Market Day

Today leaves us feeling a bit more Parisian. We began with a 10-minute walk to the open-air market at Place Maubert (pictured), a beautiful square with a fountain and classic Metro station. There, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, farmers bring fresh produce for the locals to buy. We picked up some excellent tomatoes and juicy nectarines, and admired the variety of other goods available. (Just when was it that we in the U.S. lost touch with locally-grown food and neighborhood markets?)
From there we took a walk along historic Boulevard St. Germain, with a stop at the beautiful Cluny park, site of Roman baths dating to AD 200 and a lovely museum and park today. We THOUGHT we were headed for a sample of the best hot chocolate in Paris... but the Patisserie Viennoise is closed for the month of August (as are many places). We will check back on that later.
Then there was a stop at the flower market (which becomes a pet bird market on Sundays) across from Notre Dame Church, in operation for hundreds of years. Liz picked up several plantings for our terrace, which is now a lot more colorful. A stop along the way for lunch and, later, some french fries (frites) made a great day.
Paris note: Spaces here are small, as a city of 2 million people is squeezed into a small area. This applies most particularly to elevators! The one is this building is (relatively) large, but it decides when and where it will stop. It and Liz are not friends. It will decide, instance, to stop with a grand lurch and throw its doors open smack in between floors. Yesterday, when we returned to the bottom, Liz hopped out and said "I am walking up." Well, seven flights later she was having second thoughts! The correct attitude is think of it as a game chance: Will the elevator start on the first button-push or the fifth? Will it stop where it should right away, or will we have a go at it several times?
Coming up: A "dry-run" for Sunday's Skype-in to King Hall. Onward.

Settling into Paris

Ok... you are right, the picture is the same as yesterday's, only at night. I am surprised I was able to get such a clear picture to be perfectly honest. What the pictures do not convey is the life and energy of central Paris. I hope those of you who can be in King Hall Sunday morning will get some of that.
Today we tackled some practical matters (grocery shopping, etc.) and visited some familiar haunts in the neighborhood, including a favorite cafe for lunch. It is not necessary to spend a fortune here; lunch at the cafe included a large bowl of spaghetti bolognese, a large pizza, a coke, and wine... all for $32 including tip. (The same meal at night would be much more.) Wonderful sandwiches on fresh baguette bread are readily available for around $5. Of course, making them yourself if even less costly... but eating on the streets of Paris is a unique joy.
I enjoy the challenge of settling in to a different culture, and discovering its rhythms and (to me) idiosyncracies. I have learned that some common things Americans do are perceived as inexplicably rude here. For example: We think of going into a store as a commercial venture... about buying something, handing over money, and leaving without any thought to the people. For the French, when you enter their store it is as though you step into their home; eye contact and a "Bonjour, Madame" or "Bonjour, Monsieur" is met with a smile. It is not necessary to buy anything. To leave without a "Bon journee, Madame" is insulting. It takes some getting used to, but such behavior really does add to the quality of life!
Similarly, a meal is an event to savor, with conversation with the staff as well as with each other. Why all the rush? To wolf down food and then call out, "Check, please!" means, to Parisians, that they are not considered worthy company and have served bad food... the ultimate insult!
All of this has a tie-in to the central Buddhist understanding of "mindfulness"-- which includes being fully-present in each moment (not stuck in the past or consumed with the future). Our American culture has lost much of what it once knew of this art. We will try to soak in as much as we can while we are here, and bring some home to share. In the meantime, savor THIS moment for all that it has.
Onward.

