When did I become the Chosen One??

I have no clue why, but somehow I have been the person that everyone has decided to tell their secrets too. Its not a huge deal, but there are some things I really could have gone with out knowing, especially when it comes to some of the guys here! I know I'm easy to talk to, but some things are better left unsaid or should be saved for your family only! I just can't figure it out! haha

But other than that, I'm loving it here! Its funny to see how much we've all changed. Kaitlin and I were just talking about how much we can't stand tourists! Funny because we are tourists... but it really does feel like we live here and that we've been here forever! We were just saying how funny it is now that we can pick out the americans! When we first got here, we couldn't understand how everyone could just tell that we were american...its super easy to see! haha!

This morning we went to Greenwich. It was Sarah, Melissa, Caitlin, Kaitlin, Diana, Koryl, and I! Such a fun group! Love those girls! We we all SO excited about the idea of visiting 3 museums in Greenwich today... We were in and out of all of them super fast. Nothing really interesting, so it was hard for us to pay a super huge amount of attention. We went to the Maritime Museum which was interesting. We saw some cool boats, paintings, and some old clothes. Nothing that we haven't seen before. Then we went to the Queen's house to see an art gallery. It was very similar to the National Portrait Gallery. The best part of that museum was when a lady started talking to Caitlin and Westie and Diana and I just ditched and walked into the next room. haha good times. I think we've seen one to many museums about the same people. Then we went up to the Royal Observatory. This was the highlight! Straddling the Prime Meridian is always cool!! 

Our feet at the Prime Meridian! (Plus Megan! We ran into her there!) 

After the Prime Meridian, we wanted to check out the famous Greenwich Market. It was really fun. Diana and I met this way cool Photographer and I'm really excited to check out his website! He had some pretty cool stuff. Then we got some awesome Brazilian food! SOO good! 

Love these girls! 

Beautiful Greenwich with D!

More pretty views! 

After Greenwich, Diana, Koryl, Kaitlin and I headed back to London to hit up the theater district and get tickets for Phantom of the Opera. We're going next week after we are done with finals and I'm super excited!!! I've heard its so great in London! Everyone here has absolutely LOVED it and I can't wait! 

I think we spent 90% of our day today in the Tube. I'm going to be really excited to be back in a car. I mean, I love public transit and everything... but the tube is awful. It is so hot underground and people are either pushing you over to get around you, or they are walking so slow that it takes all your self control not to plow them over. haha

Hope you are all having fun! Love you all! Enjoy your last week without me! :) haha

See you soon!

Tired of posting!

Sorry world and whoever reads this. I've gotten really sick of posting and I haven't taken any pictures in a while either. I'm just not as camera happy anymore. It might change soon though, who knows. 

Basically, yesterday consisted of Koryl, Tricia, Elizabeth Davey, and Dillon going to the Churchill Museum and the War Rooms. Such a interesting site! I think its my favorite museum so far! Sadly, none of us are very smart, and we kinda completely missed the GIANT Churchill section. No clue how that one happened, but we all feel pretty stupid now. But we really enjoyed our time there! What an interesting part of history to learn about. 

Sadly, I think the highlight of the day is when I got left behind. I wanted to head to a more empty section of the train, but everyone else just jumped on. Before I could make a run for it, the doors closed. It was sad and slightly embarrassing. haha! I just waited for the next one, not that big of a deal. But it was really funny! All the kids were laughing at me and I felt really stupid. 

We've also recently discovered a new handicap of mine. I am not very good at getting off escalators. Its pretty ugly sometimes actually. Not as extreme as elf. But I look absurd most of the time. Basically I'm just a spaz. 

Last night, Dillon, Danny, and I went to this pizza place where they had all you could eat for 5 pounds (super good deal!). We ended up staying at that restaurant for over 2 hours. We talked a lot. Those guys are great. Its fun to have some kids to talk to. I really really like everyone in our group here and we all get along great, but I am really finding friends that I can keep for years! Its so fun!

Today has been pretty mellow. Woke up. Ate breakfast. Class. Another Class. Lunch. Pretty boring.

Then Sammie and Dillon and I headed to Camden Market to check it out. I hadn't been there yet and still wanted to find somethings for some people and Dillon wanted help buying stuff for his brother's wives. I have no clue why he picked me, but I think I helped. haha

Tonight should be mellow as well. I might try and get out and go for a little run if I feel up to it, but I might just stick around the center and read for class. They sure know how to work us out here. I think these classes are some of the hardest I've taken, but I'm doing a lot better than I expected. What a relief! haha! 

Love you all! See you soon! Pray that I can fit everything in my suitcase and that it doesn't go over the weight limit! haha!

The Bank of England

Yesterday wasn't particularly exciting. I woke up and did homework for a while after a super long shower while everyone was off shopping. Then Kaitlin and I went to Cafe Diana and had pitas that were amazing! It was the first meal in a long time where I've felt extremely full at the end! SOO GOOD! 

Then we had history for about an hour. Then we were off! Off to the Bank of England Museum. We (Diana, Kaitlin, Dillon, Koryl and I) were going for extra credit in history. Honestly, the most exciting part was when Diana took some directions a little too literally and walked into a utilities closet! haha! Even the security guards were laughing! Love that girl! 

We were there for about an hour. Nothing too interesting, to be honest. Just some stuff about finances that I don't really understand. haha

Then we had to book it home for Culture Class where we turned everything in so that we are officially done with that class. BUT then, Schuler decided to tell us just how we were supposed to do our assignments... weird that he did that the day they were all due.... something seems wrong... 

Then we had dinner and Kaitlin and I did another walk around White Hall. Whoever wrote our "walks" book does not know the difference between right and left. We get soo confused every time we do one! Thankfully that was the last one! We saw some cool statues and houses and had our own little adventure. My favorite part of that evening is something that I can't post online haha! 

