All Good Things Must Come to an End

Look! I have a street!

So for my last day in London we did a lot of random little things. We started off by going to Chelsea (one of the districts in London). We walked through it for about an hour. Saw lots of things with my name on it. :) Chelsea Bridge, Chelsea Court, Chelsea Embankment, Chelsea Potter, several Chelsea streets, etc. And we bought a mixed berry tart because fruit tarts in London are amazing. We saw one; obviously we had to buy it. :)

Then we went to Baker Street. I hadn’t been there yet and since it was my last day in London I had to go. :) Took several pictures outside and picked up a couple Sherlock Holmes business cards and a miniature violin. Then to continue with our Sherlock adventure we headed to Speedy’s café, which is where the BBC series Sherlock is filmed. It’s the café next to their 221b Baker Street. It was a little café and they had set pictures on the walls. We ate lunch there. We both had their Sherlock Wrap, which was pretty good. It had chicken and bacon and a bunch of veggies and a slightly spicy chili sauce on it.

A Castle, Some Cliffs, and a Cathedral

Leeds Castle

Tuesday was the day of our bus tour. Our first stop was Leeds Castle. Not one of the biggest castles I’ve seen, but the only one with a moat. :) The moat was pretty wide because the castle had been built on two islands inside the moat. The inside was pretty much typical of a castle. Lots of rooms: bedrooms, bathrooms, a library, etc. It was cool. But, my favorite part was the grounds. There were gardens of course and there were peacocks everywhere. But, the highlight (at least for me) was the hedge maze. We didn’t have time to go through the entire maze (we only had about 10 minutes) so we went about halfway and then I took us back out. Mom didn’t think I could get us back out. :)

After Leeds Castle we headed back through the countryside and headed to the white cliffs of Dover. We weren’t able to walk up on top of the cliffs or see the castle on them, but we saw them from the pebble beach in Dover. We were only given 20 minutes to enjoy them and the beach, but it was amazing. They were gorgeous.

Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping

St. James's Park

For my last Monday in London, Mom and I started off the day by heading to watch the changing of the horse guard. We got there really early and ate breakfast at the park across from the Horse Guard Parade (where the changing of the guard took place). While we were eating we even saw a red fox run around us and hop several fences. It was pretty cute.

After breakfast we headed back over to watch the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool. We were right up against the chain so we were incredibly close to the horses. They walked right next to us. It was cool. The horses were so well-groomed. They looked like velvet. After that we headed up through St. James’s Park to Buckingham Palace. We were able to catch the ending of the changing of the guard at the Palace as well. They played Star Wars music. :)

Beautiful Greenwich

Me and Mom on the boat 

I have my laptop again! Thanks to my spectacularly wonderful aunt Wendy I had a new laptop charger ready and waiting for me when I got home. So, now I can catch up on my blog posts. :)

So I’ll start with my last Sunday in London. Mom and I went on a boat ride down the Thames. And the weather was perfect! Sunny, but not too hot. It was great. It was cool to see all of my favorite places from the river. We rode the boat to Greenwich, so there were several places that we went past that I hadn’t seen before. It was a lot of fun.

Update: Still No Laptop

Alright, the replacement laptop charger plan didn't work out, so no laptop for me until I get back home this weekend. So, this will be my last post from London (because it takes way too long to type on an ipad) but because I'm OCD I'll write the posts for these last couple of days once I get home. Can't leave my blog unfinished. :) So, you'll all have to wait a few days to hear about my final adventures in London. Have fun back home! I miss you all!

Technological Issues in London

Hi guys! I know this isn't my usual post length, but my laptop charger has kicked the bucket. And my laptop is dead. So, no charging my laptop, no charging my phone, and no uploaded pictures until I get it fixed. Fortunately, it should be an easy fix if we can just replace part of the charger. We have found a place in London that might have what we need so we'll try them tomorrow. So, I most likely won't respond to texts until I can charge my phone and I won't put a full post up for today until tomorrow (hopefully). Sorry about the lack of exciting things in this post, but you can look forward to a post about a boat ride and a trip to Greenwich and whatever exciting things we do tomorrow.

I hope you all have a good day and hopefully I'll have the ability to have a longer post tomorrow.

Here's an old picture of Big Ben :)

"Because it is my name!" -John Proctor, The Crucible

Our Israeli(?) lunch!

Started this morning off with lemon poppy seed muffins. Very delicious. We ate them on the way to Camden Market, which is a giant market full of pretty much everything you could ever want from a market. We wandered there for at least 3 hours. Ate some wonderful Israeli(?) food and came back with several more souvenirs: 3 shirts, 5 necklaces, and 1 ring. It was so much fun! Mom really likes the markets in London. J

Then we came back to the hotel to rest for a bit, but we had to buy some tarts first. J We got a raspberry one (it was falling apart so they gave it to us for free) and a strawberry tart. We ate them on the balcony of our room.

After our short rest we headed over to see Big Ben. We wandered around Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey before walking down to get a quick glimpse at Buckingham Palace (we’ll be going back next week). Then we headed down to Trafalgar Square in search of dinner before our last activity of the night. We ended up at Costa. We got two toasties and two smoothies to go and ate them on the steps. Then we headed across the Thames.