Arrival in Paris

We had a good trip across central France on the TGV (bullet train)... Colmar to Paris in 2.5 hours! (Just a few years ago it was a 10-hour trip.) Once in Paris, we hopped on Metro #4 and in a few minutes were in "our" neighborhood, at Place St. Michael on the Left Bank (near the Sorbonne).
After a walk down the lively Rue de la Huchette (with an abundance of Greek restaurants), we arrived at our destination, #2 Petit Pont. We were met by Gabriel, who showed us our home for the next 5 weeks-- a small, wonderful apartment on the 6th (top) floor of a building facing the Ile de la Cite, one of the two original Paris islands. From the terrace we have an amazing view of Notre Dame Cathedral... as you can see in the picture to the left. It is hard to imagine we will have the pure beauty of this view for these weeks!
We settled in, and then took a walk to a local grocery to pick up some fresh produce and supplies.
Among the things that please us here are the light, bright atmosphere in the apartment, full appliances, an excellent WiFi signal, and the location. For those who have not been to Paris, I will do my best to give you an introduction and a "feel" for this amazing city in the days ahead.
Onward.

Alsace Wine Road

First, a response to a question re: Cluny/Taize: As far as I know, there is no train service. There may be some local bus service...not sure as I had a rented car to make the trip.
Yesterday we thoroughly explored the fascinating town of Colmar, population ~43,000. We learned a lot of its history and local characters... including the sculptor Bertoli (Statue of Liberty, a large copy of which greets people on the way into town).
The Alsatians have their own dialect of ancient German, close to what is spoken in Austria. (Of course they also speak French.) The Alsatian dialect is dying out among the younger generation.
Today we signed up for a tour of three other "wine road" towns plus an enormous castle first built in 1144. I am posting a couple of pictures from our tour... this is simply a beautiful, clean, flower-filled area. We also stopped for some wine tasting, and learned quite a bit about the white wines featured here and the various varietals.
PILGRIM CONNECTION: The Alsace region was a haven for Protestants, Huguenots, Walloons, and Amish. A sizable group wound up in Holland, and encountered the English Separatists there. A few were among the Mayflower travelers.
Tomorrow we travel by TGV (bullet train) to Paris... about 2.5 hours. We received the good news last night that Liz' cousin Mary may join us for a few days in Paris. Onward.

Colmar, day 2

We awakened in the wee (think 5 a.m.) hours to the sounds of hammering and clanking. It turns out that today is the annual (as in one day per year) HUGE street market in Colmar! I took a picture (left) early in the day from our balcony. (NOTE: The 'Casino' in the picture is a French grocery chain, not a gambling emporium!)
Colmar is a sweet, relaxed, lovely place... and we chose a very slow place today. Over the weekend we will tour other villages along the "wine road" but for now it is slow and easy.
Later in the day we had Skype chats with the Rev. Seth Polley (some of you may remember him from last year's ecumenical retreat; he is the Episcopal missioner for the Mexican border) and Kelly, Steve, Kayla and Aidan ... these were separate chats, of course.
CHANGE: We have changed our itinerary; the time at Plum Village (Buddhist) Monastery will not work out. We had planned a 4-day visit, but they insist on 7 days as a minimum. So.... we will head to Paris when we leave Colmar, several days ahead of the plan. (I will study the teachings of the Buddhist leader on my own... especially his focus on 'mindfulness'-- more on that to come.)
Onward.

Colmar, in Alsace

I was pried out of the hotel in Strasbourg, taken to the train station, and Liz and I took a 45-minute train trip to Colmar, the second-largest town in Alsace. Okay, I was wrong yesterday: Colmar is a slightly smaller (but just as pretty) version of Strasbourg. We are staying along what is known as the "wine road" of Alsace, and all of these villages are delightful.
Strasbourg's oldest part was called "La Petitte France" (Little France). Not to be outdone, the oldest section of Colmar is called "La Petite Venise" (Little Venice)... complete with canals and these amazing daub-and-wattle medieval buildings. Our hotel, the St. Martin, (pictured above left) dates from 1361. Zounds. (It is the corner building on the right... we are on the second floor.)
Now, just so that you will understand how arduous this all is, I close with a picture to the right... actually from Roussillon, but you get the idea.
Onward.

