Norwich, England

A couple of months ago Ben (and his group) were approached by a colleague at University of East Anglia and offered jobs.  The specialized type of research that he and Antonio are currently working on is only done in a few places around the world (UEA in Norwich, England being one of those).  UEA was very appreciative of the work they had been doing and very excited at the prospect of getting Antonio and Ben on board with researchers there in England.

As more information was uncovered and after Ben's partner, Antonio, went to give a talk at UEA things began to get a little more serious.  It appeared as though the job offer had a lot of potential.  We decided that it was worth the time, effort, and cost to go and check things out in person.  So, after flying Barbie and Colby here to watch our kids while we were gone, we left for Norwich.

First of all, it is beautiful there.  I think we got a slightly distorted view of the area because six out of the seven days we were there were beautifully sunny.  But, we enjoyed it so much.  the scenery was breathtaking!

Cathedral and the very peaceful grounds surrounding it.  You would never guess it was in the middle of the city.

I loved the building through the archway that had become crooked over the many years.

Mousehold Heath:  200 acres of woodland on the edge of the city.  It was high up on the hill and offered a picturesque view of the city skyline.  My favorite way of discovering the city was out running.

This photo was also taken while I was out running.  I ran along the Wensum River, right through downtown.  The stone bridge seen here is from 1337, it is the last Medieval Bridge in Norwich.

Norwich Castle.  Awesome landmark for a city center!

This is part of the old city wall.  I took this pic from the top level of a double-decker bus, another one of my favorite ways to see England.

Just outside of the Cathedral grounds.  And one of the many double-decker buses.

While there was a lot of sightseeing to be done, we also wanted to see how "real life" would be.  So, on Saturday Ben ran a race in a park.  Eaton Park is in an area of the city were we had been looking at houses.  The church building that we would attend is also in the area of Eaton.

Ben was AWESOME! 

The park was beautiful!  Behind me some gentlemen are racing their remote control sailboats.  There was also a mini-train in the park, tennis courts, miniature golf, amphitheater, a football pitch, and space to run. 

We did visit Norwich Castle one day.  The history was very interesting.  They had great speakers and LOTS of stuff for kids to do.  It was very hands on . . . something that I may by a yearly pass to.

For quite some time the castle was used as a prison.  This is one of the cells.

Just hangin' in Norwich Castle.

We had to take a telephone booth picture . . . it is England after all.

One evening we decided to go out to the seaside.  About an hour north of Norwich is the town of Cromer.  We took the bus up there and the sights along the way were worth the ride.

Unfortunately our bus broke down on the way.  Luckily it was replaced by a double-decker about 15 minutes later.  So, we had an even better view for the rest of the ride.

It was very pretty.  A place where you would take kids to dig in the sand and find little shells and creatures.

I had to get in the water a little bit.  The North Sea was quite cold.

We had dinner at The Wellington in Cromer.  We both got Fish and Chips . . . how could we pass that up.

Followed up by ice cream.  Actually, I got hot chocolate . . . it was a pretty chilly evening.  But, I ate quite a few bites of Ben's ice cream as well.  Those Cadbury Flakes were delicious!

Ben was also invited up to Sheffield University.  Sheffield, England is about a three hour train ride North and a little West of Norwich.  Trains . . . yet another wonderful way to see the English countryside.

We have been watching a T.V. series called Downton Abbey.  For those of you who have watched it, the scenery is very much the same.  In fact, another stop on our ride was in the city of Grantham.

We had to switch trains in Nottingham . . . we didn't get to see the sheriff though.

When we got to Sheffield it was late, so we ordered room service!

Our hotel in Sheffield, The Rutland.

The trip was really fun, and obviously beautiful.  It was interesting to be on a "trip" where the primary objective was to decide if we were going to move there or not.  I traded in some of the sightseeing time for chatting with locals about schools and talking to church members about the areas where they lived.

The University of East Anglia was wonderful to us.  They escorted Ben through two days of meeting people and checking out facilities.  The trip ended in a yummy dinner with some of the prominent people that the team would be working with and their spouses, Antonio, Vera, Ben and I.  It was again educational to talk to locals and ask questions about areas, schools, government, grants, the university, recreational activities, etc. 

So after months of being on an emotional rollarcoster we had to make a decision.  I think that primarily due to our preparation with fasting and prayer, as well as many prayers offered by all of you on our behalf, and the abundance of information that we were able to assemble we are very comfortable with our decision.

We have decided to stay in Virginia!