Hello London!

Last month, a dear friend of mine from America met up with me in London for a much needed week-long break before the craziness here (rainy season/YES team leaving/pig project) got into full swing and before Julia (my friend) left for East Asia.  That week was an incredible blessing to me; not only did I get to spend a week with a good friend of mine, but I got some much needed rest after some bouts of busyness and sickness.  My deep thanks and appreciation go out to a very special couple who made it financially possible for me to do so!

I thought you would share some pictures from the trip!  Enjoy!

Selfie!  One of the first things I did when I got to London was find some granola.

 Because of some traveling snafus, Julia and I were able to stay in this amazing hotel room for two nights.

Bedroom and kitchen.  Look!  There's the granola and some Earl Grey just waiting to be consumed!

A hot shower (WITH RUNNING WATER!) was sure a treat.  So was the flushable toilet.  The bathroom was even indoors (a change from my home in Guinea Bissau)!

The rest of the pictures are from Julia's camera.  Thanks for taking pictures, Jules!  NOTE:  I did not include pictures of the places we went sight seeing because if you really wanted to know what Windsor Castle, the London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, etc looks like.... I'm sure you can Google it.

Julia and me in front of Buckingham Palace.

We went out for afternoon tea a few times.  This place was listed as a "secret of London".  It surely was secretive!  I'm not sure how many times we walked around the block until we found it above a pub.  Anyone who knows me well knows just how much I love tea.  Afternoon tea with a good friend in a cute place like this was just perfect.

I was really really hungry for rice (it's hard for me to go a day without rice - rice has become such a staple in my diet)... So we went to Chinatown and had some Chinese. Mmmm!

Riding "the Underground" (London's subway) became an everyday thing.  This day, we were heading out to see Windsor Castle.  I had never seen a castle before and it was very awe-inspiring.  In case you were wondering why I was wearing a coat in pretty much every single picture...  50-60 degrees Fahrenheit feels extremely cold when your body is used to temperatures in the 100's.  The first day, we actually went out and bought me shoes because my toes were turning purple and I couldn't stop shivering.  I was SO thankful that Julia had thought about bringing me a jacket because tank tops and skirts are all I wear here in Guinea Bissau.

We took a picture with a guard at Windsor Castle.  The poor guy has to stand still for hours and endure people taking pictures with him.  Smile!

Now that I'm back, my time has been consumed with preparing the land for planting, weekend trips with 

my Guinensi friends, finishing our jumbai (hangout) bungalow, and preparations for the departure of the YES team.

May God bless you with an extra measure of his rest today!

Adrianne