If You're Bored of London, You're Bored of Life!

Well the last 2 weeks of Study Abroad have come and gone. I apologize for not keeping up on the blog, but there was honestly no time to write up any posts. Well I did finally find the Imperial War museum and it was incredible! I wish I had more time there. This is a piece of the Berlin Wall outside of the museum.

From Monday July 30th through Sunday August 5th, we were on our north trip in Scotland. On our way up, we spent a day and a night in the beautiful Lake District. We got to eat lamb stew and recite poetry at Dove Cottage where Wordsworth moved to in 1799 with his sister. He wrote much of his greatest poetry in Lake District, including my favorite, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. We also had the amazing opportunity to work with original letters written by Wordsworth and his family. Original documents give so much more insight than a copy can. You can tell how fast it was written, how much pressure they put on the paper, and what the handwriting was like. It was an incredible experience that I'll never forget.

We also spent three days in Edinburgh Scotland during the Edinburgh festival. There were street performers, magicians, musicians, actors, and artists crowded on the Royal Mile giving the public a taste of what they live for. While in Edinburgh, I went to a 'psychic circus' show, a silent play, a haunted graveyard tour, Edinburgh castle, and the Tattoo military band show. I have never heard so many bagpipes playing at once and it was beautiful! They even played music from Disney Pixar's Brave. I also found my family clan's tartan pattern and call me crazy, I tried some haggis. It tasted fine, but the texture was way too mushy!

Once we returned from our trip, I was happy to get back in London and stop living out of a backpack. It was finals week, so there was much last minute studying and papers to complete. I did get time to take a tour through Buckingham Palace-the Queen definitely lives in nothing less than luxury! After the dreaded finals were done with, we saw a non traditional version of Julius Caesar,set in Africa. Then after the play a group of us headed over to the London eye. The view was incredible and it was really cool to see it all lit up at night.

On my last night in London, I went to my favorite take out place Taza's, and got a final meal of lamb and rice kebab. I'm going to miss that place! And I'm sure they'll miss our business...

Then me, Ashley, and Ashley's friend Amy, who just came up to London, went and saw Wicked. We started out on the tube 20 minutes before the show, not knowing which theatre it was at, if there would even be seats left, and we knew Amy didn't have a student card so it would be twice as much money for her ticket. In the end, a woman showed us where the theatre was, there were seats left, and Amy even got the student discount. Prayers really are answered and miracles do happen! The costumes, the stage set, the acting and music were all spectacular and mind-blowing! After the show, we were talking to some police officers (just giving them cookies-we weren't in trouble I promise!) and one of them said "If you're bored of London, you're bored of life". I agree wholeheartedly with that statement.

In the morning, there were many goodbyes. I was one of the last to leave the centre, and by the time I left for the airport, it was so empty and eerie feeling. It was great to be in London, but what truly made it great was the people I shared the experience with. Fortunately, most of us go to school in Utah, so the goodbyes are not definite. For those who don't go to Utah, we have Facebook and texting to stay connected. Before I left, I walked down Bayswater by myself to Kensington Gardens to give it my final goodbye. I sat on a bench and talked with a middle-aged woman from Sweden. She's a well traveled police officer and she came to London for some work stuff. It was nice chatting with her and talking about London. After a 10 1/2 hour flight, complete with screaming babies, I was warmly welcomed home by my family and a classic Arizona haboob. So that's it! 7 weeks have flown by as fast as some of those Olympic runners. I've made some really close friendships, I learned a lot of British history, and a lot about myself. Only time will tell how much of an impact this has all had on my life, but I know that I'll never be the same. London really became a home to me. I already miss my friends, the beautiful buildings, and even the smelly tube! I think London will always be calling me. But for now, it's going to have to be a long distance relationship! I'll be fine though- I brought back 1500 pictures and plenty of chocolate :)

Is this the Imperial War Museum?