We came home and everyone was up in the classroom ready to watch a movie for history extra credit. Weirdest movie of my life! I can't remember what it was called, but it sure was crazy weird. 

Today: catch up day and Churchill Museum. We were supposed to go to Dover, but they made that trip optional and since they changed it to mostly Cantebury and we most likely weren't going to see the cliffs, I opted out. They're just seeing a castle and being set lose for a little while. I don't think I'll miss out on too much... but I guess we'll find out! haha! 

Love you all! I can't believe how fast this has gone by, but at the same time it feels like I've been here forever! I love London and can't wait to get back because I will come back someday I promise!

See you all soon! 11 days! 

Hip Hop Class

Brianna and Kate!! Ever heard of Pineapple dance studio?? Its a really famous one here in London apparently. Well, Kaitlin and I just got home from a hip hop class at that studio! It was super fun! Loved it! I caught on fairly well considering how long its been and had a blast! 

The rest of the day was spent doing homework. No lie. 

Love you all!! 13 more days... sad.... And we have so much school work to do that getting out in the city is going to be a rare occasion. I might just not sleep for the next 2 weeks. That seems to be the best option...

See you soon! Love you!

Sundays...

Basically, Sundays here aren't super fun. There isn't any food in the Centre to snack on, so I almost die every sunday. haha! 

Yesterday was mostly a homework day. Kaitlin and I went to the park and did a few hours of reading and then went on one of our "walks" we have to do for our culture class. This was shortly followed by Pizza Hut and Step Up. It wasn't too eventful, but it was nice not to be as busy as we were on the week trip. 

Today was church, always an adventure. I really enjoy being a part of this ward. Its always nice to have a break from student wards. 

I can't believe how soon Michael comes home! That is so crazy! Time is just flying by! It'll be fun to have him at BYU with Brianna and I! Fall semester is going to be the best! 

Well, love you all! See you in 2 weeks! Send me any info about Jeff and Diane!

SCOTLAND TRIP!

Arthur's Seat! Gotta Love the view from the "top"!

Edinburgh from the top of the National Museum of Scotland. (we were out of there in 20 minutes flat!)

LAKE DISTRICT!

Gotta love tartan curtains

HARRY POTTER!!!!!

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle (we were out of there in about 25 minutes!)

My favorite gals at Hadrian's Wall

View from my window at Durham Castle

Durham Castle. Where we stayed the first night

Cool Bridge at the ruins

Beautiful statues at the ruins

Yorkminster Abbey

back home in London

I've never been so happy to be home in my entire life. I'll put up an nice and long post tomorrow with details of the trip. But I am alive and well! :) 

Off to Scotland

We leave for Scotland tomorrow morning bright and early! I'm super excited! There'll be a super long post when I get back late friday night! 

Love you all! Don't fry too much! 

Football!

Today was more of a lazy day. Last night was rough trying to sleep, so I ended up staying in during the morning. I did some laundry and just listened to some music and enjoyed some alone time which is hard to come by here in the Centre. 

Around 2:00, Diana, Danny, Dillon, Elizabeth S. Elizabeth D. and I headed out to the football game! It sure was an adventure to get there. A very long tube ride and a little walk but we got there just fine!

We had "standing" tickets and it took us a while to get settled after we got there. We met some funny kids and people. They really don't think the "f" word is that bad here. Some 15 year old kid we talked to was dropping it right and left. AH! It was fun to see some guys that could actually handle a ball! When we play soccer here, we all look so stupid because none of us can control the ball at all, so it was fun to see. There were some awesome goals and fun plays! 

It was interesting how quiet the game was. People were mostly just chatting and clapping, not a lot of cheering which was, well, just quieter than I'm used to.

After the game, we headed off to this pub that is famous for its chocolate cake in Diana's opinion. We ended up running into some other kids from the BYU group. So random! haha! But we all got some food and cake! So GOOD! That chocolate was just what I needed! We still aren't sure if there was alcohol included or not. haha But it was super fun! Danny, Dillon, Diana and I totally bonded. So great! Love those kids! I really like all the kids in our group! We're thinking of making a co-ed intramural soccer team when we get back! :)

London is great! We leave for Scotland super early Monday morning and I'm not taking my computer, so I won't be posting for about 5 days. But I love you all! See you in 24 days! 

Queen for a day??

Today was our Hampton Court Palace adventure! It started super early! We left the Centre at 8:30 and caught a couple tube trains and got on another train at the Waterloo station. I think I was out cold before that train even left the station! I think all my exhaustion finally caught up to me today and more stories about that will follow.

Hampton Court! What a cool place! It was started by Thomas Wolsey back in the 1500s and was finished and remodeled by other kings and queens since. Its really well known because of Henry VIII (That man is everywhere!) The palace is supposedly haunted by Catherine Howard, one of Henry VIII's six wives. Crazy!

We walked around the Palace for a while. We started in Henry VIII's kitchens where food for 600 people was made everyday! Can you imagine making 2 meals a day for 600 people?? I think that's insane! But wow do they have kitchens built for it! The best part of walking through the kitchens was either when I almost walked into a closed door or when Koryl asked why it smelled like fire as a giant fire was in one of the fireplaces. Classic! haha!

Then we went into the Palace Chapel. What a sight that was! Such a beautiful place!!! The ceilings were blue and gold and amazing! They were put up under Henry VIII, but the rest of the chapel was remodeled by Christopher Wren under William and Mary. Such a cool experience. We pretty much had the little church to ourselves because it was still early and not a lot of people were there. It was nice and quiet! 

Around 11:15 we met up with some interesting folks. There were a couple of actors dressed up and inviting people to join them for Henry's wedding to Kateryn Parr. We met Thomas Seymour and he is still a flirt! haha We got a great picture with him, but its on Kaitlin's camera. I'll get a copy later. 