528 Steps

Mom with her Cheese Toastie.
The chocolate chip cookies/brownies
are in the background. 

Got to sleep in this morning! Didn’t have to wake up until 8:30. J Before heading off on our day’s adventures we got ham and cheese croissants from Starbucks. They were actually pretty good. Then we went to Portobello Road. We got there around 10, just as they opened and there was no one there. Portobello is usually PACKED with people. You can’t walk down the street normally. But, there was no one there that early. It was really nice. Not all of the shops were open but it was totally fine because you had the market pretty much to yourself. We bought raspberries for £1 and they were huge! I also bought another watch. Like my other one, but turquoise and with a Union Jack watch face. 

We headed across London for lunch. After walking across Millennium Bridge  we went to Borough Market for lunch. I made Mom get a Cheese Toastie. She didn’t have much choice in the matter. They were very delicious. J We also got a giant chocolate chip cookie and a soft chocolate brownie. Also very delicious.

My Mom's Here!!!

Mom at the Peter Pan statue

Today was the day that my Study Abroad program ended and the day that my mom arrived in London. It was hard to leave my friends and my flat that had been my home for 6 weeks, but I was so excited to see my mom. After only getting 4.5 hours of sleep last night, I hauled all my luggage to our hotel so they could hold it for me and then I left on the tube to go pick up my mom at the airport. After a million flight issues, she got to the airport, but one bag short. But, the fun must go on. J So, we dropped her carry-on off at our hotel and then headed out to explore London.

I showed her around my neighborhood. We walked down the streets I’ve walked every day and I showed her my flat. Then we wandered through Hyde Park. We saw several statues and even headed over to the Peter Pan statue (third time for me). Showed her where I had class (the LDS chapel where I had church).

What A Wonderful Day

Lunch at The Crypt

Went out to brunch with the majority of our group this morning. We went to a creperie. I got a berry crepe with chocolate and then a strawberry smoothie. It was delicious! Messy, but delicious.

Headed out to the National Gallery afterwards. I hadn’t been there yet, so it was a fun experience. Lots of wonderful art. Monet, Van Gogh, Rousseau, etc. Ate at The Crypt for lunch. It was delicious. I had paprika chicken with broccoli, cooked cabbage, and potatoes. Plus, I splurged on a fruit tart because I’ve decided that fruit tarts are my thing and I love them. So, it was a yummy lunch. Then we headed back to the Tate Britain and wandered through it again. By the time we finished at the museum we were exhausted, (but we stopped by the Tardis anyway) and we headed back to the flat and relaxed for a bit.

Definitely One of My Favorite Days in London

The London Eye

Had my other final this morning. This one was an acting final, so not exactly one of my strengths, but our group did a wonderful job. It was a lot of fun. We did a scene from Much Ado about Nothing. I was Beatrice (she's very sarcastic and wonderfully funny). J

After our final we headed over to Camden Market. I hadn’t been there before, but I didn’t buy anything today because I’m going to wait until I go on Saturday when all the shops are open and it is crazy busy. It’ll be awesome! After that we headed over to Borough Market and bought some fish n’ chips. We ate them by the Thames. It was gorgeous. After we finished our fish n’ chips we headed back to Borough and bought tarts for dessert. I got a chocolate and salted caramel one. J They were all out of the raspberry ones.

Next on our list of adventures for the day: The London Eye. The queue was so long, but it was definitely worth it to go up on a Ferris wheel that high above London and see the city. It’s so beautiful and amazing.   

More Chocolaty Deliciousness!

My super delicious waffle!

Took my first of two finals today. It was incredibly easy. It only took me about an hour to finish. Then I headed back home to finish my papers. Finished them both before noon today! It was a wonderful feeling to submit them both. Afterwards a group of us headed to this Dutch crepe place. I had a banana and chocolate waffle with hot chocolate. The crepes were huge there was no way I’d be able to eat the whole thing. But, my waffle was delicious and the hot chocolate was some of the best hot chocolate I’ve had in London. Most of their hot chocolate is bitter, but this one was chocolaty and sweet.

After that some of us went over to the V& A (the Victoria and Albert Museum). I hadn’t been there yet and it’s only a 10 minute walk from our flat. We saw the jewelry and their silver. We also wandered through the theater exhibit, which had one of the horse puppets from War Horse. It was pretty awesome. My favorite part was this belt from the 19^th century. Basically it was an utility belt. It had all sorts of things on it. A pocket knife, scissors. Yeah, I really liked the 19^th century utility belt. 

By the time we left the V&A most things in London had shut down for the night except for plays and we weren’t really in the mood to see another play, so I just came back home and watched a movie and did laundry. While it wasn’t the most productive day I’ve had in London I think it was a nice balance of productivity and rest. I really enjoyed it.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Time I Spent Sunday at a Zebra Crossing

The zebra crossing at Abbey Road. This was a "chill" moment.
Sorry it's not the most artistic photo. 

Had my last Sunday in Nursery today. I’m really going to miss those little kids. They are so adorable and they really love each other. Aside from the random boy who likes to push people. But, he’s even cute so I’ll forgive him.J I’ll miss playing games with them and reading them stories. They are so cute.

