Cheers My London Love

Where does the time go? I swear it was just yesterday that I was flying into this beautiful city completely unaware of the adventure ahead of me. However, with all these riots going on, I'm a bit relieved to be heading out pretty soon. For my final hurrah post, I've decided to make a little list about the things I am going to miss about Britain and a list about what I'm excited for when I return to America.

Oh Britain, I will miss your...

• Public Parks full of people enjoying the sunny day
• Accents
• Fun playgrounds that don't have liability worries
• Free museums
• Student Discounts everywhere
• Mind the Gap reminders
• Tube rides
• Duvettes
• No sales tax
• Digestive/Hob nobs biscuts
• The Homeless men selling "The Big Issue" and not begging
• Bueno Bars and other delcious sweets
• Abundance of Indian and other foreign foods
• Markets
• Cathedrals and random ruins in the wheatfields
• Poppy fields
• Public pathways that cross through cow pastures
• Sheep!
• Having a Broadway musical opportunity any night of the week
• Clotted Cream and Lemon Curd
• Elderflower drinks
• Tradition
• Fish and Chips
• Rompers
• Incredibly tame dogs
• Delicious Yogurt
• Muelslie
• Crazy hats and headbands

Dear America, I am so excited for your...

• Abundance of trash cans
• drinking fountains
• Public restrooms that don't cost money
• Stores open after 5:00pm
• Wider variety of products
• Better customer service
• Cheaper everything!
• Eggs
• Real mexican food
• Driving a car
• Good tasting tap water and no weird looks when you order a glass of tap water in the resturants
• Less smoky atmosphere
• Toliets that flush completely
• French Toast
• Being loud
• Lemonade that isn't sprite

Transportation construction in the middle of the night and not the middle of the day


Thanks for joining me on my journey through Britain. I hope you at least enjoyed looking at the pictures. I am so excited to return to the States on Thursday just in time for my brother's wedding on Saturday. Nothing like a wedding to welcome you back home. I believe London will always have a special place in my heart. Hopefully, I'll find myself back in this city one day. Maybe I can take someone I love to tour these special places and London can become part of their heart as well. To all the Ladies and Gents out there - Cheers!
LAST BRITISH PHRASE - "Gobsmacked" = an expression of surprise

A most Congenial Spot for Happily-Ever-Aftering...

We just returned from our week long tour down south. For those of you who caught my reference in my title already understand that one of the main themes of the week was King Arthur. I've been singing "Camelot" all week long. Our first stop...BATH

Jumping picture with one of the professor's daughters

We began by walking around the Royal Crescent, this rounded row of Georgian houses. We played Frisbee on the lawn and then a group of us relaxed and read Pride and Prejudice out loud. Jane Austen lived in Bath for a while, but she didn't really like the city that much. I on the other hand, quite loved it.

We like big buns and we cannot lie

As we walked around the town, we found ourselves in one of Bath's oldest houses - Sally Lunn's Bun house. Basically the short story is that Sally Lunn, a young French refugee, arrived in England in 1680  and began to bake a rich round and generous bread now known as the Sally Lunn Bun. This bun became a popular delicacy in Georgian England and has become world famous. Of course, we had to get one. I ate mine with a bit of Lemon Curd...YUM!

Then we were off to the Roman Baths. The Romans actually settled in Britain before the Saxons. These Roman baths were social as well as spiritual places. This specific bath connects to a spring that was thought to have healing powers. There's lots of history and information on this bath, but I'll spare you the details for now.

So the water hasn't been touched in a very long time, so that is why it looks so grossly green. However, I kind of find the color beautiful in some ways. This picture is for my sister Tammy. She showed me a picture of her at the baths and I chuckled because she was pulling a "model" pose. I decided I had to do one as well...here is my best Roman bathing pose.

One of the things Bath was known for was its supposedly healing mineral water. People would flock to Bath for the social scene and the chance to heal from illness. Sadly, the mineral water probably made them more sick to be honest. This belief in the water began with some Duke who noticed that the pigs with skin disease would roll in the muddy spring water and miraculously heal. He decided to try it himself, was cured, and decided to start the city of Bath. Oh the things people used to believe!

Our second stop was Glastonbury, where we toured the abbey that claims to have found the bodies of King Arthur and Guinevere. After this, we headed to the beautiful coastal town of Tintagel. We walked a 6 mile hike along the beautiful cliffs of Tintagel. It was breathtaking to say the very least. The salty air felt so welcome on my skin. I felt like Kierra Knightly in Pride and Prejudice, out on the cliff feeling the wind in my hair.