After a little stop in one of the many Hampton Court shops where we almost bought Anne Boelyn "pants" (underwear), we somehow ended up following Kateryn Parr's sister around and getting a little bit of fun information as well as the opportunity to put on some costumes to make us more presentable. 

We were lead into Henry's apartments and then we saw the King himself. haha It sure was an adventure! 

Then we walked over to the infamous "maze" which turned out to be a little lame... but it was fun to say we went through it and found the center! 

Then we decided to "Eat our way through history" and had some crazy Beef Ale Pie things. I'm 100% positive that the alcohol was cooked out! haha It was pretty good, but the cookie was extremely disappointing. 

Afterwards we walked around a bit more and learned more about Henry's wives and saw the room where Henry married Kateryn Parr (true story) and really just enjoyed our peaceful, slow day in Hampton Court. 

We headed back and I slept on the train again. And then we all came home and crashed for a little over an hour! Wow I'm so tired its insane! Than it was tacos for dinner and I'm just about to head out for another intense game of soccer. FUN day

Tomorrow: Soccer Game! :) with Danny, Dillon, Diana, and the Elizabeths.

What happened to Ron Weasley?

Just got back from Harry Potter 6! Great movie! It was a winner! My favorite parts were some of the commercials before the movie. So funny! Diana and I were cracking up and having so much fun! The movie was great too! 

Afterwards it was pouring rain. And I mean pouring. It was great though!

Gotta love England!

Portsmouth and Mid-terms!

Yesterday was a windy adventure! We went to Portsmouth where the Royal Navy is stationed and has been for years and years and years. It was a really cool experience, but honestly, it was kinda lame compared to Brighton. Ports are different than coastal cities, that's for sure. 

When we first arrived we went on the Mary Rose ship. It was giant! I don't think I ever knew that ships were that big! I wasn't really into learning while I was on the ship, so sadly I don't have any cool facts. Basically the exciting bit from that experience is the embarrassing story of Kaitlin and I. We were downstairs of the very bottom level of the ship. No one else was down there and they had some really creepy noises playing over a stereo system. We got really freaked out and were kinda searching frantically for someone. Then we saw Sammie (one of the Hawkins kids that we love) and started saying her name and kinda ran over to her. It was a little sad that two 20 year old girls were that easily scared. But in our defense, it was really creepy. 

Then we ate some lunch in the blustering wind. Its always windy by the coast apparently. 

After lunch we went and saw the HMS Victory. The only ship on display from the 1600s. It was King Henry VIII's favorite ship. She sank in the Battle of Trafalgar and was dredged up in the 1980's. Right now they have what's left of her (one side completely intact) in a big room and she is constantly being sprayed with wax. That will continue on for a few more years until they can dry her and set her out for public display. We were looking through some pretty gross windows so it was hard to see, but it was cool at the same time. 

Then we played in the museum, but once again, none of us were really up to learning so we just ended up goofing off. I should say who was with "us." It was Kaitlin, Diana, Koryl, Danny, Dillon, Allison, Ilarene, and I. Such a fun day! 

Then we went on the Harbor Tour. We all popped on this boat and rode around the harbor and listened to the driver tell us all about the boats in the harbor. It wasn't super exciting, but I did see a Royal Navy Air Fighter ship-thing. That was cool. 

Mostly it was just really windy and freezing and I couldn't wait to get off! 

The picture above is of the only red and white painted ship in the Royal Navy. The Queen had it painted that way. She sometimes uses it as her personal yacht. Kinda cool.

After the toor we went in the Royal Navy Museum where we learned a little about women and the navy. Nothing super exciting. 

BUT... Then we saw the sail from the Battle of Trafalgar. How cool is that?? It was HUGE! The things that England keeps! I will never understand. I mean I understand some of it, but its this giant ripped sail that someone kept for hundreds of years. It blows my mind. 

There were lots of fun/ugly statues all over the dock which is why there are so many random pictures. 

After the museum, we played around in the Activity Station for a while. It was a bit disappointing though. A couple of simulators and some other stuff, but honestly, the Eyring Science Center is a lot more fun to play in :) 

We went on this Helicopter flight simulator thing. It was actually really lame. I kept trying to laugh to make it more fun... but it didn't work. But to our surprise, when we got off the ride we all felt pretty queasy. haha

Then we headed off the docks for some food and to just kill some time until the bus came. While we were sitting on this bench, we saw this crazy man out on this sand bar-ish thing flying a kite. We were just watching him and gradually we all realized that it was Dr. Evans! haha! So we ran down and said HI to him for a minute. Then we got on the bus and headed home. It was about a 2 1/2 hour ride. Kinda long.

Then it was mid-term studying time. Boring but good. Afterwards I talked to Mom for a bit which was nice and then Trevor for just a few minutes. Good times! 

Mid-terms were this morning. English was super rough. I don't feel too great about it, but history was a breeze! Mostly I'm just glad they are over. I'm not feeling too hot today. I"m kinda super dizzy so I'm not sure what we're going to do. :) 

London is great and fun! Everyone should get over here! There is so much history, not to mention the best chocolate in the WORLD and awesome shopping! haha!

Love you all! Have fun! Enjoy the super hot Utah weather!

Big Macs and Jane Austen

I am sad to report that in the last 2 days I have been to McDonalds twice. Once just for a Mcflurry and the other time for lunch. After 4 hours of class yesterday, all Kaitlin and I wanted were Big Macs. That really hit the spot for both of us! Such a great idea! 

Then, it was off to the National Portrait Gallery! Such a fun experience to see the faces of men and women that we've been reading about in our history class! We also saw Charles Dixens, Tennyson, The Bronte sisters, Isaac Newton, Jane Austen and so many other important faces! It was awesome! Such a fun experience!

