Top Ten Cool Things of the Trip

The above picture is from Salisbury Cathedral in England. It's one of my favorites. Being there a couple weeks ago reminded me of the first time I was there. My college roommate Gene and I were doing an independent study over Christmas break in 1998.

Two days before Christmas, we took a train to Salisbury. We walked around the town pretty aimlessly. And then, we turned a corner and boom--after acres of flat, green yard rose this massive brick Cathedral as if it just dropped there. It was impressive.

The second cool moment of that day happened after we toured the church. We were walking through downtown Salisbury on cobblestone streets, eating roasted chestnuts we bought from a street vendor and listening to a choir sing Christmas Carol. It was a very Dickens Christmas.

Now, I skip ahead to this month's trip. It too had magical moments. Here are 10 experiences that made the trip:

10) Traditional English Tea. In Durham, England, the director of the tour company met our group's adults and tour guide for chat about how things were going. She took us to a charming restaurant for a regular English tea with scones. It was delightful and very, very British. I even learned to pour the milk into the tea cup before the tea. And yah, it does taste better.

9) Living with Youth. Anybody who knows me knows that I am really about 12. It's why I still work with youth--I am pretty much one of them. I have a lot of fun with whoever I am with, but teens can bring such joy and energy to life. I just love it. There's such vibrant life. There were moments of pure fun with the high school students on the trip. They gave me a nickname (Chad Scott Toddler. Long story). And they joined me in my goofy travel pictures (a tradition I started with my college roommates.) At Hadrian's Wall, a girl and I did the requisite Karate Kid pose on old pillars and one guy took this picture of me in Edinburgh.

Here's the story of why I am spitting on Scotland: This heart on the pavement marks the site of an old prison where citizens were wrongly held and tortured. The people of Edinburgh hated this prison. They felt it oppressed the heart of the people. And so, when it was torn down, they marked it with the heart. The people so hated that prison, they would spit on the marker to show their disdain. And so did I.

One of my favorite moments with the teens was at Versailles. One of the ornate murals depicted a very romantic rendition of the artist himself painting a picture surrounded by cherubs. "Oh, I said, so that's how all this was painted. I bet all the floating naked babies helped." One of the kids didn't miss a beat and said dreamily, "And the paint is made of love..."

8) The Crag. I like to climb stuff. I'm not like a full-blown climber with rappelling equipment or anything, but I love hikes in areas I'm visiting. I've climbed smaller mountains in Alaska and in Colorado. And in Edinburgh, we spied a crag from the grounds of Holyrood Palace. While we didn't have time to climb it then with all the kids, Pure Heart and I decided to take any volunteers up after dinner. Six went with. We got amazing views of Edinburgh, had great conversations, and worked off a filling meal of Bangers and Mash. Oh, and took funny pictures, too!


7) Castles. Not much more needs to be said. I love castles. We saw several amazing castles in Edinburgh (pictured below), Stirling, Durham, London, etc. Loved it. I wish I lived in a castle.

6) Discovery. One of my favorite parts of traveling is unknowignly stumbling onto something that blows your mind. My favorite memory from when I traveled to Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a group trip (much like this tour) after my senior year of high school was one of these accidental discoveries. During a long free time in Lucerne, Switzerland, my friend Eric and I decided to go do shopping.

Before we knew it, we were outside the main shopping district. We were in a residential area. And we were lost. As we wandered around we found this old medieval wall that used to surround the whole city. Only 12 of the original 80 towers were left. We got to climb it and had amazing views. It was almost better because 1) no one else on the trip had found it and 2) it was something that seemed like ours because we were told about it or taken there--we discovered it.

On this trip, my wife and I were on free time in York. Most of the group went shopping. We ate lunch and then popped from shop to shop. I saw a sign that said "Castle Area." I was like, "Oooh, a castle!" We followed the signs to find only a shopping center. Oh, I thought. I guess that is just the name of the shopping district. But then, we turned a corner and saw Clifford's Tower. Among all the shops and praking lots, was this big green hill with a massive, round castle keep jutting from the top. We hadn't ever heard of it or anything, and so it became one of those little special Easter eggs.