After church and lunch (soup today), a few of us went to Abbey Road. You know the Abbey Road where the Beatles took that famous picture for their album. Yeah. That one. J It was complete chaos. There weren’t even that many people there, but the rule in London is that the cars have to stop for people at zebra crossings (crosswalks) except that rule doesn’t apply for this particular zebra crossing because everyone just wants to cross it and take a picture. My friend went across it 4 times trying to get a good picture with just her on the zebra crossing. So, I wasn’t too concerned about it, so I didn’t get a picture taken of me there. It was crazy. Anyway, after that we headed to Hyde Park and found the Peter Pan statue.  

After that I just came back to the flat I worked on one of my papers until our fireside. Then I had pasta for dinner. Yay pasta! And now it’s probably time for bed so I can be awake for my first final tomorrow. J 

Enjoy the pictures!

A Stroll Through the Country

One of the many fields of wildflowers. 

Our group went on a country walk today. We took a train out of the city and went walking with our guides (who ranged from ages 10-76). It was quite the group. They originally told us that the hike would be 8-10 miles, but it could not have been that long. Maybe 4-5. It was wonderful. It was supposed to be really hot, but it ended up being overcast and it drizzled off and on throughout the day. I was so happy that it wasn’t hot. I was a little mad that I had just spent £10 on sunscreen, but oh well. I’ll be so prepared next time it’s sunny (watch it’ll be overcast for the rest of the time I’m in London). Anyway, the walk was really pretty. There were fields of lavender and fields of poppies (unfortunately I don't have any pictures of those fields). We took several stops along the way. One was at a ruined castle. It was pretty cool. We stopped at a little shop by the lavender fields. Everything they had there was lavender scented, flavored, etc. Then we stopped in a little Catholic(?) church and sat down for a bit. There was no one there so we sang “Come Thou Fount” before we left. It was really cool. The echo in that church was amazing.

I Love to See the Temple

Us at the London Temple!

Had class again today. Last one before our finals. After class a group of us went to the London Temple. You know, the LDS one, hence the cliché title. J First time I've actually had to travel to the temple. We had to take the Tube to the train station and wait for almost 40 minutes for our train. Once we got on the train it was about an hour to get to the right town and then we had to take a 10 minute taxi ride to get to the temple. It was quite the travel ordeal, but we made it! The temple was gorgeous. It was wonderful to see the spire with angel Moroni on top over the trees. It made me so happy. The weather was perfect too. The temple workers were very nice. They were so excited to see us. It was a wonderful experience and I’m glad I got the chance to go to the temple. 

After we finished at the temple, one of the temple workers offered to drive 10 minutes out of her way (twice, because she couldn’t fit all of us in her car) to take us back to the train station so we didn’t have to wait/pay for a taxi. She was so nice. Then we took the train and the tube back home. We stopped and got sandwiches on our way home. They were like Subway sandwiches, but better. J 

And that’s how I spent my Saturday. J Enjoy the pictures!

So Many Gardens

Anne Hathaway's house

Had another full English breakfast this morning. It was just as good as the one yesterday. Then we headed off in the coach (the bus) to Anne Hathaway’s house (not Anne Hathaway the actress, Anne Hathaway Shakespeare’s wife). Her house was pretty cool because it wasn’t just a Tudor house like the other houses we had seen. Her house had originally been a medieval house and it had been renovated through the years. But, the highlight of her house was the grounds. There were flower gardens, a little maze (an ankle high lavender maze), and a forest walk (my favorite part). It was pretty amazing.

After that we headed to the Mary Arden farm. Mary Arden had been Shakespeare’s mother. It was a typical farm. Not especially exciting. They had some really cool pigs though. They were covered in curly blonde hair. They were super strange. But they had a Birds of Prey show as well. They showed us two different owls. A barn owl and an Eagle owl. The barn owl was named Milly and she was adorable. The Eagle owl was huge! And he wasn’t as well trained as the barn owl so he would fly ridiculously close to people. He tried to land on some guy’s knee.

Even More Shakespeare! And Lots of Yummy Food!

My full English breakfast

Started the day off with a full English breakfast: sausage, bacon (ham), stewed tomato, cooked mushrooms, an egg, baked beans, and toast. So much food. It was good though. Toured Shakespeare sites today. We started at his birthplace. It was the house he grew up in. It was amazing to stand in the place where he grew up. 

After that we went to Nash’s House and New Place. New Place was where Shakespeare’s house used to be. One of the men who owned it tore it down because he was sick of all the tourists coming to visit. So, the site had been converted into a little grassy area. But the gardens in the back were gorgeous. Very simple, but beautiful. They also had a mulberry tree grown from a clipping of Shakespeare’s mulberry tree. It was pretty cool. Nash’s House was simply there to show what Shakespeare’s house would’ve looked like. They were very similar. Then we headed to Hall’s Croft, which was where Shakespeare’s daughter lived.

Castles and Shakespeare!

Coventry Cathedral

Woke up at 5 this morning to get on a bus headed for Stratford upon Avon. We went to a few places before we actually got to Stratford. Of course I slept on the bus because it is just not right to have to wake up so early in the morning. Our first stop was Coventry Cathedral. It was heavily bombed in WWII and so all that is left is the shell of the cathedral. It was pretty awesome. We weren’t there long. And I got a hornet in my hair. No stings, but eww!