Sadly, the "Gay Icons" exhibit was 5 pounds. We were bummed. haha

After the museum, we had our own little "tube adventure." While we were in the Charring Cross station (that's the station where I fell down the stairs last week) one of the most attractive men I have ever seen walked over and stood next to us. At this point Kaitlin and I were kinda hyper and could not stop laughing. Looking back on the situation, we looked like stupid, loud american teenagers. Awesome. 

When our train finally arrived, we got on and were standing right next to this man. (He really was gorgeous! Kaitlin has been describing him as life changing! haha) We were talking about how we were going to get back to the center and I said that we should just stay on the train until the Oxford Circus stop and then switch to the central line. Well, turns out, that was with the train going to opposite direction. We should've gotten off at Embankment, the very next stop, which is where that beautiful man got off the train. We just stood there and watched him walk away. (I was mostly laughing and trying not to watch. Kaitlin had her eyes on him the entire time!) 

Then we realized we were going the wrong direction. We ended up running around and changing trains a lot more than we originally wanted to. It was quite the adventure to get home. Good times!

After dinner, our group headed to Regents Park to see the Importance of Being Ernest in the Open Air Theater! What a great show! It really is one of my favorite plays! We were all cracking up most of the show and during the intermission as well, thanks to Diana making me laugh super hard all the time! 

It was a fun day! Today, is homework and class day. Midterms are on thursday and we have a day trip on wednesday so things are kinda crazy and a little stressful. 

Love you all! Sorry there aren't any pictures. Our internet really struggles here. Luckily, we're getting an upgrade soon! That was the best news of my life! haha

Jai Ho

That song has been stuck in my head for the last 4 days! Love it! Sometimes the Pussy Cat Dolls just hits the spot for me! haha! 

Yesterday was not very exciting. I slept in for a while in the morning which was really nice considering our super long day in Brighton. Then Kaitlin and I headed to Tesco to get some lunch. We both bought the exact same thing. Some sandwich with Cherry Coke, fruit, and this amazing chocolate moose thing. It was great! 

Then we buckled down for a long afternoon/evening of homework. It was fairly boring and I'm pretty sure I wrote the worst paper of my entire life. Reading was almost impossible, but I was semi productive. 

Tricia, Katie, Kaitlin and I went to The Prince Edward for dinner. Kaitlin and I ended up with the same meal, again, which was fantastic! Great minds really do think alike. Haha! I think we're maybe spending too much time together. It come from the whole sharing the bunk thing too. But we're having a blast!

Then it was more homework. Groups started to come home from their little weekend trips to Paris and Wales. It was fun to have more people come home and hear their stories. But I'm so glad that I decided to stay in the country! It sounds like Wales was a blast, but I'm getting mixed feelings from Paris people. But its good to have them back even though the internet is super slow again. 

Today has been good so far. Church was an adventure as usual. I think my brain just turned off today because I couldn't understand anyone's accents and it was slightly embarrassing. Sunday school was by far my favorite! Sister Hawkins was teaching and it was a riot! We were talking about family roles and relationships and hearing all kinds of stories from people! So funny! I was sitting next to Elders Coon and Hanks (from Idaho and Utah) and we were dying laughing at some of the comments! haha!

I think that my favorite part of the ward has truly been the missionaries! Its so fun to be around them and see how much they really do for wards in the mission field. Being around missionaries is not something that I've experienced a lot in my life and I'm really enjoying it! :) Fun Times! 

Its just been a homework day again today, kinda lame. We have dinner in about a hour and a half and I'm super excited! The food here is amazing! We're all begging Terry to put together a recipe book because we all love her food so much! 

After dinner we have a fireside where a man is coming to tell us about growing up in England during the war. I'm pretty excited to hear what he has to say! It should be fun! 

Love you all! Have fun! Be safe! 

Tomorrow: class and then a violin shop search! 

Fish and Chips and a Beautiful Coast!

(I really ate that and kinda enjoyed it! Everyone should be so proud that I ate FISH!)

Today we went to Brighton! What a beautiful town! Well, I guess its not really a town... more like a coastal city, but still! It was so pretty! 

The day was epic and started off super well! We woke up around 4:30 in the a. m. which meant I only got about 3 1/2 to 4 hours of sleep last night. Then we met up with everyone and we were out the door at about 5:45. When we got to the tube station at Nottinghill Gate, we realized that we were cutting it very close and were going to have to run to make the train. The 6 of us (Garrett, Kaitlin, Melissa, Sarah, Tricia, and I) literally ran through Victoria Station and luckily caught our train just on time! We were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy an hour long ride through the English countryside.

Once we got off the train, we all knew exactly where we wanted to go next! We wanted to see the ocean! Its not technically the Ocean, its the English Channel, but whatever! We didn't care! We started walking down and, at one point, even running to see the beach! It was a pebble beach, which kinda hurt our feet (a lot) but we were enjoying the salty air and ocean breeze anyway! It was a little chilly at first, but not too bad. We took a nice LONG walk down the beach for a while. We walked pretty far on the rocks, but our feet, legs, and backs quickly started hurting so we jumped up to the boardwalk and enjoyed the weather and interesting sights. 

Around 10:30, we met up with some other BYU kids, Rubie, Addison, and Anna, to hit up the Brighton Aquarium! Its the oldest working aquarium in the world and it was pretty awesome! I don't think I've ever been to an aquarium before, at least not one that I vividly remember, so I really enjoyed today! 

I saw lots of cool fish and some creepy ones too! I think my favorite part was the "Lost in the Amazon" section of the aquarium! The fish in there were cool, but just the set up of the exhibit was awesome! It was super dark and had a lot of fake trees and things which were cool. But the thing that made it so fun were the mirrors they had everywhere. Kaitlin and I jumped a lot and it was really funny! 

