Day in the WB

Today we spent all day on the West Bus, or the WB as M'kynzi and i liked to refer to it--mostly in reference to her hometown of West Bountiful. We had to get up super early today because our bus was leaving metro gate at 8.00 sharp. but luckily i took some great naps on the bus to and from all of our site seeing stops. I slept the first hour and a half as we drove to our first stop of the day -- Jane Austen's house. Unfortunately i am not a fan of Jane Austen or i would have been more impressed and in awe of being there like most other girls were. But it was very interesting, and a very cute quaint home. The biggest downfall of the day was that i woke up with a sore throat. And the biggest problem is that a couple of girls have come down with strep throat--so its definitely been going around. So i havent been feeling the best, and on top of that it was a cold and overcast day. Well we walked around the house and the most exciting thing was that Jane Austen's moms middle name is Leigh. i liked that. but then i was reading some of the things in the house and i came across another name, a Mrs. Leigh Porter. so i was excited that there were two instances of the name leigh. but then i saw a Mr. Leigh Porter. ya so the husbands name was definitely leigh and they referred to the wife as the Mrs Leigh. i was very hurt that i had a mans name. the most impressive part of the house was the garden. it was beautiful, M'kynzi and i walked around for a while snapping lots of pictures outside. and then because it had started to rain i had my umbrella out and i accidentally hit my camera against the handle and put it big mark on my camera. i was so bummed. definitely put a damper on my day. then because of the coldness we stopped into Cassandras Tea Shop across the way for some hot cocoa. such a good decision. it was a really cute tea parlor and so i got hot chocolate and a scone. it was nice to drink something warm. and there was a lot of people from our group that went in there too. we kinda took over the place. we kinda have that affect where ever we go.

Our next stop was Sailsbury's Cathedral. Absolutely beautiful. It was built in the 13th Century and it was astonishing. It was completely mind boggling that something that massive and beautiful could be built so long ago. We were able to walk around and take pictures and then listen in to a tour group for some school kids that were getting a tour in the choir seats, so a man was demonstrating on the organ. i took a video of it so that i could have the song. then we stopped into the restaurant and then we were all going to go see the magna carta until my friends ditched me!...well it was kinda an accident. Cathy and I left to to the bathroom and M'kynzi and Lillie were waiting for us. Somehow Cathy and I ended up going to different bathrooms so we got separated and then M'kynzi and Lillie decided to leave us because they figured we were together. so i ended up being ditched! and was by myself for a little bit. but it was right before we had to get back on the bus, so i just wandered outside for a bit until i ran into Cathy--so ended up not being bad, but i liked to bring it up to M'kynzi for the rest of the day since it was funny.

Then we got back on the bus and drove to our last destination of the day-- Stonehenge. It was really cool to actually see that place that is so famous. but i will admit that it is kinda ridiculous, almost anti-climatic. to go see a big thing of rocks out in the field. but i stand by my statement from before that its just something that you have to see. We all got in for free but paid money for the audio tour where we had to hold dorky handsets and listen to a bunch of facts. it was kinda hard to listen to them while we were all walking around taking pictures and trying to talk to one another. and plus i did a presentation on Stonehenge in our prep class this past semester so i felt like i already understood most of the history of the place. the best part of the audio tour was that you could select to listen to the myths of stonehenge...some of which include that king arthur brought the stones, the devil bought them from some old lady and that maybe aliens carried them over. really funny. then we got back on the bus for the drive back to london. this time i was able to stay awake and Lillie and i were able to have a good conversation on our way back. we shared lots of good stories about missionaries. so it was good to talk about lots of stuff.

after we got back to our flat i made myself some good pasta for dinner and then hung out for a bit. i wasnt sure what i wanted to do since i wasnt feeling the best. it kept going back and forth--sometimes i was feeling fine and then i felt like crap. but after hanging out for a bit i decided we should go out. so lillie and i decided to go for a walk. we walked all around kensington and i decided once again that i want to live here forever. i think it would amazing to have a nice flat in kensignton and live a business woman lifestyle. i often find myself thinking about the shopaholic (i cant remember her name), i want to live like her, mostly so i can fall in love with luke brandon (definitely didnt forget his name). i think it would be so fun to have a nice apartment in the big city and then also have a home out in the country. sounds like a great idea. i definitely took lots and lots of pictures today. it was nice to get out and actually site see instead of just going to class and being in our small area of town most of the time. and it was nice to be with the rest of the group. we never do group activities besides going to class, so it was fun to be with everyone else. tomorrow we are going to Westminster Abby and then to Harrod's for shopping! well window shopping.

you guys should look into that...laura you might have a future as a tour guide.