Then we headed off to Kenilworth Castle. It was amazing! There were so many passageways and towers. It was incredible. We ran around it forever.  It was really green. Not as green as Ireland, but it made me want to go back and see all the green. 

Westminster Abbey and Roses!

Westminster Abbey

Started off the day with class. Then some of us headed over to Westminster Abbey  Once we got into Westminster Abbey it was pretty cool. The architecture was amazing. We weren’t allowed to take pictures or I’d show you. We saw Elizabeth I’s grave. That was cool. But the best part, the part where we freaked out,  was when we went to the Poet’s Corner. 

We saw the graves of Robert Browning, Tennyson, Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Geoffrey Chaucer, and John Dryden. They had memorials to lots of other people not buried at Westminster Abbey too: John Milton, Wordsworth, John Keats, Percy Shelley, William Blake, T.S. Eliot, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord Byron, George Frederic Handel, Laurence Olivier, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot, Winston Churchill, Samuel Coleridge, Caedmon, Christopher Marlowe, John Ruskin, and William Shakespeare. So many cool people! I couldn’t get over it. There were so many authors and poets right next to each other. It was overwhelming to see so many of them all at once. And several of them had amazing quotes on their grave markers. Definitely the best part of my time at Westminster. I bought an adorable umbrella in the gift shop too. It’s a clear one with the London skyline around the bottom.

Art!

The Tate Modern

After church, which was awesome because the kids in Nursery were super adorable today, I went with a couple other girls to the Tate Modern and the Tate Britain.

I really liked the Tate Modern because I’ve discovered that I really like modern art. Not some of the crazy stuff, but the more minimalist stuff is cool. Anyway, I found a couple of pieces that I loved there (pictures at the bottom of this post) and then we headed over to the Tate Britain. And I forgot to mention, but museums in London are free, so they are the perfect Sunday activity. And side note, but I love that museums are free here. I don’t usually like to pay to see something that I feel should be available to anyone.

The Tate Britain

Anyway, back to the Tate Britain. This one had more modern art, but the focus was more the classical art. So, they had a timeline of British art. It was interesting to see how art changed over the years. Found some more pieces that I really liked (pictures at the bottom).

Then after walking for way too long (my feet were protesting with every single step), I came home and wrote my last paper! Whoohoo! J And that was my Sunday. Enjoy the pictures!

Cambridge University

The park we ate ice cream at.

So, we took a bus ride this morning to Cambridge. It was pretty. But, I’ve decided that I like Oxford better. Oxford was bigger, more authentic, and less touristy. Cambridge felt like a tourist attraction rather than a university. Unfortunately, most of the colleges were closed because it’s finals week. A detail that we didn’t know prior to arriving in Cambridge. So, instead of visiting the various colleges, we just wandered around outside. We ended up at a mall (which only added to the touristy feel) and got a light lunch. I had a wonderful smoothie. One of the best smoothies I’ve ever had. Anyway, after that we headed out by the river and walked along it for a bit. 

Hampton Court!

Hampton Court (from the back)

Our group took a train to Hampton Court this morning. It was really cool. There was so much to explore. J Lots of different rooms and areas to see. Each of the rulers had added a new wing when they came to power and that was really cool to see the different styles. The gardens were gorgeous too. However, the maze was closed, which was sad because that’s what I wanted to see the most. Oh well. There was a family of swans in their ponds too. They were super cute. They also had a covered walkway. It was really pretty. I want one.

More Delicious Food and More Shakespeare!

Cheese Toastie from Borough Market

Had the opportunity to sleep in this morning and of course I took it! Any chance to sleep in must be taken. No question. Anyway, so after I slept in a group of headed out to do stuff before we went to the Globe to see Antony and Cleopatra. We headed over to a shrine that replaced an old cemetery for the ‘unwanted dead’.  It was really cool to see how many people cared about those that had been seen as unfit to be buried in the church cemetery.

After that we headed to Borough Market to get another Cheese Toastie. I told you guys about them before (a long time ago actually). But, I didn’t have a picture to go with them and now I do! So delicious. I also got a Hawaiian smoothie (I think it had raspberries, pineapple, mango, and banana. Or something like that…). It was also super yummy.

Then we headed over to the Globe so we could wait in line to get a good standing position. We waited for about 2 hours and I ended up with a spot right up next to the stage! It was pretty cool to be that close, but I’m just a little bit too tall to lean comfortably on the stage. But, the play was pretty good. Long, but good.  

At the End of the Day

Les Miserables

Had class again this morning. Then I went back to the grocery store to pick up a few things. After that I came back to the flat and ate leftover popcorn and I took a nap.  

Then we left and bought tickets for Les Misérables. Before the play we went to get food (more pizza) and I bought hot chocolate at Starbucks. The hot chocolate was amazing because I got another sore throat. Bleh! Oh well. 

Anyway, then we went to Les Misérables We had seats in the stalls right in the middle. It was amazing! I loved it! The music was wonderful. The set was great. The lighting was fantastic! And it was my first time seeing Les Misérables on stage. It was so amazing! I’m so glad I went. 

So, this was a short post with only one picture, but there you go. J

Pure Imagination

Astronaut ice cream!