There is an old ruinous castle on one of these cliffs that people like to believe King Arthur could have lived in. The Arthurian legend does not have much historical evidence to it, but I don't know if that matters much. I believe it is the ideals of Arthur and his chivalrous knights that people cling to. I think people always need a hero like Arthur to believe in - he brings hope for peace.

Hanging off the cliff while walking around the castle ruins

Our next big adventure took us to STONEHENGE! Because we are a school tour, we were able to go before Stonehenge opens and walk right up to the rocks. This isn't allowed normally, so we felt pretty lucky. Stonehenge is mysterious to me - what were they trying to do with all these rocks? How did they transport them 150 miles? How is it that they've stayed preserved like this so long? I may never know.

After Stonehenge, we headed to the beautiful man made Stourhead gardens. These gardens are famous for the Apollo Temple, which they filmed the Proposal scene from the Kierra Knightly Pride and Prejudice in. Of course, we whipped out our copy of the book and read that scene out loud and envisioning the whole thing. The Gardens were truly lovely.

The Proposal Scene

After our trip to the Gardens, we caught a ferry to the ISLE OF WIGHT. Alfred Lord Tennyson, the poet, spent much of his time on this island. He would climb the downs, the grassy topped chalky cliffs overlooking the ocean, for pleasure and inspiration. These downs are now named Tennyson Downs and they are magnificent. Their chalky appearance sets them apart from the coastal cliffs of Tintagel.

We read a bit of Tennyson's poem about Ulysses and the Lotus Eaters. I kind of feel like Ulysses, journeying and stopping at beautiful islands and grand adventures. But, like Ulysses, I am beginning to realize my need to return home. This dream-like life that I have been living here in England has been my relaxation from reality. I've loved it. It is my lotus-eating experience, but dreams always lead to waking up. Reality and the real world waits for me to return with my new knowledge. My home and family are calling to me from across the ocean. I think i'm reading to finally go home.

Our last stop for this tour was Victoria and Albert's Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight. Of all the houses and castles i've seen over these last 8 weeks, if I had to choose one to live in, it would be this one. I think it is because it feels more homey in a lot of ways. It was a place for Victoria and Albert to spend time with their children away from the royal scene of London. I love the Victorian lovey-doveyness and ornate details. Sadly, I was not allowed to take pictures of the beautiful interior of the house. I go weak for a good romance and Victoria and Albert's is one of the best. The way I imagine their marriage is exactly how I hope my own marriage will be one day. They loved and adored each other so much. Here are two quotes from Victoria's journal that gives you a little peak into their relationship:

"It was with some emotion that I beheld Albert who is Beautiful"

"My dearest Albert put on my stockings for me. I went in and saw him shave; a great delight for me."

Please watch "The Young Victoria" if you get a chance...you'll go weak at the knees!

BRITISH PHRASE OF THE POST - "Dodgy" = shifty

Being a Groundling

One of my main goals for this summer in London was to be a groundling at a Shakespeare performance in the Globe Theatre. We had tickets to All's Well that Ends Well, so I seized my great opportunity. I went early enough to grab a spot leaning right up against the wooden stage. It was a dream come true to a thespian like myself. For those of you who don't know, A groundling was a person that frequented the Globe Theatre in the early 17th century who was too poor to pay to be able to sit on one of the three levels of the theatre. By paying one penny, they could stand just below the stage to watch the play. The groundlings were commoners who were also referred to as stinkards or penny-stinkers They were known to misbehave and even throw food such as fruit and nuts at characters they did not like.

leaning on the stage!

The actors begin the show by coming to the edge of the stage and chatting with the groundlings and they tried to include the groundlings in the show whenever possible. What an experience to be able to stand up close to these amazing thespians. I was so close that I could feel a minuscule wet drop of spit from one of the actors' mouths.

I wanted to play my groundling part perfectly. I didn't bring any rotten fruit, but I did hiss, boo, laugh, sigh, gasp, and drum on the stage, when it was appropriate of course.  I had no previous knowledge of this specific show, so I loved not knowing how it would end. I chuckled my way through the show.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the play:

Mine eyes smell onions!

It is like a barber's chair that fits all buttocks

'T were all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me

The Luck of the Irish!

My travel companions: Katie, Olive, Kelli, myself, and Hannah at our Hostel

My study abroad program allows one travel weekend where we are can go anywhere we want. I went to the beautiful countryside of Ireland. We grabbed a 3:45 am taxi to catch a 6:20 am flight. Boy, that was early! We flew in and stayed at a Hostel in Cork, a little city in the Southwestern part of Ireland.

