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My excursion to N Wales and England ended when I boarded the plan in Heathrow Airport heading toward Philly and then Pittsburgh.  I landed in Pittsburg around 8:30pm but did not get to sleep until Midnight.  After 8 hours of sleep I woke refreshed and went through the entire day without any jet lag.. I spent Saturday unpacking and going through my mail. 

It feels good to be back into the routine of the monastic schedule. Tomorrow I intend to return to the studio and begin making something beautiful.

I want to thank all of you for taking the time follow this bog.  I found writing it each day to be very therapeutic.  I am not what I will do with it now.  You might want to check back once in awhile to see if there is something new.

My Last Night in London

Since this was my last day here I decided to take a personal day, away from all the typical sightseeing and away from all the hassle of public transport.  Instead I stayed in the neighborhood.  I went out for a long walk by myself to take in all the local flavor.  There are so many quaint streets and unexpected lovely architectural surprises as you can see from the pictures below.

The neighborhood is overflowing with restaurants of of every kind.

It  is Halloween here too and I came across a couple of children dressed for the occasion.  Children do walk from door to door asking for treats but rather than saying "Tricks or Treats" they say "Happy Halloween"

This is the local "Mall"

This is the coner pub.  After work crowds of people stand outside drinking their pint of beer.

This is the corner mail box.

And this is street that leads to the front door of the rectory.

One of my tasks for my afternoon walk was to find a restaurant Fr. Milby and I could go to for our "Last Supper" in London.  I found a place called "La Forchetta", The Fork.  It tuned out to be an excellent choice.  We had Calamari and the Pumpkin Ravioli, a special for Hallween.  We also ordered a pizza to go which we ate while watching TV later in the evening.

I am now all packed and ready to take a cab at 8:30am for the airport.  I am looking forward to getting home and getting back to work in the studio.

Victoria and Albert

Fr. Milby has been running me ragged; everyday a new adventure.  Today I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum of Art.

Just inside the museum were two very impressive light installations

The Sculpture Hall

 

Very ancient Cope completely embroidered.

The Medieval Wing

After a few hours of walking around the museum I stopped to eat in the cafe which is a lovely hall, as you can see from the pictures below.

I made my way back to the rectory by the tube (subway). I have knot found riding the tube very enjoyable and I feel sorry for the people who have to do it everyday.  I have grown to dislike the traffic and pedestrian congestion all over central London. I find it very stressful, even more so than New York City. I look forward to getting back to the slower pace at home.

In the evening Fr. Milby and I relaxed...ordered a pizza and made some popcorn to eat as we watched the latest episode of Agatha Cristie's , Poirot.

Another "pilgrimage" ....of sorts

Today Fr. Milby and I decided to vist Harrods, the famous department store in London.

The store was already decorated for Christmas.

We made our way to the Food Court which is a collection of fabulous rooms, each dedicated to a food item, such as candy, meat fish, wines etc.  I have posted some pictures of the displays.

The candy shop

Coffee

Sushi

Fruit

Dates and Nuts

Flowers

Caviar

Fish

Ugly Calamari

Mohamed.Al-Fayed was the owner of Harrods. His son Dodi was Princess Diana's boyfriend at the time of her death.  The Fayeds are Egyptian so he incorporated many Egyptian themes in the decor.

Here you can see the Fayed's face on the head of the Sphinx.

At the base of the Egytian staircase is a shrine to Diana and Dodi.