Canterbury & Hastings

So i definitely dont like that my whole family is together because a. they are having fun without me and b. cause they are off having fun without me and as a result are not home to leave me any comments or email me! well you are all going to have to read a lot once you get back.

Besides having to get up freaking early this morning, today was amazing! We had a day trip, and although it was optional I figured it would be good to take advantage of it and go out and see more sites outside of London. We had to meet at metrogate at like 7.30--but of course got there late--to head out to Canterbury. The ride out there was about 2 hours so i got a nice nap in. Canterbury was great. First off its a really cute small town so that just fits me perfectly. Canterbury is a very significant place during Medieval history, it was a spot where the archbishop was always a very important person and especially because of Thomas Becket. But the most exciting part is that it is highly significant due to Becket who I am totally obsessed with. Which is a really funny thing to say but its because of my friend Matt. Matt and I took medieval history class together and we both loved the class. We learned about Thomas Becket and watched a ridiculously funny movie clip about him and we tried so hard to find the movie at Blockbusters so we could watch the whole thing together, but we never found it. So Matt and I would always talk about Becket together and how much we love him. here is the history behind it all--So Becket was a friend of the King of England and he placed Becket as the archbishop of Canterbury because he thought that Becket would help him in the struggle of church vs crown. But actually once Becket was appointed he didnt side with the King, which of course made the King mad and in a drunken rage he kinda ordered Becket to be killed. So four of the king's knights drove off to Canterbury to have him killed and they killed Becket off to the side of the nave (pictured with the swords). After his death he was was given status as a saint and so his body was kept in the cathedral as holy relics. As a result this has become a site for pilgrims to come and worship. Although Beckets shrine has been moved it was still so cool to be there, i was so giddy! Just to be able to have learned all about him and then to be at the place was really exciting. and plus it was an amazing cathedral, i thought it was gorgeous, i think hands down it is my favorite cathedral we have been to. A funny story of the day was when we first got to the cathedral there was a boy outside singing and playing his guitar for money and he was playing the song "When you say nothing at all" which always reminds of Laura and Matt's wedding video so I was really excited and M'kynzi and I were both singing. And he was really cute, so that was a plus. We told each other that if he was still out there when we were done that we would give him money. So afterwards when M'kynzi and I came out he was still there and I went up to give him a pound and i told him that I would only give him money if he sang that song again. So he did and we kinda just stood of to the side and listened, we felt like the biggest dorks ever, but it was fun.

Then off to Hastings--another really significant historical spot and not just for history but for the English Language too--hence thats why we went. The place that we went to was the spot of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was a battle between the English led my King Harold against the Normans led by William. We were able to walk all around the battle site and listen to an audio guide on it (again with this new technology trend). It was such a beautiful site and really really pretty and it was really peaceful, but it was kinda ironic because it was a horrific battle site--so interesting to think about. Well the battle ended with Harold being killed and as a result the Normans took over and two months later William was crowned King of England and became known as William the Conqueror (and no longer William the Bastard). So this battle has huge historical significance because the England that we know of is heavily influenced by the Normans. We have learned a lot about this in class that the English language has borrowed numerous words from the French language because of this conquest. So it was really cool to be there--a huge spot that changed the course of history. After we walked around the battle site we walked down the little main street. It was kinda cute cause lots of the stores and pubs were called Battle or 1066--definitely marketing to the tourist visitors. After we got back on the bus and had to endure through about a 3 hour bus drive home. Luckily i slept through lots of it and listened to my ipod, so it wasnt too bad. I came home and did my laundry which is another funny story. We all know that im not very good with doing laundry--but i have done so much better the past two years. Well so i got to metro gate and loaded the washer and then couldnt remember what button to press to get the right temperature of water, so i had to press all of the buttons until the screen finally displayed cold. Then i was about to walk way and then i realized that i never even put soap in the washer! My excuse is that in this washer you have to put the soap in a little container instead of just putting it straight in with the clothes, so i think it was a little harder to remember. And the room is cramped and super hot, so i tried to get out of there quick. And then i didnt even put in enough money in the dryer to dry my clothes so i have hanging all over the room to dry. Im pretty happy though that i only had to wash clothes twice while i was here. kinda gross when you think about it, but nice since i didnt have to spend lots of money and put up with walking all the way there.

after washing my clothes i came home and lillie, cathy and i went back to the crepe place that i have been before with m'kynzi. i got a really good (and fatty) chocolate crepe. we decided to get it for take away since its cheaper and we went and sat on a bench outside. well cathy got a mixed berry crepe and it was pretty hilarious watching her eat it since it got all over her face and then she spilled it on her pants. on the way home we decided that lillie and i are going to write a biography of cathys life once she gets famous and expose all of her secrets--too funny.

Shopping and Phantom!

I started the day off with another run through Hyde Park. I wanted to sleep in but last night on our walk home from dinner I ate a whole chocolate Flake bar, so to justify eating it and I had to go running this morning. It was already warm out at 8 when I left, so i was afraid it was going to be a super hot day but luckily its not as bad (definitely not as brutal as sun/mon). I didnt enjoy running with the sun out though. The last two times I went through Hyde Park (technically its Kensington Gardens, but whatev.) it was cooler and cloudy--so it just made it more peaceful and calm. Today since it was the opposite it just seemed more busy and had a different feel to it.