Had our first class in a week today. You have no idea how hard it was to get up and go to class. Anyway, after class me and another girl decided to take a “mental health” day. We went to the Science Museum, just the two of us. We basically hung out in the space exhibit because space is awesome. We decided to go to one of their 3D IMAX short science movies. We went to the one about space. Obviously. It was awesome. Space, stars, galaxies on the giant screen in 3D was great! 

Afterwards we wandered around the museum and played with all the science things designed for children. But, come on. We were at the science museum taking a “mental health” day. It was totally acceptable. We were at the Science Museum for quite a while. It was really fun. On the way out we bought Astronaut Ice Cream. It was pretty good. Had the texture of dry wall, but it actually tasted like ice cream. 

Diamonds, Swords, and Yummy Food. What More Do I Need?

Tower of London

Started the day off with the Tower of London. It was pretty good. The Crown Jewels were awesome. So many huge diamonds. We went in several of the towers. The Bloody Tower. The White Tower. A few others that didn’t have major titles. The White Tower was basically the armory. It was awesome! Loved the armor and all the weapons. Dennis would’ve loved it! Walked through the torture chamber too. That was creepy. It didn’t take too long to do everything, but it was fun.

Best Sunday Ever!

Started off the day with church at 9. We had a baptism in my ward so the newest ward member was confirmed in Sacrament meeting. Those are always special moments to see. Went to nursery today and spent it running around (literally). We opened up the second half of the nursery room during the second hour and they kids just wanted to be chased around. I was very tired by the end.

My favorite picture from Karianne

When I got home I wasn’t sure what to do for the rest of the day. I figured I’d just have another Doctor Who Sunday, but then I got an email that said I had a package available for pickup at Metro Gate (where our mail gets sent). So I ran over there and got a package from home. Best Sunday ever! It had so many Propel flavored water packets (which is good because I ran out a few days ago and you can’t buy them here). It had sour gummy worms! They were so soft. And I’ve been craving Mac-and-Cheese, so there were some of the microwavable Kraft macaroni and cheese packets. That was exciting. But, then there were letters from my siblings and my parents. I loved reading them all. Karianne even drew me some pictures. It was a wonderful package and it made my whole day. Thanks you guys!!!

So, after that I continued with my Doctor Who Sunday. But I watched it in the living room on the big TV with a roommate. It was lots of fun.

And that’s been my Sunday. Can’t wait for this next week. It’s going to be so much fun! Here are some pictures of the things in my package. 

Best Friends in London!

Me, Ashleigh, and Tower Bridge

Got to sleep in this morning, which was lovely. Then I headed off to the tube station to meet Ashleigh. She had a long layover in London so we decided to get together and hang out. 

We had decided to just to walk down the Thames, but the construction on the tube was awful today. It took us so long to get down to the river. We crossed at London Bridge and headed to Borough to get some lunch. But, I haven’t been to Borough on a Saturday before and that was a very bad idea. There were so many people there. But, we grabbed some sausage rolls on our way out, which were delicious. The pastry was very flaky. And then we headed off towards the Thames. We stopped at a little stand to buy some Cokes and Ashleigh ended up with a Coke with her name on it! It was really a wonderful coincidence. Mine said Danielle. Not quite as cool. J

"Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost."

Christ's Church

Took a bus to Oxford this morning. I dozed on the bus for a bit because I was so tired, but we got there and

got hot chocolate from Costa because it was pretty cold in Oxford. It was delicious. It was more of a dark chocolate flavor and it was wonderful. We had decided that we would wander around Oxford and look at the J.R.R. Tolkien stuff because he taught there. So, we headed over to a college that he taught at and afterwards wandered around the park at Christ’s Church. It was big and beautiful. It was so funny because they were super obsessive about keeping people off the grass. Their chain around the grass was more deadly looking than most and they had ‘Keep off the grass’ signs everywhere. Even the ducks stayed off the grass. It was funny. We just wandered through the park and ended up at a river.

Once we got back the main street we found the music museum, unfortunately it wasn’t open yet, so we decided to go find Tolkien’s house and grave and then come back. So on our way to all of that we stopped at a super awesome second hand book store. I didn’t buy anything though. We also went into the Old Sweet Shoppe from Alice in Wonderland because Lewis Carroll also spent time at Oxford.

Who Knew I Could Love a Bunch of Rocks?

Windsor Castle

Today was our bus tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Lacock, and Bath. So, before I talk about the different stops along the tour, let’s just talk about the English countryside for a minute. It’s gorgeous. Not as green as Ireland, but England has trees. It’s so pretty. 

Ok, so we started at Windsor Castle. It was a lot of fun. It was gorgeous inside. My favorite part was the weapons. There were hundreds of swords, rifles, and pistols everywhere. They had whole rooms devoted to them. They were criss-crossed on the walls and in glass cases. There was even one that had 3 rings of pistols that encircled a golden unicorn head. I mean, how cool is that?! It was super cool. They also had some blue swords. They had sapphires all over the hilts. It was great. However, my favorite experience during Windsor Castle was when one of the girls in our group started singing Frozen songs because it totally fit with the castle. She sang under her breath. She wasn’t belting it. But, she sang For the First Time in Forever and Do You Want to Build a Snowman? It was great. We saw this massive doll house that they had there as well. It was amazingly intricate. Very impressive. The whole castle was pretty impressive. We stepped into the chapel there too. There were lots of monarchs buried there. Henry VIII was one. But, the organ pipes were gorgeous. There were hundreds of them and they were all elaborately painted. I wish I’d been allowed to take a picture. They were amazing and so was the woodwork surrounding them.

