An Overview

I'm behind, as always. So here's an overview of the past things I've done. 

London Temple trip. 

I love this temple. It was a really unique experience to attend with some of the girls from our program. It was something that I'll never forget. The temple itself isn't the most beautiful that I've seen, but the landscape really made it gorgeous. The grass was so green and the pond there was just perfect. It would make for some awesome wedding pictures, providing the couple gets lucky with the sunshine as we did.

Swan Lake Ballet on Valentine's Day. 

Valentine's Day was a fun day. I woke up to a bunch of notes in red, white, and pink laying at our door, with one for each girl. Ramzi made us all valentines! So cute. He cut out paper hearts and pasted then inside and wrote a sweet note to each of us. It was a great start to the day. After that, we discovered a bouquet of red roses tied with a black ribbon addressed to the beautiful women of Palace Court 27. So we each got a red rose for Valentine's Day courtesy of Mike and Collin. 

The ballet was incredible, even if the seats were unideal because they were restricted view ones, meaning that we couldn't see the entire stage from the angle we were at unless we leaned forward. They would have been fine with me, minus the fact that I had a rude lady poking me from behind the whole time, insisting that I lean forward less, even though I could barely see. I apparently gave her a "You're an idiot/I don't even care" look according to one of the girls behind me, Emily, who thought it was hilarious. Emily has told me that my there's basically a screen on my forehead that flashes what I'm thinking at that moment. If I had been able to put actual words on my forehead, it would probably be "Piss off." I don't know why, but ever since I've gotten to London I've wanted to say that. I don't want to actually ever have to say it to someone rudely, but I just want the opportunity to say it. Anyways, tangent. Morale of the story: I need to stop having my emotions written all over my face...

Brittani and me after the ballet. We survived the cranky lady behind us. Yay!

White Swan and Prince/Guy/Whatever? Haha. I don't know the story line. Forgive me.

I decided to treat myself to a Strawberry Cream (strawberries and white chocolate and whipped cream) crepe, since I didn't get anything for Valentine's. Not for Chris's lack of trying, just somehow the flowers didn't get delivered. Although, let's be honest, I'm willing to treat myself to a crepe any day I'm hungry enough for one.

Southall--Little India

Went to a temple in Southall and went shopping around the area. It was a cool experience, but really, let's be honest, the highlight was the food. Going to Gifto's for dinner as a group (and having BYU pay the tab) is always nice :) But best find of the day... CRISPY M&M'S!!!! They still exist!

Hampton Court and Charles Darwin's Home

Hampton Court--the residence of Henry VIII for a long time. It's architecture is amazing, but the gardens are really what get me. Their design is absolutely gorgeous. I just wish I could see all of these places in summer when flowers are blooming. I felt the same at Darwin's house. It was really cool to see the house after learning more about Charles Darwin's life in an adolescent book, Charles and Emma. They had such a cute relationship and Darwin had a really lovable personality. I thought the book really changed my opinion of Darwin and made me understand him better. The house was made into a museum and we looked at the grounds as well, which were large but everything was dead. Lame.

My audio guide and optional robe. I think I took the kids one. Oops. We were the only group to borrow them. The best was Dursteler giving us a funny look and asking, "You bought robes?" Yeah, we looked pretty cool. I think everyone was sufficiently jealous :P

This is one of many jumping pictures taken at Hampton Court. The British women kept laughing at us going up and down taking multiple takes of pictures.

Liz and me. Isn't Hampton Court just gorgeous?

Oxford

I was surprised at my limited excitement for Oxford. I feel like I really had been looking forward to Cambridge because I want more than anything to participate in BYU's direct enrollment there next year. So I feel like I've already kind of given my allegiance there. Haha. We'll see if I get in, though. Oxford was really cool though. I think I just prefer the smaller scale, cute town. The first place we went in Oxford was Christ's Church, where Lewis Carroll and many other significant people have studied throughout history. Also, drumroll please, it has been used for filming Harry Potter movies. That knowledge created the most excitement in Oxford. There were multiple places in Oxford where the movies were filmed. As we walked inside, the architecture was definitely recognizable. We took a lot of pictures there (naturally) and walked through the great hall and the church before heading out again. 

