I know many of you would like to know where I will be on which days so I have written out my itinerary for you. In all, there are 11-12 talks over the 5 1/2 weeks in addition to all the time I will get to spend hanging out and building relationships with old and new f/Friends. In between all the conferences, meetings for worship, and speaking, I've scheduled sight seeing in the areas I'll be traveling so that of course is included as well.
This schedule is subject to change and I am sure it will (!) although because of all the planning I have put into this, I don't expect it to change that much. Thank you for all the prayers I am sure are going with me.
European Itinerary
April 8, 2011 – Friday
Fly from Portland to London
April 9, 2011 – Saturday
Arrive in London in the late morning. Meet up with several members of the 2010 Quaker Youth Pilgrimage and attend my first British football game in Watford. There will be a dinner at the Colbeck’s with Friends that evening.
April 10, 2011 – Sunday
Attend meeting at Watford and speak about Spirit Rising afterwards. In the afternoon, either explore Hyde Park and Kennsington Palace or hang out with members of the Youth Pilgrimage. (Or both!)
April 11, 2011 – Monday
This is my first “tourist” day in London and Simon will be joining me. It’s a nice way to ease into the trip by having some fun days to explore one place. My plan is to pray at St. Paul’s Cathedral, then take the boat to Tate Britain to gaze at the art. In the evening, I am joining Emily to see a musical in the West End.
April 12, 2011 – Tuesday
This is my second “tourist” day in London and now that I have found my feet, I will be exploring on my own. I’ll start off the morning by being in awe of original works at the British Library then explore the art in the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. I’ll then get outside and walk up Charring Cross Road nipping into the used bookstores. (Yes, for me, this is definitely a tourist destination!) In the evening, I want to go see “The Wizard of Oz” in which Michael Crawford is performing LIVE. Yes, that’s right. I will get to see him perform LIVE! Tonight I’ll be staying at Hetty’s flat.
April 13, 2011 – Wednesday
Today I am off to Waterloo Station to catch the train out to Hampton Court where I will explore the grounds to my heart’s content. Arriving back in London, in the afternoon I will then head toward Charring Cross Station and take a train the other direction out to Greenwich where I will stand over both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In the evening, I will be attending the Friends meeting at Westminster.
April 14, 2011 – Thursday
This morning starts really early as I catch the Eurostar shortly after seven to Brussels. There I will meet John at the Friends International Center. We will go out to lunch and then he will show me around the city including the main city square which I understand to be quite spectacular. In the late afternoon, I will take a train to Delft where I will be staying with my friend Vivian and his family.
April 15, 2011 – Friday
While Vivian works, I will take the train an hour north to Amsterdam and explore the Anne Frank House, the Van Gough Museum, and perhaps a canal tour.
April 16, 2011 – Saturday
Vivian will join me today and we’ll explore more of Amsterdam together including taking a bus outside the city to see the Corrie Ten Boom House and then walking along the canals.
April 17, 2011 – Sunday
On Palm Sunday we will be heading to the nearby city Der Hague, the capital of the United Nations. After the Friends Meeting there, I will be speaking on Spirit Rising. Afterwards, we will walk around Der Hague and that night, I’ll be staying with my friend Marielke and her fiance.
April 18, 2011 – Monday
Marielke and I will be taking the train to where she lives in Dusseldorf, Germany. While Marielke works, I’ll be exploring on my own.
April 19, 2011 – Tuesday
Today I will be taking a train south for a day trip to Cologne to explore the city and walk along the Rhine River.
April 20, 2011 – Wednesday
I will continue exploring the Rhine River area in Germany within a day’s trip of Dusseldorf. In the late afternoon, Marielke and I take a train south to Herzberg, Switzerland for the Europe and Middle East Young Adult Friends Annual Spring Gathering.
April 21, 2011 – Thursday
The conference doesn’t actually start until the evening so we will be spending the day getting to know the other participants.
April 22, 2011 – Friday
I am speaking this morning at the conference on my personal testimony, how I live out my faith, using Spirit Rising as the centerpiece. The rest of the day will be spent attending the conference.
April 23, 2011 – Saturday
Today we will be following the conference schedule including working on presentations within our small groups and going hiking in the afternoon with a social evening that night.
April 24, 2011 – Sunday – Happy Easter! HE IS RISEN!!!
We finish the conference in the morning and after lunch, I catch the train through Basel onto Paris where I will be staying for the next few days. Jeanne, the clerk of France Yearly Meeting, will meet me at the train station.
April 25, 2011 – Monday
I am spending the day at the Louvre Museum exploring its galleries and trying to figure out why Mona Lisa’s smile is so intriguing. In the late afternoon, I’ll take a boat tour on the Siene.
