Cambridge Beats Out Oxford for London's Favorite School

Thats right... I liked Cambridge better.

Why?

Well part of it may have to do with the fact that I was dressed warmer, or that we just took our time leisurely exploring instead of rushing to see all the colleges. Or part of it my be punting. Or eve'n song at King's College.

I'm not really sure why it was better than Oxford, I just know that it was.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. We started our day at an American cemetery. This is a cemetery to honor the American troops that lost their lives over here during World War 2. It was so neat to be at a cemetery for our country. No offense to England, I love England. But America is my home, and seeing that American flag waving over the cemetery made me feel right at home.

After exploring this beautiful place we went to Cambridge. We were given some money and a map and told to meet at 5:00 for Eve'n Song at Kings College. The day was ours. Now, sometimes this turns out great, other times not so much. Luckily Wednesday it turned out excellent.

We were able to take our time meandering the different colleges and taking in all the beautiful sights.

We enjoyed checking out the different colleges and the little town. The highlight of the afternoon was when we went punting though.

You know, when you get in a boat and some man with a stick moves it through the river... like in Venice?

Anyways, when you go punting here you go down what they call the "Backs" because the back of a bunch of colleges face it. And your punter tells you all about the different colleges, the beautiful buildings, and rumors about Harry Potter or Camilla Parker Bowels.

It was so much fun just sitting there and listening and taking in all the beautiful scenery.

But, as four rolled around and it started getting dark it became quite freezing.

Us on the boat, before it was cold and dark!

After we finished punting we met up with everyone in the group at Kings College, where we went to Eve'n Song, put on by the Boys Choir of Kings College. The chapel there was beautiful, complete with huge windows on each side and fan vaulted ceilings. However, because it is dark outside it was dark inside, except for candle light. It was beautiful.

And how beautiful it looked was nothing compared to how beautiful it sounded. The boys probably ranged in age from 6 to 16 and they sounded liked angels. It was stunning.

It was a beautiful way to end our last day trip.

After walking back to the coach, Tony was the first to break the news to us about the Royal Engagement! It's amazing how news like this turns things around here! The papers are full of talk of how this will improve the economy, making the wedding day a bank holiday, and pictures of the ring that was once Diana's. I've never seen such a large group excited about a wedding. It's exciting to be here for all that!

The day was beautiful. We were all happy, enjoying the fun. And, as we drove home after a stop at a welcome break (St. Tate and I got a 2 for 1 deal on Diet Cokes), I thought about how much fun these day trips have been. I reflected on all of the cool things I'd seen, and all of the funny, and sometimes not so funny things that had happened on them.

Mostly I thought about how if I never ride a coach again I'll be a happy woman! :)

Windsor, Hampton Court and...Harry Potter?

Our day trip last week involved to palaces. First Windsor:

There we were not only able to view the private apartments, which was awesome, but see the changing of the guards. This was one of the highlights of the day and I have a ten minute video on my computer to prove it.

Of course, I needed a picture with the guard that we saw take position. I couldn't come all the way over here and not take a picture with a guard!
After exhausted our excitement with Windsor we headed out into the little town around it. We got lunch there. Tomato soup (finally!!) and cokes. After eating we wanted to explore a little shop, but the sign said no food or drink. What are poor thirsty girls to do?

Good thing my pockets are so big! I'm sure if anyone heard the clinking they would have assumed something else was in the bottles, but luckily I'm good at hiding them.

As we were standing around, waiting to leave an old man joined our circle. He had food in his beard and was obviously homeless. He looked around and looked at each of us and asked:

"You're American!?"

We responded that we were. He just stared at us. Awkward silence. And then he....

walked away?

Yea, it was definitely weird to me too. Oh well!

Our next palace was-Hampton Court. This one was a favorite of King Henry VIII and he had his private apartments there.

We enjoyed getting the full experience, by running into these two:

But the highlight of this excursion was definitely the maize! Here we are at the beginning... lost and confused!

And here we are happy to have made it to the end!

The day was basically full of lots of fun, and an extra amount of laughter.

And an extra amount of pictures as well....

