BACKTRACK: SATURDAY
I would just skip over this and move on with my life, BUT Saturday was noteworthy. Annie and I walked across the street (literally) and entered the world of Young Victoria aka Kensington Palace. It wasn’t the most extravagant palace, but the current exhibit is about the debutantes from a long time ago. It was really cute! I learned how to curtsy and I brushed up on my waltzing skills (acquired from my first semester in college=long live world dance class).
Someday my prince will come.
TUESDAY
Annie and I finished up a walk today through the financial district by the Royal Exchange and the Stock Exchange. This might be the coolest place ever. I feel like the Britons fully appreciate their buildings. Honestly, everywhere I look it’s another building that just takes my breath away. It’s an architect’s dream.
{Lloyd Building-the insides are outsides}
{Royal Exchange-amazing portico design}
That night was girls’ therapy night on the top bunks. I love how it’s just a sleepover every night here and we talk and laugh constantly. We were talking about how perfect it worked out with roommates. Each individual room has just clicked so well and we get along great. We also talk about the fun things that we’re going to do once we’re back in P-town and I’m really excited for that.
WEDNESDAY
Today’s day trip was Shakespeare Day. We started out not doing Shakespeare, but going to Warwick Castle. Imagine a combination between Disneyland and a really old castle and you get Warwick Castle. Kira, Brittany, Annie and I played in the towers singing “Guildaland” and taking fun pictures with the creepy wax figures. There was also this really fun peacock garden with real life peacocks strutting around. Across the pond in the gardens is the world’s largest trebuchet. Funny story: Being on culture committee, I signed up for the presentation on the Castle and when I announced on the bus that Warwick had the world’s largest trebuchet, people started yelling: “WHAT’S A TREBUCHET?” And I was like: “Really? Do you not know what that is?” and had to explain it to them.
{which one's not real?}
{Guy's Tower at Warwick Castle}
Funny story #2: At the top of Guy's Tower (where there are NO guys, btw) and we were all taking pictures. I look over at Kira, off by herself, leaning on the wall, looking contemplative, and singing softly to herself about our beloved Guildaland. Of course, it caught on and we all decided to sing along in our special voices...
The first stop on our Shakespeare tour was Anne Hathaway’s house. No, I thought it was Anne Hathaway as in the actress, but it’s Anne Hathaway as in Shakespeare’s wifey.
The second stop was The Birthplace (yes, that’s the official title and yes they capitalize it) at Stratford-Upon-Avon. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, it’s where Shakespeare was born and lived until he was 18 and he married Anne. It didn’t really hit me throughout the day that I was in the palce where Shakespeare lived. THE William Shakespeare. It’s kind of a big deal, right?
Third stop: New Place/Nash’s House. This is where Shakespeare lived for a time at the end of his life and at the peak of his career. Shakespeare was mostly away in London working on his career, but this is where his family resided.
Final stop: Trinity Church & Shakespeare’s gravesite. It was a pretty surreal day and I felt that I got to learn more about the man, William Shakespeare.
Annie and I then stopped into this cute little pub and had really good fish n chips.
The group then had the opportunity to see “King Lear” in the theatre there in Stratford-Upon-Avon in the coolest theatre ever. It was fashioned like the globe, where the stage was mostly central and our seats where almost behind the stage. It was a really really really good production. The director created this war-like theme with WWI costumes mixed with medieval costumes and a perfectly crazy Lear.
We were out for 17 hours-longest trip, yet. But SO worth it.
THURSDAY
The group got up early to take the coach to WALES! According to my calculations, by the time I get back into the states, I would have gone to 5 different countries: Wales, Ireland, France, England, and Italy. Quite a feat.
The first stop in Wales was at Tinturn Abbey. William Wordsworth wrote about the Abbey and it’s said to be the inspiration for many artists and poets. It was really beautiful and probably one of my favorite places so far. It’s dissolute-d, like many other abbeys, so it’s a rustic, romantic ruin.