Strasbourg take #2

Well, Strasbourg is one of the all-time favorites, for sure. The day began with breakfast in our room, included in the Liz-special rate (pictured left). Coffee, tea, pain au chocolate, yogurt, croissants... you name it. And all enjoying the view and the wonderful room. If you read in the newspaper about an American who barricaded himself in a room and would not leave... that would be me.
This afternoon we took a leisurely walk along the beautiful main canal, and then took a boat tour around all of the old city. Pictured at the right is one of the amazing 16th Century homes that are common here.
PILGRIM CONNECTION: Guttenburg perfected the printing press here. Such printing was the direct stimulus for the Reformation... and the Separatists (Pilgrims) once they were able to have bible in English. This revelation was unexpected but welcome!
The region of Alsace Lorraine has been independent, then German, then French, then German, then independent... then French. Wow. The Alsacians have their own language but also speak French and English! (There is also a significant middle-eastern population here as well.)
Tonight we sat IN the street at a cafe for a meal of pizza and french fries... and some nice wine. Later on, I did a dress-rehearsal for the Skype-in on August 2. (That day, after the service, I will be on the "big screen" in King Hall to say hi to folks at Church of the Palms and also be able to see and hear them!
Tomorrow we move on to Colmar. Onward!

Strasbourg

After some low-key days in Aix, which is pretty and slow, we drove to the Marseille airport and turned in the car and Celine. We boarded a very small jet (much to Liz' delight.... not) and made the 1-hour hop to the Alsace region (on the German border) and the enchanting city of Strasbourg.
We have been trying to visit here for a long time; it just never seemed to work out before. Liz found the deal of all deals on the room of all rooms... literally straddling the central canal in this story-book place. As a I write, there is a brass band concert going on in the square... just for us? Maybe not.
Strasbourg blends the best of Germany and France... clean, neat and yet gracious and filled with joie de vivre. We took a walk around the old city (Petite France), found a grocery store, and stocked up on fresh tomatoes. The buildings date to the 15th and 16th Century, are well-maintained, and give a timeless sense of beauty. Don't believe me? Check out the picture from outside our hotel.
We will be here for two nights. Onward.

Aix-en-Provence

On a picture-perfect weather day, after a stunningly beautiful drive over mountains and through villages, we arrived yesterday afternoon in this city which dates from about 200 B.C. (It is built on several hot springs, which the Romans loved.)
Our hotel (St. Christophe) sits adjacent to the signature fountain (pictured left)... Aix (pronounced "ecks") is often called the city of 1,000 fountains.
The main street, Cours Mirabeau, runs from this fountain. This was "where it was at" in the 16th and 17th Centuries, with large homes and prestigious shops ... now cafes and galleries. In the center of the picture you will see a Roman fountain of hot mineral water still running (pictured right)!
Today, another bright clear one, we ventured into the old city where we happened on the weekly farmers' market (pictured left). The produce and fish were fresh and aromatic... we came back with some great tomatoes, which we are enjoying as I write. We stopped in the square for lunch at a delightful cafe (where we enjoyed delicious pasta) that also gave us a bird's-eye view of them tearing down the market and cleaning it up. (It is really is fascinating to watch other people work....)
Random musings: I have continued to read and learn about Taize, believing that there is something truly extraordinary there to which I am supposed to pay attention. For those who have dreamed about what Christian unity might look like, there it is in action. If you are interested, Google "taize" on YouTube or just a general search and see for yourself.