The next day it was the Harry Potter World Premiere here in London. Some of the girls here at the center decided to camp out all night and day in order to get right in with the celebrities.

Some of us made good use of our day. Jess and I not only went to the Tate Modern, and the British Library, but had time to visit this place to:

Thats right-Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station. It was epic....

I've been trying to convince you all that I actually go to Hogwarts this whole trip-and this is just more evidence of it!

After lunch and a nap I got all bundled up and went down to Leicester Square for the premier. It was packed, but so so exciting. The whole square was a buzz as caldrons of fire sporadically lit up, and interviews with the stars were blasted through huge speakers and shown on giant screens.

Emma's dress was amazing.

Rupert is the least eloquent actor I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

And Dan Rad, is oh so gracious.

Thats right, I was right there with them... and thousands of other people!

Overall it was very exciting! I can't wait to see the movie this week!

A Week With No Heat (Part 1 of 1, aka this is really long)

(Mom-grab a diet coke and cuddle in on the couch-this is a long one!)

So, as previously mentioned Tuesday night I went to Joshua Radin in concert. It is a well known fact that concerts are stinky, sweaty affairs-as is anything where so many people are jammed in so tight a space. Throw in the weed and people drinking and you your stink factor increases drastically. As all of us came in and gathered on the stairs to chat and brag about our evenings one of the other girls comes in, a little confused and utters the words that would have ruined any other night:

"There is no hot water"

Say what? You mean to tell me that the 20 of us that smell like dealers on a Friday, with sweaty hair and little patience can't have hot showers.

Now, any other day of the week I wouldn't have minded. (Mikhael Doe stop reading here...) If we're being frank, my shower habits are not the very best here anyways because of what an ordeal it is to shower here in the first place. However, this was a night that I needed desperately to shower.

When I finally came upstairs I turned on all of our showers just to check. Ice cold. Literally, had I left it running we would have had ice lollies in the morning. Dave, our resident director, assured us that he fixed it and that hot showers would be had by all come morning.

Morning came, and we all loaded the coach sans showers. Still ice.

It didn't stop us from having a great day though! We got to do all sorts of fun things. Our first stop was a Jane Austen's house. There Jessica and I took this picture: which is super unflattering but now a gem, considering how much trouble it got us in to. Let it be stated that their were no signs warning us against the use of flash photography.

Some girls even got to play the piano there. It was a lovely experience to learn about the woman behind the novels we're dissecting so intently (Up now is a close second favorite-Emma!)

And after that it was the best time of any field trip day, Lunch time!

Note the delicious looking sack lunch. Complete with fruit, biscuits, crisps, pb&j, and a Galaxy bar. The greatest part about lunch on the coach is that after you usually have time to plug in the ipod and take a nice little nap!

Not too long though because we soon reached our next stop, Salisbury Cathedral:

Here we toured all around. We even got to see a legible page of the original Magna Carta. It was amazing. I even found my name in it.... well my last name, which I guess is kinda famous around here.

Our final stop of the day was pretty cool I guess.

Just kidding it was awesome. Literally, I was in awe. Because we saw this:

Don't let the seemingly good weather fool you however. It was actually freezing. So cold that now when I get super super cold I think "Well, at least it wasn't as bad as Stonehenge."

So cold that I've been in freezers warmer.

So cold that Everest seems doable.

So cold that I think Jack and Rose are officially whimps. She so could have held on.

Seriously. Cold.

After walking around, taking it all in, and enjoying the beauty of it we headed back to the city. We dropped our stuff off and headed down to Whole Foods for dinner. They are a health food store, but upstairs there is a cafeteria style place to eat. It was there that I got my first burrito in over 2 months. It was a little bit of heaven. I was a little bit in love.

As we got ready for bed that night (still no hot water) we realized that it was also freezing.

Literally, I swear once I could see my breath while laying in my bed. Ok, maybe that an exaggeration, but only a little. Also, I was coming down with a bit of a cold so my options were:

1-bundle up, get under my covers and stay there or

2-take an ice shower and risk getting pneumonia and dying

I kinda promised my parents I'd make it back alive so option one won out.