My Day in Four Parts: Jail, Cathedral, Museum, Library

Me inside one of the jail cells.

So, today was our last day in Ireland and we decided to cram it full of activities. So, we started early this morning and didn’t stop until it was time to leave for the airport. We started the day off with a taxi ride to the jail in Dublin, Kilmainham Gaol. We took a tour there. It was pretty cool. Lots of interesting and sad stories about the Irish revolutionaries. It was really weird to go into the cells. They were pretty small. There was a female prisoner (a wife and sister of two other prisoners) who was put in jail after both her husband and brother were executed and she painted the Madonna and Child on the inside of her cell. It was really cool.

After the jail tour, we walked 12 blocks to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The walk was so long. By the time we got to the cathedral I thought I was going to die. We all had our backpacks with all of our clothes and stuff with us because we had nowhere else to put it. My backpack was so heavy! St. Patrick’s was really pretty. Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver’s Travels) had been a Dean there, which I thought was cool. They had a plaster cast of his skull too. It was a pretty cathedral.

Rock of Cashel, Blarney, and Cork!

The view from The Rock of Cashel

Woke up at a horrific hour this morning. 5:30. Super gross. But it was alright because we went on a day tour to The Rock of Cashel, Blarney, and Cork. And we got to drive through the countryside, which was gorgeous. So pretty and green. Slept for about an hour though, which was nice. We stopped at a little gas station on the way to the castle. I got a Coke and I’ve decided that Coke is better in Europe than it is in the States. And they had these adorable little donkeys outside the gas station.

After that we went to the castle. The Rock of Cashel. It was on top of this giant rock. The legend says that St. Patrick fought Satan on one of the nearby “mountains” (their “mountains” are basically large hills. It’s so cute.) and that bought launched this massive rock to its current location.  Anyway, when you were standing on top of this hill, you could see so much of the countryside. It was amazing. The castle had a little cemetery too. The inside was pretty empty, but it had some amazing architecture. It was really cool.

I'm in Ireland!!!

The view from the bridge

Hmmm…let’s see. Started the day off with class and after class we left for Ireland! So, we took a train to the airport and once we got to the airport it was a breeze to get on the plane. It was so easy to get through security. It was wonderful. Ate at the airport. A brie and bacon melt with peach lemonade. It was pretty good. The flight itself was only 55 minutes, but lucky Chelsea has a head cold so the added pressure on my head was horrible. Those 55 minutes were some of the most painful minutes I’ve ever experienced. My head was pounding. I was pretty sure it was going to explode. It’s 10:30 now and one of my ears still hasn’t popped. But, enough about my head issues...

So, Ireland! It’s gorgeous. Everything is super green. After getting confused with the buses we made it to our flat. After we checked in we went to this Irish pub called The Celt. I had Traditional Beef and Guinness stew with their rye bread. It was AMAZING! The beef was so tender and delicious. The whole thing was wonderful. One of the best things I’ve eaten on this entire trip.

Sunday #3 (I'm running out of creative titles for Sundays...)

My favorite picture from Hyde Park.

Woke up this morning with a wonderful cold. Stuffy nose. Sore throat. Lots of fun. Oh well. Anyway, went to church. Didn’t go to nursery because of my cold. Missed the kids, they are so cute.

After church, I came home and ate soup. Yay soup! Then I wrote my last paper for Monday (it was about Romeo and Juliet) and watched Doctor Who. I watched Doctor Who for a while. 3 episodes. Ate pasta for dinner (if you haven’t figured it out already, I eat a lot of pasta. 

After I ate I decided to go wander around Hyde Park. It was gorgeous. Everyone goes to the park on Sunday, so there were a lot of people there. I was there for about an hour (lots of pictures below). Nice weather; everything is green; lots of little paths to take. 

And that’s basically what I did today. Not much, I know. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. 

Lazy Saturday

Back at Portobello Road

Sorry in advance, but this post is going to be pretty short. Today was another one of those rare days where I have the opportunity to sleep in. So, I obviously took advantage of it. Slept until 10ish. It was wonderful.

Around 11, I went to  Portobello Road with one of my roommates. We decided to go to Portobello because it was supposed to rain today, so we figured there wouldn’t be too many people there. As we left the flat it totally looked like it was going to pour, but as soon as we stepped out of the tube station at Portobello it was sunny and hot. So, we walked down the street because everything at the beginning is expensive and the cheaper stuff is all the way down at the end. It was probably 3 blocks before we hit the end, which was fine. It was a lot of fun. As we were just about to head back up to the beginning it decided to rain. Hard. At an angle. That angle being straight in our faces. It wasn’t too bad though because my rain coat is super waterproof. It’s pretty amazing actually.

So Many Books and So Much Candy!