Family picture outside Christ's Church

My favorite thing though was the Alice shop. EVERYTHING ALICE. Clocks, jewelry, teacups and pots, shirts, bags, etc. Yeah. Awesome. The whole time I was thinking..."Brandon would be SO jealous." I was pretty excited myself. I did a presentation on Lewis Carroll a few weeks ago and for the first time read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The books were a lot stranger than I expected, but I still really loved them. They're just bizarre. But I think it's genius how Carroll incorporated math (one of his main loves and the reason he got a fellowship at Christ's Church) and logic puzzles into his children's stories. So naturally, I bought something there. I bought a cup and saucer. I had been looking for one anyway and I don't regret buying that at all. Best thing I decided to do :)  

The Hare, Doormouse, and Mad Hatter. On the other side, Alice is slumped in a chair looking awfully bored. On the inside of the cup is the White Rabbit's Watch :)

After that we visited a market where I got my first savoury crepe (chicken + cheese + garlic butter) that was delicious and huge. Then wandered the town more, hit up a library where more scenes from Harry Potter were filmed (infirmary and dancing lessons) and then the Eagle and Child pub, where C.S. Lewis and other writers would come to write. I wasn't hungry but the drink I had there was fantastic.

In other news....

Phantom of the Opera. 

Absolutely fantastic. I loved what they were able to do on the stage. I realized I really am attached to the movie, though. They did a really good job on that. I'm not saying that I necessarily like the movie more than the play, they're just both very different. The voices and music were amazing and I really enjoyed it. Well worth my money.

Of course I got dessert after. A delicious berry tart. Mmmmm!

What may have not been worth my money... LOVE NEVER DIES

The supposed sequel to Phantom

A more appropriate name would be, "Phantom Goes to Coney Island" or "Ten Year Reunion Gone Bad" or "Innocence Dies." I have never seen a more bizarre play in my life. The first scene confused me, but it mainly involved the Phantom, so it didn't seem too weird. The gaudy special effects (and what I mean by that is that when the curtain closed for a scene change, or even during some scenes, video like effects were played depicting Coney Island and lights) were very unappealing, especially for a sequel to a classic. But that wasn't even the beginning. We find that Raoul is a drunk and jerk, isolating himself from his wife and son. At one point, when his son asks him to play with him, he kicks the toy like he was kicking a soccer ball. Meg is one step away from a prostitute as she plays a show girl that wasn't wearing a top at one point (all we saw was her back, but a little weird still) and then Madame Giry turns into a Disney-esque villian. What's even better, is the Phantom is almost completely normal. He seems to be accepted at Coney Island and doesn't have madness to him anymore. He comes across as the only normal one in the play. Isn't that all wrong? And lastly, we find that the innocent Christine is actually a slut who slept with the Phantom, making her son actually a son of the Phantom. It makes sense, I suppose, because that kid is awfully creepy. But really, I thought she loved Raoul? Cheating on your husband with a deranged masked man before your wedding must have some sort of appeal. I don't really understand it, but you can ask Christine.

OH WAIT. You can't. She got SHOT.

Yes, Christine gets shot at the end of the play unexpectedly by her supposed best friend Meg, who can't stand being second to Christine in the eyes of the Phantom. I never thought I would see two girls fighting over a guy who hangs people. I'm not going to lie, I lost all sanity after intermission. I was confused and overwhelmed by the awful songs and even worse storyline and when Christine got shot, that was the final straw. I burst out laughing. I think I laughed harder though when Christine is dying in the Phantom's arms and tells her son that the Phantom is his real father. The boy screams, "NOOO!" and runs away. Best line ever. So the story ends with Christine's son having two dads, who most likely turn gay. I can only hope that this new love sparks another play called, "Love Never Dies, Especially Between Guys." I can see it being highly praised, as this play has been.

However, there are many people opposed to this play and realize how awful it is. A Facebook group has been created called, "Love Should Die" and I wholeheartedly agree. If this is love, let it die. For the sake of everyone, just let it die.