Metro Rousssillon

We have been day-tripping to surrounding towns, all quaint in their own way.
Yesterday we headed for Apt, larger than most, with NO parking anywhere. Thinking I could find a spot on a side street, I headed in... and in... until it all came to a dead end with nowhere for me to go or turn. Hmmm. Ultimately it meant backing all the way out (with crucial help from Liz), dripping in sweat. Celine got us home after we cruised around for a bit, exploring the hills nearby.
Last night we again walked beautiful Roussillon, with its colorful and dramatic cliffs (one pictured left). Restaurants and houses perch precariously at the edges, must closer than would be allowed in the USA.
Today we paid a visit to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue ("island on the Sorgue River"). Built on pilings in the river in the 11th Century (!) it is now called "the Venice of France" not without reason. Its streets are windy, quaint, and filled with shops and cafes and canals. Though the mills are long-gone, some of the water wheels are in place and still working (pictured right).
This evening we are enjoying our last look out over the valley below. Tomorrow we move to Aix-en-Provence.
Onward.

On to Roussillon

After perusing the extensive market-day in St. Remy, we headed through lush countryside on the way to the very old hill-top town of Rousillon (pictured left), to the west.
Several things were striking about the trip:
1) The GPS is an invaluable help; we have named the voice Celine... God bless Celine;
2) The roads approaching the Provence villages rival those in the Cotswolds in narrowness-- but at least people drive on the right side of the road;
3) The roads inside the village are narrower still; hit your target on the first pass or drive around a LONG time trying to get back to it (didn't I just find THAT out this afternoon);
3) The scenery is beautiful at every turn, as the lavender and sunflowers are in full bloom.
The soil and rocks in Roussillon are reminiscent of Sedona... the orange/red is vibrant. The sheer drop-off on all sides from the village is dramatic. Our room has a large terrace with a magnificent view (pictured right).
We explored the village church... small but beautiful... and climbed to the highest point in the village before settling in for a light supper and then enjoying the evening and sunset on our terrace. A spot of wine, anyone?

Bastille Day en Provence

Happy Bastille Day... the French 4th of July... remembering the start of the French Revolution and the beginning of the First Republic in 1789. There was a small ceremony in the town center this morning, followed by a very short parade. Last night there were some fireworks around.
The weather is hot and muggy here, the kind that saps energy after a short time. Like most Mediterranean cultures, an afternoon siesta is the custom here; things close between 2:30 and 5 each afternoon. Liz wisely chose our hotels to have air conditioning; not many do.
You can see (left) the view from our room over the hotel grounds to the Alpilles Mountains... foothills to the Alps.
Yesterday we took a circle tour of this part of Provence, passing through small, beautiful villages on the way to Nimes. There we visited the amazing Pont du Gard (Gard River Bridge--pictured right), built by the Romans in 20 B.C.! It is the best-preserved Roman aqueduct anywhere, designed to carry water to the then-thriving Roman city of Nimes. It is three levels, standing about 150 feet from the river bed. Across its 30+ miles the total descent is only 17 inches... talk about engineering.
We also drove into Avignon, but finding a place to park was hopeless.
St. Remy is a bustling village (pictured left), with shops and restaurants everywhere. We have found a couple of bistros that we like, and a "glacier" (ice cream parlor) that made this afternoon a bit cooler.
Onward.

En Provence

Today's blog title was the title of one of my French text books in High School; I remember reading about life here but this is our first visit. We are in the typically French hill-town of St. Remy in Provence, in southern France (an hour from the Mediterranean). It is near Avignon, the home of the non-Roman Popes in the medieval free-for-all as the Roman empire collapsed. Exploring the area and its history will be fascinating.
Getting here was an adventure... French weekend highway traffic in the summer is intense. The back-ups at the toll houses were long; there were other stoppages for which I could not find an explanation-- other than that is just how it is! Altogether we were on the road for about 5 hours (with no meal stops). The change in the weather is noticeable: Suddenly it is summer.
Along the way we passed huge fields of brilliant sun flowers in full bloom. Liz captured one as we drove by (pictured). The French countryside is beautiful, at times much like California and at others more like Tuscany.
Follow-up Taize musings: In my reflections, I was struck at a similarity between the Taize experiment and the Pilgrims: In both cases a new community was formed to establish an authentic Christian presence that unites rather than divides. The styles are quite different, but the driving motivation is similar. I find myself powerfully drawn to that inclusive, unifying vision.
Onward.