{tintern abbey}
{tintern abbey inside}
I wasn’t quite ready or excited for the next stop. We went to the Big Pit, this old coal mine, and they took us 400 feet underground. I’m a bit claustrophobic, so I was kinda hesitant about it, but it actually was pretty cool. Wayne the Welshman was our tour guide and he was so funny—he made fun of my shoes (I’m not so sure about that).
{Miners at The Big Pit}
The coach next stopped at the Wales History Museum. No one in our group actually went in because it was kind of boring, but Annie didn’t really catch onto that, so we literally had the museum to ourselves. THAT was fun. Next door was a miniature “castle”, if you could call it that (big, rich person’s house that they wanted to call a castle) and the surrounding gardens were pretty.
{gardens at the castle}
We stayed in Cardiff in a HOTEL. I LOVE Hotels. There were 2 of us per room and everyone had their own queen—sized bed.
For dinner, we ventured into downtown Cardiff and found a delicious Italian restaurant called Postiano’s.
Wales is really pretty and I wouldn’t mind living there. FRIDAY
Did I mention that I love hotels? Especially now since I got my own queen-sized bed, a bathroom shared with only one other person, continental breakfast, and all of the other luxuries that come with hotels. Unfortunately, I had to part with the hotel. Fortunately, it’s because we set out to explore Wales. We were going home that night, so we jam-packed our day. First, the group went to Caerphilly Castle, the first legit-feeling castle yet. The other castles have had lots of alternations and renovations since they are still used, but this one is run-down and has a moat. And trebuchets. Annie and I just wandered around exploring for awhile and it was really fun.
{Caerphilly Castle}
Next, we went to see some Church history sites. In our religion class, we were learning about the first mission to Britain by 7 missionaries and also the second mission by 8 and the subsequent growth of the Church in the British Isles. We learned about the influence of the Benbow family and how John Benbow, the leader of the United Brethren during 1840, and his wife Jane readily accepted the Gospel. The United Brethren followers would come from miles away to the Benbow’s farm in Herefordshire to hear the Word and then be baptized in the pond on the property by Wilford Woodruff. We went to Hill Farm and saw the pond.
{Hill Farm}
Then we went over to the parish that a lot of the Saints used before they became members. Noted names in Church history, like the Oakeys, Pitts, and Benbows, are buried here.
Up the mountain we went to Herefordshire Beacon, a hill that we hiked all of the way up. It was super windy and cold, but amazing.
Lastly, we went to the building where Woodruff preached in after a majority of the United Brethren converted. I’ve never been to a church history site besides Temple Square in Salt Lake, so it was a really cool day for me. I was thinking about how ironic/funny/weird it is that I’m learning more about the history of England before the history of America. I saw the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace before I saw the White House. I saw the Benbow’s farm before I saw Nauvoo.
Funny how that works.
{Wales from Herefordshire Beacon}
“It may be a Monday. And you may be surrounded by strangers. But by the end of night, it’s not going to feel like that.” –Mika
A definite top 5 favorite activity is going to concerts.
Last night, I had the privilege of attending Mika’s concert here in London. Correction: I got to see the Mika circus. I think that I said something like this post-production: it was like Mika regurgitated his mind=a combination of pure joy and a crazy party. His repertoire included, but is not limited to: Rain, Big Girls (You are Beautiful), Good Gone Girl, Billy Brown, Stuck in the Middle, Love Today, Blue Eyes, I See You and finished with We Are Golden, complete with gold confetti. The stage was set up with a big notebook and his sparkly silver piano. He also wore this funny coat of feathers for one of his songs. Mika came out with an encore and sang Grace Kelly and started Lollipop with this really cool trash can drum ensemble with his whole band. Lollipop was the final song and everyone was dancing and confetti was falling and there were big balloons everywhere. It was a continual party. The best part was how he looked like he was having the time of his life the whole time. Oh, and his sweet dance moves. Oh, and the fact that he’s professionally trained in opera, so he’s just as good live as on his CDs.
I loved it, just loved it, despite the lack of excitement from the other concert-goers (what is it with Europeans and concerts? They’re so BORING). Some parts were a bit trippy, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
This morning in class, I raised my hand to offer a comment and started to talk, but instead of voice, a man with a cold came out. Screaming Mika at the top of my lungs all night would do that to me.
