua 1:9

This made most of us very very happy. Need I say more? (Unfortunately we did not have free wi-fi in Newark!)                                                                                    "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake"          Robert Louis Stevenson

 Both in Orlando and in Newark, we had to pass the time. Different students passed the time in different ways, but they used time wisely. Several journaled, some read (The Hunger Games was a favorite), there was a puzzle, texting, blogging, and some intense games of UNO! Some students had the ability to sleep any time the action slowed down.                                                                                                        "You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything that I do."      Psalm 139:3 (NLT)

UNO - only one of many intense rounds!

Newark food court - pretty outstanding. The masks are likely a statement about smoke.

Pigeons in the airport. Entertainment on damand.

You can never go wrong with Munchkins! 

Puzzle team! 

Always necessary to get a blog posted when you can! Free wi-fi was found in Newark if you got close to the United Club upstairs. The wi-fi drifted down from above. (Last trip with a computer. I will learn to speed type on an ipad!)

Sharing music...and ready to board!

Off we go for a Scottish/Irish Adventure!

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."     Amelia Earhart

We made it safely to foreign soil. The interesting stop in Glasgow was the restroom. Saying "ok,  you can change into cold weather clothes" was intended as...add a layer. Imagine the shock when the chaperones made it to the restroom (last) and found opened suitcases wide open and girls rummaging for what would become a TOTAL CHANGE of outfits! Poor Terry had about decided that our flight was delayed by the time we actually got through baggage claim and out to him! 

We made it through IMMIGRATION in short order (because we were so far behind everyone else that flew in with us.) The guys headed to the luggage carousel to locate our 20 bags with the crazy colored tags. "Piece of cake" they said, because there were only 20 bags on the carousel! 

Due to a car bomb near the terminal over two years ago, buses are no longer allowed to go up to the terminal. When that brisk Scottish wind cut through what we thought was a warm winter coat, none of us were sleepy anymore! It had rained for three days before we arrived so the sky was still gloomy. Though it was almost 9 AM, the sun was not fully up in the sky just yet. Davey was our bus driver and he was quite surprised to see only 23 people with SO MUCH LUGGAGE! If the group had been any larger, we would have had a real problem! (That is a problem for another year, however!)

By the time we reached our Harlequin Coach we were totally excited to see Scotland but also tired after a very long day and night. As we were boarding for the day, our families were snuggled in their beds in the wee hours of the morning. We were all ready for some breakfast since the croissant and fruit on the plane was not enough to carry us until lunchtime.   Did you notice that our bus had tables and backward facing seats? The windows were HUGE, so photos quickly became a real possibility!


So, as we completed Day One and started Day Two, we were off to gain some great experiences. Hopefully travel will change each student and will help them to grow in God's ways. It is wonderful to have a group of students that blends together so well and laughs with, prays with,  and encourages one another!

You should walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, prosper, and that it will be well with you.   

Deuteronomy 5:33 NKJV

Day 2 - no rest for the weary, we shall sleep....tonight!

Anticipation-Again

Have you ever had a book that you were just itching to get into? I started reading "Nearing Home" by Billy Graham....boy, I hope it is not his last book....only one chapter in, it is filled with such wisdom, that one just has to stop and savor it. You really need to take the time to just turn the words over and over in your head...so simple, but so profound.

Savoring...there is something else can't wait to get into. I picked up a tote bag full of student journals today. They may not be filled with the same spiritual wisdom that Billy Graham shares from the depth of his life...but I just know that so many of them are filled with great insights from the trip to Scotland and Ireland. Roger is lighting up the fireplace, I will brew some tea, prop my feet up and we will enjoy re-living the trip through the eyes of some remarkable kids.

In just flipping through some of the journals, I am already pleased with the amount of writing that took place. I am also thrilled that so many of the students embraced the 'doodles' that I introduced...and a few of them let that take them on into drawing. I love it when students accept challenges! I hope that if this was their first 'travel journaling' experience, that it will not be their last.

Beyond struggling to overcome this crazy sore throat that I picked up on the trip home, I have been busily sorting photos. I think at last check, I had downloaded about 33 Gigs of photos and videos and only have  a few groups of iphone photos and ipad photos to collect. And the sorting is complete....through the end of day 2.

Since so many have asked about seeing more photos, I will continue this blog a little longer, recalling memories that I did not post earlier, and posting photos from the collection of 23 individuals. These will be some of the highlights I glean while sorting...and some of the kids are quite good photographers too! There may just be some careers ahead!