So for 25 pounds, I got a really good laugh. An overpriced laugh, but its something that I know I will never forget, even if I try.

May the Roads Rise Up to Meet You--SCOTLAND!!!

Well, here's my post for Scotland. I know, it's finally here. I'm so behind. Luckily I'm all caught up on my personal journal. If I have that done, then that's all that really matters. But to you non-facebookers and even to those who do, here's a more in depth look at my adventures there.

We left for Edinburgh, Scotland on Thursday morning.  Somehow, I got ready in time and out the door on time. I was wearing my blue and white dress and hunter boots and felt like I had actually made a valiant effort to look cute. I feel like those days don't happen very often here. I don't even get ready for church. But back to the story. It was hectic getting my bag up all the stairs in the tube and dealing with layers that made us all start sweating before we even got to the King's Cross Station. From King's Cross station we caught the train to Edinburgh for 4 hours. It was a gorgeous view bit of the way as we passed countryside with an ocean view. 

So we got into Edinburgh, where more hills and flights of stairs awaited us. JOY. But we trekked up and the hostel wasn't far at all. We put our luggage in a storage room and then headed to "hike" up to the castle. I thought we were literally hiking until I realize we were just going up the inclined street. Haha. Dursteler always makes things sound worse than they are. Although, as he pointed out, it's a good strategy because then we are happy with simply anything. Touché Dursteler. Touché. 

We went to a castle there that was a lot of fun, but afterward we got to wander the town. I've decided that many of the places I've visited so far can easily be described in one word. The Edinburgh Castle's word:

BONDAGE

So many children attached to that leash...

The Mill was probably my favorite part. This may have been the reason....

Accordion man. You're my favorite. 

After that was Annie. We had seen the description for the show at a place we visited and figured eleven pounds wouldn't be bad to swallow for a few good songs (even if the acting/singing was crappy). We ended up getting fifth row seats and it was surprisingly good. Excellent decision team. 

I adore these girls <3

 

The next day was a free day and we planned to hike Arthur's Seat. It was a relatively easy hike and I got much needed exercise. Plus, the thing that kept me going was to eat at "The Chocolate Soup" afterward. But more on that later.

The scenery wasn't too shabby... haha. As you can tell, its nothing less than spectacular.

 Here's the group at the top

There were also ruins on the way down that we took pictures by. Scotland is so PRETTY!

And then, well, there were some accidents. It's a little muddy in Scotland and a little wet. We found that out the hard way. Actually, let's be honest, it was mostly Blake that found that out. Good thing he was wearing his hiking shoes though! :P

Afterward we changed and got ourselves up the hill to the long awaited shop, "The Chocolate Soup" The shop really is true to the name. I may or may not have gotten a shot of pure, melted dark chocolate. I don't regret it one bit. Don't worry, I had some chicken soup and bread before I coated my arteries with chocolate. But I think it's safe to say we were all felt the effects of the overwhelming amount of chocolate later that day.

We wandered around a large part of the day and did shopping. I visited a session of Parliament that was hilarious if only because they were arguing about trivial matters and seemed to be begging anyone who came in to the building to watch a session. For dinner, we hit up the Elephant Cafe (I'm too lazy to put the picture up... maybe later) where J.K. Rowling started writing Harry Potter. Pretty good food. I can see why she went there. The bathroom was probably the best part of the place, because the toilet is decorated with Harry Potter pictures and the back of the doors are covered in Harry Potter trivia, information, etc. Which leads us to this....

This is Tom Riddell's grave. The dead bloke who was supposedly the inspiration for Voldemort's, He Who Shall Not Be Named's birth name. The graveyard is right next to the Elephant Cafe. We were all terrified walking through the graveyard late at night with a creepy gatekeeper at the front and limited lighting. We clung to each other the whole time and were screaming. Nothing could be more terrifying than trying to find Voldemort's grave at night, right? Yeah, we thought so too.

Our night ended off with deep fried candy bars. I could have done a mars bar but opted last minute for a Twix bar instead. It was delicious.

I was disappointed to leave Edinburgh. It felt like home. There was just something so charming about the town and there was still enough to do there so that you didn't get bored. It wasn't York, that's for sure. And it wasn't Stirling, another place in Scotland we later stayed for a night.

