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.