If you are just checking in and don't know what this blog is all about...go back to January 4 and follow our trip. If you want out...it is a good time to unsubscribe.....but if you are a student or parent from the Scotland group...you might want to stick around for a little while longer.

Something else made me really happy today.....many many students keep asking me about our next destination! (And no, it is not time for the reveal just yet!)  Travel....it is SO great for students! It expands their world. It helps them to see history past and present and allows them to know that they can be...well, they are a part of history...future. Reading and savoring what you read is incredible, but nothing is as fulfilling as actually walking in the places where history took place and coming to see that God has a plan for each life and each life is a part of history.

Departure

Morning came early but everyone was up on time. We enjoyed enough of a light breakfast to get us through until we found a food court at the airport. The trip to the Dublin airport was uneventful and the city was quiet at 6 in the morning. Once again we were not dropped at the door, due to the possibility of bombings that took place a couple of years ago...we have no idea how spoiled we are in the US!  We pulled into the bus parking, unloaded the abundance of luggage quickly, and had a brisk morning walk and reached the ticketing area in a fairly short time. The airport is very modern and beautiful...and very effecient. They had a number of staff with laptops on rolling card, so they did a pre-check in while we waited in line. The process was pretty fast and we even did the US customs check in Dublin...so we could arrive as domestic flights when we reached Newark. It was so nice not to have to pick up luggage in Newark!

By the time we cleared security, customs, and security again..and reached our gate...they were starting to board! Quick trip to the deli counter! (I personally had a most incredible coconut orange muffin!)

We settled in for our 7 hour flight and most of the kids did a lot of sleeping! It was essentially a three movie flight!

 It was a bit more relaxed in Newark. We had a bit of time for lunch, charging electronics, and I managed to download most of our camera cards. It is funny they way things changed over the last 8 hour. The kids started out the day really not wanting to get on the bus. We all wanted another day in Dublin. We knew there was so much more to see and we longed to be able to do it. By the time we reached Newark though...they were ready to be home.

We had such a great team of students. They got along with each other so nicely. When anyone needed 'space'...which most do at some point....others were respectful and gathered in the lobby or other gathering areas so their roomies could have their quiet in the rooms. Different personalities travel differently and it is so nice to have a group of students who think of the group and not of themselves exclusively. It helps, because we can also try to give each what they need and not have too many raw nerves! I especially appreciated the low drama element of the trip, especially with such a high percentage of girls. The guys are so easy to travel with. About all I have to do is watch the consumption of energy drinks (which we had said no to....but you know how that goes!)
But all in all, this was as incredible a group as the London and Italy teams were!

And yes, we made it back to Orlando, a few minutes early in fact! Most of us were in the back of the plane and we had a great dismissal plan. (This is always necessary because the chaperones can not leave the airport until a parent for every student is accounted for). As soon as I got off the plane, I hit the deck running toward the shuttle. The rest of the group stayed together until all students were off the plane, and then they proceeded to the shuttle. By that time, I had made it back to where the parents and siblings were gathered, did the 'checklist' and we waited patiently for the students to arrive. What a great homecoming it was too!

I love it when the kids are as excited to see their parents as the parents are to see them. If you have ever been a parent of teens, you know that is not always the case on a day to day basis! (Meaning of course, that we can tend to take our families a bit for granted on a day to day basis....not meaning to, of course)

Families and friends gathered and hugged and chatted for a bit before heading down to the baggage claim area. (And we lost NO LUGGAGE - going and coming home!) Our only problem with luggage was that it was too big and too much (Myself included!) ...and we would have had a serious problem had the group been larger....but I will address that for another year!  

I guess the highlight of my very long day was having so many very happy parents. This trip was a sacrifice for so many, a gift from grandparents for others, or a dedicated effort to save for things they felt were important for many others. It is often hard to tell what the impact of travel is on the students, but I got the idea that many of these young people came back with a greater appreciation of the freedoms we have in America. This is something that you just can not effectively put on paper. It is an intangible thing that is hard to explain in other cultures because freedom means different things to different people groups. I hope they always treasure what they have and stand ready to fight for it.

I feel like they saw the beauty of God's creation. So many days I heard them comparing the landscape to areas familiar to them in America. We can travel all over the world, but sometimes forget that we have the same beauty right here at home.(USA home, not just Florida) Sometimes we get bored with what is around us daily but in America, we can just pick up and travel...no passports, no check points, no questions about where we are going and why.