Thursday I slept late. I went to class in sweats, and wrapped in my blanket. Saint Tate even checked on me to make sure I was still ok, I was. I was just cold. Freezing to be exact.

I had to get some humanities work done so I headed out to the N.G. by myself to look at Hogarth's Marriage a la mode. The national gallery was warm and I've never had such a strong desire to move into that place.

By that night it was apparent that the heater and the hot water were both broken. And Dr. Seeley, at devotional suggested we fast for 5 minutes before dinner was ready for them to miraculously be fixed. So spiritual here.

The next morning brought more... ice.

Luckily we were doing another day trip! So, on to the coach we headed and Tony was as accommodating as ever and not only blasted the heat but brought us Master and Commander to watch as we headed to see this:

The victory. Thats right, the Victory. The one that fought in the Battle of Trafalgar, the one that Admiral Nelson died on. That very one! Taking a tour of this amazing ship is one of my favorite things we've done here. It was so interesting, and I learned so much by doing this! For example, did you know that we get the term Spanish Omelet because the cannon balls would puree men's heads and have their remains splatter against the sails? Thats what I learned.

We also stopped at a Cadbury outlet :)

Before heading to Brighton! Lets just say I now understand Lydia's desire, and Kitty's jealousy much more. This place is awesome!

Notice that there is no sand, all the beach is little pebbles! It is so different. I was giddy with excitement at seeing such a fun place. And you want to know the best part-it was all free time! Free time to explore=adventures I'll always remember. Including rides on the pier and crepes!

There were also vicious seagulls. Gross!

It was gorgeous though, and I had so much fun playing around here!

As we were heading back to the city we had one stop left. Tony came over the speaker and said "I hope your enjoying this beautiful scenery, because in about 2 miles we'll be coming up on something that should be.... familiar to you."

And it was. Familiar is the perfect word to describe how I felt.

Isn't it beautiful. Familiar without being there? Amazing right?

Now, I had wandered all around the grounds, which are truly stunning, when one of my friends sought me out and said that anyone that has their recommend is welcome to stay and do baptisms. Well, I was in luck-I had my recommend.

I wandered inside and apologized for my clothing. A very sweet brother told me that as long as I have my recommend I'm worthy, and thats all I need.

(Note the Sperrys, and traveling pants I wore into the temple)

I felt so out of place in such clothes. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes. It's true that that is not the important part though, and once I was in my clothes I just felt peace. I was able to take some quiet time there and reflect, read and ponder. I felt renewed, happy and peaceful. It was exactly what I needed.

It was warm. It was familiar. It was home.

And that night when we finally got back from this temple trip we had hot water. I've never been so immediately blessed for going to the temple!

It really was a great week, especially considering how cold it was!

And yes, I did shower. See, this story has a very happy ending!

(I know this was a long post but lets be real, I'm selfish. I write these for me more than for you, whoever you are. And I fully expect the only other person to make it through this to be the woman that gave birth to me! So, don't worry!)

Tor, Stourhead and Bath

On Wednesday we went on one of our fabulous day trips. I was a little worried when we started out because this week, like last weeks trip to Stratford, we were sans-Tony.

Thats right. No Tony.

We were heartbroken. Not that those other coach drivers aren't nice and all, but seriously-we really like Tony. He is endearing.

Despite this minor set back we ended up having a wonderful day. We first went to Glastonbury where we saw the ruins of what was once a beautiful Cathedral, it is also where King Arthur and Guenevere are supposedly buried. We took a group picture, and enjoyed the scenery.
Then we saw London mom and dad (dr. and sister seeley) hugging so we took a picture. After teasing them they began to pose for more pictures, and then even request more pictures. Who do they think they are? ha ha ha

After that we hiked the most monstrous hill I've seen since being in England, to reach the tower at the top-Tor. Now there are all sorts of rumors/ideas about this place, but my favorite is that the English people fervently believe that Joseph of Aramatheia brought the Christ child here. It used to be an island, and the story goes that they sailed out and brought Christ here. Who knows if it's true? I'm not ruling anything out. Either way it was a beautiful place.