Today was our last day of class!! Well im sure we will get lectured on the bus next week, but im also sure that I wont pay attention. Its so weird to think that we are on the downhill of this trip. For awhile I was scared/annoyed that I would have to go to class during the summer, but it was such a breeze and super easy. I feel like we always get off on random discussions though, so its really frustrating. The last hour of class was filled with book or dialect presentations. Afterwards I was so tired and exhausted from it. i dont know how sitting for an hour can pull all of my energy but it somehow did. Everyone just talked for way too long. After I came home for some lunch. The best part of which was when Rachel spilled a huge spoonful of yogurt on herself. That was the most hilarious moment ever. Rachel is the funniest person ever, she had us all cracking up so much that I thought i was going to pee my pants. haha. Then I was off to do some shopping with Rachel. At first i was just going to go buy myself but Rachel was also dying to go shopping so we went off together. Not only have i been really good with my money but Don also gave us an extra 100 pound last week and said he was going to give us 50 more later--so i knew it was time to go do some spending. We first went off to H&M and i bought a jacket that i have been thinking of buying for some time. Then we went to Topshop. I wanted to buy these really cute sandals that Hillary and Christine have (luckily since i probably wont hang out with them much in provo, i figured i could buy them too). But the freakin sizes in this country suck! and i have the hardest time figuring out what size shoe i am. The size 5 was too big and the size 4 was too small. Then i finally found a good size 4 but it only fit my right foot and not my left. Im afraid that i have developed the same problem as dad of having two different size feet. But i did buy some really cute high heels. They were on sale for 30 pound (originally 55) so i figured thats a good price--even for the dollar. So i go to buy them and they ring up as 20 pound. sweeeeeet! such a good buy.



Lillie and I had made plans to try and go see Mamma Mia tonight. We had heard that it had been sold out on a lot of nights but we wanted to go try anyways. We got there and sure enough it was sold out. I think the fact that there is a movie out about it makes more people want to go see it. (myself included). We were bummed but we had a back up plan. We knew that the theater that the Phantom of the Opera was playing at was close by--so if we couldnt get into mammia mia we were going to try that. We got a little lost trying to find the theatre, but we found it and we got in! The only seats left were ones right behind a pole. Kind of a bummer but i heard from two other girls who went the night before that it wasnt that bad. We had some time to kill so we went to the restaurant Wagamama--a place that we have been wanting to go to for awhile, so it was perfect because it was so close. It was a really cool restaurant and lillie and i got to sit in our own little room/booth. The restaurant kinda reminded me of a converted bomb shelter, very interesting. The place serves noodles and it was super good, and i even ate my whole meal with chopsticks! I was a little nervous about actually being able to do it, but i stuck with it and it was great--i thought dad would be very proud of me. After dinner we rushed back to the theatre just in time for the show. it was kinda annoying to sit behind a pole, but i think it more frustrating to be so far back. I would have preferred to sit closer, but oh well. I was surprised at how much i didnt remember from the play. I know i have seen it a few times but i guess it has been a few years since the last time. It was amazing of course! After the first song I had goosebumps! I got flashbacks of lots of memories of going to see the play and listening to those songs over and over again for so many years. It also reminded me of grandma...didnt I see it with her the first time? if not, i still thought about her and missed her. lillie had never seen it before and of course loved it. The best part of the play was that the people sitting next to lillie left like right after intermission so we got to sit in their sits, so no pole for the second half! So it was great. Im so happy that i saw Phantom! My favorite play ever! The worst part of the day has to be the fact that i didnt get my daily read of the londonpaper while on the tube. Such a bummer. Im going to miss those a ton. But i guess i never sit on the tube at home, so it wont really be a problem, but still. Tomorrow we have a day trip so that should be fun, we are going to Canterbury so im really excited about it since Thomas Beckett is from there! i love beckett.

sorry no pictures today, i actually didnt even talk any.

Museum filled day...again.

Today was a great day for many reasons. During the night it rained and so it cooled off. so nice! during the night i actually got cold and pulled my comforter up which felt so weird doing since i hadnt done that lately. Walking to class i almost needed a jacket. It was kinda funny to be wanting to jacket and then to think back to yesterday where i almost melted. And then class was really great today too. We had a guest lecturer come teach us. She is from northern england and is an expert on the northern dialect. She first talked to us about standard english and then taught us about the dialect. that was the most interesting thing ever. She told us about the differences between the north and the south and the perceptions of them. she is from the north and said that if you are from the south you are perceived as being a "softy" because of their posh accents. She was also able to mimic like every accent of england and give us examples which was really neat. It was great cause for the first time we were actually able to learn about the varieties of english from someone who actually knows it and lives it. She taught us about the "bath" and "strut" lines that are in england. Supposedly you can tell where someone lives from the way they pronounce the two words. The funniest part of the lecture was when she told us that not all parts of england are non-rhotic speaking (not prouncing the /r/ sound) and she said that two small areas do say the r's like americans do. She then tried to pronounce the word "arm" like an american (with the /r/ sound) and couldnt do it! It was so funny to me to think we are technically have an accent that is different and can not be duplicate by others.

After class i went to the Victoria and Albert Museum with Lillie. I have already been but she hadnt so and i didnt mind going again. The best part of the museum was their jewelry exhibit! It was so amazing and i was thinking of mom the whole time! you would have loved it! They had different pieces of jewelry throughout history, starting with like the 2nd century. They had different pieces all the way up to the present--but those ones were really weird. But they had jewelry that was from the '30s from Berlin, pieces from Paris during WWII. I really cant describe it too well, it was just amazing. There was also a piece there from Georg Jensen...I feel like mom has mentioned him a time or two. The best part of this exhibit was the rings that they showed at the end...they were all put together in a huge circle based on the type of stone the ring had. It was just so incredible, Lillie and I wanted to try them all on! The only problem with this exhibit was that it was a small room with lots and lots of lights so it made it really hot. And since i basically read everything, i was like super exhausted by the end. Afterwards we went to an exhibit on stained glass windows which were also really amazing. I enjoyed being able to see them close up. Then i met up with Cathy and M'kynzi to head over to the British Museum to see a required exhibit for class. We were so tired that we didnt really have the energy to look at other exhibits, but we did decide to look at the rosetta stone (a must see!) and the mummies that they had there. The mummies were so cool! Back when whitney was in jerusalem she had the chance to go to egypt and i remembered her telling me that she saw mummies and i was so jealous. so i was really glad i got to see this exhibit--and i didnt even have to go all the way to egypt! I felt like i was in the movie the mummy or something. (or "la momie" as it was advertised in france) It was so fascinating to see actual mummies. They showed a bunch of open caskets (is that what they are called?) with the rapped bodies inside of them, outside of the case they showed the CAT scans of the mummies to show the bones inside the wraps--so cool! The best part was seeing this one skeleton that had been preserved inside this box. It still had its teeth, hair and skin! Im not even sure how it was able to be preserved the way it has, but it was freakin sweet. The fact that the teeth and tongue were still there was absolutely crazy.