THURSDAY
This week was a little mixed up. We had our London Study Day today instead of Friday. This visit was to Middletemple, where the Inns of Court gathered. The Inns of Court is governed by the Master of Court, which could be the Queen or some other royalty figure head. This was one of the only things that I have genuinely been bored about, to tell you the truth. Not to sound ungrateful, but, eh, you can’t love everything. The best part, though, was the chance to eat in the Great Hall (another Great Hall) where the royalty used to eat. Today, it a very posh place to eat and so it was dubbed my princess lunch. I think this was one of the nicest meals I’ve ever had in my life. The waiters put my napkin on my lap, we had sparkling water, the menu was already drawn up for us, and it took a couple of hours since they had to bring out the progressive courses.
We went to the church associated with the Inn, where the Knights Templar gathered. It was made to look like Jerusalem, so one would feel like they were in the Holy Land. It was really pretty.
The tour guide was good-looking, to make it even better.
Then we went to the Dickens house, where (you guessed it!) Charles Dickens grew up. I thought it was cool because we had just read Oliver Twist and so we got to see where he sat and wrote it and what inspired his writing during that time. FRIDAY
Since we had day trip day on Thursday, we had class today. After class, the group went to an Islamic Mosque for our cultures class. I took a world religion class last semester where Islam was included, so it was cool to actually see the people practice their religion first hand. Like I discovered at the Sikh temple, they are just as devout in their practice. Our tour guide was very informative and smart, so I learned lots.
For dinner, we tried out Nando’s. It’s this Spanish chicken spicy place and it was REALLY good.
That night I felt like crap thanks to the cold that graced me with its presence that week. Early bedtime and no fun. SATURDAY
London reminds me a lot of home because of the rain and the trees. It has trees because it rains all of the time. But this Saturday was a sunny Saturday and so we HAD to be outside and take advantage of the sun. After breakfast at Café Diana’s, Annie and I walked all of the way to Buckingham Palace and St. James’ Park (tubes are nightmares on weekends, anyways). We completed an assigned walk and got some hot chocolate while we strolled. It was such a wonderful day.
That night was Sarah Shepherd’s birthday dinner at Zizzi’s with fifteen Americans total. We got the whole restaurant to sing for her and the food was great. SUNDAY
Ward Conference at church. That night we had a fireside done by President Phillips about Christ’s life and how He had to grow and discover His divine right. We shouldn’t freak out when it comes to finding ourselves because it’ll come to us and He will love us no matter what. President Phillips is a great man and it was great hearing from him. MONDAY
After dinner a few of us went to see “Lovely Bones”. I read the book by Alice Seybold when I was younger and was exposed to what was in the book that I hadn’t really heard about before. Throughout my life, I’ve been told not to talk to strangers and to be alert and smart. This movie, though, made me think: “Would I do what she did if I was in her situation?” The movie was good, but freaky and nerve-wracking. I already knew what was going to happen so I wasn’t freaked out, but it sent a few of the girls into panic mode, for sure. TUESDAY
So far on this trip I have seen: Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Oliver!, and Les Miserables. To see: The Lion King. I had heard that Hairspray was good from my high school peers who had seen it when it came out, but I wasn’t really dying to see it. Wow wow wow wow wow I can’t get over how AMAZING it is!! Anna Hayes and I had a chickdate because everyone else had seen it already and it ended up being us, the stage four rows in front of us, and Link and Seaweed. I was just laughing and cheering and clapping the whole time; it was such a fun time. At the curtain calls, they told everyone to stand up and dance with them. Of course, Anna and I did and we started waving at Link who was winking at us throughout the show, but he didn’t wave. BUT Seaweed totally waved back and kept smiling at us. My heart melted!!!! We were squeal-y and girly and giddy the whole way home. WEDNESDAY
It was such a full week. The group went to see Twelfth Night. It was my first play while here in London and, even though my seats weren’t that great, it was really good.
I LOVE LONDON!