5) Traveling with the Wife. Other than our laid-back short-distance trip of a honeymoon, this was out first time traveling together. Now, because we were with 22 high school students, it was not romantic or like "our" trip. In fact, we saw many of the sights with her at the front of the group and me patrolling the back of our group. We'd meet up later and be like, "That was cool, huh?"

But still, we got to share the experience. We held hands under the Eiffel Tower, took pictures of us in front of amazing sights, learned history together and made fun discoveries. It was all the more special that we were in England, the place which she'd told me on our first e-Harmony correspondence was her "heart's home." I cannot wait to return and share it again--without 22 friends.

4) Conquering the French. I took two years of French in high school, and I remember only the very very basics (and how to announce I'm taking my sheep to the pool.) Being in small French towns, I regretted that I remember so very little of the language. I wanted to talk to the people and let them know that I wasn't an ignorant American (OK, point taken). I also needed to find the right stamps to mail postcards.

All morning on the bus ride, I studied the French phrase book and took notes on how to ask for stamps. After a very bad experience (more on that in the 5 Lowlights List), I walked into a small Tabaac. I was stressed out. In French, I asked the clerk if he spoke English. He said, "Non." So, I mustered up courage and started rattling off the French I taught myself, "What is the postage to send a postcard to the United States?"

Somehow, he knew what I said. He held up a sheet of purple 86-cent stamps. "Oui!" I said. He repeated: "Oui!" And then he asked something that I assume was, "How many?" I held up 6 fingers. And so, capitalism was completed and I walked out of that shop triumphant.

3) Those Intangible Local Moments. There are some moments in traveling that just hit and you go, "Am I really here? Am I in a postcard?" These experiences are made by those little details that seem surreal:

Being on a Scottish slope with the breeze blowing and only the sound of sheep bleating around you. Watching the Tower Bridge lifting to let a boat by. Walking alone through a small local French market, hearing music, feeling excitement and smelling food. Running down a small dirt road through French farmland--like Allied troops laden with gear would have done. Eating a pastry in the center square of York with pigeons all around. Seeing a French woman walking her bike down the street--with a long loaf of French Bread on the back. These are just special moments.

2) The Day of D-Day. One morning on the trip, we awoke at 5:30 a.m. on a boat. We were approaching the coast of France. The beaches of Normandy. Like on D-Day, we arrived across the English Channel early in the morning. And for us too, it was our longest day (and most moving). With an expert World War II guide, we visited Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sword Beach, and the tiny town of St Mere Eglise (where a U.S. parachuter was stuck on the church steeple--as seen in The Longest Day). I was familiar with all these locations from reading, from WWII movies and even from video games.

It all becomes so much more real when you are there. When you stand on the beach that early and breathe in the cold air. When you see how the land is still pocked and cratered form massive shelling. When you stand on a French dirt road, look over the fields and don't have to worry about someone shooting you. When you smell the death lingering in the bunkers.

The day ended with a visit to the American Cemetery overlooking the beaches. It was far more emotional and striking than I imagined. And I knew it would be both moving and impressive. But this is a very well done tribute. My wife and I both teared up a few times because of seeing older men walking through the seas of white crosses, obviously looking for comrades and friends. It also made me think how lucky all of us are who had grandfathers return from World War II.


1) Living History. The thing that struck me about all the sights on this trip was that it was about more than WHAT we saw. Each building was pretty or majestic or ahead of its time, sure. But what really gets me was the sheer idea of history in each and every place. This isn't just a magnificently ornate room with actual gold trim, but right there, that door is the door Marie Antoinette fled through from rioting French citizens. (Dang French.)

Below is Holyrood Abbey, the remains of a massive cathedral destroyed by anti-Catholic rioters. I was obsessed with this structure. It has such history and nobility. It's a tribute to the Scots that they've let it stand (even after the roof fell in during the 18th centry) to echo the history it's seen.

We'd see cathedrals that weren't just awe-inspiring because craftsmen were able to do that in the 1100's, but because of the role they played in the reformation, literature, politics, the coronation of kings and queens. We ate in the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien would meet with the Inklings and read their new works. We saw where John Know led a reformation in Edinburgh. We observed the items around Oxford College that inspired Lewis Carroll to go to Wonderland. We walked where William Wallace did.

We saw History.