Next up was the picturesque garden of Stourhead. Some of you may know this as the scene of Darcy proposing to Elizabeth in the rain. I stood where Kiera Knightly once did. ha ha It was absolutely stunning though. I loved it there.

After that it was on to Bath. (say it with the accent!) We explored the Roman Baths, and even had the water in the Pump Room before making our way up to the Assembly (Upper) Rooms. I felt very much like I was in Persuasion as I took a turn about the room and danced around. It was beautiful. Bath was a very cute little town, and I loved exploring and being there. We had a pastry for dinner, and peeked around the Cathedral before getting back on the coach to head back to London.

Can I just say-the English countryside is more beautiful than anything else I've seen. It is stunning in it's various shades of green, with the fog covering a soft field on which a herd of sheep quietly graze. I know that sounds extreme-but I assure you that it is not.

My time here in London is going so quickly. This week I've also been busy attending class, hitting up the National Gallery, the V&A, the Natural History museum, Keats House, Kenwood (also gorgeous), and a shoe gallery on Oxford. (Shoe gallery wins for surpassing expectations, natural history for being most entertaining, and National Gallery for most inspiring). I only have 60 days left in London. I'm not counting down, I swear my friend is (she is engaged so it's ok). But I've decided to make sure I live up the next 60 days as much as possible.

So, today I'm off to Phantom at Her Royal Majesty's Theater.

And Monday we head out for a week on the North Trip. And it's looking promising that Tony will be with us.

Living it up over here? You bet!

This Week in Review

Today:
It started out a little rough, I fell down the stairs, got hair gel on my shirt right after I got dressed, and dreamed that I got to go home so I woke up homesick! So, my roommates and I decided to name all of the things that are great about today so we would be more excited about it! We came up with the following:
-it's thursday
-we were having good dinner
-in austen class darcy and lizzy finally got together
-I wore my cool flower embelishment

And that was it. Who knew that it would also include:
-Giraffe smoothies
-getting 2 out of 3 essays done!
-theraputic dish doing
and best for last
-a package from home!!! With a necklace I wanted and love! It's from Etsy, and it says
"Theres no place like home!" I love that as I travel Europe (Paris on Monday!!!) I get to wear this and remember home! So wonderful!

Wednesday:
A day trip to Bodiam Castle, Bateman's house (he wrote The Jungle Book), Battle Abby (where the Battle of Hastings took place) and Monk's house (where Virgina Woolfe lived)! It was so much fun! I loved it!

Isn't it a beautiful castle?? Ok well I totally would have uploaded more photos however, apparently we're not suppose to upload pictures to blogs anymore because of how slow the Internet is being. So basically, I have to go to McDonalds to upload them... I better get around to it more often or I may have some disappointed parents! Oh well.

My favorite part of Wed. was going to Bateman's house. Sometimes I feel like I could be a good writer, if I tried really hard. But if I lived here I could be an amazing writer!!! Talk about inspiration. It was gorgeous! I loved it!

Tuesday:

The whole program went and saw the play War Horse. It was beautiful set and puppetry (is that a word) wise, but a little cheesy as far as dialog goes!

Monday:

I went to the V&A and visited the Victoria and Albert Museum! Our assignment was to visit the Fashion section and write about the dresses from Jane Austen's time. It was great! However, my favorite part was the visit to the limited time Grace Kelly exhibit!

I would love to dress like Grace Kelly! This is one of her most princessy ones! I love it! I learned so much about her! She really is my fashion icon! Can you say classy?

Oh and I bought the cd for the Grace Kelly tribute-it is filled with Frank and Dean, and all of that wonderfulness. It may or may not be the most played on my ipod right now! :)

Well, I'll try to put nice pictures up later! Sorry about that. It makes me sad, not gonna lie. Anyways, thanks for reading despite pictures! Love you all!

I Feel Like A Princess When I Go To A Castle...