Hello! So it's been a while since I've had a chance to update this, so it's going to be a massive post! Alright I'll pick up right where I left off! On Tuesday 17th, we went to the "Inside Out Animals" exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. It was mind blowing! Basically Body Worlds but for animals. Who knew chickens eat pebbles to help digest their food?! The next day, the 18th, we traveled to Stratford. It was really interesting to see Anne Hathaway's cottage and Shakespeare's house. There was a tour guide in Shakespeare's house who recited to us some Shakespeare from his cat's point of view! It was very clever and entertaining! Outside Anne Hathaway's house, Kristina, Maddie, and I found a fairy scavenger hunt through the woods! It was raining and some of the fairies were a little dodgy,but it was worth it! Fairies are real!

Thursday we went to Kew gardens which was absolutely gorgeous!

Friday the 20th, me and Ashley explored Hampstead Heath and found a super creepy cemetery ouside St. John's church. After lunch I headed out to the Globe theatre to watch Richard III. As I was walking past St. Paul's Cathedral, rain came POURING down in buckets! I was in flip flops and a thin sweater jacket; typical for an AZ girl. That's just what happens in London! A guy selling nuts on Millennium bridge saw my pathetic state and we both looked at each other and laughed! Richard III was amazing! I was right at the front of the stage and I stood next to a very friendly British couple who come to the Globe regularly. That night, a group of us went to the play "Woman in Black". It is a scary play and you may be familiar with the movie that just came out. I wasn't sure how they could make a play scary but it was brilliant! Ashley and I even screamed at some points! After the play, we went back to Hampstead and got the 'best crepes in London'. It was delicious!

On Saturday, we toured Parliament and it was really fascinating! I enjoyed learning about the traditions that they uphold in government. After that Ashley, Kristina, and I went to Camden Market and got lunch. That place is so massive! The first time I went, I only saw 1/10, so it was good to see the real thing.

Sunday, I finally got to teach my Young Women lesson at church and it went great! The professors' wives also made cookies for us that night, so it was a pleasant surprise and gave us all a taste of home. On Monday, the 23rd, we had a lecture on the basics of cricket and then went to a game! It was the 5th day of England vs. South Africa. I loved it and I am now a cricket fan. After that we went to the Olympic village and rode a gondola over the Thames. It was really cool to see all the Olympic preparation.

Tuesday we went on a hike through the English countryside in Kent. I tried lavender ice cream and raw wheat! I think I got a little carried away with the wheat..it was so tasty though! The landscape was lovely and it was nice to get out of the city for a day.

On Wednesday, I worked some homework and that evening, we had a lecture by Jeremy Black at the Stake Center. There was a protestor outside that just got off his restraining order for the church. I'm used to seeing that in Mesa with the Easter Pageant, but it was surprising to see it London! Afterwards we got gelato at Gelato Mio and that was simply divine! I asked George, a local in one of our wards, to take our picture. If you give a Brit a camera....

Yesterday Ashley and I went to the Museum of London to do a site report. After that, I planned to go to the Imperial War Museum. I was determined that the Museum was at the Westminster Tube stop on Parliament road. Ashley was a little skeptical, but she trusted me and we headed down the deserted Parliament street. We walked into the treasury and I asked the security guard where the Imperial War Museum was and he said it was the next door down. So we walk up to a small door, open it, and there are two, intense high security elevator things with card slots. So we were confused and I jokingly said "Oh maybe I just slide my Oyster card in here!" and I began to put it in the slot when a voice behind me says "Can I help you two?". A well-dressed British man was standing there and I absent-mindedly asked "Is this the Imperial War Museum?" and he laughed at my American ignorance and said it was on the other side of town and that this was the foreign office! So we booked it out of there laughing and feeling ridiculous! Lesson: you can't get into government buildings with an Oyster card! That afternoon, we watched the Olympic torch pass on Bayswater road. It made me really pumped for the Olympics, which begins today!! The opening ceremony is tonight! Yesterday night me Ashley and Karly went to Hamley's toy store, Liecester square, and the huge M&M store. We had a blast! Anyway I've got to go! Oh and we saw Chariots of Fire a few nights ago. There was a rotating stage to accentuate the running scenes! It was a great play and it made me think. One of the underlying questions Abraham was faces with throughout the play was "Why do you run?". It made me question the motives for things. Why do I run? Why do I get up in the morning? Why am I friends with the people I am? It's good to sometimes step back from life and just question. You can find out a lot. Anyway, so long, and don't miss the opening ceremony on TV!