After the museum we took off to see the main attraction of the day--LEIGH STREET! A few days ago i was looking up things in our london books and i decided to see if there was a robins st in london. there wasnt--so i went to the l's to see if there was a leigh st. low and behold there was, and its right next to the british museum too. I was so happy to find out that my roomies were more than happy to travel out there with me to see it. After the museum we were in a bit of a time crunch to get there and get back home (we needed to meet up with people for hannah's birthday dinner in like an hour) by 6.30. So instead of walking we opted to take a ride on a bike....a bike that pulls us along in a little carriage. haha. it wasnt that expensive and we figured it would be fun to get pulled around and see the city from a non-walking view. we thought the guy pulling us might kill us, but it was really fun. Leigh St was great! It is a really small street in Camden and had about 20 stores and a cute pub on it. I was very satisfied to see a street with such a good name.

We came home and meet up with Rachel, Dena, Hannah, Todd, Andy, Hillary, Christine, and Beth to go out for dinner. We werent sure where we were going but we went to a place that had lots of options. Hannah picked going to Nando's cause she had never been there. I usually wouldnt have minded but M'kynzi and I just went there on saturday, so it would have been nice to switch things up..especially since our limited time left. But it was fine, I tried something new and loved it of course. I have decided that the chips here are the best ever. they are so good, definitely going to miss those in the states. Then we all walked back here and played a few rounds of nerts. It was really fun. I love being able to just hang out and talk with everyone. I feel like now that we are finally getting more and more familiar with each other and the city we have to leave. The biggest bummer about it all is that half of the group that i hung out with tonight doesnt even go to BYU! such a bust!

The Orangery

Of course today was another brutally hot day. It went by so fast today too! I really cant believe how the time has flown by. Its funny cause Cathy and I have talked about how we feel like we have known each other forever, when it really has been only a month. I really cant believe it has already been that long. I have been gone longer than time that i have left.

Well we had class today and we were all dying of the heat and of boredom. I actually filed my nails during class--but i still paid attention. Today we talked about grammar and what is considered standard english compared to good and bad english. honestly i could care less. i speak the way i speak and if i say "like" a thousand time, then so be it! (sorry dad). sometimes it gets interesting, but it just shows me that i really do love my major and im so much more happy taking history classes. Lillie was smart enough to remember that yesterday during church she spotted fans in some of the classrooms so we hunted three of them down and brought them into class with us. WOW such a difference, it was like heaven. After class the four of us plus our favorite friend Rachel went to the Orangery next to Kensignton Palace. Its a small cafe/ restaurant that is a pretty posh and proper place. We were burning up on our walk there and then they made us wait outside while they got our table ready. i have never been so hot before in my life, I really thought i was going to either melt or die. It was really cute inside and even had small orange plants on each table (it took my like 10 mins to realize why there were oranges...cause its called the orangery...haha) At first I was a little annoyed because nothing looked good on the menu. Since its a like a real tea place they had really random British food which equals not good food. We discovered that the soup of the day was some Spanish tomato soup that is a cold soup and as soon as our waitress said cold i was sold! We all got the same thing and it actually turned out to be really good. Rachel said that it has like every vegetable in the soup so it is really healthy for you, and since I need that i figured it was a good choice. As i was eating it i could feel myself start to cool down so it was perfect. We all ordered desserts and it was amazing. I got victoria sponge cake and i thought i was going to die. We all decided we needed to come back just for their desserts.

Then we were off to Samuel Johnson's House which is a required site for our history class. We walked through Kensington gardens to go to the tube and as i was crossing the street i noticed this kinda odd looking girl and recognized her--which was strange--and then realized it was Jessica! It was the most bizarre moment to be walking down a random street and to run into my cousin! We were both pretty shocked. Unfortunately I was really pressed for time so I didnt get to talk to her for very long, maybe like 10 mins, but we are still going to try and meet up another time. Im hoping I can fit it in. I still have so much that I want to fit into this next week that it might be difficult. Well after our little run in we realized that we were going to be super late for our lecture at the house. We were suppose to be there no later than 3:15 and it was already like 2.55. whoops. So we had to get on the freakin hot tube and then practically run to the house. This made the lecture so less enjoyable since i was literally exhausted--the heat just drained me and unfortunately i had no water with me which would have been much appreciated. The lecture and tour was interesting though. I learned that Samuel Johnson wrote on the first dictionaries and history of the english language and we went to the house where he began his work on the dictionary. (i liked the entry under X in his dictionary). His house and neighborhood were both really cool. They are from the 18th century and it was just so spectacular. I think sometimes I was born during the wrong time period. Well except for all the inconveniences of the time period--we all know I really wouldnt be able it, but I love the architecture of the old times.

After our lecture M'kynzi and I went shopping! I am still unsatisfied with my lack of purchases since I have been here. It is just so hard for me to spend money, and I dont want to buy just to buy so im trying to be careful. But i did finally buy sunglasses from H&M. But nothing else has really appealed to me. I need moms opinion on all of my purchases! After doing some shopping M'kynzi and I had an Italian home made dinner of gross semi cooked pizza and pasta. And then off to sainsbury's (best shopping market ever! im going to miss it so much!) and i bought a ridiculous amount of food for only spending one more week here. but everything just looked so dang good and cheap! so i couldnt resist. once we got back home the four of us mapped out our next couple of days. technically we only have like 3 more days in london which makes us soooo sad. We are trying to pack in markets, plays, museums and dinner for our last week. I think we have a great week planned ahead of us. if only it would stop being so dang frickin hot.

