Day 30, "The day the tube station was on fire"

Well I slept in this morning and when I went to get the 10 o'clock shuttle to the tube station at the airport it never came so I had to get the 10:40. When I finally got to the airport the station at terminals 1,2&3 was closed and I needed to find a train that went over to terminal 4 or 5. When I finally got to terminal 5 and got onto the tube they announced that terminals 1,2&3 had reopened so we'd be stopping there. Awesome.
Well because of all the delays I headed straight to Westminster Abbey and attended their 12:30 Eucharist. It was really odd because there were all these tourists walking around the side of the nave. When we went up to the rail there were people standing off to the side watching us which felt really odd.
After the service I walked up to Trafalgar square again. I made my way over to a Starbucks got a beverage and sat for a little bit and then headed back early again so I could get prepared to leave in the morning.
It's been a great 30 days and I've really enjoyed everything but am ready to go home now. I can't wait for a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee...

Day 29, "The day I gave up my seat to Apollo and his children"

This morning on the tube ride into the city a family with three little girls got on when there were no available seats so myself and a couple other guys near me got up for them to be able to sit. After a couple minutes I realized the guy looked really familiar and another minute or so of trying to place him I realized he looked exactly like Lee Odama. So when I got back that night I checked it out on the interwebs and he's British and has three young daughters. After this thrilling tube ride I went to St. Paul's Cathedral and met up with David and his wife for the sung eucharist. The service was pretty good, the building is amazing but I strongly dislike sound systems in churches and this one sounded very much like a sound system (but we were able to hear everything in such a large place so we gotta be thankful for that). Afterwards we went to a pub nearby for lunch. It was really good to be able to interact with people in depth. It's been pretty lonely these past couple of days wandering about by myself.
After lunch we parted ways and I decided to head over and check out covent gardens. It was pretty neat. I didn't stay too long but walked around a little bit and checked out some of the kiosks in the apple market. There were a bunch of street performers around, some musicians and some other acts (one guy was juggling knives while balancing about 10 feet up on a ladder). After a little bit here I decided to call it a day early and head back in as I was beat from the past couple days of walking around the city.

Day 28, "The day I saw the tree of life"

I got into London about the same time as yesterday and headed right over to St. Paul's Cathedral to inquire about the event Dean Willis told me to go to, turns out it was by ticket only and very exclusive. I then headed over to the London Museum. That was really cool. It had stuff from this area that was thousands of years old, including some human bones. After I was there for about twenty minutes a free tour was announced looking at all the religious and superstitious stuff. The tour was pretty good, although the guide had some wrong information at times but nothing major. After this I headed over to the British Museum. This place was huge and packed with people. It was filled with lots of cool old stuff as well though. I really liked the tree of life in the Africa exhibit. It was made out of old gun pieces. Once I left here I wandered around the city for a while and got a pasty at a little shop in the entrance to the underground. I eventually made my way back to St. Paul's and saw the closing out of the St. John's Ambulance stuff. I then went in for Evensong. The inside of the cathedral was breathtaking, the colors are just so vibrant. Evensong was alright, I still prefer Canterbury Cathedral's though.

Day 27, "The day I lost a little respect for England"

Today I woke up and headed into London. After a slight delay on the tube (which resulted in having to change trains) I landed a slight walk form Buckingham Palace and had enough time to get there before the Changing of the Guards. This was a bit lame. First off it's way too touristy and crowded for me. Secondly, one of the bands that marches in with them played Abba songs (I figured out it was Abba when people around me started singing 'Mama Mia' along with them, they also played 'Fernando'), that definitely brought the UK down a few notches in my book. Then I walked up the Mall to Trafalgar Square. I grabbed a quick lunch (and cheap, under six pounds for a sandwich and coke) in the cafe in the crypt of St. Martin in the Field. After this I headed into the National Gallery. There were a few really good Monet Pieces. I really liked 'Water Lilies, Setting Sun' and then looking at another painting a little bit away discovered that 'Water Lilies, Setting Sun' looks so much better from an angle about 15 feet away, it was just so much more real and alive. I also thought the 'Snow Scene at Argenteuil' was amazing. After that I walked down towards Parliament and back up by the Thames. I eventually found myself in a Starbucks and read and drank some coffee for awhile enjoying being off my feet. At about four I headed towards Westminster Abbey and at 4:30 made my way in for Evensong which began at 5:00. They seem to focus more on the men's choir than on the boys choir compared to Canterbury Cathedral (at least that's the impression I got tonight). Overall I liked Canterbury's Evensong better, but it was still amazing. I then headed back to the hotel and grabbed something to eat. Now I'm just planing out tomorrow. I'm thinking St. Paul's (to check on tickets to the event in the afternoon that Dean Robert told me to go to and look for him at. After that depending on if I'll be going to the thing at St. Paul's in the afternoon I'll head up to either the London Museum or the British Museum (or both if I won't be returning to St. Paul's for the Order of St. John event). And I think I'll close out the day by attending Evensong at St. Paul's (so either way I'll end up there again that day) and if I like St. Paul's I think I may attend their sung Eucharist on Sunday morning.

Day 26, "The day we all said goodbye"

Today's Matins wasn't in the quire but rather in the chapel by the Altar of Sword's Point. I think Ed said this was where it normally is held when they don't have large groups like us. It was nice to be in a smaller space for this, the quire usually seemed much too large.
I left Canterbury at noon and got to my hotel at two and have just been hanging out unwinding. Tomorrow I'm heading into London to explore. I think I might check out the Natural Gallery tomorrow.

Day 25, "The day of the first goodbyes"

Today we had a final session with Kathy where we looked at the accounts of Paul gathering funds for the church in Israel. After that Ed has us do an activity to sum up our experience as a group. After that Anne left, she was the first to leave. After lunch we had nothing to do until the final service at five. Before that service Paul and Hector took off. For the service we went to the old St. Augustine's Abbey. After that was our final dinner where the Dean handed out certificates saying we completed the program. I sat with the Dean and Ed's wife during dinner, it was cool to get to talk with them for a good period of time.
After dinner Anna, Elyse, Jason and I went to the Thomas Becket one last time.

Day 24, "The day I had ice cream"

Today we finished up Philippians in the morning then looked at how the logic of the Christ hymn can be seen elsewhere in Paul's writings. After lunch we had the afternoon off so I went to the gift shop and got a gift for Max and a piece of stained glass for myself.
After that Paul and I got some ice cream right outside the gate. Tonight after dinner there was the exchanging of gifts (we were all told to bring a small gift representing us and where we're from). I ended up getting a really cool black rock from the shore of Newfoundland from Paul and ended up giving my old taize cross that I got from Roy Green on my first Happening weekend to Anne (the way it worked was we gave our gift to the person to our left, and I happened to be seated between the Canadians). The rock is really cool and Anne seemed to really appreciate the cross and the explanation behind it so I think it worked out well. After this a bunch of us went out to the Bishops Finder for one last pint with Hector, Anne and Paul as they are all leaving tomorrow. It was a good time and I'm really glad to have had the time to get to know them.