I am anxious to start sorting their photos for our memory album. I have a feeling that it is going to be quite full of great photos. I was also quite impressed with the skills of some of our young photographers. Many of them had very nice cameras, but a nice camera does not guarantee great  compositions! I will enjoy re-living this trip through their eyes.

I am also thankful for Terry, our very delightful tour guide. I absolutely love it when we have a guide who is from the culture and area where we visit. It just gives a different perspective than I could give alone. He is like us, and he is different from us. The history he taught us goes so much deeper (and is much older) than our own history. He brought it alive. He also brought a different perspective to things like religion and politics than we have. Where you grow up and the history of time and place is part of what forms you and your beliefs. I did not see the Brits/Europeans changing anything in their history. In other words, it is what it is, good bad or ugly. I realized that what bothers me so much in America today is this movement to remove from our history books, anything that is not politically correct today. While we do not have a long history, we do have a rich history and that history is steeped in faith in God and I feel so often that we are fighting so hard to not have that erased.

I particularly love visiting cathedrals and old cemeteries. I love the stories, I love the architecture, I love the masterful craftsmanship of the projects. We don't see true craftsmanship in America today ...not often anyway. We don't see people who are willing to work diligently and stay dedicated to one project for even a year, much less a lifetime. Some of these Cathedrals took decades to build.  One story that struck me, and I believe it it was in the Belfast Cathedral...was the marble floor. Generally you hear that the marble came from here or there and that the colors of the marble represent this or that. This Cathedral had a simple black and white floor with an interesting, but not symmetrical pattern. Occasionally you would see colored marble breaking up the design.  Our guide told  us that if you follow the black marble, it is sort of like a maze but will lead you nowhere. If, on the other hand, you follow the white marble, it will lead you to the altar where you can meet God.   Do you get the symbolism, even in the floor?  The dark marble represented Darkness, life without Christ, really lead you no where. You can live your entire life wandering and never reach anything of real eternal significance. On the other hand, the light marble, from wherever you were in that Cathedral (representing anywhere in life), when followed, would lead to Christ....and actually....eternal life with Him should be the destination we are all seeking.

I am so thankful for dedicated, growing, young people and for the godly parents who saw great value in allowing their students this experience.

As I go through photos, I will try to post shorter, more individual stories about some of the things we saw. My journal was short on stories this year, but it has lots of notes, and some very treasured comments from some very delightful students.

It is 5 AM now and jet lag has me all mixed up. I have been up since 3 AM, so I guess it is time for a power nap!

I look forward to seeing all of our students at the luncheon at 12:45 on Friday, camera cards or flash drives in hand. The event team has a lovely afternoon planned for us, so remember that it is mandatory for students. Parents, please call the office to RSVP.

I shall now drift off into slumberland with most wonderful thoughts of another adventure with students who stayed healthy, happy, and so so enjoyable!

Seriously Packed Day

We hit the breakfast table this morning with excitement about having real eggs and meat again! With a full day ahead of us, eating was top priority. Our guide and bus arrived before 9 AM and we were off and running!

Sally was our city guide for the day and once again we were so fortunate. It turned out that Sally (like Kevin, in Scotland) is the head tour guide for our travel company and she sets up the groups for the local guides. In other words, we got the best of the best...and truly she was. I don't think she ever looked at notes...and had a story about almost every building or park we passed throughout Dublin.

For starters, to help you get acclimated, you might want to know that Dublin was founded by the Vikings....so it is really, really old. It is on the Irish Sea (across the Sea is Wales), and the River Liffey (also known as the Sniffey Liffey, which flows out to the sea) divides the city. This is a tidal river, so the water level rises and falls twice daily. Like most cities, one area is the more professional (cultured) area and the other is more of the working class. Most of the city was rebuilt in the time of the King Georges (several of them) so we see a lot of Georgian Architecture. (red brick, similar doors, symmetrical, iron fences)

Side note...I am trying to give you the tour, but it is 1 AM, SOME of us are too wide awake to sleep, so I am sitting in the gathering area with the kids..they are trying to sync some kind of dance that I clearly don't understand...but it is hilarious!

Back to Dublin.....Sally took us on the greatest city tour and told us incredible stories about the sculptures we saw around town. One of our favorites was Oscar Wilde, reclining on a rock. We also saw the place where he grew up. We learned about many more writers, including Jonathan Swift (who deserves a blog post of his own)

Christ Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral are the two main Protestant churches in town.
Christ Church was Roman Catholic until the Reformation. The interesting thing about both churches is that when they were renovated, the cost was paid by two of the local distillers. I just found that kind of funny.

