We left the Island of Sicily and drove to Milan, where Justin was waiting for us.
Our time visiting Sicily, Italy was wonderful. I was so happy to have been able to see such a beautiful part of Italy. We were all sad to say good-bye, but we were anxious to meet up with Justin in Milan, where we would then fly to England. We had a three day journey ahead of us, driving about 6-7 hours each day. It was really fun seeing the beautiful landscapes of Southern Italy. It is amazing to me how many tunnels we drove through. When the road comes to a hill or mountain, the Italians make a tunnel through it rather than drive over it. It is definitely easier on the driver. Some tunnels took us about five minutes to drive through. In total from Alcamo, Sicily to Milan, we probably went through 50 tunnels.
Boarding the ferry was successful and a bit stressful, but everything went well. Here is a link to the ferry boarding and ride.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRt1Gfey/
We stopped in Peola, Italy our first night driving, then onto Rome, where we visited the Rome Temple one more time, and then to Milan, where Justin was.
The Rome temple is magnificent. We were grateful for one more opportunity to visit it before we left Italy. We also enjoyed attending the church on the temple grounds the following day. An interesting note, there is a video called How Rare a Possession. We watched this video at home several years ago. It is about how the Gospel started in Sicily, Italy. https://youtu.be/4imeYuNNik4. What an amazing show of faith and perseverance. We rewatched it in Sicily. I recommend you watch it, it is amazing.
Flying to England
We arrived in London, England, where Justin rented our vehicle through Turo. The car was waiting in the airport parking lot. Now was the big test of Justin’s driving. Sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. My job in the car, is to constantly remind him, “left, left, left,” meaning stay to the left on the road. It is amazing how strange it feels just getting into the passenger side of the car on the left. He has done a great job driving and only went through one small roundabout the opposite way, he went right (counter clockwise) and he was suppose to go left (clockwise).
London, England Temple
Justin and I had last been to the London, England Temple when we were first married on our honey moon. The outside of the temple structure is the same, but that is about it. It is amazing how things you don’t see for years just freeze in time, then when you see these things you assume them to be the same. The London temple from 27 years ago seemed like it was on a quiet street, with not much around it. Well in 2023, the London Temple has many structures around it, housing for those coming from afar, a large garden/walk area behind it with a pond and a small visiter center. It was beautiful, but just different from that image in my head of a country lane with the temple built there.
Bodian Castle
We visited the Bodian Castle. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We went to a shop at the edge of the castle grounds where they had a used book store. It was fun looking through the books. Once you made your choice, you placed your money (2 pounds per book) in a tin box and left. I loved the honesty factor. They also had a tea room and gift shop selling wool blankets. Justin thought is so strange that I wanted an English wool blanket because back home I make super soft minky blankets. Haha. The wool blanket is warm, but it definitely isn’t soft minky. The castle was fun to walk through and walk around. Here is a video.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRtHVfv2/
Battle of Hastings
We went to the Battle field of Hastings. This was the battle which changed the history of England. It was very interesting to learn some English history. We ended up buying a membership to the English Heritage Group and earlier we bought a membership to the National Trust Federation. These two memberships get our family into most castles and historical sites in England and will be a good savings over the three months we are here.
The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066 between the Norman-French army of Willian the Duke of Normandy and the English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. This being the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England. The background to the battle was the death of King Edward the Confessor, who had no children, in January 1066, which set up a struggle between several claims to his throne. William the Conqueror, coming from what is now France, over to England and winning the battle and the throne.
Seven Sisters
In England there are footpaths, which are paths open to the public. These paths cross through other people’s property. Interesting, anyone can walk them, you just need to close the gate after you enter and exit someone’s field. When we went to visit the Seven Sisters Cliffs, we used the public footpaths. We entered a field with horses and walked about 2.5 miles round trip to the Seven Sister Cliffs. These are tall chalk cliffs in Southern England. They were scary and amazing.
Cathedral of Canterbury
We of course had to visit the city of Canterbury, because back home our Ward (church group) is named Canterbury Park. I had no idea Canterbury was the headquarters for the Church of England. So why is our ward named Canterbury Park? I have no idea! Maybe someone reading this will be able to tell me.
We visited the Cathedral of Canterbury. Sicily and London went on a kids scavenger hunt around the Cathedral finding ten special statues and parts of the Cathedral. It was fun for them and for me trying to help them. We saw the black prince, the tomb of King Henry IV, (the only king to be buried in the cathedral-most were buried in Westminster Abbey), a statue of Queen Elizabeth II when she visited in 2015, a statue of Queen Bertha (a Christian lady who converted her pagen King husband to Christianity and brought Christianity back to England in 580 AD) and some beautiful stained glass windows.
White Cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover which are similar to the Seven Sisters, also are made of chalk, these cliffs also having black flint mixed with the white chalk. It was really fun to collect some rocks from this area. London enjoyed the chalk rocks and using them to write with. We also took a path that led down to the water edge. We walked down a steep switch back trail, to a carved tunnel in the rocks, to a place where and old WWII cannon remains (used to protect the England coast during WWII), then down a huge ladder to the ocean. This is a video of the journey:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRtHvfGd/
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRtHpgbX/
Thanks for reading!
Amazing adventures!!
Beautiful places to explore and driving on the left side, wow that sounds a bit scary!!
I forgot you and Justin went to London on your Honeymoon, you were going to go there for Study Abroad but got married. How fun to explore it again and live there.❤️
Thanks Mom, yes England is so pretty and it is nice being able to talk the language too.