Summer has arrived

It is so stinkin HOT here! The cool and rainy weather is gone and i miss it so much. Last night it started to get so hot and humid which sucks. We have all of the windows open and it does nothing. We walked to church today and it was miserable. Church was miserable cause it was so hot. The flat is miserable. I need air conditioning! This heat is so much different than back home cause its not like im in my air conditioned house and then i briefly walk in the heat to an air conditioned car and then to an air conditioned store--here i walk from my hot flat to the hot tube to a hot building! its absolutely miserable. We all are just lounging in the family room and cant do anything cause its so stinkin hot. I did just go for a walk, so it was nice to get out of the flat but once i got back i was sweating so bad! Im starting to think that i should have brought more shorts and skirts cause there is no way i can ever put on jeans again if this weather keeps up.

next week in church I have to teach in Young Womens. Hopefully it wont be too bad, especially since there is only like 4 girls and they all come late anyways so that will just make the lesson shorter too. today we were basically sacrament meeting. there was only 5 of us girls at church today and we had to bear our testimonies. they wanted us to talk for 5 minutes so we could talk for a half hour but that definitely didnt happen. during the beginning of sacrament rachel and i were hoping that the open and sacrament hymns would have like 8 verses so that it would take up more time but of course they only had like 2 each, such a bust. It wasnt until the closing hymn that there were 4 regular verses and then we had to sing the two extra ones--i dont think i will get use to that.

Did i mention that its hot? sitting by my computer makes things more miserably hot. Maybe since I know live in a sauna it can help me lose weight after eating so much chocolate. I can only hope.

For the Fam...

How could I have forgetten to post this picture???

I took it just for you guys...hope you like it.

My Paris Holiday

OH WOW. The past few days have been so packed I don't even know where to begin. It was super fun and I really really loved it. And the best part is that I went to Paris and got away without even going to the Louvre! But I will get to that later.

Day 1--July 24, 2008

Well we got up in the early hours of about 3 in the morning. It was crazy to think that while i got up everyone back home had probably just had dinner. The time change thing is pretty crazy. I got ready, put last minute things together and we were outside at the bus stop by about 3.50 and caught the bus to take us to St. Pancras. We arrived in Paris at about 8.30ish and we were already lost upon our arrival. Immediately I was thankful for the English Language--I really didnt appreciate French. So after purchasing metro tickets we headed for our hotel/hostel. And we got freaking lost. So not enjoyable. We had no idea where our "hotel" (the place claimed it was a hotel and whenever we are in public we like to refer to our hostels as hotels) was and we were just wandering the streets. The bad thing about the girls that I went with is that we cant ever agree about certain things (as this trip fully showed). Its either one girls way or the highway, which usually never works. We were standing on the side of the road and we obviously looked so lost because a guy who was sitting outside a cafe from across the street came over to us to see if we needed help. We then went into the cafe to get some directions. So after wandering the streets we finally found it. And we were in like freaking chinatown too, so it wasnt that great of an area. But the best part of the wandering was that as we were walking M'kynzi asked me if the French drive on the right side (American way) or the wrong side (British way) of the road. I had to stare at the cars forever and imagine myself driving in CA and in UT to finally say that they drive on the wrong side of the road in France. About 20 minutes later M'Kynzi informs me that the French drive the same way we do! I was so confused. I just couldnt remember what it was like anywhere. I was finally getting use to the way the Brits drive and then I had to go back to the other way, and i was just lost and confused and coulnt remember what was considered "right" anymore. Im actually really fascinated by this whole driving different thing and want to research it. So anyways when I cross the street I never know which way to look. But now when i cross the street it feels more comfortable to look right then left. Ill have to readjust once i get back to the States. Then we arrived to our hostel/hotel--Wow. We were shocked at how CRAPPY it was!. The stairs were super windy and were compltely falling apart. Then Cathy and I get to our room and it was so tiny, the bed was super hard the bathroom looked like it use to be a closet and the best part was that the bathroom didnt even have a light in it! We had to pee and shower in the dark! And in order to use the sink you basically had to lean over the toliet. It was ridiculous. Then we tried to decide what we should do for the day and thats when things got complicated. Everyone wanted to do different stuff and had their own opinions about everything that it was really frustrtaing. M'kynzi really wanted to go to Versailles so Abby and I went with her, and Cathy and Lillie wanted to go to the Louvre (this is what i think is hilarious--we had originally planned that all of us would go to the Louvre on Friday but they wanted to go on Thursday cause they said that they could spend two days in there--yet after spending like a few hours in there realized that they didnt want to go back. HA.) So we went out to Versailles, and it was beautiful! It was blistering hot, but really really pretty. I realized being in Paris how much I actually remembered it from the first trip--but i still really enjoyed it. We took a whole tour of the palace and then out to the gardens. It was so hard to walk around outside cause of how hot it was, but it was still great. The best part was that in London we bought museum passes for about 20 pounds, it got us into a bunch of museums and we didnt have to wait in any lines. So it was great cause there was a massive line to get into the palace that we were able to skip. After Versialles we went back to main Paris, met up with Kelsey for some dinner (had fabulous steak and 'frites') then met up with Cathy and Lillie under the Eiffel Tower. We got ice cream and just sat at the park next to the tower and took lots of pictures. It was so crazy to just be sitting at the Eiffel Tower!! It kinda felt like a dream, really unreal that I was just hanging out in Paris with my freinds. We stayed till about 9ish and then decided to go home so we could go to bed after a really long day of travel. That night Cathy and i didnt really want to sleep in our bed cause it scared us, so we decided to sleep on top without covers or anything and left our window open--such a bad decision cause in the middle of the night i woke up absolutely freezing. But we still didnt want to sleep in the bed, so we pulled the top comforter up from the bottom of the bed and folded it over us. At the time it seemed like a great decision, but we had to sleep in like a fetal position all night so by the morning our legs were so cramped! It sucked.

