Sorry about the delay in blogging...life got in the way!
To catch you up in a nutshell...well, can't really do that, there was just too much packed into those weeks since school in Portugal ended until now. But I will try to give a brief overview which of course will not do our travels justice but I think it is the best I can do for now.
After the GLCA school year ended Mike and the girls and I headed off to London. We spent five days riding double-decker buses all around that great city. Covent Gardens, Bourough Market, Picadilly Square, The Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and much, much more...it is all there...we stayed in a quaint little B&B that served us a hearty daily breakfast that included baked beans, meat, eggs, ceral, toast, tomatoes and mushrooms. That kept us going strong until well after lunch time.
One of our highlights was to see the musical "Oliver" live in one of the royal theaters. It was great!
After London we flew to France where our friend and co-worker from Portugal, Meredith, met us. We stayed for a week at a Marriot timeshare and rode the train into Paris 5 days out of the 7 we were there. Paris...what to say...of course, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. We also visited the Rodin museum and Rue Cler (Where we found the best ice cream (actually gelati). Another favorite was the cafe lined square where the artists display their work. We bought a couple of small pictures...but passed on the larger one we really liked the best. One day Meredith offered to take the girls to Euro-Disney so Mike and I actually got to spend a romantic day in Paris on our own.
When we left our Marriot location we headed west toward Verdun to visit with some missionary friend...the Marshalls, who have lived there for about twenty years. We had a wonder 3 days with them.. the night we arrived they were hosting a World Cup party since France was playing...too bad they lost! The next day, Don Marshall, who is a history buff as well as a dedicated church planter, took us on a tour around the area where many French battles were fought during the Revolution, WWI and WWII. It was very interesting and quite sobering. Much destruction took place on the French soil. On Sunday, three churches including the one the Marshalls began, met together for a service and potluck and fun day. We got to meet lots of wonderful French people.
Some of the highlights of our visit to this French countryside were the red poppies growing wild everywhere, whole fields of them....what a sight! And, the little French villages each with a large (but sadly empty) cathedral at the center of town. France is mostly a secular country now. These little villages dot the whole countryside...even the farmers live in the village so there are vast areas where there are no buildings, just the fields stretching for miles...it is quite beautiful.
Before flying back to Portugal we spent one more afternoon walking around Paris, making sure we didn't miss anything. It really was an amazing 10 days in France!
On June 17 we flew out of Portugal...our home for 10 months...and headed back to the USA.
The transition to being home has not been easy. I don't think any of us realized how hard the adjustment would be. We are all trying to "find our groove" as Nina said the other day. Eventually we will get a rythem going...but, of course, none of us will ever be quite the same...nor do we want to be. We want to use this opportunity we have had too grow and learn...and we want to be ready as God puts another such opportunities out there and invites us to go or stay.
Thanks to all of you who shares this journey to Portugal with us. We hope you had a great time too.
Mike, Nancy and the girls
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