Taize (cont.)

In Memoriam: Barbara Silvester. You may recall my earlier post about my Dad's cousin Barbara, whom we visited in a nursing home in Massachusetts. I just received word that she has died there. Confined for 85 years in a much-diminished body, she is now free. I invite you to join in prayer blessing her on her way... at last freed from the body that limited her activity (but never her spirit).
Today marks the last of the Taize bible sessions. It turns out the instructor has been the head honcho of Taize... brother Alios (sorry for the poor quality picture of him). He succeeded Brother Roger, the founder, who was attacked and killed during an evening service several years ago. (Yikes) I did not guess at Bro. Alios's "rank" as he dresses casually, is very unassuming, with a great sense of humor and a wonderful way of teaching the bible. He has rehabilitated the Gospel of John for me. (Or rehabilitated my perceptions.)
Attached also is a video clip from today's prayer service.
I am also attaching a picture of one of the "tent cities" where people live while on a week here. (We opted to stay in nearby Cluny.)
My Taize time has been tantalizing and has been a peaceful and helpful interlude. The learning and worship has blended with some of the personal reading I have been doing in meaningful ways. No, I will not be enrolling as a Taize brother... but it is an intriguing place and I would love to come back with a group at some point.
I close with a shot of ancient buildings next to our hotel in Cluny. This is the view from ouitside the internet cafe heading back to the hotel.
We leave here tomorrow and head south. Onward.

Taize Community / Cluny

Finding an internet connection is tricky here ... so there has been some "quiet time" -- a good way to begin the next monastery segment of this journey. We flew back to Gatwick airport (London) and then on to Lyon, France. We slept at an airport hotel, and yesterday picked up another rental car and headed for the little village of Cluny, about 7 miles from the amazing Taize Community, which I have wanted to visit for many years.
Our hotel adjoins the 10th Century ruins of an abbey here! The village is really charming, and reminds me much of Cortona, in Italy, where we spent 5 weeks in 1995.
The Taize Community is truly ecumenical, in a most exciting way. Founded by Brother Roger in the early 1960's, somehow it has garnered official Vatican sanction to welcome EVERYONE to the altar and community. I am enjoying the daily bible study and prayer services-- the swelling music in spontaneous 4-part harmony is incredible.
There are about 2,000 people at Taize this week... down from the normal 4,000! Of those, only about 200 are over 30!! (They keep us carefully segregated so we won't pollute the others.) This is definitely an expereinced aimed at youth.
Each week here has a theme; this week's is the Gospel of John, chapters 14-16, on which I preached from the lectionary this Spring. It is very interesting to hear it from a totally different perspective. There are many things I have heard that I am aching to explore with someone... we shall see.
I will try to post some picture if I can get back on-line from here. Onward!

Delfshaven

Well, the walking/canal tour of Delft was drowned out by powerful thunderstorms... worthy of an Arizona monsoon! Around noon I braved the elements, walked to the train station, and headed for Rotterdam, in which Delfshaven now is. (In the days of the Pilgrims, it was the harbor for the then-larger city of Delft).
Just as I stepped off the tram in Deflshaven, the skies opened up again! Contrary to my usual style, I headed in the right direction and found the spot I was seeking in about 10 minutes.
When the Pilgrims left Leiden by barge, this was their destination. According to tradition, they boarded the Speedwell at the spot that now has the Pilgrim Fathers Church (pictured). The drawbridge on which I was standing is at the spot of the dock from which they left.
Musings: What were they thinking and feeling... given all they had been through? Now they were headed back to England; that must not have been the greatest of feelings, even though King James had indicated he would not interfere with them. (English Kings were known to change their minds rather abruptly... and heads would fly.) Did they have any idea what lay ahead for them?
They put in at Southampton, where they joined up with the Mayflower, intending to cross the Atlantic on both ships. After some dirty dealing by merchants and backers, they headed out... only to have Speedwell spring leaks. They put into Dartmouth for repairs, then headed out again. Same results: Speedwell started leaking when they were about 100 miles out. This time they put in at Plymouth, offloaded about 1/3 of the people and a lot of their provisions. Records show that 102 people somehow stuffed themselves onto the Mayflower for the dangerous, stormy, and off-course trip, during which there were 2 deaths.
Interesting speculation: There is a school of thought that says the Speedwell was purposely over-rigged,, causing the leaks. There was more money (and less risk) to be made running goods around England, and this way he could keep some of the Pilgrims' money anyway. (They really were beset on every side by scoundrels.)
This marks the end of the "Pilgrim Trek" part of my sabbatical. As it happens, we also are going from here to England tomorrow... but only to switch planes and head into France. I will be processing what I have learned from and about them for some time. Onward.