It was also crazy to think that Dan has been gone for a year and six months on this day. I kinda was thinking about that throughout the day. Only five more months till he gets back--craziness. I never actually thought that it would go by as fast as it has. OH and it was Pioneer Day! A year ago we were on the Hinckley Parade. I miss that town. and Delta.

Day Two--July 25, 2008

So not only did I wake up this morning with stiff legs but I woke up feeling the most sick I have on this trip. I think sleeping in the cold may have led to this, but my throat and head hurt and my nose was completely stuffy. So it definitely was not making the day any more fun. We were suppose to leave the hostely by 10--well Cathy and I didnt even get up until 10, so that was pretty funny--probably not to everyone else since they had to wait around for us. But I felt like crap, so the extra sleep was definitely needed. Even though we had a late start the day was super productive. We started off by going to the Notre Dame. We didnt go inside because the lines were super long but we walked around the whole thing and took pictures. M'kynzi and Abby wanted to go up the bell tower but we didnt want to wait line so Cathy, Lillie and I headed off to St. Chapelle--It is a 13th century cathedral that had amazing stained glassed windows. And they were absoultely breath taking. The photos really do not capture how amazing they were. The three of us walked into the chapel and just had to sit down to admire them. On the 14 windows they told the story of the bible from Genesis until the Passion of the Christ. So we sat down opposite the Geneisis window and tried to depict the pictures. It was really pretty. We stopped by a little stand afterwards and Cathy and I shared an amazing kebab that had fries in it. it was really really good. Cathy told me that in France they put fries in everything--it made me like the country more. Then it was off to the Musee d'Orsee. At first I not happy about this. But then I realized that going to this Museum got me out of going to the Louvre since the other girls were going there and we were all meeting up after they went into the Louvre! (side note--Did we go to the Musee d'Orsee while we were in Paris last time? I had a vague memory of that building, but i always assumed it was the Louvre, but i could have been wrong). We only stayed for about an hour and twenty, which i figured was a perfect amount of time. We went and saw Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and some others that i dont really know nor remember. After looking through Van Gough I realized that I think I really only like his work. I was actually pretty fascinated looking at his pictures and looking at the brush strokes and think that Vincent Van Gogh actually painted that. We also saw some other impressionist work that I was fascinated with and took some pictures of it. So my one museum expereince wasnt that bad--i know you are all shocked--but I dont think I would have wanted to walk there any longer. Then we headed to the Louvre to meet up with Abby, Kelsey and M'kynzi and we all walked down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomph. It was really cool to walk down the Champs Elysees since they were setting up for the Tour de France to come in tomorrow. (Dad-- I cant believe im about to say this, but do you want to save tomorrows recording for me? I actually want to watch some of it since I was there right before all the bikers come in, thanks). I saw lots of Danes there that were sporting their Danish pride for the Tour, it made me happy. We took some pictures of the Arc and then headed under it so we could climb to the top! We had to walk up about 280 steps but it was well worth it. It was so cool to be standing on the top of the Arc de Triomph and see across all of Paris! After we found a good resturant and celebrated Abby's 20th Birthday and then went back to the Eiffel Tower. For dessert I ate an amazing crepe--but i wish i could eat like 10 0f them like i do at home, so im already excited to make crepes after this trip. M'kynzi, Abby and Kelsey wanted to go to the top of the tower, but the rest of us opted out of going so we just sat on the grass and waited for the tower to light up. Once it started to get dark some blue lights went on and i was a little disappointed cause i thought it was going to be spectacular, but once it got darker it turned super blue. then at about 10 a ton of lights started flashing and everyone applauded and it was AMAZING looking. We sat there in awe and snapped tons of pictures (as if i didnt have enought eiffel tower pictures). Since it was a really hot while we were there I wore my orange dress to stay cool--this allowed for the funniest moments of the day. As we were walking down the Champs Elysees and I walked over a subway vent which allowed my skirt to completely fly up and I screamed so loud! I swear my dress went up so high! And the fact that I totally shrieked just drew more attention to myself but I was totally shocked at what happened. We were all laughing pretty hard. But then we came across another one, so we all joked that i needed to be careful, I tried to avoid it but even though I didnt walk directly over it my dress still flew up and I screamed again. HA, it was too funny. It was a very exhausting day, we literally walked all over Paris. It made me think of the pioneers, and I had the pioneer "children sang as they walked and walked and walked" song stuck in my head all day.

Day 3--July 26, 2008

Luckily Cathy and I realized that we could not sleep in the fetal position again, so we sucked it up and slept under the covers--hopefully we dont get bug bites. And I slept relatively well and woke up feeling so much better, thankfully. But again Cathy and I woke up late and made the group late. They should have known not to let the two girls that enjoy their sleep the most to sleep in the same room together. But it was fine and it didnt damper our day at all. We didnt really have any plans set for the day but M'kynzi wanted to go look at some store that had some amazing chandieler in it. So we were up for finding it. But it wasnt the best decision--we took like the most round about way to get there and then couldnt even find it. The best part is that since it was our last day we all walked around with our backpacks on purses--not only do I hate this fashion mishap but we looked like the biggest tourists ever walking around with our matching Study Abroad backpacks. And then not only was it frustrating that we were walking around with no destination but then Cathy and Lillie went off on their own, which would have been fine but I just wanted us all to stay together. And they acted like it totally inconvienced them to do something that they didnt want to do. That was kinda a theme throughout the trip--If someone had a contrary idea, we couldnt agree we all just had to go off and do something all different, like I cant describe it, it was just frustrating. But it was hard traveling in a group of six girls. So after wandering we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, wandered some more and then decided to just head over to the train station. Once we got there we walked around the stores by there. One thing that I love about Paris is that all of the cafes and restaurants have out door seating and ever chair is facing the street and sidewalk, it kinda just makes it a cool vibe and atmosphere. I wanted to eat one of the hot dogs in Paris cause they looked so interesting, but alas I never got one. We were all kinda tired from walking around so much that we didnt really do too much. I would have liked to walked around more, but everyone else seemed like they needed to rest, which I guess was ok. The best part of today was when after we bought some bread we went and sat on a bench outside next to two men that we quickly discovered were totally drunk. They talked to us in French forever! I dont think they realized that we didnt understand anything they were saying. It was really funny, but the first chance we got we escaped from sitting there to get away, Crazy Frenchmen. So really we didnt do too much today--kind of a bust. But oh well. By the end of the day we were all dying to go back "home". Its really fun calling London our home. But it was so true, I loved Paris and Im so glad I went but its nice to be in a place where everyone speaks English and I can read everything! The tube station here doesnt smell like pee and I dont have to feel totally grossed out by sitting down on the tube either. Everything is just so much cleaner here in London, and it made me appreciate our flat so much more! Im like so excited to sleep in my bed tonight, even though its not really my bed, but its so much better than a hostel! Im really sad that I only have one more week left in London. I really dont want to leave.

