Mist, Myth & Magic: Memories from Scotland

Yes, I am back from the land of lochs, glens, misty mountains, faeries & castles. (I have been for a while, but haven't had time to blog.) :) Scotland is truly a place of breathtaking beauty...so otherworldly that it is the stuff of poetry, myths & magic. And yes Rie, I really did feel like my storybooks were coming alive before my eyes.

As we were trekking down valleys or rolling hills and cliffs (at which point I felt a bit like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice), I was just taking it all in....and just telling God, "This country is just ridiculously beautiful. I can't believe what You created here!" And so Scotland and London has been a much needed respite for this artist's heart and soul. :) I hardly know where to start when it comes to recounting the trip and sharing our massive number of photos!

Perhaps I'll just share this small selection of Abi's best pics on flickr for now. Mine have not been sorted out yet. :)

Some Highlights:
- Hillsong London svce (It was inspiring, learnt so much, fantastic worship & sermon by Judah Smith, super friendly pple....I could definitely make it my home church. :))

- Taking the Tube and making my way around London on my own (felt like I was in some Brit movie. ha!)

- seeing castles and holding real swords in the presence of a real castle heir! (Eowyn moment can??)

- Hearing an awesome local Scottish modern band, "Face the West"

- Doing the traditional Scottish dances, which requires you to twirl your partner and go "bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy bounce." (true story)

- Faerie Glen (I'll never forget that enchanting home of the faeries, or "little people," and the Faerie castle which we climbed up)

- seeing 2 rainbows in one day!!

- My Fluffy, Joel Houston, is actually of Scottish heritage. :) And it was quite cool to find out that the Scottish pronunciation of the 'Houston' clan is actually 'Hooston.' haha!

Blessings:
- friendly locals who offer to help you carry your luggage down the tube station and through the streets of London. (I was really dreading struggling with my ultra heavy luggage.)

- We didn't have personal screens for inflight entertainment on our flight to London, but we were seated behind the most beautiful pair of kids, Amelia & Kieran, who were of Thai-British parentage. It was soooo fun playing with them.

- having 2 seats each for myself and Anna on the return flight home. (think we were the only ones who got to sprawl & sleep)

Home-cooked dinner at the hostel with some of the members of the tour group

We were trying to spell out 'MacBackpackers,' the name of our tour company.