(The picture above is of Lulu the Sea Turtle that we saw! She was really cool! She swam past us and splashed us at one point during our visit!)

During our visit, we sat down and listened to "Turtle talk and Feeding." It wasn't anything super special, except Melissa answered a question, so she got to feed Lulu! We mostly just listened to this British kid tell us random facts about the turtles and why we should stop over fishing and stuff. 

Then we headed downstairs and got to walk through this tunnel that went through the tank where Lulu and the sharks and lots of other fish were! It was soo cool! Madeleine would have died! There were a bunch of awesome sharks swimming literally right over our heads! So crazy!

After the Aquarium it was lunch time! I was feeling super adventurous and so I decided to go all out and eat some fish! Fish and chips, that is! I have to admit, it wasn't my favorite, but I ate it and that's all that matters right? haha! 

Then we hit up a couple of the markets on the board walk, but then decided to go check out the Pier. 

The Pier was cool. Nothing super exciting. It didn't feel like England, but it was a fun place. Kaitlin and I did Dance Dance, which I found super fun and exciting, but I am pretty sure I was the only one. haha Then Tricia and Melissa rode this crazy ride! I thought and still do think they're insane! It was the scariest looking thing I think I've ever seen! But they loved it! :) 

Then we did some more shopping and ended up splitting the group up a little bit. Melissa, Sarah, and Garret went off to find something they could do sitting down and the other three had disappeared earlier that day so Tricia, Kaitlin, and I kept shopping around and had a blast! We found some pretty interesting stuff. Laws are different in London to put it simply. But other than some scandalous stuff, the clothes tend to be fun and cute :)

Kaitlin, Tricia, and I went off to have dinner at this pizza place where they had all you could eat pizza, pasta, salad, and bread sticks. It was pretty good. My favorite part was the lady sitting next to us! She was soo cool! We started talking about High School Musical actually. haha :) But then she told us about some fun things in Brighton and about her family and where she lives now! It was fun and interesting! I love it when people just start talking to us! Its so great! 

By this time, we were absolutely exhausted. I don't think my feet have ever hurt this badly in my entire life! We walked so much today! After dinner, we still had a few hours to kill before our train left, but we didn't have much else to do. Most places were closed and we didn't really feel like walking all the way back down to the beach. We ended up just heading to the train station and reading/resting for a little over an hour until our train showed up. 

It was a super fun day! The weather was beautiful! It was a little cool, but nothing to really complain about. I loved it! I don't think my feet have ever hurt this badly, but it is totally worth it! 

Tomorrow: Lots and lots of homework/studying and letting my body recover from all this exercise! 

I love you all! Hope you're having fun!!! 

Melissa, Garret, Sarah, and I on top of this thing on the beach! We have way too much fun!

The Hard Rock Cafe-London and Tricia's Birthday!

This morning was kinda slow. My alarm didn't go off and I ended up sleeping through breakfast, again. Once I got ready and all that, I did some history reading, but didn't make much progress. 

Today is/was Tricia's Birthday! To celebrate we decided to all go to the Hard Rock Cafe London. So, Tricia, Kaitlin, Danny, Dillon and I headed out on our way there. Turns out, none of us really knew where we were going. We got a little lost and took a few wrong turns. Somehow we ended up near this giant building with big gold gates. Danny said, "I think that's Buckingham palace.." and all 3 of us girls said we were pretty sure it wasn't. It didn't look anything like the pictures and things we had seen on T.V. or anything. Turns out, it was the Palace after all! Danny gave us a pretty hard time because we doubted him, but we were still pretty excited to see the palace for the first time! Tricia claims it was the perfect birthday surprise! 

Finally we were pointed in the right direction and made it to HRC after about an hour of walking! haha! We had a little wait, but nothing bad... then headed in for the ultimate HRC experience! It was a blast! We were laughing and chatting and enjoying all the lovely music videos they showed on many screens throughout the restaurant. My personal favorites were the ones from the 80s! haha There were lots of cool things there like... Paul McCartney's fiddle and some green sequin jacket Mick Jagger wore once upon a time! It was a really cool atmosphere! 

The food was amazing! We all got burgers because we heard that those are the best things to buy! Turns out that was a great choice! I ate my entire mushroom and swiss burger! All 10 ounces! It was massive but totally worth it! 

Then it was time to come home and get ready for kitchen duty shortly followed by dinner. We all thought we were going to explode but out came the most amazing dinner I think I've seen here yet! Of course, I had to eat at least some of it! :) After dinner and cake I seriously thought I was going to die! I felt like I had eaten a small child! haha

I was quickly informed that there was going to be a small soccer game about an hour after dinner. Of course I was going to play even if I felt like I would die at any moment. About 8 of us went and played and had a blast! It was so fun to be up and moving! My body is really starting to hate me though, I may have to give it a few days off soon! haha! I'm so sore its insane!

After the game, a few of us decided to jog back and get a little more exercise. Then we headed out to get cash and a few other supplies for tomorrow! 

Tomorrow: Brighton! :) Sooo excited! 

Love you all! See you in a month from tomorrow! Crazy how fast the time is flying!!! I never want to leave! 

cambridge university

Wow! What a beautiful day! I'm finally beginning to experience the London that I packed for! Today was nice and chilly. A little too cold in the morning, but it warmed up nicely. I just love sweatshirt weather as many of you know. It was nice to not be super hot and just be able to really enjoy my surroundings! 

Today we went to Cambridge University! We all hopped on the bus at 9:00 this morning and about 2 hours later we were arrived! It was a pretty quiet bus ride. Nothing too exciting to report. I slept most of the way, both directions actually. Ha!