if you want more pictures, just ask, i have like a billion

Les Mis!

First off i failed to mention that yesterday was my HALF BIRTHDAY!! as a custom i went out and celebrated and my roommates gave me presents. HA i wish. but i did sit around and wait for matt's present to arrive. it must have gotten lost in the mail. haha.

I took up dad's advice and got up early and went for a run in Hyde Park this morning. I was afraid that since i was feeling a little sick that going running would make it a little worse, but i think it acutally helped. my sore throat did not bother me as much today. Running in Hyde Park is fabulous! It was great to go running in such a peaceful place and the weather was so great, perfect conditions to run in. and i got to rock out to the jonas brothers as i ran. it was great. class on the other hand was a bore. we got into a discussion about grammar (snooze fest) and how language is different here than in the states. it was good cause there was a lot of participation by everyone instead of just a lecture. the best part of the class was when we got off on a total tangent about the differences between men and women. it was a great opportunity for todd to chime in about all the things he has learned about girls on this trip. which included him sharing the fact that he has learned that girls need to share things during problems and guys just need to go in a cave and be by themselves. it was a great moment and had all of us girls cracking up.

after class me, m'kynzi, lillie, kelsey and abby booked it from class to get to queens theater to see les miserables! orinially we had planned on going to the show tonight but we are upcoming trip to paris in the morning, we figured we needed tonight to get ready for our trip. so we went to les mis and since we got an hour before the show we were able to get some pretty sweet tickets. professor chapman has given us an extra 50 pounds--30 to see a show, and 20 for traveling. we were all so happy that he gave us that money. so i used the 30 to pay for my ticket of 27 pounds. since there was five of us, we opted to split up so we could get better seats. we split up to four seats of two together, and one loner seat. i got the one alone. at first i was a little bummed but it turned out to be perfectly fine because i was one row behind m'kynzi and lillie and just to the side of them. it was a fabulous play. they really took the term "musical" quite literally. i had no idea that they sing the entire time. but that made it even more cool. my favorite part of the play was when the barricades blew up and all of the actors fell off in slow motion. it was awesome! and super talented of the actors. i also loved that there was a moving floor. that was cool, such an amazing effect. so the play was great. and i found out that there is a play of Rain Man, which i assume is based off the book (what is it about?) cause i really want to see it cause the main actor josh hartnett! that would be super cool. --- so kelly, that should answer your questions about how many plays we have been to. this was my fourth play that i have seen. i really want to go see phantom of the opera since it is my favorite play ever. so hopefully this next week i can fit in a few more.

after the play we just came home, i needed to send off some emails to don before i leave for the morning. we tried to plan out the next couple of days but everyone wants to do so many different things that it was a little ridiculous. hopefully even if we play it by ear things can go smoothly. im not bring my computer to paris so not writing until saturday night/ sunday. but i will give a complete update with pictures upon my return. lets hope i have a great weekend in PARIS!

Hampton Court Palace

The day started out by going to class and for only two hours today which was super sweet. class was really boring today, but we got out early because we were going to Hampton Court Palace as a group. So we got done at about noonish and kinda just hung around the church until we were finally ready to leave. right after class m'kynzi realized that she didnt have her underground pass, since we all assumed that we were going to leave right away m'kynzi decided to sprint back to the flat so she can find it. she gets back like 20 mins later and realizes that we are still waiting on people to also come back to the church. so poor m'kynzi sprinted for no reason, but at least she got in some exercise! then we made our way to the underground and then to the waterloo train station so we could get on the train. the station reminded me of when we traveled in europe before. i dont know if we have ever been to the waterloo station, but i remember going to other ones that were similar as we traveled from country to country.

we arrived to Hampton Court at about 2ish. I wasnt even sure of what it was, but discovered that different kings and queens have lived there--including Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, William III, Caroline, and some others that i cant quite remember. the palace was really beautiful, i kept telling m'kynzi that i want to be royalty. i think my favorite part of the palace was a set of stools and a chair that was used by Queen Anne. There was a display explaining about the chairs and how they are really delicate because of how old they are. it said that they are so old and have collected so much dust on them that even if a small child sat on them they would completely fall apart. they are in the process of being restored--this showed me again that i want to do that! i want to help restore and preserve old stuff! haha. (doing this would give me a reason to live in boston!!)i wanted to talk to the conservation group that is there, but never found them. We walked in the Queen's apartments and the Kings apartments, walked by the kitchens and the chambers of Henry VIII. It was crazy to imagine Henry VIII walking through the hallways off to kill his wives. The one thing that was annoying was there wasnt enough things to read (im so turning into dad...wow.) but in this freakin day and age everything is about technology and so every place just has audio guides nows, which i dont really like--i cant ever concentrate when im listening to the audio. i would rather just read things then listen to it all. so i feel like i didnt get that much out of the palace cause there was no information available. i also would have liked to walk around more, but unfortunately not everyone is in love with history as i am, so i dont get around to stay as much as i would like (wow, another dad moment) after looking around the museum some of the girls wanted to grab something to eat so we walked over to the cafe. ewww. it was so gross. i dont know if it was cause we were more out in the country, but there were so many bugs! and huge bugs at that! it was so gross. especially when i discovered a bug BITE on my neck. hopefully it doesnt get any bigger, and that i dont die. so we did not like the walk over to the cafe. but i was so proud of myself and didnt buy anything, i opted for eating my apple that i brought as my snack (which is also like such a mom thing to do) then we walked over to the gardens. so beautiful! i cant imagine living there and being able to have those gardens!! another reason why i want to be royalty. the best part of the gardens was the Hersey kisses shaped bushes. those were crazy. so we walked around the grounds for awhile and then decided to head back to london via the train and subway. again i hate traveling on the subway when everyone and their mom are on their way home from work. so annoying to be pushed up against strange europeans in a smelly small space.

