HELSINKI, FINLAND: May = Winter in Finland!

A few days after arriving in France, we flew to Helsinki to see Eric's sister-in-law Heli before she finished her church mission there. I thought it was very interesting to be so close to Russia! We visited several interesting churches and had a delicious dinner made by Heli and her companion.

I always love to see unique pipe organs, wherever I go.

It was very cold the first weekend of May in Finland! We were glad to have our winter clothes with us. Despite the cold, it was very interesting to explore the city.

We enjoyed visiting the LDS Temple.

ROAD TRIP: Portsmouth, England, to Toulouse, France

Eric went golfing before we left England, and this picture he snapped prompted the question, "Why are we leaving England just when the weather is nicer and we can see beautiful scenes such as this?!" Oh, yes, we have to go where the work is! So, it's off to France we go.

First stop: a B&B in Dover. The next day, we just had time to drive by Dover Castle and to make a quick stop in Canterbury. We took a few pictures near a Cathedral and I quoted the beginning of the Canterbury Tales, "Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote. The droghte of Marche hath perced to the Roote." That seems appropriate for our April trip!" I really did enjoyed my class on Chaucer many years ago. I guess that is one reason I was an English major.

Okay, we didn't drive all the way to France. When we arrived in Folkestone, England, we drove our car onto a train that took us through the Chunnel. I was excited to experience this, but it was just a regular train ride, and of course, we couldn't see anything as we went along. However, when the train stopped and we drove off in our car, we were in France!

Our first night in France, we stayed in Bayeux at a chateau B&B. As we went out for dinner, we saw an interesting cathedral.

The next morning, we were off toward the D-Day Beaches. We started in Arromanches and saw the Cinema 360, a video history of WWII. Then, we walked on some D-Day Beaches and saw some tanks and structures used in the landing.

Later, we went to the American Cemetery. The museum there was amazing. I was awed by all of the depictions of the sacrifices made in the war. I would like to come back with more of our family.

Next, we drove to Mont-Saint-Michael. It is probably the most beautiful site I've seen so far.

Finally, we drove the rest of the way down France and arrived on a very rainy evening. It was a little challenging to unpack our very full car in the rain while walking about a block from car to apartment. City life has its challenges, and one of those is parking!

WARWICK CASTLE

Warwick Castle is one of my new favorites.

We saw falcon and jousting demonstrations, and we also went on a tour taking us back in time to reveal the history of the castle. It included talking figures inside a painting representing the various castle owners. Warwick is a lovely castle, and we enjoyed exploring it.

"Servant Rules" from the castle include:

• Never offer your opinion.
• Never let your voice be heard by the ladies and gentlemen of the household.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL

On one of our runs to the Costco in Southampton (and it was so fun to find one in England!), we stopped in Winchester to see the cathedral.

I found out that Jane Austin is buried in the cathedral.

We took a special tour up into the tower of the cathedral where they have bells. It wasn't one of the days where they had bell ringing, but we saw the ropes that they use and a few of the huge bells.

The view from the top of the cathedral was beautiful.

We enjoyed the company of our friends the McCoys at both the cathedral and Costco.

Our first Sunday at church in England, we met Brother & Sister McCoy (Bill & Cindy). They were from the U.S. and were serving an eighteen-month church mission, working with the Young Single Adults (YSA's) in the Portsmouth area of England.

Later, Eric and I were asked to assist the McCoys with the YSA's, so we spent our remaining four months in England enjoying weekly meetings with the young adults. On Monday nights, we had Family Home Evening, which included a meal, and on Tuesday nights, we had an Institute class, and we brought the desserts. We even made it to the London Temple with the group and saw "Meet the Mormons" at the Visitor's Center. The young adults were so friendly and thankful for everything we did for them. They especially seemed to enjoy the Kripy Kremes we brought several times (and so did we)! Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with the YSAs and the McCoys. 

Weekend fun: Bath, Stratford upon Avon, Oxford & Brighton

With only a few weeks left in England, we decided to make the most of our weekends in April. First, we went to Bath. There was a beautiful church near the Roman Baths.

We just stayed one night in Bath, and we had to move on the next day, driving through the Cotswold area. The scenery was beautiful.

In Stratford upon Avon. we explored where Shakespeare was born and where he was buried. After a dinner overlooking the River Avon, we took in a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Although they were not performing Shakespeare that evening, we enjoyed a play called the "Jew of Malta" in the Swan Theatre.

On the way back to our flat, we stopped in Oxford. The streets around the university remind me of Harry Potter, and the part of the campus we saw was beautiful.

The next weekend, we stopped by Brighton to see the Royal Pavilion and the Beach. They didn't let us take pictures inside the Royal Pavilion, but I enjoyed the Chinese theme. The dining room was amazing with a dragon chandelier, and the music room was beautiful. I would love to hear a concert there.