North trip.

So two weeks ago we hopped on the coach and took off for the extremely long drive to…the NORTH!!! Where the wind is even colder and the wifi is extremely overpriced. But really though, I loved it. It was a very relaxed week with lots of free time to explore and amazing things to see.

Our first day consisted mostly of driving, with stops at Chatsworth (aka Mr. Darcy’s house) and the Bronte Parsonage. I absolutely loved it because a) I’m in love with Mr. Darcy, and his house, and b) I love the Bronte sisters. Chatsworth was absolutely incredible, with large, elaborate rooms, filled with famous artwork, and surrounded by gorgeous gardens. The Bronte Parsonage wasn’t nearly as incredible, but still just as fun to see. It was just a little house tucked away next to a little church in a little town, but it’s always exciting to see the homes of people you admire.

Day two began with a tour of York Cathedral, followed by a day entirely to ourselves to shop, explore, and eat. I realize that this doesn’t sound like anything special, but I don’t think we’ve ever been so excited for anything the whole trip. Free time is something that doesn’t exist here at the center, and to be given an ENTIRE DAY of it had us giddy. I celebrated with a new pair of rain boots and a pretty new dress, along with Little Caesar’s Pizza and a Starbucks steamer.   

Day three: Durham Cathedral, which I’m sure would have been incredible, but sadly, our tour guide was extremely dull and we just couldn’t wait to get out of there. Next we went to Bede’s World, which is an entire museum dedicated to Bede the monk. Don’t know who Bede is? Neither did I, due to the fact that I didn’t do the reading. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love dressing up like him. After that we headed out to Hadrian’s Wall, which was built in AD 122 and marked the extent of the Holy Roman Empire. Not terribly exciting, but the view from the top was very pretty.

And then we were in Ambleside! An absolutely beautiful town in the Lake District, right off of Lake Windermere. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as gorgeous as that lake. Our hostel was right off of the water, and the view was so fantastic that it might have been worth the disgusting cafeteria food. While we were there we saw Dove Cottage, which was the home of the poet William Wordsworth, and Beatrix Potter’s home—where I may or may not have bought a pop-up Peter Rabbit book for my little nephew Nate (I told you Ash, I can’t do secrets. Surprise!) And then we took a boat ride across the lake, which was freezing, but so pretty. 

Day five was probably my favorite. On our way home, we got to stop in Preston to take a church history tour, where we saw the place where President Hinckley first preached on his mission, the home in which Heber C. Kimball, Joseph Fielding, and Orson Hyde lived while serving in England, and the river in which the first members of the church in England were baptized. Then on to the Preston Temple! Sadly, we didn’t get to go inside, but it was still fun to go and see it. After that we stopped in Liverpool for a total of 28 minutes, which wasn’t enough time at all, but we did get to see the dock where all of the members of the church left from to start their trek to the states.  

And then we got to sit on the coach and sleep/watch movies for the remaining three hours back to the center. Such a good way to end such a fabulous week.

A Quick Recap.

Soooo I’ve been a major slacker on the blogging lately. I’m starting to be as horrible at blogging as I am at journal writing, and I’m so disappointed in myself. It’s a good thing I like picture taking, otherwise there would be nothing left of me after I die. If only I could have the journal writing skills of my mother, and the blogging skills of my sister—I could be the ultimate historian. But since I have neither, I’ll just have to make do with the little skill that I have and try to get caught up. So, in the last three weeks I have...

Gone paddle-boating in Regent’s Park. We woke up to sun that morning and were thrilled to finally have nice enough weather to play in the park. Sadly, it started to rain by midday, as it usually does here in London…but we went and loved it anyway.

Witnessed a Shakespearean play as a groundling at the Globe. We saw Merry Wives of Windsor, and it’s officially my new favorite comedy of his.

Traveled to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see 5 different houses that all had to do with Shakespeare’s life. Personally, I probably could’ve been satisfied after just two, but why not see his wife’s house, his mother’s house, and his daughter’s house while you’re in the area?

Seen Kew Gardens. They’re huge and amazing, with different green houses for plants from all over the world, and a bridge built up above the trees that sways in the wind. Sadly it was pouring the entire time, so we didn’t last long, but hopefully I can eventually make it back there on a sunny day.

Toured Glastonbury…the remains of a Cathedral where King Arthur and his wife were believed to be buried.

 Hiked to the top of this mountain to see that ruin

Walked through that gardens of Stourhead—where the proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice was filmed. Also the most beautiful place in the entire world—I’ve could’ve spent all day there, but we left after about an hour in order to get to…

Bath. The city of the Roman baths, Assembly Halls, and really great shopping. Sadly, no shopping actually occurred due to time restraints, but the window displays were fabulous.

And then we took off on the coach for the extremely long ride to the North…which deserves an entire blog entry completely to itself. So, to be continued.

France in a nutshell.

So this past week I went to France. And I adored it. I ate amazing food, saw some of my very favorite artwork, and went to places I've always wanted to go to.

So here is a summarized version of the busiest week of my life. Due to the fact that my computer is currently struggling, I won't be able to post pictures for a while. So some of you probably won't read this post, because you're the kind of person that scans the text part of a blog and is only really looking to see the pictures (guilty.) But I'm writing it anyways, because I mostly just do this for my mama, and I know she loves me and my blog no matter what. So here you go!