Tree Dehs in Dublin

Hey! So I left off at the airport. Well after I was done with that post, I saw a Facebook message that said my group had left for the Hostel and they couldn't find me. So I looked up the address and hopped on the bus. I sat next to a Canadian girl with blue hair and a nose ring and she was really nice! It ended up that we were staying at the same hostel. When it was time to get off the bus, I see my group coming down the stairs (it was a double decker), so we had been riding the same bus and didn't even know it! They were at a different terminal so it came and got me on the way out.

We stayed at Isaac's hostel. It was pretty decent, complete with complementary corn flakes and toast in the morning! For lunch we got pizza at a little shop with a sign that read "Probably the Best Pizza in Dublin" which we got a kick out of! I would say it probably wasn't the best pizza in Dublin...but who knows, maybe unfortunately it was! We were all so tired the first day we didn't do much. We were falling asleep on our Hop-on-hop off bus tour! We did find Trinity College, went to a very strange science exhibit on CCTV, tried some local hot chocolate, and I found my pot of gold and Leperchaun! He was actually really creepy-after we took the picture he squeezed us all together really tight and laughed!

For dinner, there was free pasta you could boil in the Hostel's kitchen. Well there were Germans everywhere magically cooking up crazy sauces and cucumbers and we couldn't even get our water to boil. So we moved to a different boiler and it still wouldn't work. Then we tried boiling the water in a little coffee maker like machine and it still wouldn't boil!! So I was just tired and frustrated so I went to bed with out dinner. The next day, Friday 13th, we headed out for Howth which is a peninsula just a little ways from Dublin. It was freezing cold, windy, and rainy! We walked along the coast on a pier and then got lunch at a cafe. We ordered Irish soda bread to be cultural but of course they were all out, so we never actually had any traditional food on this trip! We then went to a castle down the road, got there, and found out it had been turned into a cooking school, so you couldn't go in. We went back into Dublin and caught evensong at St. Patrick's cathedral which was a very cool experience Then we went to the Riverdance show. When we got there, the ticket lady said our seats had been upgraded and we got 2nd row seats!! Not sure why- I guess strange things happen in Ireland on Friday 13th! The show was spectacular! I had never seen Riverdance and man can they move their feet fast! They also had an amazing violinist. After the show we creeped over to the alley way where the performers leave and got their autographs on our tickets. On our last day, we went to the Natural History Museum, the Archeology Museum, and the Library which had a special exhibit on the poet Yeats (weird dude!). My flight left later than most of the main group so I rode the bus with Paul through the city and got off at the Phoenix Park to have some alone time and write in my journal. Oh and while we were riding through the city, we passed the Guinness brewery and a lady was having her wedding outside! They have wild reindeer that roam the park, but I didn't see any. I had a good flight home and sat next to a very sweet Irish couple who gave me lots of chocolate! They sure know how to win friends and influence people! Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Dublin and it's a great little city. I noticed (this is just a broad stereotype) that the people were much more outgoing and willing to help us. They also can't say their 'th's which was really cute on the bus tour! I was glad to get back to London though, because there is a lot more to do and see here. Yesterday we went to the National Portrait gallery and I found the Broadwick pump! It infected over 500 people with cholera back in the day! Today has been a really relaxing day- we went to the 'Inside Out' animals exhibit (equivalent to Body Worlds for animals) at the National History Museum and then I ventured out on my own and did a London Walk through Little Venice. Who knew you can get a boat ride on a canal in the middle of London!? Papers and due dates are starting to loom on the horizon, as today marks the 25th day of this 50 day program. I'm excited for tomorrow- we are seeing Warwick Castle, going to Stratford to see where Shakespeare was born, and we are seeing 12th Night! Busy day so I better go! Here's some random pictures of the Ireland trip for ya laddies!

Probably....not!

