A royal wedding, a commoner's wedding, and other assorted travel experiences...

Did I really leave India to go to a wedding in Philadelphia?

Once again it seems that I’ve been sadly slacking in my blog duties... After a 3-week trip to the US and UK, can you really blame me?  However, I must admit that I've been back in India for nearly a month now.  It's just that with two graduate courses and conversion training to the Kiran Mk I, blogging hasn’t been a high priority. That means that it’s time for a little catching up now. I still owe an “English is funny” post, but I'll save that for later opting instead to share a little about my trip...
It started with a visit to London to see my sister and her husband and of course to enjoy the absolutely beautiful UK weather. I took full advantage of the sunny, blue skies by making day-trips to Oxford, Bath, and Cambridge. Oh, and I also crashed the royal wedding!

Martyr's monument in Oxford

Highlights in Oxford included the martyr's monument and the "Eagle and Child" pub. The martyr's memorial is dedicated "To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer," who were burned at the stake for affirming truths of Scripture in opposition to the Catholic Church. 

If only C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien could have been there...

On a happier note, the "Eagle and Child" pub is where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the rest of the "Inklings" met regularly to discuss, debate, philosophize, and critique each other's work.

The day prior to the Royal Wedding, we managed to fight our way thru the crowds to scope out the wedding route. That evening we enjoyed a beautiful view from the London Eye...

'Twas the night before the royal wedding and all thru London...

Marching to Buckingham Palace for the first "public kiss"

Look kids, Big Ben... Parliament

The next morning I took on the crowds and watched the Royal Wedding live. It turned out to be a lot of fun (and standing in one place for hours) and I actually had a really nice view of the procession. Seeing a beautiful Royal Wedding in person and celebrating the union with so many people reminded me of an even better, future wedding. Actually, a "wedding" is the symbolism used when speaking of the church being united to Christ. Specifically, the church is the bride of Christ as evidenced by God's promise in Hosea 2:19-20: "And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD."  The consummation of God's promises comes in the words of Revelation 21:3-4 "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." It is so wonderful that God uses such colorful descriptions, images, and experiences to describe His steadfast love and faithfulness to His people.

There was a look of regret on Kate's face as saw me and thought of what might have been... trust me.

Hey you! Get your hands off my sister... oh wait, I guess it's okay now ;)

Cambridge... circa 1920

Okay, back to my travel diary...  As I mentioned earlier, my time in the UK was a smattering of day trips, which included excursions to Cambridge and Bath. I also managed to squeeze in a couple days of sightseeing in London to round out the trip.
Then I was off to Philly to reconnect with some old friends and to be part of a more intimate and special wedding as my old roommate got hitched to a lovely young lady. My time in Philly flew by really fast and before I knew it, I was on my way to Colorado to see my family. Unfortunately, most of my time in Colorado was spent writing a 15+ page paper, but it was great to see my family. As if I couldn't get enough traveling, I made a 9-hour drive to Kansas with my parents to see more family! All in all, it was a fantastic trip, which does not take away from the nearly 2 weeks it took for me to recover from the jetlag!!!

E-ast, M-eets, W-est

Papa and Mama Urish