Cambridge is a really interesting place. So much history is such a small college town. Here are some random facts that I remember about that town:

• The university is actually made up of a bunch of different colleges that are literally small campuses of their own. I don't know all the names, but there is King's College, Queen's College, Trinity and many many more. 31 colleges to be exact. 
• It was established in 1209 by 2 Oxford scholars that were banished from Oxford for how they were disciplining bad students. 
• Cambridge was where a great deal of the Reformation took place. Many of the important minds studied and preached there including Martin Luther. 
• Grades are posted outside the colleges on boards for all to see. WAY intimidating! But I bet my grades would be tons better if BYU did things that way! 
• The roads are very uneven and you are bound to stub your toes about 234081 times. I did.

What a beautiful town. It is a very interesting place. It really is a college town, but way cooler and so different from Provo. There are lots of students there, but TONS of tourists. It was actually kind of irritating how many people were there today. 

Our day in Cambridge started off with the King's College Chapel. Dr. Paxman had been informed that the chapel was closing a ton earlier that day and he kindly passed the news on to us (Tricia, Kaitlin, and I) and we headed straight there closely followed by Dr. and Sister Evans. What a fun chapel! It was built by Henry VIII (I think) and had his initials everywhere including his initials along side Anne Boleyn's. So cool! The stained glass was mind blowing! I've never seen anything like it! I posted a picture of some, but it barely does justice. We weren't allowed to use flashes, so its also kinda blurry. 

After the chapel, Kaitlin went to meet up with one of her friends who is going to Cambridge for the summer with some BYU program (he shows up later in the story as well) while Tricia and I went on the epic search for a public bathroom. We had been pointed in the direction of this mall but still could not find it. I went in a store and asked a worker where the "restrooms" were and he looked at me like I was a crazy woman. So then I asked for the "water closets" and he said they were just out the door and to the right. Well... I think he's dyslexic or something because they were definitely on the left and thanks to Tricia we finally found them. 

Then it was sweatshirt time. I had decided that I wanted a Cambridge sweatshirt as opposed to just a London one. I got one in red and a pretty blue one for Trevor. 

Then it was off to the Fitzwilliam Museum to see the Darwin exhibit. We met up with Kaitlin and started walking. Turns out we were going the wrong way and it took us a bit longer to find than we originally thought. (Cambridge can really make one feel pretty stupid. I think my brain turned to mush the instant I got off the bus because I was surrounded by so many smart people and kept doing/saying such stupid stuff!) 

The museum was nice. It was a lot smaller than the ones we've been going to here in London which was nice. It wasn't as overwhelming and seemed a bit more intimate. The Darwin exhibit was a bit of a dud to be honest. Maybe its because I'm not much of a science person or something, but I was super bored and the only thing I found cool was the first edition copy of one of his books. 

The rest of the museum was great! Degas, Monet, Renoir, Suerat, Cezanne and so many others! Its so cool to see paintings I've seen pictures of in real life! Kinda a crazy feeling! 

After the museum it was shopping time! There is a great mall there with lots of fun stuff in it. Did I also mention it was super expensive?? Well it was! But there were lots of fun clothes. I ended up finding a pretty cute skirt for 6 pounds and I'm super excited to wear it soon! Fun Fun! 

Then it was time for the really cool stuff! We met up with Kaitlin's friend, David, and got our own private tour of the city! :) He actually took us inside 2 of the colleges including King's College! (We can all say we used a bathroom in King's college! How cool is that?? HA!) He pointed out some really cool churches where Martin Luther taught and other people involved with the reformation. He showed us the oldest bookstore, Heffers and some other fun stuff! It was really cool to walk around the actually colleges themselves! Only students and professors are allowed past the gates, so we sure are lucky! He showed us one of the dining halls which looks just like the Great Hall from Harry Potter and some other fun things! Then we said goodbye, popped on the bus, and came home. 

Some people put in Emperor's New Groove which I watched for a little, but now its getting super late!

Good night world! 

Love you all and hope you are safe and having fun!!! See you in 5 weeks!

Oh and did I mention that David (Kaitlin's friend) was GORGEOUS! And basically all the other girls on the study abroad kinda hate us now! haha! Not really, but he kinda was ridiculously good looking, no lie! haha  

Inside one of the Colleges! Exclusive Photo people! haha!

Some stained glass from the King's College Chapel! 

soccer in the rain.

Fun day! Well, most of the day was actually pretty boring until after dinner when a group of us headed out for a very wet and slippery soccer game. It was raining for a part of the game which made it super fun. It probably wasn't the best thing for my poor back, but I really don't care.

After the game we all went to McDonald's and got some McFlurries! Now we all have a bunch of energy and none of us feel like really doing any homework. I think its going to be a movie night tonight! :) 

Tomorrow is going to be great! We are going to Cambridge and I'm super excited! 

Hope you are all having fun and can't wait to see you again!

P.S. I had a dream about Cafe Rio last night, and I think it would be a really good idea for there to be a pork salad with black beans and everything on it in the fridge when I get home. :)

gypsies, falling, ice cream, and monet

Wow, today truly was an adventure. We had classes this morning and talked about gypsies and Henry VIII. Always some interesting subjects. English was a bit of a struggle for me though. I'm just glad its over. We found out that we aren't going to have classes on Thursday, which means we'll get more time off! Awesome! But that also means we are going to have class for about 6 hours tomorrow. Not so awesome. Things sure are fun though!

Things sure are fun here. London is great! The people in our group are fantastic! Its so fun to all live together and get to know each other really well! The craziest part is the professors and their families. We all eat together and spend tons of time together. And then we have class and homework to turn in all the time. Its a little bizarre but I actually really like it! 

Today was the National Gallery day! Those of us in the english class had to go and analyze some paintings and such. It was really cool! I saw Monet, Degas, Manet, and Turner! It was so cool to see some of the paintings that I've only seen pictures of! What an experience to have! Its really inspiring and I guess I could say, testimony building. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity! It truly has changed everything and blessed my life! Everyone should do a study abroad of some sort! London really is the best though!