Friday I was up and ready before most of my friends in the states had gone to sleep Thursday. Breakfast started at 6:00, and after eating a packing a quick lunch we were off to board the coach by 7:00 AM. Which is usually the time I get up here.... A quick 2 hours later (quick because we all fell back asleep) we had arrived at Dover. Which is not only home to white cliffs, and a spectacular view of the Channel, but the Dover Castle! Before touring the Castle, Roman Lighthouse, and Saxon Church we went on the tour of the "Secret War Tunnels" that they used during WW2. They even had a hospital wing underground, it was really amazing. However if there is ever an incident in which WW3 breaks out I'm pretty sure it would be useless. I'm not really sure why they are still called the "secret" war tunnels anymore!

Anyways after that we climbed the largest hill of my life to check out the castle! It was spectacular. From the very top you could look out over the green valley, and the channel. I was in awe of the beauty there. This my friends, is the England I always pictured.
After we finished there we boarded the coach again, ate our lunch, and arrived in Canterbury. Our original plan was to head straight to St. Augustine's Abby, however, due to a mistake with scheduling our tour person was not there yet. Not to fear, Dr. Seeley had the brilliant idea to walk up to St. Martin's to kill time. Now one could easily argue that St. Martin's is the oldest church in all of Britain. In it's walls there are even bricks from the Romans. But to fully appreciate St. Martin's you have to know about Bertha.

Bertha was a Christian woman who King Ethelbert wanted to marry. Her father made him promise that if she married him she could still practice Christianity. Ethelbert agreed, and gave her St. Martin's to worship in. Through the righteous example of his wife, as is often the case, Kind Ethelbert was Baptised and Christianity began to flourish in the land. Bertha is truly an example to me.

Anyways, as we approached St. Martin's I fell in love with it because it had a cemetery. Now if you don't know this, I've always had this love of cemeteries, they really are sacred ground, and the beauty and quiet that is in them has always been special to me. We walked to the door of St. Martins and much to the Seeley's delight and surprise it was open. A local parish member was there watering the flowers and she told us that we could come in and she would tell us about the church, and that we could sing some hymns for her. Despite knowing everything about this church Dr. Seeley had never been inside and his excitement rivaled that of a 5 year old at Christmas time, and it was just as contagious. As I walked into this small church I was in love with the history, and age of it. The little parish lady told us about it's history and about Bertha and such and then Dr. Seeley got up. He told us to remember that all of our ancestors that came from here worshiped like this. Most of them went to local, small churches of this size every sunday. They we married there, baptised their children there, sometimes buried their children there, and sustained their firm belief in Christ their until the day that they were buried there. It hit a cord with me. As we sang Nearer My God to Thee, I Am A Child of God, and then pushed the envelope with The Spirit of God I felt the spirit so strongly. One of the things I've learned the most from this experience so far is the value in Christianity, even on it's own. The Apostasy is looked at as a time of darkness because we did not have the full truth on the earth, and while that is sad and true, it was also a time of great things... many wonderful things were preserved, and taught to others. Joseph Smith would have never found the truth if he didn't read the Bible, know of Christ, or know how to pray. This is a wonderful way to look at things to me, and the beauty of it is astounding.After possibly the most spiritual experience of my stay thus far we walked back to St. Augustine's Abby. There we were admitted and set free to roam about the beautiful ruins. The idea of ruins being something beautiful was foreign to me, but no longer! It is so beautiful. I loved the time we spent there.
After that we walked right into the center of town, and as a street performer sang "Losing My Religion" for whatever change people could spare we stared up at the gate to Canterbury Cathedral. Now, St. Paul's is still the number one in my book, however this was a beautiful. We split into groups and began a tour of the place. This is that Cathedral that Thomas Beckett was murdered at, and so obviously there is lots of history here. I've learned that where there is lots of history there is lots to tell, but our little guide far outlasted the 1 1/4 hour the sign said we would get. I thought she was going to give us a tour of the loo too at the rate she was going. It was beautiful however, and I am still in awe that I can learn about something in class one day, and be there experiencing it the next.And as if going to all these places was not pleasure enough, none of this photos were edited. It was just that remarkably beautiful of a day!

And now I just want to end as I always do, shouting (electronically) I LOVE LONDON!!!

And all of you for reading :)