Dear Royal Mile, I Miss You Already

The next day was New Lanark, which I can't even begin to describe. It was just plain... weird. But in the best way possible. Haha. It was amusing and sort of interesting. I'm actually planning on holding my wedding there. Then I can send my friends through the Annie Mcleod ride (a Disney-esque Haunted Mansion type ride, although much more low budget) and then we can end at the cafe downstairs. They could even wander around and take pictures in the random rooms there filled with fake sculptures of people. It sounds all too tempting really. 

All that can really sum up this ride is, "Remember us, remember us, remember us" 

After this we stayed the night in Stirling. I have no pictures of that because there was nothing to do, and my pictures from here are limited. We did visit the William Wallace Monument, though. If I had to describe that place in one word it would be: stairs. Lots of stairs in narrow passage ways. It was a relief to get to the top and not feel quite so claustrophobic. Two boys in our group were very silly and wore kilts to the monument and everyone HAD to take pictures with them. It was funny to watch as we all lined up to jump in real quick to take a picture and then watch another person hand their camera to a friend and jump in. They could have easily started charging us. Luckily they didn't think of that until after :) 

After that was a bus ride to the train with a short break back in Edinburgh before we headed home. I refuse to even talk about the train ride home. Haha. It was fun, but man, was it long. I had about three meltdowns where I picked up things in front of me to play with them and then got upset and threw them back on the table. I think most of the things I abused were Blake's. Sorry about that buddy. Sara, Blake, Julie and I all went a little crazy for a while, pretending we were a dysfunctional family and the jokes went on for far too long to even be funny anymore...but somehow they were. Sara and I have some pretty attractive pictures that "Mom and Dad"--Julie and Blake, took across the table from us, but I don't have access to those either right now. Maybe later. But yeah, that was Scotland. My favorite trip by far that we've taken. Sorry it took so long to post. Miss you all back home!

Forgive me for my neglect

I have proved again and again that blogging is not my forte. I have decided to do it simply for school, since that's the only thing that motivates me. So... here it is.

CAMBRIDGE!!!!

Above is King's College, the building that I am actually dying to live in next year through BYU's direct enrollment with Cambridge in preparation for grad school. I took this picture as we were going punting on the river. Punting is basically like a gondola, for those that don't know. And if you didn't know that, don't worry, I didn't either. We had a hilarious guide who we enjoyed a lot and I wrote down a lot of the jokes we made that day while punting. Afterward, we hit up a pub with the most delicious burgers and walked around town as well. I decided that Cambridge = Love and that I have to go back. It's such a cute little town. 

On the Tuesday after Cambridge, we headed out to Kensington Palace (it's like a five minute walk away from Notting Hill where we live) in Hyde Park for High Tea. I've never been a fan of tea, but since it sounded classy, things here are generally mandatory, and it was supposed to be expensive, I was absolutely delighted to dress up for it. And can I just say something? I LOVE tea time. Haha. I bought tea bags and sugar cubes and consume it on the daily now. Adding two lumps of sugar really makes a difference. Also, we got a three level tray (I have no clue how to describe them--which is sad, my mom has multiple things like these that she uses when she throws her almost weekly parties), which I thought was going to be for the whole table. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the two desserts, scone, and sandwiches were all mine. It was a classy affair as Lyse, Maddy, Laura, Julie, Sara and I caught up on the latest news and gave each other titles. I am the Duchess of Devonshire. Fitting, huh? Anyways, it was definitely worth whatever they paid for it. I could taste very little of actual flavors since I was still REALLY sick with Bronchitis, and after four weeks am struggling to kill it off, but everything I ate was delicious. Okay, maybe the cucumber sandwich was a little weird. But other than that, everything was good.

Lastly, I have to comment on the fabulous food here. I could talk for hours about it all, but I only have time to post one more picture before I head off to Swan Lake for Valentine's Day :) 

I'm not usually a fan of ice cream, but man, the gelato here is good. I think Italy will prove to be even better. That's all for now. Next time I'll update on Scotland. Stay tuned.