My assorted candies. :)

After class and lunch we decided to go to a candy shop, Hardy’s. It was this little tiny shop down a side street, but it was super cute. They had jars and jars of candy lining the walls and the guy behind the counter would fill bags full of candy for you. But, I’m not well-versed in the arts of British candy so I got a bag of assorted candy. This way I can figure out my favorites and then go back and buy the best ones. So funny story: There was a group of us at the candy store. 3 girls and 1 guy. As we were paying, the guy behind the counter was talking to us and after finding out that we were from the States, offered us all sorts of free candy. We had raspberry bonbons (which were amazing!), chocolate covered honeycomb, etc. As we were leaving, the guy in our group said something along the lines of, “If it had just been me in that store I wouldn’t have gotten any of those free samples.” It was so funny, because it’s totally true. It was great. Benefit of being a girl. :)

Movies and Pizza

The chandelier in the movie theater.

So, this was another morning where we had nothing planned so I decided to sleep in until 10. Yay! It was fantastic. The plan was to sleep in and then do some homework because homework exists and it does, in fact, take time. However, I decided to do laundry instead. Of course I was able to do my reading while simultaneously doing my laundry, so that was nice.

Afterwards I went to see X-Men: Days of Future Past. I’ve been having movie withdrawals. It’s been awful. Anyway, the movie was amazing! I would highly recommend it. It turns everything upside down. In a good way. It was wonderful. And I saw a movie in London! :)

Then we went to this Italian place for dinner. I got a Margarita pizza. It was big. I only ate about ¾ of it and one of the guys finished it off for me. It was good though.

The plaque for the Rose Theatre

Finally, we went to a production of A Trick to Catch the Old One at the Rose Theatre. The theater was absolutely tiny! It’s build above the foundation of the original Rose Theatre and they are currently trying to get the funds to build a replica Rose Theatre. So, the play was good, in case you were wondering.

And then I came home and wrote the paper that I neglected to do earlier in the day because I decided to eat dinner instead of writing a paper. Of course I have the glorious gift of being an English major. So it’s possible to write a 3 page paper in under an hour with no problems at all. And that’s what I did today. I have even fewer pictures than I did yesterday, so sorry about that.

Last thing: it is Grandma Smith’s birthday today! Happy Birthday Grandma! Hope you had a great birthday and I wish I could’ve been there today and also for your birthday brunch party. Love you and miss you! Have a great day!

Um...Waiting for Godot, I Guess...

This was the basement with the amphitheater ruins. 

Started off the day with our classes (I only tell you this so you won’t think I’m just partying in London all the time). Afterwards they took us to the Guildhall library where they had an original copy of Shakespeare’s first folio, which was pretty cool. We also saw the foundation of an old Roman amphitheater in the basement of the Guildhall art gallery.

Then we came home and ate lunch because class and the Guildhall stuff took 5 hours, so we were starving. I had pasta and a cheese sandwich (in case you were wondering). One of the girls in our group really wanted to go shopping at Marks and Spencer and there just so happens to be one right down the street on the way to the tube stop. So, we went in there and walked around for a bit. I didn’t buy anything, but they had so many one-piece swimsuits. I literally stopped in my tracks and stared for a minute. I have never seen so many modest swimsuits in one location before.

The Day of Unrealized Plans

Westminster Abbey

Today was one of those days where your plans fell through but you ended up doing something better. The plan this morning was to go tour Westminster Abbey, which was going to be cool. But, once we got there we found out that Tuesdays are the only days that the tours start later than 9:30. So, we wandered around for a couple of hours and we ended up at this random park. It had the most beautiful carved wooden bench. It was amazing. We stayed there for almost an hour. After that we headed back to Westminster Abbey only to find a line that went around the block. So, obviously we decided to come back another day.

Several people went off to the British Museum, others went home to do homework, but another girl and I went to a bookstore. We went to Hatchards. It had 5 floors (I think). It was wonderful! So many books! And the books in the UK have different covers, which are amazing! I desperately wanted to buy His Dark Materials because they were gorgeous. And maybe if I still have money to spend I will go back and buy them. I also want the entire Harry Potter series (the British versions), but that’s way too much money right now. So anyway, I bought one book. I know, just one book. The Cuckoo’s Calling. It’s the book that J.K. Rowling wrote under a pseudonym. I started it before I came to London, but now I can finish it!

The Harry Potter Studio Tour: My Favorite Day in London

Our Harry Potter double-decker bus!

So, today was Harry Potter day! After some travel stress and a phone call to the Harry Potter Studios customer service (which plays Harry Potter music and gives you Harry Potter facts while you wait! Awesome by the way!) we made it to the studio. We rode a black double-decker bus to get from the train station to the studio and it was awesome! 

FYI, I just finished writing about this experience in my journal and it took 13 pages. So I’ll try to keep this relatively short. I’ll just stick to the major parts. And if when I get home you want to see all 728 pictures/videos that I took while there, you just let me know. J 

Ok, back to Harry Potter. I was so giddy all the way there and when we walked off that bus I was bouncing everywhere. I was so happy!

Sunday Number Two

The 3 papers I wrote today.
(Basically I felt like my post needed a picture,
so here you go)

Today was a pretty relaxed day, simply because it was Sunday. Went to church and got to go help in

nursery this time. The kids were so adorable! I love their little British accents. I had a wonderful conversation about superheroes with a little boy named Jaron. He had Spider-Man socks. He was great. I had so much fun spending time with the little kids.