Food I Ate:

• 5 croissants
• 4 crepes (1 ham and cheese, 1 egg, ham, and cheese, 1 sugar and butter, and 1 nutella and whipped cream.)
• 3 diet cokes (curse the Europeans and their lack of Dr. Pepper)
• 2 slices of pizza
• 2 white chocolate magnum bars
• 2 ham and cheese baguettes
• 1 scoop of caramel and pecan gelato
• 1 gyro and fries
• 1 steak and fries (I don't recommend getting steak in France)
• 1 bag on strawberry bonbons

If you're reading this and thinking that I must have spent way too much money on food, you're right.

Places I Went:

• Vimy and Compiegre (war sites)
• Chartes Cathedral
• The Palace of Versailles
• The town of Versailles (adorable.)
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Sainte-Chapelle--the walls are almost completely made out of stained glass windows. So blessed to see this on a sunny day.
• L'Orangerie--a museum devoted to works by Monet
• Jardin des Tuileres--the gardens of the Louvre
• Musee D'Orsay
• The Eiffel Tower
• The Louvre
• Arc de Triomphe
• The Moulin Rouge
• Musee Rodin--an entire museum devoted to my favorite sculptor. So happy.
• Madeline Cathedral
• The Opera House--the inspiration for Phantom of the Opera. Also where the movie was filmed.
• The Pompidou--my new favorite modern art museum.
• Amiens Cathedral
• Lots of WWI sites--Albert, La Boiselle, Beaumont-Hamel, Thiepval, and Serre.

Things I Saw:

• The Hall of Mirrors
• Marie Antoinette's bedroom
• Paintings by all my favorites--Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Delacriox
• The Mona Lisa
• Some of my favorite sculptures--The Kiss, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo
• The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower
• The Eiffel Tower sparkling (every hour, on the hour)
• Missionaries
• A women getting pick-pocketed
• My fill of stained glass windows
• The Louis Vuitton store
• A break dance circle
• Cemetaries filled with soldiers from both world wars
• A line of over 100 British taxis transporting children with terminal illnesses to Disney France. The taxi drivers do it annually, and pay for it themselves. This was one of my favorite things to see.

Things I did:

• Walked through trenches of the wars
• Took a ferry across the English Channel
• Climbed 43 stories to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, and then rode an elevator to the top.
• Posed for lots of pictures with old Asian men
• Ran through the Louvre
• Danced on top of the Arc de Triomphe
• Broke a bottle of perfume in Sephora (actually, Devri broke it. But I witnessed it.)
• Took a boat ride down the Seine River
• Listened to Mass at Notre Dame

What I loved:

• Hearing everyone around me speaking French
• Replying to everything with bonjour, merci, and au revior!
• Sleeping on the bus rides
• The French countryside
• The fact that no matter where you are in Paris, you can find a pastry shop within a five minute walk
• The sunny, warm weather
• Trying to find the Eiffel Tower every night on the hour so we could see it sparkling
• All the lovers having picnics and dancing by the Seine River at night
• Waking up every morning and realizing that I was in France.

I loved every  minute of this trip. Even though France is dirty, the men are creepy, the people smell, and there is an extremely high likelihood of getting pick-pocketed, you really can't help but love the place. Even though I was so grateful to get back to my clean, quiet London, France will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Through England on a Coach.

This week was another super busy one! But all of the weeks here are busy and crazy, and I don’t think it’s ever going to be any different…which I’m perfectly fine with.

Last Saturday it was our roomie Lisa’s birthday, so we decided to hit up Portobello Road in the morning (amazing shopping), Les Mis during the day (always amazing), and then Nando’s for dinner (really, really yummy food). As many times as I have seen Les Mis, listened to the soundtrack, and read the book, I will always love it and will always be so excited to see at the theater. It was fabulous.

Wednesday was our second day trip, so we set off early in the morning for the two hour bus ride to Bodium Castle, which is beautiful, surrounded by a moat, and is exactly what every little girl imagines a castle to look like. The best part was the view from the top…if only Utah could ever get this green.

Our next stop was Bateman’s, which was Rudyard Kipling’s house—author of The Jungle Book, along with many other books and poems that I am sure I’ll be required to read sometime  in the future. His “modest home” was actually quite large, complete with an amazing library and surrounded by gorgeous gardens.

We're so good at hand stands.

Next we made our way to Battle Abbey, where the Battle of Hastings took place. Once again, why is Utah so incapable of being so green?

Our last stop was Monk’s House, which was the summer home of the author Virginia Woolf, whom I don’t particularly love, and whose house really wasn’t all that impressive. So I’m ashamed to say that I (along with several friends) decided to head back to the bus early. I know, I’m lame. So lame that I don’t even have any pictures for this one.

Today was our field trip to the Tower of London, which is where both Lady Jane Grey and Anne Boleyn were executed, along with lots of other important people. It’s also where you can go to find the crown jewels, the armory, and the torture devices. Needless to say, we spent plenty of time wandering around there.

So immature, but we loved this guy. Look closely.

Tower Bridge

And then we made our way to Borough Market…which is amazing. It’s stall after stall of different kinds of food from all over the world, and everyone passes out samples. It’s like Costco, but fun! It’s completely chaotic and is packed with people eating and yelling at you to try their food. I decided to go with a meat pie, and will be going back next week for some curry and one of the many options of pastries. I love this place.

And now we’re all sitting in our beds, blogging, emailing, and writing papers. Only two more days until France!  Au revoir!