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Kristina's amazing photography skills)

This was in a little book shop in Howth. I found it terribly amusing :)

Greetings from Dublin! So I'm just at the airport at our group's designated meeting spot and I figured I'd make use of my time (and the great wifi) to update this blog! Alrighty, let's do a recap of what went down this past week! So last Saturday morning we left the pirates behind in cold, rainy Penzance and journeyed to some biomes, known as the "Eden Project". They had a tropical biome and a Mediterranean one! It kind of looked like some sort of alien colony from the outside but inside it was so warm and the plants were beautiful!!

They had a fake waterfall :)

So beautiful! And poky! After the Eden Project we traveled to Stourhead where we walked through gorgeous gardens. This was the place where they filmed some of the scenes in the new 'Pride and Prejudice' film (specifically when Mr. Darcy tells Elizabeth that he loves her and it's raining and they are standing by those Roman columns!)

That there's the place! Then that night Ashley and I found the SUPER TESCO!! We walked through cold pouring rain just to get there, but we made it! It's our favorite grocery store here! We like to get strawberries, raspberries, and of course chocolate here.

Church was good on Sunday. We had Ward Conference so someone from the Stake taught Young Women's. Though the ward is much smaller here, the church is still the same, even halfway around the world. It's always a comfort to know that. On Monday we had class, and I decided to go on a London Walk with a small group of my classmates. I wanted it to end at the British Library, but that didn't quite work out...nevertheless we did complete most of the walk successfully! The British Library was really neat! It had original Shakespeare texts, Beatles sheet music, Jane Austen originals, and something I was blown away by- fragments of the original New Testament writings of St. John! Craziness!! I saw his handwriting!! That night I went with a group to go see the new Spiderman movie at a theatre down the street. I decided to see it here because we get a student discount, so it's cheaper to see in London than the U.S.! It was very well done and I quite enjoyed it! Oh and it was in an old theatre built around 1914, so that made it even cooler! Tuesday we went to Hampton Court Palace, which had a beautiful inside and a classic, well-manicured garden outside.

Disregard the random man on the side, and it's a great picture!!

They had onions in the kitchen, and we got to dress up in robes! My inner child was being nourished!

This was one of the statues outside the palace. I thought it looked epic. Then yesterday was a jam-packed day trip! We traveled on bus to Oxfordshire and went to Oxford University! We visited the Ashmolean Museum and let me tell you, it is by far my favorite museum of all time!!! Why? Because it contains sculptures from Rodin, paintings by Van Dyke, Tintoretto, Van Gogh, Manet, AND HAS THE MESSIAH STRAD VIOLIN! I about died. We barely had time to scrape the surface of it, so I need to find time to go back. We also went to a Charles Dickens exhibit at the Bodlean Library at Oxford and also went to the 'Harry Potter hospital wing' used for the movie. After I had purchased my much coveted Oxford sweatshirt, we traveled to Blenhiem Palace where Winston Churchill was born. This has been my favorite palace so far. Our tour guide was great too-she barked for us. Oh and this palace had more rugged gardens, so it had more of a 'Hyde Park' feel, plus sheep and a fun electric fence. After we left Oxfordshire, we came back to London, grabbed dinner at Waggamama's, and saw a chamber concert at a Catholic church. It featured a clarinet soloist and ensemble playing Mozart and Brahms. It was beautiful! I love just closing my eyes and getting lost in the music. It really made me want to play my violin! Now it's today, Thursday and I'm still at the airport, waiting for the group to arrive. I'm starting to get a little worried because they should be here by now, but who knows, maybe their flight got delayed. I can already tell a difference in atmosphere here in Dublin- the people are much more outgoing! I cut it pretty close with the flight this morning (due to the fact that the Gatwick express train DID NOT leave 15 minutes early like I thought it would), so I was sweating it at security when I had 5 minutes to be at my gate and they were slowly re-checking my bag. I lost my contact solution and face wash because I didn't think ahead about the liquid regulations. Oh well, you live and learn! I'm excited to see what Ireland brings! Enjoy some more pictures!