Cathy and I headed up together as the rest of our group opted to go to another store first. after we ate dinner cathy lillie and i were on a mission to finally get sticky toffee pudding from a pub! we went to the queen's arms again (the one across from metro gate). i swear i have been there like 10 times, with all unsuccessful attempts to actually hang out there. so we finally got there before the kitchen closed and we got the toffee pudding! it was amazing. we all sat in silence at eat it all. then we continued to hang out there and chat for another hour or so. so fun! it was really fun to talk about boys and gossip. haha. but it really was enjoyable to sit and talk and get to know each other better--something that i have wanted to do for so long, and we finally did it. now we are just hanging out in the family room--all on our computers yet still chatting and laughing.

So Lillie and I were planning on getting up early again today and go for a run, but it looks as if my sore throat has come back. its not as bad as last time cause i feel fine, but it hurts and is really dry, so i dont want to do anything to active in case that makes it worse. so today i got up and got ready for class and luckily had no problems like burning my hair or anything, like i have in the past. Class was more boring today because we started class studying dialects. which sounds super interesting but its just so complicated. we are looking mostly at 5 different varieties of english-- northern and southern britain, irish, scottish and welsh. and instead of covering each dialect separately we go over them all at the same time. so it makes it more complicated and i cant keep all of the information straight. i cant remember what differentiates each dialect and its just all over my head. my mind just doesnt work in a way for me to comprehend all of things i am being taught. all i get is that british people speak different than us, and i just cant seem to figure out how. but then in the last hour of class we got to the history part of it. which the more i learn about it the more it fascinates me. we are going over basically medieval history but how the english language has evolved during that period and how certain events have affected the language. lately we have been discussing the norman invasion of britain. and because the normans are french speaking people a lot of words in the english language have french origins due to the normans taking power. and today we talked about how even though the normans invaded the english language was still dominant and become the dominant language and not french. so its really interesting, i like to see that the history of europe from the english language perspective. i think its something that i would definitely want to mention in a world history class that i am teaching some day.

after class we (M'kynzi, Cathy, Lillie and I) came back to the apartment to eat lunch and figure out exactly what we wanted to do for the day. we decided to go to leicester square and head over to the National Portrait Gallery because it is an elective site that we need to visit. but before we went into the gallery we walked through trafalgar square which was really fun! i hadnt been there yet and im glad i finally made it over there. it was fun just cause tons of people were there. and in the middle of the place there was a bed set up with a british flag as the comforter. we were really confused as why there was a bed in the middle of trafalgar square. so we went over there and there was a lady sitting in bed who informed us that it was for a tv show that was starting up about sex education. well cathy got in the bed just to take a picture, but then the lady started interviewing her for tv and they recorded it and everything. so cathy proclaimed to the british world that she is a virgin and waiting for marriage. --which the lady was pretty shocked about. but we were proud of cathy for her good answers. and now we are convinced that cathy will be a famous british star--something to add to her list of accomplishments. then it was off to the gallery.

the part of the gallery that we need to visit for class was looking at portraits of kings and queens from british history. and i decided that i really dont like portraits from this era because they are just creepy. the eyes on every single picture just seem to stare at you no matter where you are positioned. i got really close to one of the paintings to examine it better and i just had an odd feeling that the man in the picture was going to like jump out at me or something. i think i have read too many harry potter books to think that the pictures come to life. after looking at the things for class we headed to the BP Award gallery--an exhibit of contemporary portraits that have been submitted for an award competition. utterly amazing. i have never been into art but these portraits were so amazing that most of them looked like photographs until you went up for a closer look. i was just so astonished how perfect they were. there was one of people in a swimming pool that i really thought was a picture. i just dont get how someone can paint a swimming pool. it was unbelievable and i thoroughly enjoyed that. then we headed back out to leicester square because the european premiere of batman was tonight. so they had it all set up for the movie stars to show up. we decided to hang out there for a bit and see if we could catch a glimpse of christian bale, but it was super crowded and we picked a bad spot. so we decided to leave and we went in the direction of where the stars get out of their car and right when we got there is when christian bale came out. so i think i saw the back of his head. but im not sure. it was cool to be at the premiere. all of these years of living in LA and i have never been to a movie premier. kinda pathetic.

we came back home and had a man from one of the london wards come to our flat and give us a presentation about growing up in london during WWII. it was really interesting. i feel like i have been in WWII mode since i also just went to the churchill museum. i really liked hearing more about actually living in an area that was affected by the war. i also kept thinking about grandma and grandpa svendsens experiences living in denmark during the war. i wish i knew more about that. i have barely ever heard any stories. mom, do you know anything? after the presentation Lillie, Cathy and I tried to go to a pub near by to get some sticky toffee pudding, but every place we went to their kitchen was closed. so we ended up just walking around kensington until we found gelatto which lillie and i split for a pound each. it was pretty sweet. so it was a really good day and it was beautiful out! it was really warm, which doesnt happen very often. i felt like it was a really productive day which was great.

pictures from yesterday...