On our first day, we took a bus to the small harbour town of Kinsale. Kinsale is mostly important because it was the site of a 1601 battle between the Spanish (plus some Irish Clans) and the English. It was also off the coast of Kinsale that the battleship Luisitania was torpedoed and sparked the United States joining WWI. However, it really is just a cute small fishing village. We spent most of our time walking around the harbour, watching the sea otters, and listening to the beautiful sounds of clinking sea shell chimes, ropes hitting the sail poles, and the whistling wind. It was a beautiful symphony.

Charles Fort

We ended up at the English Fort, Charles Fort. We walked around this fort for a while learning about life as a Soldier and just enjoying the ruins. We caught a bit of lunch in the town and then headed back to Cork for the evening. (Yes, we did lots of Irish Jigs as we walked around)

When we got back to Cork, we took a much needed nap and then headed off to the town for a bit of Irish nightlife. We grabbed some delicious Fish and Chips from the Fish Hatch and ate our dinner by the river. After this, we headed to a pub called Charlies. We sat in the Pub sipping Lemonades and Waters, listening to live Traditional Irish Music, tapping our feet, and having some good "girl talk" about kissing and falling in love. It was actually quite fun. I love the combination of fiddle and Irish flute!

Our second day in Ireland was breathtaking to say the least. We grabbed a bus to Killarney, where we rented bikes for the day and rode all around Killarney National Park. If any of you have seen "P.S. I love You" this is the place where the main guy originally meets his wife. I have not been on a bike in years, so you can imagine how shaky I was at first. I will admit that my buttocks is still super sore and that I did fall of the bike at least once during the trip.

There is something freeing and adventurous about feeling the wind on your face as you bike down the hill. The best part is when we'd come around the corner and the lush green trees opened up to display a lake or a hidden ruinous abbey. We stopped at the Muckross Abbey and walked around its skeletal remains for a bit

The Abbey

Muckross House

Our view from Lunch

We sat on benches near the Victorian Muckross House sharing our previously purchased sweets, bread, ham, and cheese. Then we headed back on our bikes toward Torc Waterfall. The waterfall was gorgeous with its white cascades contrasting to the green moss. Whenever I think of Ireland, I will always think of the color GREEN! (Moss, grass, trees, meadows, ferns, shamrocks, etc.) There is something about waterfalls that seems very healing - as if they wash away pain and heartache with the fast falling water.

As we rode away from the waterfall, we passed two Irish guys and a gal. We stopped and chatted with them for a bit and they taught us a game called "hurling." It is similar to Lacrosse, Irish people are so FRIENDLY! They say "hello" when you pass them, the help you with directions before you even ask, and they take a general interest in where you are from. After the waterfall, we headed off to the "Meeting of the Waters" and took a little dip in the lake.

Lucky for us, when we returned our bikes to the town centre, there was a summer Music festival going on. We walked around enjoying the street performers. My favourite ones were these two girls dressed up as Irish dancing fish. I'm not sure why that entertained me so much. We arrived back in Cork, sore and hungry. We grabbed a pizza and returned back to our Hostel for the most epic game of Jenga ever!

Ireland was an amazing adventure that I will never forget!

BRITISH WORD OF THE POST - "Starkers" = to be naked

Punting on the Cam

Last Wednesday, a small group of girls and I went to Cambridge for the day. My cousin Diana was a recent Cambridge student at Trinity College, so I had all the good advice on what to see and do.

One of our directors had connections to get us a private tour with a student through Penbroke College. It was so interesting to see what university life is like in a place like Cambridge. It is quite different from the BYU lifestyle that I am used to. People actually get to wear robes like in Harry Potter!

After our little tour, we stopped by the Fudge Kitchen for a free sample of Toffee fudge. Yum! We also walked around the street market.

 My Cousin warned us that some pseudo attractive young men would try to tempt us to join their punting tours, and she was right. However, the first guy that approached us gave us the best deal imaginable!

He offered the seven of us a private tour for a total of 50 pounds - that is basically 7 pounds for each person! We asked some of the other "punters" for quotes, and they were all floored that we were offered that price. Most children tickets are 8 pounds. Punting is so fun and beautiful! It is similar to Gondolas in Venice, but the punters are attractive young men instead of old Italian guys.

The tour took us along the Cam river behind all of the colleges and under the beautiful bridges. Our tour guide, Sam, was really sweet and friendly. You'll notice his toned arms in the picture above. My sister tried punting herself when she was on her study abroad, and every time I saw someone attempting their best to punt, I chuckled imagining a twenty year old Tammy doing the same.

BRITISH PHRASE OF THE POST - "Bob's your Uncle" = "And that's all!"