I felt that this day deserves its own post because it’s jammed pack with amazing experiences and it was one of my favorite days so far. WEDNESDAY
DAY TRIP DAYYYY. It was super super awesome. We went to Blenheim Palace, which is where the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough have lived and still live. Sir Winston Churchill was born and raised here for a bit, also. And if you’ve seen the Kenneth Branagh version of “Hamlet”, this is where it was filmed. The palace was pretty but the gardens were BEAUTIFUL. I can only imagine how it looks in the spring and summer.
.:Blenheim Palace:.
.:gardens at Blenheim Palace:.
Next was Oxford and the University of Oxford. It felt good to be in a college town, again. Annie and I ventured away from the group and headed towards the Ashmolean Museum. At first, I looked the map and thought: “Meh, just another museum, I’m not excited about this anymore”. But then Annie found the Pissarro room. Yes, a room devoted to Pissarro. What a delectable surprise for me.
Next on the agenda: get Oxford attire. Check.
Then: wander around Oxford and take as much in as you possibly can. Check. This included going to the library where the Gringott’s scene was filmed in Harry Potter and checking out the Radcliff Camera, this really cool building that I’m not sure what the purpose is for (misnomer). We also got a Ben’s Cookie from the ORIGINAL Ben’s Cookies.
The group got back together at Christ’s Church College. This is not a misnomer, it still has the church, but the rest of the buildings are for the school. On these grounds stands the tree that inspired Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat tree (along with where the cat used to roam). There’s also the door where the dean’s little girl wasn’t allowed to go through, so she peeked through the key hole (also an inspiration for Carroll).
The coolest thing about Christ’s Church College is the fact that I got to take a step into Hogwarts. I can’t even begin to describe how many dreams were fulfilled because of this day. You know the steps where Harry meets Draco for the first time? Been there. Also, walked down some corridors where Harry walked. You know the Great Hall? Done that. Wellll I THOUGHT I had done that, but apparently it’s not THE Great Hall, just The Great Hall (inspired JK Rowling for the movie). Either way, we had the special privilege of having tea time there. Man, I couldn’t stop smiling.
.:tea time at Hogwarts:.
Catchin' up... SUNDAY Usually, I’m anti-Valentine’s Day. For all 19 of the Valentine’s Days that I’ve lived through, I’ve been single. More recently, because of this, I have celebrated with lots of chocolate and chick flicks with my other single girl friends. Could be fun, but mostly depressing. I’m pretty sure that this Valentine’s was the best EVER. Girls’ weekend in Ireland, then Valentine’s Day spent in London with my friends. There a missionary couple in our ward from Farmington, Utah and today was their second to last week before returning home to the states. In my ward, this translates to feast time in primary. And since I’m in primary, I got to help with making Valentines and eating the food. For dinner, the Shulers gave us sweets and cards. Also, for each dorm there were cute bags to put valentines in. Top that off with a package from my family, and Valentines was good to me. MONDAY After class, Dr. McF took us on a little field trip to St. Bartholomew the Great Church. This church was important for a few reasons. Number one: the architecture. A good amount of the church is missing due to good ole King Henry VII and his Dissolution idea. Parts of it have been re-built over the years and so it has different design styles for the different time period. The original was Romanesque, with curved arches/windows and, in contrast, baroque later was added with pointed arches/windows. Number two: important people used to worship here. I forget who, but there you have it. Number three (my favorite): lots of movies have been filmed here, including but not restricted to: 4 Weddings and a Funeral, The Other Boleyn Girl, Elizabeth I, aaaannnndddd SHERLOCK HOLMES. The tour guide showed me pictures of Jude Law and Robert Downy Jr. on the very spot where I stood. I almost couldn’t handle that. The social committee (yes, we have committees) planned a V-day party for the group and we made sugar cookies and played games. Annie and I watched “500 Days of Summer” in honor of the day of love. (the soundtrack makes that movie—look it up, listen, savor it, enjoy) Music video’s weird, but good song: “Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxKjOOR9sPU TUESDAY Post-class actividades consisted of me taking a trip to the National Gallery for some Michelle time. I’m thinking that that was my last trip, so I decided to stop by and visit some old friends: Pissarro, Monet, etc etc etc. Pissarro is one of my favorite painters, as I have mentioned before. This one, in particular, I think you should check out. Oh, and while you’re at it, you should look up your favorite…more chances than none, they’ll have one. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/camille-pissarro-the-boulevard-montmartre-at-night It was Shar’s birthday AND Anna discovered that she got into her major (Broadcast Journalism! You go girl!), so how do we celebrate? You got it: Gelato Mio.
