Wednesday, June 7, 2017

The Build Up in Pictures - Part 1

SEPTEMBER

Our 13th anniversary was the day we found out we were heading to England for the year. Lucky 13 for us. 
After dinner we headed headed directly to the used bookstore and to the travel section. 




Came home with a healthy load of evening reading.

The next day John came home with this awesome bird's eye view of our year - including lists of our kid's name-places to visit, family history places to visit, lists of literature to read. We are more or less sticking to these broad outlines.


OCTOBER
Next came the Sabbatical Proposal. Turned it it and wait. 

NOVEMBER
Request approved!

DECEMBER
The official invitation from Blackfriars, Oxford. It's all coming together!!!


Buying the airline tickets! Dulles to Reykjavik, Iceland (with a stop for fun) and on to London, England. 

Planning our roadtrip. Dover, Calais, Normandy, Lisieux, Giverny, Paris, Waterloo, Brussels, Amsterdam, Harlem, Rhine River, Bavaria, Salzburg, Gaming, Vienna, Krakow, Venice, Milan, Switzerland, Nevers (we are hoping to do Rome and other Italy in the Spring) and finally land safely in Oxford. Six weeks. One van. Three suitcases. Eight Loves. Unlimited awesome. 

Travel Insights

I don't want to repost many things here but in this case there is really no way that I could say this any better. This article explains exactly what I think (and don't think) about travel and self-discovery. It is quite long but well-worth the time. It is thoughtful, insightful and for us, extremely relevant. Though it really is relevant for anyone as it it speaks mostly about self-discovery and seeking holiness. It articulates many of my own vague instincts that I never got around to fully realizing until I read them here. Without further ado: Against the Cult of Travel: Or What Everyone Gets Wrong About the Hobbit