Sadly, the day turned a little sour since then. My back has been bothering me for quite some time and today has been a bit rough. It got worse in the afternoon however, after I fell down an entire flight of stairs in the tube by Trafalger Square. No one saw so it wasn't particularly embarrassing, mostly just super painful. Too bad Jodie Price wasn't there to laugh at me this time! But, that's another story! haha So, now my back and basically whole body hurts. Sure is a fun adventure. 

Recently, I've been looking for a violin shop just to check out for fun while I'm here. Places out in Europe tend to have great fiddles and it would be fun to see! I found one that is here in Nottinghill that I'm going to try and check out tomorrow morning before class. Maybe they'll even let me play a violin for a little. I've been missing it recently, so that surely would lift my spirits.

Dinner was divine. I don't know where all of this food comes from but I'm not about to complain. After dinner I called and chatted with Trevor and my Mom for a bit and then headed to FHE. Nothing too eventful to report. We played the paper bag game which is always a fun one. Then, Kaitlin, Sarah, Ilarene, Kylie and I decided it was time for some Gelato. We walked for about 20 minutes to Gelato Mio and have some really nice Italian ice cream! It was absolutely heavenly. The best way to finish off this rough day. haha 

Sorry no pictures today. I took some, but I'm just too lazy to walk up 4 flights of stairs to get my camera. 

Love you all! 

Have fun in New York Family!!!

Cartwheels in Hyde Park

Sundays in London are amazing! Today was probably the best weather ever! Loved it! 

Church was great! I had to share my Testimony which was fine and nice. I really like being a part of that ward! Its so fun! Professor Hawkins taught Gospel Principles and it was a really good lesson. We talked about eternal families. It was sweet! There were a bunch of investigators and it was fun to listen to them tell their stories! Also! I love being in a ward with missionaries! They are so funny! haha! I bonded with Elder Coon today! He is the youngest of 7 and has 6 sisters and is just a funny guy! But Young Women was the best! The girls were doing a fund raiser and people were paying them to be silent for 24 hours! haha So we didn't have a lesson and just watched some funny old seminary movies! 

Then, when I walked in the London Centre, Roddick and Federer were just starting to play for the final. I ended up watching the entire match except for the last 2 minutes when Federer won because Bro. Hawkins made us turn it off and pray for dinner. That has to have been some of the best tennis I've ever seen! Crazy day!

Then after dinner, I just went on a quick walk through Hyde Park. Its been a pretty mellow day but super fun! I'm going to be in bed pretty early and I'm really excited! 

Love you all! Have fun!

candy runs and dead people

Westminster Abbey has to be one of the coolest places I've ever visited! I can't get over how one place can house so much history! It literally blows my mind! It was a beautiful place! I couldn't get over the ceilings and all the incredible architecture! That building is amazing! 

I was completely surprised by how many people were buried there. Edward the Confessor, Mary Queen of Scots, Handel, Chaucer, etc. There were a bunch of memorials as well! Crazy cool! Some of the people really surprised me! Vaughn Williams was cool to see as well as Darwin and Newton. I honestly wasn't expecting all of that!

We took an audio tour which was cool. My favorite part were all the recordings of the Men and Boys choir as well as the Organ concerts that you could listen to as you were walking through. It truly was an experience to remember. We're going to try and go back for Evensung one night and maybe even tomorrow for a Bach organ recital! Crazyness! 

Getting there happened to be almost more of an adventure. One of the tube lines was completely down for the day. So, the 7 or 8 of us had to change trains about 3 times and walk for 20 minutes before we finally got there. It was a fun adventure. Things were super packed in that area. People were everywhere!

After the Abbey, most of our group ditched and I have no clue what they ended up doing. Katilin, Tricia, and I took a walk down by the London Eye and enjoyed that area. There were some fun living sculpture people! I wish I had gotten some pictures of them, but we are definitely going back either next week or the week after and I'm super excited! We watch this escape artist man for a little while. We never saw him actually escape from the chains he was in, but he sure was fun to watch. Then we saw some cool guys tumbling and stuff. 

Then later when we were home, Kaitlin and I had the craziest chocolate cravings ever! She and I ran over to Tesco and bought a bunch of candy and chocolate. It was fun! 

For dinner tonight, a group of us headed to a pub called "The Prince Albert." It was really good and a fun experience! Then we headed off to see if we could find some ice cream, but we gave up and decided to go back to our roots. We went to McDonalds and got some wonderful oreo Mcflurries. Then we hit up Tesco for some allergy stuff and eye drops. Our allergies are all dying! Its crazy! 

Now I'm about to do some homework (maybe) or watch James Bond. I'm losing motivation quickly. It not the best thing. haha

Love you all! 

Happy Fourth of July!! 

Big Ben with the London Eye in the background

In front of Westminster! There was a nice sized group of us before, but they ditched us before we found Kaitlin... sad... 

Westminster Abbey! So cool!

Bride and Prejudice

Today was Southall! So cool! 

But before that, I woke up and did some homework and enjoyed a quiet morning. Then we all popped on the train to Southall! 

It all started with a Sikh temple. Before we went, we had learned a little about the temple and how to not offend people. We went up into the main hall and listened to readers reading from the scriptures. Of course, I couldn't understand any of it, but it was cool to hear. After listening, we went downstairs to have a dinner with the people there. The food tasted good but didn't sit with me too well. Then we headed to help clean up and did a few dishes to contribute. Sadly, the only person I really tried to talk to didn't speak any English which was fairly discouraging. 

Then we went to a small Hindu temple which was cool. We went to a larger one which was very interesting! One of the priests there spoke to us and explained more about the Hindu people believe. It was really interesting. I feel like I know so much more about those cultures and people.

