Divine Intervention

So I excitedly reserved a ticket for the Cheltenham Literature Festival to see Mark Haddon, one of my favorite authors tonight. Little did I realize that Cheltenham is a city in England and not the name of some festival in London. I discovered this too late, as it was 4:00 and it takes nearly 3 hours to get there via train. Oh well.

Danielle, the CEA London director, took us on a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral today. I absolutely love St. Paul's. When you leave the church, there are signs that thank you for visiting, hoping that your time there left you "refreshed and inspired" and encouraged to visit again. This being my second time at St. Paul's, I was happy to note that I'd still like to visit it as much as possible.

Beforehand, Danielle took us around The City, London's financial district, on a walking tour of notable St. Christopher Wren sights. My favorite was an old church which was nearly demolished -- all that remained were some old walls, and the interior had been replaced by a beautiful garden. It was an amazing little sanctuary in the middle of the city. To me, in a way, it seemed like God was more present in the natural surroundings than in some of the impressive churches.

After the tour and making the long trek to the top of St. Paul's, I separated from my group to find an internet cafe and get information on where to see Mark Haddon. Since the book festival idea was shot, I changed my plans and headed back to St. Paul's for Evensong instead. I was so glad I decided to return -- the service, which was free, was absolutely breathtaking. Being in such an amazing and historic church, in such an incredible city, witnessing such a beautiful service ... I was nearly moved to tears, again. I've never felt the same weakness in the knees and tingly-indescribable feeling since I was in the Church of the Holy Sepulchure in Jerusalem (and, yes, I realize how lucky I am to say that). For not being an overly religious person, I certainly have been blessed with getting the opportunity to visit some of the most incredible holy places in the world. Furthermore, for being somewhat of a skeptic, these places continually assure me that there is a higher being greater than us. I may not understand or know much, but of that I am sure.

Anyway, it was a perfect day. I was glad to spend some touristy time in London. Tomorrow, I'm visiting Oxford with a Belgian, an Icelander, an Italian, and another American -- a fabulous international group headed to a place I've been hoping to visit for some time now. Let's hope this excursion works out a little better than Stonehenge did.

Oh, and I took pictures! But, at the moment, I'm having trouble uploading them. Will come later.