The street performers with lil pedro..hes going to be such a heart breaker

people watching at covent gardens

Lillie and I reading in Hyde Park

Hyde Park

M'kynzi is the same size as the smart car--which we see everywhere over here!!

Covent Gardens & Church

Yesterday was a lot more of a slower day. I slept in once again, i didnt mean to but i just couldnt bring myself to get out of bed, i was just too comfy. But i got up and got ready super fast so we could get out of the flat as soon as possible but everyone else was also kinda just dragging their feet and we just didnt get moving fast enough. but it turned out to be ok cause it gave me a chance to read some of my book and work on my school assignments. we had talked the night before of going to covent gardens with our friend rachel so we waited for her to get ready and then waited for todd to come over and join us as well. During this time M'kynzi all of a sudden disappeared. I had stuck my head in our room but didnt see her, then i checked the kitchen and bathroom and she was nowhere to be found. i was so confused. i thought some how she snuck out of the flat without letting us know. then i realized she had climbed back in bed. today her and cathy started to not feel well either. so whatever i got on thursday has made its way to them. hopefully they feel better quickly like i did. so instead m'kynzi opted for staying in for the day. So we probably headed out the door at like 11ish. Then we took the tube and got off at covent gardens. which is an out door market but also has a lot of street performers. We watched this one guy ride a massive unicycle which i liked until he totally was begging for money which i didnt like. then we watched these two guys from africa do a performance. one of the guys could go under a limbo bar that was like less than a foot off the ground. it was crazy! so he called up the cutest little boy to come and teach him how to do it and it was so fun to watch. the little boy-pedro- came up and followed exactly what he did and say, he even shaked his booty. it was pretty dang cute. the performers were also really really strong and could do crazy flips. then we looked around some shops, but i felt a little guilty cause i didnt want to make todd too annoyed that all the girls were shopping. cathy and lillie ended up getting their palms read which was entertaining to watch. so even though there was a ton of people at covent gardens there wasnt that much to do because most of the little shops didnt even sell that cool of stuff. so then we headed up and rachel, todd and i went to sainsburys to buy a few more groceries. after that we didnt have much else going on, so lillie and i decided to go to the park and read. it was a really beautiful day and there were a ton of people out there playing football. so i think i did more people watching then actually reading. and lillie and i just talked a lot too. unfortunately she got hit in the face with one of the soccer balls, but luckily she was ok! then we came back inside and really didnt do too much else--had dinner here and really just hung out in the flat. then we decided to go get dessert out at a pub that it pretty close to our flat that is always hoping. so M'kynzi, Lillie, Rachel, Todd and I went over there to eat some of the chocolate pudding that they had. but we got there and someone felt and looked super awkward sitting in a bar. so we all just sat around for awhile not knowing what to do which was even more awkward, so finally we decided to leave. it was so lame. but as soon as we decided to leave the awkward person like booked it out of there, it was kinda humorous. so then todd suggested we go to this other restaurant and then we informed him it was a hookah bar, which i think is more awkward then being in a pub. so we kinda walked around aimlessly trying to figure out where to go. then we met up with christine and came across a little cafe that was still open and i got yummy cheesecake. it was very good and filling and i kinda regretted eating it afterwards. then we came home and straight to bed since i had to be up early for church the next morning.

i got up at 7.30 this morning to get ready for church because we had to leave earlier today because the line that we take to get to church was closed. i was so not looking forward to traveling to church because i thought it was going to be such a hassle getting there. so we took the subway and then got off when they told us that there was bus services because the line was out. so we get off and arent really sure where to go cause we didnt know what bus to take that would drop us off by the church. well we exit the underground and ask someone where to go for the bus, he points the direction and then informs us that the bus is FREE! because the victoria line was out they offered free bus services that dropped us off right at the station that we would normally get off at. so it was so nice that we didnt have to pay the extra 2 pound to travel to church today. and it was perfect cause we arrived at 10 on the dot, so right on time. church was good, except i feel awkward cause im not really sure what im suppose to do. for sunday school i went in with the youth for their class and i just wasnt sure what i should do. so after going to church in europe for three weeks now i have realized that obviously the church is the same worldwide, yet it is also very different. for instance sacrament always consists of bearing of testimonies and then a talk. --which we have all been asked to bear our testimonies next week. which im not really looking forward to. it sounds terrible but im not big on bearing my testimony in front of everyone. i guess this will be good for me, but im not looking forward to it at all. but then the talk today was given by the high council member and he just straight read President Eyring's talk from last conference. weird. and then for the closing hymn we started to sing this one song that i wasnt very familiar with, and then instead of stopping at the fourth verse (which was the last one shown like on the music brackets thing) we went on to sing the next four verses that are shown under! i always thought the other verses that they show are like the suggested verses--you arent actually suppose to sing those songs, they are just there to show extra information. so ya, we had to sing all eight verses of this song. the best part was that rachel was asked to give the closing prayer and at the end of the fourth verse she started to get up to go to the pulpit, but then quickly sat down as she realized we were singing the rest.

then we came home from church and i quickly took my nap. as i got up lillie reminded me that us and a couple other girls were asked to go to the chapmans for dinner tonight. so i changed and we made our way over there. it was so nice to be in somewhat of a home and get like real food! Sister Chapman made stir fry and it was amazing! i even ate broccoli and the mushrooms that were in it, but i havent had veggies in like forever that i cleaned my plate. it was nice to have a home cooked meal. then we all sat and talked for a long time. it was really nice, they have a nice family. i feel like we were finally able to bond with them and get to know them better.

then we had a party at our flat. finally a lot of people came out to the family other than just my roomies. so we all chatted and it was really fun. and we had a dance party! rachel started playing nsync and then followed it by britney spears, and when britney is being played i just cant sit down. so it was so much fun! and m'kynzi even got some of it on film--me singing into the straightener--those will be interesting. sorry, no photos tonight. im way to lazy to upload them and i need to get to bed.