April 26, 2011 – Tuesday
This is my ambitious day touring Paris. I’ll start out exploring the neighborhoods along the Siene then reverently walk through Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame Cathedral. I then am longing to see Opera Garnier, the setting for The Phantom of the Opera. After that, I will see the Place de la Concorde where all the aristocrats got beheaded during the French Revolution then walk along the Champs-Elysees, a main street in Paris leading to the Arc de Triumph where I will overlook the city. To end the day, I will ride up to the top of the Eifel Tower. In the evening, I may be meeting with some of the Friends there (with the help of a translator!).
April 27, 2011 – Wednesday
Versailles is the highlight of the day, the opulent palace outside the city limits. Back in Paris, I will seek out the treasures of the Orsay Museum and the Rodin Museum, a museum dedicated to my favorite sculptor. In the evening, I may attend a ballet.
April 28, 2011 – Thursday
This morning I take the Eurostar back under the English Channel to London where I will tour Friends House in London, saying hi to my friends there, and then take the train up to Woodbrooke in Birmingham for the Quakers Uniting in Publications Conference. I am meeting up with Ben Pink Dandelion for tea and then the conference starts that night. For the first plenary session, I am on a “Panel of Quaker Poets.”
April 29, 2011 – Friday
Today the conference continues with workshops, free writing time, and afternoon tea.
April 30, 2011 – Saturday
After our morning meeting for worship, I am leading a workshop on “Writing as the Authentic Self” a new workshop I am creating. After morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea, with business in between, I’ll be listening to a panel on publishing and technology with an evening session that night.
May 1, 2011 – Saturday
Today are some fantastic workshops, more writing time, and more tea! After an open mike and dinner, Harriet and I are leading the UK release of Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices.
May 2, 2011 – Monday
The conference finishes up this morning after concluding business, tea, and lunch. I then catch a train to the north of England to Ulverston where I will walk to Swarthmoor Hall, one of the earliest Quaker historical sites, also now a bed and breakfast. It is here I will be taking a rest from the road and some time for quiet relaxation and walking.
May 3, 2011 – Tuesday
My only plan for the day is walking in the English countryside.
May 4, 2011 – Wednesday
After breakfast and a lazy morning, I am taking the train from Ulverston to Kendal to see the famous Quaker Tapestries. Carole often used pictures of them in her lectures at seminary so I am looking forward to seeing them for myself. From Kendal I am heading to Burley Park, just outside of Leeds to meet Rhiannon, one of our contributors for Spirit Rising.
May 5, 2011 – Thursday
Rhiannon and I, or just me if she needs to work, will be heading to the village of Hayworth to see the Bronte Museum where the Bronte sisters wrote several of the classics of English literature. Though Charlotte didn’t write Jane Eyre here, the story is one of my all time favorite books. In the evening I will be speaking on Spirit Rising at the local Friends Meeting House in Leeds.
May 6, 2011 – Friday
I am heading out in the morning via train to meet up with Hetty in Manchester. We will be staying with friends of hers in Clitheroe and explore the area together.
May 7, 2011 – Saturday
Today Hetty and I are climbing Pendle Hill, a pilgrimage for Quakers where George Fox saw the flaming sword. A trip like this to England is incomplete without it.
May 8, 2011 – Sunday
Hetty and I are going to meeting in Lancaster where I will be speaking on Spirit Rising. In the afternoon, we are exploring the city before taking the train together back to London where I will stay overnight.
May 9, 2011 – Monday
I’m joining a tour that goes out from London west to Stonehenge and then onto Bath. In Bath, I will depart the tour and head to Christine’s house where I will be staying. I will then spend the rest of the day exploring Bath including the cathedral and the gathering rooms.
May 10, 2011 – Tuesday
I will continue exploring Bath today in such places as the Royal Crescent and the Jane Austen museum. In the evening I am speaking at Bath Monthly Meeting about Spirit Rising.
May 11, 2011 – Wednesday
A morning train is first on the schedule taking me back to London. In the afternoon I will attend a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and an evening show in the West End.
May 12, 2011 – Thursday
This morning I am taking an early train east to Cambridge to stay with my friend Simon (different Simon than before) and his family. Seeing the colleges there and punting in the canals is on the top of my list for the day.
May 13, 2011 – Friday
After a relaxed morning with Simon’s family, I am taking the train south to Lewes, near the southern coast. George and his family will be waiting for me and will show me around the area.
May 14, 2011 – Saturday
The annual arts festival is going full swing in Brighton so we will be spending the day there walking around and seeing the sights. In the evening I will be speaking to Lewes Friends Meeting about Spirit Rising.
May 15, 2011 – Sunday
The morning will be spent worshiping with Brighton Meeting and then I’ll talk with them about Spirit Rising. After hanging out with George and his family for the day, I’ll head back up to London.
May 16, 2011 – Monday
Today I’ll spend in London seeing anything I have greatly wanted to see but haven’t had the chance and decompressing a bit. In the evening, I’ll catch one last show in the West End.
May 17, 2011 – Tuesday
Fly home to Portland in the morning, arrive late in the evening.