St. Patrick's Cathedral has been a church since the 5th Century when St. Patrick (a missionary) first arrived on the scene. The original church was moved outside the city walls in 1192 AD and the massive stone building was finally completed in the 1400's.  It was in 1538 when it changed from Roman Catholic to Anglican (or, the Church of England.) When it was renovated in the 1800's, it was a brewing family who funded it. Today, only about 3% of the population are members of the Anglican Church, so they depend on donations and gift store sales to fund the upkeep these days. I just find this so sad to have these wonderful buildings that were built 'for God' and yet they are so void of His presence. Evangelical is not a term you hear over here.

We also saw the US Embassy (and not because we needed it!). The Embassy is located within the huge Phoenix Park...which is something like 4 times larger than our own Central Park and is the largest free gardens in Europe. Dan Rooney (former owner of the Pittsburg Steelers) is our US Ambassador to Ireland.

All of this is set near the amazingly tall Pope's Cross. ( I will post a photo as soon as I can). We did another group shot at the base of the cross. It is so named because not long ago the Pope showed up and did an outdoor blessing for something like a quarter of a million people.

SIDE NOTE: Now they are playing Ninja. It is hard to stay focused!

We also saw a lot of government buildings and art museums. The Irish are very proud of their artists, writers, and musicians. During the afternoon the students made a trip to one of the museums, so we all did not see the same exhibits. Caravaggio, Monet, Pissaro, Van Gogh and others were on Exhibit in one of the museums!

The Trinity College Library and the Book of Kells is another one that needs a blog of its own. The Library is incredible, housing over 200,000 old volumes. I am sure the kids will tell you about it! The Book of Kells is an ancient manuscript written by monks (over 1200 years old).....think about the Monks who are copying the Scriptures in the Globe at Epcot...you get the idea!  You might imagine that the sheer precision and quality of the artwork is what so impressed me. The Book of Kells is only the four Gospels and is written on calf skin, stretched thin like paper, which is the reason it even exists today. It is an illuminated manuscript, and I will just have to explain more of that later.  Let's just say that it was quite the memorable moment for me! The name of the exhibit was "Turning Darkness into Light" which pretty much explains it all.

There was so much knowledge to absorb during the morning that by the time lunchtime rolled around, we were ready to bid Sally farewell and head off for some 'Irish Grub.' The afternoon was spent ..."thinking of others'.....that means, of course, acquiring souvenirs for our loved ones!
It was such a beautiful day and Dublin's main shopping area is cordoned off from cars, so it made shopping such a pleasure.  With the shopping and lunch break, also came the time for the museum and checking out the outdoor sculptures.

After we met for a second time, we headed off for our last meal in Ireland. It turned out to be a delicious Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread. Mmmmm, Incredible!

We took another long way home to the hotel and enjoyed a street musician along the way. Dublin is an interesting city, it is full of bustling night life and is beautiful under the full moonlit night.

Some of the crew turned in, preparing for an early morning wake up call!

With so much bus time-Why do my feet hurt so much?

It occurred to me that I might be better off writing shorter blogs rather than running so quickly through our day. Maybe I will post some additional blogs. There are SO MANY stories! I have not met the challenge of downloading photos yet, but I will add more and drive my readers CRAZY! These kiddos are GREAT and they have some amazing photography! Tomorrow is our big downloading day!

Up and at 'em...7 AM wake up call and most of the kids were AT breakfast at 7 AM ...even though we did not need to load the bus until 8:30...you might ask...WHY?  After the 'basic Scottish breakfast' for a few days, when our host at Premier Inn in Belfast said BACON....well, enough said! Not only bacon (actually, 'back ham') was on the buffet but also sausage, two kinds of eggs, FRUIT, youghurt, and a lot of cereal varieties. Talk about some happy young men...and ladies! As I was heading TO breakfast, most of them were headed back to the room 'full as a stuck pig'....it was really funny!

We loaded up around 8:30 and had a quick meeting about Belfast. None of our students really had much of a concept of the history or 'The Troubles' that most parents and grandparents might have remembered. Terry gave us the History of Ireland in Ten Minutes...which is about as concise as you can get, but he did an outstanding job. They came away with the understanding that The Nationalists wanted Ireland to be one Nation and that the Unionists wanted to stick with the United Kingdom, and this was only a part of the struggle between the two groups. We can be very thankful that our students, and really, our families have never had to live with daily bombings in our own neighborhoods, or homelands. I am not certain that we really have a great appreciation for how fortunate we are to have such a safe homeland.