Delft

We are now in the lovely, smaller city of Delft, famous for its blue-and-white pottery. Our hotel (Emauspoort) is in the center of the old city. (This is our preference in order to be right where things are with little or no walk.) From our 2nd-story windows we look over chock-full window flower boxes to see the most-painted bridge and canal in the city, along the side of the New Church (dating from the 1300's!), and into the main square beyond (pictured).
Tomorrow we will take a walking-and-canal tour of the city, and then visit Delfshaven, now part of Rotterdam, from where the Pilgrims set sail aboard the Speedwell to meet up with the Mayflower in Southampton, England.
Response to Mac: Jeremy Bangs was very informative for sure. We have run into his work everywhere online and in print. He is quite the authority on all things Pilgrim!
Onward.

4th of July in Leiden, Amsterdam

Happy 4th to everyone in the US! It is meaningful to be here on this day where arguably US democracy was born. Among the innovations that the Pilgrims picked up in Holland was the idea of locally elected representation. (They also adopted Holland's civil marriage laws... but that is another story.)
We returned to the old city, visiting an antique shop where Liz picked up a beautiful little porcelain watering bowl meant for a bird cage that dates to about 1600; for us it will be a bud vase and reminder of this place.
We took a walking tour of Pilgrim sites... visiting the Town Hall where Pilgrims couples went to register their marriages; St. Peter's Church where their remarkable pastor, John Robinson, is buried; the spot nearby where Robinson lived and twelve other Pilgrim families built small homes in his garden; and the very steps (pictured left) from which the Pilgrims likely went onto a barge to begin their trip from Leiden to Delftshaven to board the Speedwell. Amazing.
We also stopped by a second museum... the Pilgrim Archives (pictured right) which houses a higher-tech presentation of the Pilgrims' time here. It is located along the lovely Vliet Canal, down which the Pilgrims moved as they left for the New World.
After a canal-side meal, we decided to hop the train and take the short trip to Amsterdam. There we took a canal tour around the old city, treated with one beautiful sight after another (pictured left). This was the place the Pilgrims were for a year before heading to Leiden. They arrived and joined with other refugee English Protestants, intending to stay. Before long there were theological controversies between the various groups, and the Scrooby congregation (Richard Clyfton and John Robinson's) thought it best to relocate to Leiden. Of course, in Leiden there more controversies... not the least of which concerned infant baptsim and the role of predestination vs. free-will.
Some miscellaneous notes: The weather has been magnificent. Bikes are EVERYWHERE here; in Amsterdam we passed a four-level parking garage for hundreds of thousands of them! Tonight is our last night at De Beukenhof (beuken=tree, hof=house); our suite dates from the 1300's, which means it was old when the Pilgrims were here. My goodness.
Onward to Delft tomorrow.