.:Liffey River:. WEDNESDAY Today was the beginning of our extended weekend trips!! People in the program went to: Spain, Denmark, Athens, Rome, Scotland, and Ireland. I wanted to go with everyone since every trip sounded so fun!! But Annie, Sarah Shepherd and I had our hearts set on Dublin, Ireland. Annie has a knack for finding hostels because we stayed in one that was central to everything in the city, right on the River Liffey and by O’Connell Street. By the time we got there, we were so hungry and everything was closed, so we gave in and ate Burger King for dinner. I promised myself no fast food (especially American fast food) while in London, but travelling called for desperate measures. I love how on all of the signs the first language is Irish Gaelic and the second is English. They teach Irish in schools, but our driver said that no one really uses it, that’s it more of a culture identity thing. Fun Fact #1: Primary language=English, Secondary Language=Polish, Third most popular=Chinese Mandarin. THURSDAY We were up at the crack of dawn in order to get to our tour bus on time. Sarah scheduled this awesome day tour out to the country outside of Dublin with our tour guide/driver Martin. First stop was Dun Laoghaire on the coast. Yes, this is the same place as on the movie “PS I Love You”, where she says: “I’m staying in a little town called ‘Dun-Low-guh-hairy’” and he says: “you mean Done Leary”. At a pit stop, we found the coolest bathrooms EVER: blue, dark, instant dance party material. I touched the ocean. Fun Fact #2: Dun Laoghaire can also be pronounced “Doon Learuh”, which means Fort (of) Laoghaire, an ancient king of the area. Second stop was in Wicklow National Park at “Guiness” Lake, called because of its dark, creamy Guinness look PLUS the guy who’s the heir of Guinness or his cousin or something like that owns the property. On the same road was the scene in “PS I Love You” when they first meet. It had snowed and the roads were slick so we couldn’t see it. The park was just as beautiful in the winter as it was in the spring and I felt like I actually was in Ireland. Video of IRELAND!!
On the way up, we passed the house of the manager of U2 and the area where Bono, The Edge, Enya and lots of other famous people live. Next stop: Glendalogh (“glen-duh-lock”, like Loch Ness), which means “glen of two lakes”. We were given two hours here, so us girls took a bit of a hike around this beautiful area. We got lucky because it had been snowing earlier that week, but this day was clear skies and not very cold. Martin, tour guide/driver, took us to see the famous monastery ruins with the original archway that was used as a refuge and sanctuary. In the same graveyard was the Round Tower and the monk house. We tried to hug the Irish Cross backwards, which was supposed to give us a wish, and my wish was to have longer arms so that I could actually make a wish. During the hike, we saw the two lakes and the Poulanass waterfall. The bus drove up the road to a small little town, where we ate lunch in a little café where people say hi to you and were almost shocked at our accents. .:making a wish:. .:Round Tower and monastery:. The tour took the long way back, so we saw more of the countryside along with lots of deer and peat bogs and sheep. We stopped by a field where the driver let us off to take pictures of the sheep. I think they thought that we were there to feed them because they practically sprinted to the fence towards us. Don’t worry, I told them “Bahh-Ram-Ewe” and they understood. In addition, Martin drove by the Blessington Lake, where the girls lose their oars and get stranded in “PS”. I added a movie so hopefully you can see a bit of the park AND get to hear Martin’s Irish voice.