I was reminded through the process that it was the Clinton Administration that helped to settle things down in Northern Ireland. Only ten years ago we would not have had the freedom to travel safely, without fear of local bombings between the opposing groups. Much has changed with this younger generation, yet it is still politically incorrect to ask someone what their religious preference is. This might be a reason that such a small percentage of the population even attends church of any kind. The grand cathedrals changed from Catholic to Protestant during the Reformation, and yet are not really vibrant, unless appearances deceive us. It is heartbreaking, really, that they are a thoughtful, accepting people, but miss out on one of the greatest joys in life, which is in knowing Christ.  But, thank goodness for the work of the Clinton Administration for helping to settle things down for the benefit of the common man. And there...I said something nice about a President I did not support.

The group shots are from our trip up to the Northern Ireland Parlaiment and also if you look in the background of the other photo...try to find the red brick tower from the school where C.S. Lewis studied. The trip to the seat of government brought some pretty interesting discussions.

I will say that their love for our current President quite surprises me....so I have had to bite my tongue a lot....though some might not agree that I have bitten it often enough. It is nice that the American President is so wonderfully respected over here....though sometimes I get the idea that it is not just the Office of the President they love.  But, I think that over here politics and religion are mostly things that people keep to themselves...which is quite different from what we experience in America, where we speak so freely. Well...I won't bore you with my politics.

All in all the experience in Belfast was quite an educational one and both Terry and our tour guide did a great job explaining how the city is split, about the peace fences, the meanings behind the murals, and so much more. It is really much deeper than can be expressed here. Perhaps I will blog more when I download some photos.

I will try to post about the foods we tried, including the amazing Cornwall Pastys that our group enjoyed for lunch. There is a great story behind it and I think they would sell amazingly in the States!

After lunch in a market area, we met back at the Opera House and headed out of Belfast, south toward Dublin. We were delighted to find that our own dear Tour Director, Terry actually acted for a while in that Opera House....how exciting is that! He reads poetry to us and sings to us...it is great!

Full and ready for a nap, most of the kids missed the beautiful countryside, but when we stopped for what we would call a Turnpike Service Area....they all woke up. Let me just say that in America, we have NOT cornered the market on the highways! These places are well planned out and just wonderful!

Back to the bus with our variety of unusual and yummy foods....more photos to come! I love that Terry kept giving us the update on where we were and what we were seeing. My journal is full of notes...not stories, but notes! This should help a lot when I do the photo album for everyone!

Dublin is a modern city and it was only early afternoon when we arrived. We checked in to the BELVEDERE which is a beautiful but old place with a modern feel...and recently refurbished...and with free wi-fi (this is the qualifier for us regarding the quality of a hotel...funny, isn't it?) Yes, the carpet can be old but it does not matter as long as we have wi-fi!

We took a quick walking tour just to get us acclimated to the area and were delighted to know that we are right in the city center. We could not be more delighted. Put on your prayer list that tickets are available tomorrow night so we can see LITTLE WOMEN in the most famous theatre in Dublin....what a treat if it can happen!

We saw churches, the Writer's Museum..(Melissa is EXCITED!) ...the GPO, which is the General Post Office, sculptures and the grand Millennium Spire.
Did I mention shopping? Yes, they found an Ireland store!

Back to the hotel for a wonderful dinner, topped off with ice cream!

So...a recap of the day.....lots and lots of photos, plenty of walking, singing, poetry, limericks, great food of all varieties, getting from point A to point B without getting lost, lost phone, found passport, great new bus driver (Tommy, who we can barely understand, but as adorable as can be), a trip to the TITANIC dock and Leo pix, cathedrals, history, more food...and down time for blogging, posting to FB, texting, and watching Spencer dance to music we could not hear. Did I mention that Bryant saved my life tonight? More on that later, but thanks ever so much, Bryant!

All in all, it was a fabulous day and we are left with a feeling that Europe is great but as we always knew, America is greater. There are freedoms that we have in America that no one else can really understand. We love the history here and thirst to know more, but I hope the kids come away with a greater thirst for the true American History. The stories of our ancestors the way it really happened rather than the way it is told today in in politically correct way, is ever so important. I hope they never ever lose that. I hope we never ever stop teaching our students what took place in America to get it where it is today...the good, the bad and the ugly...and not just the re-written. So much of that history is steeped in a deep Biblical tradition that we should be so proud of. We are truly the city on a hill for so many in so many countries across the globe.