Then we spent some time in the market there. I bought some shoes and some bangles and stuff. It was really fun! Then it was time for some more Indian food! Thankfully, I felt a lot better by this time. We went as a giant group of students and teachers to Gifto a pakistani Indian restaurant. It was delicious and nice and spicy! Just what I needed! 

Then it was time for Henna! There was this great lady who did our henna! She was from Bombay and really friendly. There are some pictures below of what it looked like during and after. It stays on for about 3 weeks and was a fun adventure!

We came home and just chilled for a while. Kaitlin and I were pretty hungry so we ran over to Burger King because it was time for a familiar American burger! haha!

Now we are all watching Bride and Prejudice down in the classroom on the big screen! Bollywood movies rock! :) I think we need to rent this when I get home! It is a winner! haha

Love you all! 

Tomorrow: Westminster Abbey and a cool dance festival we found out about! Super excited! 

After we had rubbed off the Henna! That's Kaitlin's hand on the left and mine on the right!

Right after it was put on!!

The Sikh Temple! Sooo big and beautiful! 

Humid days and humid nights!

This will be short. Not a whole lot happened today. 

Started with classes. Nothing too exciting. Then laundry followed. Tricia, Kaitlin, and I then took a LONG walk down Portabello Rd. to find this 5 pound store we've been hearing loads about. Turns out, it was right at the top... but we missed it. We walked all over and had our own little adventure. There are some super fun shops down there and I might have to just bend a little and buy some cute clothes. We'll see. There are some other things I want to do first. 

Then we planned our trip to Brighton. We are going to Brighton for the free weekend. We are actually just going down next friday. Its going to be a fun day! 

Facts about Brighton:

• Its the Gay/Lesbian capitol of the UK. This will be interesting. 
• The oldest working aquarium in the whole world is there. We're going.
• It has a super famous flee market.
• There is a palace there built entirely Indian style
• The BEACH! (The only nude beach in England is there... but we know of others as well!) 
  

After trip planning, we had dinner and finished laundry and all that. Then I went out with Robyn, Danny, Erika, and Megan to find this super famous Chocolate shop. We found it just fine... but it was closed. Everything here closes super early. Except for the dancing clubs and the pubs. We ended up just wandering around. It was fun! I bonded with Megan and just had a great time. 

Now its homework time. No pictures today, sorry. 

Tomorrow: Southall!! We're going to some interesting temples and learn about those cultures! It should be cool! Then.. more Indian food! WOO! :) 

Love you all!

I left a part of myself in history... literally!

What a day! What a day! We did so much today that I should probably apologize before hand for the super long post that this is going to be!

Today was our first day trip! We went to Stonehenge, Bath, and Stourhead. What an interesting world England is! 

It all started out with the drive to Stonehenge. Not very long of a drive, but a beautiful one! It was so nice to be able to see some of the country side and to be out of the city for a bit! 

Stonehenge was cool. Smaller than I expected but fun to see. Nothing too exciting. I took a bunch of pictures and just walked around for a while. It literally is in the middle of nowhere. Its right by a highway, but that's about it. Just lots of trees with some cows nearby. It was really neat to see a place that is always talked up so much. I still think it was the aliens. 

Then we headed up to Bath. (Oh and we watched the new version of Pride and Prejudice during the bus ride!) Bath is a really interesting city. I wish that we had more time to spend there. All the buildings are made out of the same yellow stone that gradually gets lighter over time. There are some beautiful churches and homes in that area. We saw Nicholas Cage's house as well as where Jane Austin lived when she lived in Bath for a few years. It was just a fun city in general. 

Then we headed to the Roman Bath which is where the city got its name. Now, that was cool. It was a lot different than I expected. I also took a billion pictures of lots and lots of random things. We took an audio tour to get a few more details about the place. Some things were really very interesting. The Romans were smart ones, that's for sure!

Sadly, when we were walking through part of the remains/museum, I tainted those beautiful ruins. I accidently dropped my pen over the side of one of the railings over by an alter. Kinda embarrassing. I tried to shrug it off like nothing happened.... but I don't know how well that worked. So, literally, a piece of me is left in history, well until someone picks it up which I'm sure has already happened. haha

After the bath, we had an extra hour to wander around. We found some cute shops and things while we were searching ALL over for a little caffeine. Somehow we ended up in this very air conditioned grocery store which rocked! It was very humid today, so we were all dying and could really use the cold air. 

Then it was off to Stourhead. This is a park that was entirely man made. Every bit of the place was carefully and strategically positioned. Every tree, bush, and.. well... tree. It was beautiful! There was a lake and some really sweet buildings as well as a cute bridge! Such a fun place!

Also!!!! It was where they filmed part of the new Pride and Prejudice. The scene where Mr. Darcy first asks Elizabeth to marry him was filmed at a pretty little temple there. So, naturally, we HAD to find that temple. We did and we took some fun pictures as well! It was really cool to be there and experience that!

There were a lot of bugs. It was gross.

It was really humid today. Not as hot as its been in the city recently, but really humid. 

After Stourhead, we came home and went to dinner. Its funny how I'm in London surrounded by all kinds of different, unique foods and all I wanted was Subway! So, Kaitlin, Tricia, and I got some nice subway sandwiches. It tasted amazing! :) So nice! haha

Then I got to come home and finish up some homework. I had to write a poem for my English class. Let me tell you how excited I was about that one. I've never written a poem before and I was not looking forward to it and kept putting it off as much as possible. But, once I started it wasn't too bad. 

The agenda for tomorrow: class and then Westminster Abbey. I am so excited!!! London Rocks! 

Love you all! Hope to hear from some of you soon! (wink wink) 

Standing where Kiera Knightly stood! What a beautiful place! 

The Temple of Apollo. Pride and Prejudice anyone??

Bath. Gross Water. Cool place.

Kaitlin, Tricia, and I in front of Stonehenge.