yesterday, i did a tiny bit of exploring around my hotel. the retreat director, anthony, told me about an old church nearby that had been "deconsecrated" (i'm thinking that means it isn't used as a church anymore) and converted into an art gallery and workshop by a group called the florence trust. i found the building easily. it is a beatiful brick church with stained glass windows and high arches. the inside is very interesting. there have been cubicles built everywhere for the artists to work. so about 8 feet up or so you have the cubicles, but past that is the beautiful windows, intricate paintings on the columns and walls, and the high vaulted ceiling. it really is a crazy contrast. on the floors, underneath the art supplies and tools, there are painted tiles and to one side you can see organ pipes peeking out from behind a piece of wood i'm sure will be used to build another cubicle. the furniture has just been moved aside. you could see the tops of old, wooden pews set on their sides sticking out of a little nook. i'm sure it was a gorgeous church at one time. i found myself wishing i had seen it in its prime. but, the work the artists are doing is amazing, too. i would think the atmosphere lends a lot of inspiration to the artists there.

so today was also a little more hectic than i'd planned, too. i hope i won't be saying this about every day! i left my hotel at 7:15 this morning to walk to the underground. i got there by around 7:30 and my adventures began! for those of you who have never travelled via london's underground system with a big, heavy suitcase- take my advice and just don't do it. it is not designed for people with big bags in any way.

but, i did meet some nice people along the way. a few people helped me down the stairs with my bags. you might think this is risky, letting a stranger in the underground take a bag for me, but i'd love to see someone get very far with my big bag. i also met a few americans. they were both on their way back to the states - one to virginia, the other to l.a.

so, i settled in for the hour-long ride to heathrow. it turned out to be a little longer than that and i had a few unexpected train changes. before you think i was just a stupid, unprepared, american traveller, i'll tell you that the "regulars" were just as surprised as i was. anyway, i finally made it to heathrow and was so relieved that i would be getting rid of my big bag. i get to the counter and the guy there says, "you are late." that is not a good sign. i explained to him about my adventures in the underground and he explained to me that they had oversold my flight, but i might still be able to get on it. AND i had to take my big bag with me. he also suggested i get a trolley for my big bag because my gate was "quite a long way from here." i almost went into an explanation about how i couldn't possibly take my bag another step further and i would be willing to do just about anything for him to take it. but, i didn't. so, i got to my gate and the flight was oversold by one. so here i am in the british airways lounge. it's not so bad. i got free lunch, some money, a little time to catch my breath, and i'll have a driver to take me to my hotel once i get to barcelona. and the best thing is that they let me check my big bag into the cloak room so i don't have to drag it around with anymore - at least until it's time for my flight. all in all there is no harm done except some soreness in my arms and back. peace.

yesterday turned out to be a little more hectic than i'd planned. i was thinking i would have a long afternoon to care of last minute stuff, but it just flew by. i also had a tiny car crisis. i rolled my window down, but it wouldn't roll back up. that is never a good thing, but it is especially not a good thing when you are about to leave town for two weeks. but, brad graciously let me dump the problem on him. thanks brad! once i got ready to go, april and mandii took me to the airport. i'll definitely miss all my girls while i'm gone!

i finally made it to london. it was a long trip, but not too bad. what was bad was the trip from gatwick airport to victoria station. let's just say the seating and aisles weren't made for someone with a huge and heavy suitcase! i felt like i was in everyone's way the entire 45 minute trip. oh well, i guess i won't be seeing any of those people again anyway. from victoria station i took a taxi to my hotel which is in highbuy. london is such a fascinating place. it is a mix of old and new.

i'm not sure what i'll be doing this afternoon and tonight, but a nap is definitely in the plans somewhere. i'm anxious to get to spain and to meet the group i'll be with for the next ten days. i'm also anxious to get the journey from my hotel to heathrow airport in the morning over with - i'm taking the tube and there will be lots of steps. i think i'll leave pretty early in the morning! i hope to be able to post from montserrat, but we'll see! peace.