Temples and Proms

This week we had the amazing experience of visiting the London LDS temple to do baptisms for the dead. This trip was especially fun for me because it was on the grounds of this temple, 10 years ago, that my sister Tammy decided she would go on a mission. What a special moment to walk around and think of her.

The temple trip took most of the day, but in the evening we got all dressed up to go to Proms. Not Prom, but Proms, the world's greatest classical music festival. It was held at the Royal Albert Hall - just a short walk through the park. The orchestra played songs by Debussey, Ravel, and Falla.

The next day we went to the British Museum. This was pretty amazing. I felt like a child lighting up as I walked through all the things I had studied this last year in History 201 and Humanities 201. The Elgin marbles were especially fun because I realized that I was seeing more of the Parthenon in London than I'd probably ever see in Athens itself.

The British Museum also has an incredible collection of mummies. It was a bit creepy, but way cool to see some of these mummies. My two favorites were accidentally preserved by natural elements like sand and bog. One man was identified as being from 3400BC, and I could still see the remnants of hair on his scalp and the fingernails on his tiny hands! Through studies, they actually know exactly what the Bog man was eating before he died: cake and mistletoe seeds. They described him as been a well-groomed 25 year old. I bet he was quite the charmer before he was murdered and thrown in the bog. I didn't take pictures of him, but if you want to see what your skin would look like after thousands of years in a bog, look up "Lindow Man" on Google images.



Notice my new coat I purchased at Primark! I love how British it is.



After a bite to eat, my friends, Olive and Patria, and I decided to go for an evening run. We ran from our Centre to Big Ben. What a divine time for a run! This run takes you through three parks: Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, and St. James' park. You run past Buckingham Palace and end up at Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We stopped to stretch on the bridge overlooking Parliament on the Thames. I had the strangest realization that I am LIVING here in London. This city has become my home in many ways, I didn't realize how much I am going to miss it when I leave. I know once I am on that plane, I will not be able to contain my anxious desire to be with my family again in Salt Lake, but I'm glad to know that there will always be a part of London in my heart.

BRITISH PHRASE OF THE POST - "litter bin" = trash can

Castles and Gardens

This week began with a little trip to the Thames Valley. First Stop: WARWICK CASTLE
This castle is really fun with its interactive activities and exhibits. It is the home of one of the largest trebuchets in the world. Some of the exhibits are done by Madame Tussades, so the figures are made of wax and quite life-like. I learned about the Earl of Warwick, a lancastrian during the war of the roses, who rallied men together to fight for King Henry during the war. I also learned about the secrets and scandals of the Victorian royals. This exhibit made me chuckle because it really was pretty silly with its scandals and sound effects.

After Warwick, we headed to Stratford Upon Avon. We visited Anne Hathaway's, Shakespeare's wife, home as well as Shakespeare's birthplace. The gardens at Anne Hathaway's house were beautiful in a quaint little home garden way. My nose was overwhelmed by the scent of Violets. We walked through this wooded glade listening to Shakespeare's love sonnets. Here is one of my favorites:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
   If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Can you imagine a world without Shakespeare? I learned a bit more of this man from the trip like how he was 18 when Anne Hathaway (then like 24 or 26) became pregnant with his child. Of course, they had to get married because it wouldn't be right otherwise. His father was a glove maker and acquired a great deal of debts through his back dealings with wool and loans. Shakespeare writes his knowledge of gloves into his plays.
In the evening, we had the incredible experience of watching the National Shakespeare Company perform "Macbeth." My seat was only two rows from the stage. The students on the first row had all the fun of feeling the stage blood and spit. They say that a lot of spit is the sign of a great actor.


Anne Hathaway's Cottage

 The second part of our journey led us to Blenheim Palace, the beautiful home of the Duke of Marborough. There was a small exhibit there about Winston Churchill and the state rooms were nice, but the gardens are really the main event. These huge grounds sit right on a lake, which makes it picturesque and lovely. I did not even begin to see all the grounds, but I enjoyed the rose gardens and waterfalls. Not to mention, I had the most delicious cookie of my entire life at Blenheim palace (White Chocolate cranberry)

After Blenheim, we visited Oxford. I think the highlights of this trip were getting a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake milkshake from Moo-Moos and going to Christ Church College for evensong. Christ Church college gets to boast that their grand hall was part of the Harry Potter movies, so there were quite a few tourists flocking to it.

After returning back to London, we took one day to go visit the Royal Botanical gardens at Kew Gardens. These beautiful gardens were quite extensive and I felt like I had walked through all parts of the globe by the end of our visit. They had a tree tops walk where you climb up over the trees and walk around an elevated boardwalk. I felt like Tarzan or the Swiss Family Robinson.

The Tree Top walk