Then I came home and ate pasta for lunch. Basically I’m going to eat pasta until I can go to the grocery store (hopefully tomorrow) because I am out of everything. After I ate pasta, I wrote my papers for school. We have 3 due tomorrow, so because I’m really good at procrastinating I wrote all 3 today.

Doctor Who!

Paddington Station -
where we got on the train

Woke up at 5:30 this morning. Of course you’re wondering why a girl who loves her sleep so much would wake up so early on a Saturday morning. Well, I woke up so early because we took a day trip to Wales! It was amazing! It was so green and peaceful. We went to Cardiff, specifically Cardiff Bay and it was wonderful. It was great to see the ocean. (Oh, and sorry in advance because this post is all over the place, but I'm tired, so this is the best I've got tonight)

So, we went to Cardiff to go to the Doctor Who Experience. As someone who’s only seen 5 episodes, I didn’t appreciate it as much as the others in our group, but it was still awesome! We saw lots of landmarks from Doctor Who, including a wall on the pier dedicated to a character that died in the spin-off (I think). Anyway, we walked around the pier for a while. Then we walked by the BBC studios. There wasn’t anything going on there because it was a Saturday, but it was still awesome just to be there. Then we had ice cream and it was quite possibly the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

Fish and Chips! Finally!

Fish and chips!

Slept in until 11:30 today and it was glorious! We didn’t have class or anything this morning, so most of us slept in. Then at 5:00 we had a backstage tour of the National Theater. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. I was wearing my t-shirt with the Dumbledore quote (“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light”) and our tour guide called me Dumbledore for the duration of the tour, which was fine. I have no problem answering to the name Dumbledore. 

After that we went to the play The Silver Tassie (also at the National), but before that we had fish and chips for dinner. Finally! They were really good. The piece of cod was huge! It was very filling and I ended up giving the rest of it up to others in our group. I was so full!

Anyway, the play was confusing. There was really no definite storyline and none of us could figure out what the point of the play was. There was lots of unnecessary singing. There wasn’t a single character that I cared about. Halfway through the play it was so dull and boring that I wouldn’t have minded if a bomb came in and blew them all up (it was a play about WWI and there had been lots of bombs already in the performance). Anyway, it was the only play so far that I didn’t like.

Outside the National Theater

But, I’d better get off to bed. Busy day tomorrow. 

And sorry for the lack of pictures (haven't done much these last few days), but there will be lots of pictures tomorrow!

Day 10: The Day My Body Finally Forced Me To Slow Down

How I spent my afternoon.
Pasta, Digestives (very yummy cookies), and Doctor Who

So, I did have big plans for today. I was going to go to 221B Baker Street and then go to Speedy’s (where they film the BBC's Sherlock), but after buying tickets for The Woman in Black I got really nauseated and dizzy. So I came back to the flat, took a short nap, sat in bed and watched Doctor Who for a while and felt so much better (I felt better after the nap actually). And before you guys all freak out and worry, I feel fine now. No idea what happened this morning. It was very weird. Oh well, Sherlock isn’t going anywhere and there is still time to go see it.

So after spending the day relaxing in bed, I went to see The Woman in Black. It’s a suspenseful play (it has also been made into a movie, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) is in the movie).  We were running late because of a complication on the tube and we had to make a bunch of transfers in order to get to the right location. Then we ran/speed walked around until we found the theater. We arrived at 8, which was when the play started, but thank goodness that all London theaters run on Mormon Standard Time, because they always start at least 5 minutes late.

The play was really good. It was slow at first, and because I’d seen the movie I kept trying to figure out what they were going to do and what they weren’t. The play wasn’t too scary (at least it wasn’t to me), but it was suspenseful. You kept waiting for the Woman in Black to pop up and make you jump. I enjoyed the play. It was different.

My gelato

Afterwards we got gelato. Raspberry and brownie for me.

Anyway, that was my semi-boring (not by choice) day and I have no extra pictures. :(

Front Row Seats at Lion King. No Big Deal.

Front row seat at Lion King!

Started off the day in class. Yes, we do have classes (twice a week) it’s not all fun and games here in

London.

But, no one wants to hear about the boring stuff, so onto the fun stuff! We went to The Lion King today. And guess who got FRONT ROW SEATS for £30!!! And I had an aisle seat. We did! It was amazing! The actors looked me in the eye. A rhino walked past me onto the stage. I was almost hit in the face by the hyenas. It was fantastic. The music was great. The acting was great. I loved the boy who played young Simba, he was adorable. Plus, at the end Simba looked directly at us and did the ‘thank you’ two-handed gesture, the one that kind of looks like he’s blowing a kiss (maybe that made sense). But, anyway it was awesome being so close to the stage.

Then we walked across the Thames and went to the Globe to wait in line for Much Ado About Nothing. Had another yummy melty Panini sandwich thing for dinner. We stood in the Yard during the Shakespeare play. We were in the back leaning up against the wall. Which I liked for several reasons. I was tall so I could see over everyone’s heads. And we could see the whole stage. Granted, we couldn’t interact with the actors like the people up front, but I saw the whole stage. The play was well done. It was hysterical. I laughed almost the entire time. I loved it!

So, I know it’s a short post, but it’s definitely time for bed now. Enjoy the pictures!