Let’s just say, girls’ weekend in Dublin means good eatin’. We ate at Great Boxty House on Temple Bar for dinner, where I got a corn beef and cabbage boxty (pancake). After dinner was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. We went to a musical pub crawl, which means we travel to 3-4 different pubs in Dublin and learn about the history of Irish music from the musicians/guides. They introduce a song or instrument and tell a bit about its history, then play a song or two. Nothing like Johnny Cash, REAL Irish music. Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, we didn’t have a pint or two of Guinness at every pub, like the other American group. After we said that we went to school in Utah and they noticed that we weren’t drinking, they put the pieces together, if you know what I mean. It was a fun night even without the beer. .:Musical Pub Crawl:. Funny story that’s kind of juvenile, but I feel like I have to tell it. Since we were in a six girl room and there were only three of us, we had roommates. Thursday night included a Korean girl and German friends, who just whispered the whole evening to each other (not like we couldn’t understand them or anything). They went to bed before us, so we were awake to hear the girl above me, well, pass gas in her sleep. Hahaha. FRIDAY Us girls took advantage of a Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour that takes us around the city of Dublin. We could “hop-off” at one of the main stops, look around, then hop back on the next bus. We first hopped-off at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (yes, I’m pretty sure it’s the same as the one celebrated on March 17th). It costs money to get in, so we looked around the grounds, instead. The next point of interest was the Guinness Storehouse. That costs money, too, plus we weren’t interested in touring the place that makes beer, so we hopped back on. We didn’t get off for awhile, just sat back on the top deck and enjoyed the tour. We saw the National Museum of Ireland, the old hospital, and Phoenix Park (which holds SIX Hyde Parks—we drove through that for awhile…). We also saw the Christ’s Church Cathedral, which apparently really famous. .:St. Patrick's Cathedral:. For lunch, we ate at Hard Rock Café, which was literally right next to our hostel. This one had a guitar from the Foo Fighters’ bass player and a bunch of U2 records. We went shopping down O’Connell Street and stored up on some souvenirs. We found this place that’s owned by the same company as Primark called Penny’s. We definitely spent some time in there. For dinner, we were recommended a place called Flannagan’s and we got some fish n chips. There was also this really amazing chocolate place called Butler’s Chocolate Café. I stocked up there before we went to go see “Valentine’s Day”. SATURDAY After sleeping in for a bit, we packed up and checked-out. This means that we had to carry our big, fat backpacks around all day long. What I loved about this trip was how we just went along without any set plans. We knew what we wanted to see and do, and then we just did it. That’s what the Saturday was like. We wanted to see Trinity College and the Book of Kells. So we did. The Book of Kells is an illustrated and elaborate Latin version of the four Gospels. The Long Room was my favorite—an old library with old books and the oldest Irish harp. .:Trinity College:. A quick turn about the campus followed and then we walked over to Dublin Castle. En route to the castle, I spotted a sign that said “Relics of St. Valentine’s” and we decided to check it out. At the beginning of the trip we were saying how cool it would be if we saw something pertaining to St. Valentine since, well, St. Valentine’s Day was that same weekend. But we didn’t actually think that we would see anything. Finding the remains of St. Valentine himself in a little church on the side of a random road was a great surprise. Next, we actually made our way over to the castle, but it was all closed and not very eventful…kinda a let-down. We checked out the Telling Images of China exhibit on loan from China in the Chester Beatty Museum. Sir Beatty is an English-born American who died in Ireland and was really rich so he had lots of cool collections that was put in a museum. Bor-ing. Temple Bar was our destination for lunch. We happened upon a place called Bad Ass Cafe, where we had good pizza and banana milkshakes. .:Temple Bar:. The National Museum of Ireland was next on the list. Lots of cool paintings and there was a John Yeats gallery. Follow this link to one of my favorites by him (For the Road): http://www.freshworship.org/zine/lent05/fortheroad.jpg The very last thing we did in Ireland was checking out St. Stephen’s Green, where the Oliver Wilde statue is lounging on a rock. We also saw this triangle war memorial thing. The city and the country were so beautiful and it was the perfect Irish experience. I would definitely go back someday. The people are so nice and laid back. The city is fresh and lively, but not crowded like London. And just a few minutes outside the city are miles and miles of picturesque country. As they say in Ireland, Sláinte!