Leiden, the Netherlands

We bid farewell to merry old England yesterday, and after a [beautiful] final 2-hour drive we delivered the rental car safely in Manchester. There we boarded a flight for Leiden; how different from the Pilgrims' journey during which they almost perished in the storm!
Our intention to take the train from Amsterdam was frustrated by a "fire" in the train terminal... no further details were given, but we opted for a taxi to Leiden. Our hotel dates to the 1300's, but (happily) has modern enhancements. Our suite has Bang and Olufsen A/V equipment galore... and a sauna!
Leiden is a beautiful city of canals and quaint streets, centered on an old and huge windmill (now a museum--pictured left). In climate and culture it is a far cry from the English midlands, and I cannot help wonder what the Pilgrims thought upon arriving.
Today we wandered the city, eventually finding the American Pilgrim Museum and its Director, Dr. Jeremy Bangs (pictured right), whose research I have been reading for over a year. He is the pre-eminent Pilgrim scholar in the world, and we were thrilled to monopolize his time for most of the afternoon. His museum consists now of three rooms in a 1300's-era building, furnished with Pilgrim-era items and art. It is quite an experience to listen to him explain the collection and offer insight into the 12 exile years the Pilgrims spent here. We were awed by the chance to see, hold, and sit on 17th Century relics.. some pieces that were antiques when the Pilgrims were here!
Among the nuggets I gleaned: The Pilgrims' good treatment of the Native Americans stemmed from two convictions: 1) Those that had pledged allegiance to King James now had rights under English law, and 2) All humans are creations of the same God. In the early 17th Century these were radical ideas... and they flowered later in the founding documents that we celebrate tomorrow on July 4th.
While at the museum, I sat down at the Pilgrim dinner table... where there was an actual fish from the 15th Century (note the loook on my face)! I also had a chance to look over some of Dr. Bang's research into a debate by Richard Clyfton (of Babcock fame) and John Smyth on the topic of infant vs. adult baptism... a VERY hot topic in Leiden and among the Separatists.
A quiet canal-side meal gave us time to reflect on the day before walking back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we will return to the museum and walk the Pilgrim sites in the city.

Boston ... But No Fenway

Our last visit to Pilgrim sites in England took two days to accomplish: Yesterday the Guild Hall was closed! Boston, beautiful now (left) is a painful part of the Pilgrims' story:
In 1607, they knew they could not stay in England... but they were not allowed to leave. They WALKED for 65 miles, carrying everything they could (knowing everything they were leaving... including property... was now lost) to the thriving port city of Boston, and four miles beyond. (The intended point of departure is pictured... a beautiful undeveloped spot still.) They had arranged for a ship to carry them to Amsterdam.
They were betrayed, as they would be several more times: The captain of the ship had alerted the authorities, and they showed up to arrest the Pilgrims before the ship even left from the shore. The captain and the "authorities" helped themselves to their money and possessions before the Pilgrims were carted off to jail in Boston, in the Guildhall there (pictured right).
Separatist sympathy ran high in Boston, so the magistrate let most of them go ... keeping only Brewster, Bradford and Robinson in the cell (pictured left). After a month, he released them as well, ordering them to turn themselves in to the authorities in Gainsborough. Right.
In 1608 they devised an escape from Illingham to the north... this time successful for the men, but not for the women. The authorities arrived before the women and children could be boarded, but the Dutch captain said, "I'm out of here!" -- and left with the men. Imagine their horror at seeing their families arrested on shore! Worse: They headed into the teeth of what was evidently a hurricane in the North Sea. After an ardent prayer service, the storm abated and they arrived safely in Amsterdam.
Women and children were considered of no consequence, so they were released and made their way to Holland in dribs and drabs over the next year. Unreal.
Tomorrow we leave Bolham Manor (pictured right) and fly to Amsterdam to pick up the story there. Pam and Butch have been wonderful hosts here!
FYI: Boston, MA, was originally called Shawmut. It was renamed because the first minister to serve there, the Rev. Robert Cotton, was from Boston, England. Now you know.