The Messiah STRADIVARIUS :D

Hospital Wing-Unfortunatley we didn't time travel :( Guess I needed Dumbledore's assistance...

Beautiful Blenheim Palace (note the clouds!). We weren't allowed to walk on the gravel because the Duke has it raked....

Gardens outside the palace

Caught this picture while riding a train home. Maybe I'll find the pot of gold here in Ireland!

Hello there! Alright time to just catch up on all the adventures. I apologize if this is scatter-brained and choppy and makes you sea-sick but here we go! On Sunday, we took the tube and train (about 45 minutes of travel time) and I went to Young Women's for my calling. One girl showed up and that's typical. So I hope to get to know her better and see if we can encourage the others to come. I'm going to teach the lesson next Sunday so wish me luck! Oh and it was fast-and-testimony meeting so the bishopric invited us all up to bear our testimonies and introduce ourselves, so that spiced things up! So Monday we journeyed to Cambden Market. Kristina and I got separated from everyone so we just explored the market together. I didn't realize it was a bartering market, so I was taken off-gaurd when one of the guys started trying to sell me a dress. I didn't really know what I was doing, but apparently I did well! He started at 20 pounds and I got him down to 11, but then I still refused to buy it :). We also found Primark (Forever 21 on steroids) which is basically black Friday every day and you can get shirts for a few pounds. Oh we also had fun trying to figure out strange foreign styles.

On tuesday I went jogging in the morning and it was raining quite a bit. I like jogging in the rain though so it was a treat. Here's a few photos from the jog! Someone just left flowers on a bench like this and the other is of a heart carved on a willow tree. Again, who knows what the stories are behind them, but it's fun to imagine!

Ashley and I did a 'London Walk' for our London Walks class later on Tuesday. It was really fun and we didn't get lost! I found Wood Street and had to take a picture. I was getting a lot of confused looks when I took this picture. My favorite is the man to my right! T

That night we went to the play 'One Man Two Guvners'. Well we took the tube in small groups and everything was going just dandy. We arrived at the National Theatre and were looking for where our play was showing, so I decided to ask one of the ticket holders. He looked at my ticket and kind of laughed and said we were at the wrong theatre!! We had ten minutes to get to the right theatre which was 15 minutes away, so we literally RAN through the tube stations and down stairs and escalators, lost poor Katie and then found her on a tube train again, and we ended showing up only about 10 minutes late, dripping in sweat! The play was great despite the craziness. I got a work out but more importantly learned that just because you are in a group, you can't just blindly follow whoever is leading. Got to pay attention! Alright so Wednesday, Thursday, today, and tomorrow, I am on a West trip. We headed out Wednesday morning for Whales and side then I have been to Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath, Cornwall, St. Ives, St. Michael's Mount, and I'm currently in Penzance (no I am not a pirate...yet....). It's been great and I've had a lot of fun! It's a good way to get to know the others in the group too. I don't have time to explain all that has happened, so I'm just going to post some random pics of the past few days! Enjoy!

Tintern Abbey in Whales

Welsh coal mine- The Big Pit

Me and Celeste at Stonehenge-yes we tried to do a jumping pic. I just love how awkward it looks!

Me and Kristina before the treacherous 4.5 mile hike. We did not look this happy at the end! The views were breathtaking and so worth it though. The pictures don't do it any justice.

Roman Baths in Bath-I got to drink some of the water and it was disgusting!!!

Sheeeeeeeeepppppp!!!!

Cornish Pasty. It was pretty good!

On our way up to the castle at Michael's Mount

We love castles!!

Oh Shelby!!! Words cannot begin to describe her amazingness...

This man and his buddy biked 900 miles from Scotland to 'Land's End' in England. We just happened to be getting on the bus the moment he crossed the finish line and then got off his bike, onto one knee, and proposed to his girlfriend!! I think our American enthusiasm was a good touch to it all. Anyway I gotta get to bed! I'd love to post more pics and talk more about it all but I don't have time! I'm still loving every minute of it and I still keep pinching myself. I'm learning a lot about this beautiful land and about myself. Until next time!