Day with Jane

What was our day trip today? Well let me tell you! First we went to Stourhead... the most beautiful landscape gardens in England! It was sunny so we were thinking it would be warm because the two usually go together...not the case. It was deceivingly cold and if wind didn't exist it would have been a perfect day for weather. But it was close to perfect, so I'm not complaining! This is the view that greeted us as we came around the corner, I could've stayed in that spot all day. All the green landscape (ignore the dead brown trees in the distance) reminded me so much of the Northwest...I miss all the evergreens so much! Being here today was like a breath of fresh air getting to be surround by trees and getting to walk on the trail, I can't wait for more once I'm back!

This is the view from a little cave we found, I think this was my favorite spot in the gardens.

I was so excited to be in the woods I tried to climb a tree...it was a little slippery though so I didn't get as far up as I planned...

Here you see the Rotunda, it's modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. You can't see the round part from the front (who knows why you'd want to hid that with the triangular pediment...architects...) but you can from the side! What a beauty.

The temple of Apollo! Now if you're wondering if this is the same temple of Apollo as in Pride in Prejudice (the new one) where Mr. Darcy proclaims his love...it is. And if you're wondering if that's scaffolding in the back...I think you can figure that out for yourself.

I just loved this door, it was in the front of one of the first buildings we passed. There are so many unique doors I've seen and I want to take pictures of them all! Is that weird?

Our next stop was Jane Austen's house, a cute little cottage! This is where she lived with her mom and sisters. We got to watch a dvd and everything in the learning center of the house so we were well educated about her life before we went in to see it! So exciting. I didn't know she was that young when she died, only forty one years old! She accomplished so much in her short lifetime though. Here I am in her front yard...what a nice little street sign! If you pull out a magnifying glass you can see the "Jane Austen's House" on the top of it.

Here's the actual house, I could imagine her living here. I look a little out of place...like an American tourist.

Her writing desk was tiny, I don't know how she worked on that little thing. I can't imagine writing novels by hand using a quill and ink either! I'm so impressed and in awe with authors who did that...we have it so easy these days!

The bedroom she shared with her sister, very quaint...I like it!

We ended the day with a visit to the Winchester Cathedral, where Jane Austen is buried. Her simple grave is inside. This cathedral has the longest nave in England, and of course it's beautiful! Cathedrals have become one of my favorites parts about being here.

I don't know why, but there was some art on display inside. I'm happy though, because I loved them! This one is a mosaic made out of bread! Real bread! I love creative people.

The best part about day trips: Listening to my ipod while looking out the window at the English countryside. My happy music that evokes so many memories combined with green fields and sheep makes me smile on the inside...and outside.

I Have the Right to Ramble...

Instead of having classes today (we moved those to Saturday! *That was false enthusiasm*) we went for a hike. And when I say hike, I mean we climbed one steep hill and walked through fields and towns the rest of the time. Everyone was complaining about the hill, but I wish that was what the whole day was made of! It really made me want to go to Priest Point Park or Millersylvania! I guess it's a law in England that farmers or landowners have to let people walk through their property if they're going around the countryside, hence the "right to ramble". Exploring the countryside is a big deal here, you can walk anywhere you want! 'No Trespassing' doesn't exist.

It was 9.6 miles that we walked, so we were kind of exhausted by the end since we've had a busy past couple of weeks before this. I felt like the pioneers...except we didn't have to wear long dresses and pull a covered wagon. So really, we were nothing like the pioneers. My silly foot has been hurting the past few days so that wasn't very fun to walk on and I got a wicked blister, but let's not focus on that! Let's talk about sheep.

They really are everywhere here! At least in the countryside. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it would be so much fun to live in the country! Maybe I'll be a sheep farmer when I grow up. I think it's my mom and dad being from Wyoming that's getting to me. I always thought I would like to live in a city, but I've found that I do not belong in the city! At least not for a long time. I think Washington is the perfect balance for me...wow I realize I've been talking about home a lot! I'm not homesick I promise (okay maybe just a little) but I guess it's just hard for me to not daydream about the outdoors.

We got done with walk (I don't feel right calling it a hike) and took the train back to the centre...I was a good student and got some reading done and spent the rest of the night working on a study guide for our British Literature test we have this weekend. I don't blog about scholarly things and homework so it might not seem like we have much to do, but trust me. Our workload is plenty heavy. It's kind of ridiculous how much we have to do school wise on top of all the scheduled trips and such that we have. We have so much reading and no time to do it, so things get pretty overwhelming. But I'm learning so much, it's worth the pressure and stress of trying to squeeze everything in while worrying about keeping a good GPA. But who wants to worry about little things in life like that when there are better things to do? Not me!

I'm Bicultural!

It's official. I am in love with London and am embracing British life! My favorite British phrase so far: "Stop having such a stick about it!"

I visited a Greek Orthodox church this morning. For religion we have to go to five different churches, so this was the one for today! There are churches everywhere here, I love it.

Portobello Road made me happy today. I love all the markets and shops around here. I went there after eating at a little cafe on Bayswater...that's where we go to get eggs! Toast and eggs is our Saturday treat. We sat outside and ate... I was eating eggs! Outside! IN THE SUN!

I went to the National Gallery and visited some of my favorite friends there...Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' will forever be my one true love. I've decided I'm going to get a big canvas print of it to hang in my future house. I'm thinking ahead! I've been to the National Gallery a few times before today, but this is the first I've noticed this view from the spot right outside the door...there's Trafalgar Square!

There was some rally for women's rights going on...hence the mass of people congregating around the television screen and the bobbies watching over the crowd...I love that word. Bobby! I wish you could see it better in the picture...but Big Ben is way in the background!

A Really Long Walk in the Park

Today we went to the Keats House...what is the Keats House you ask? It's where the romantic poet John Keats lived! Imagine that. We've been reading some of his work in our literature class and what better way to spend a Friday morning than visiting his home? He wrote "Ode to a Nightingale" in this very place! I love poetry even though I don't know what it's saying half the time (okay more than half the time...) and I got to sit on the couch where he sat, looking out the window to his garden! What a beautiful moment.

Then we went on a two hour walk through Hampstead Heath to get to the Kenwood house. It wasn't supposed to be a two hour walk...we got lost. That's the problem with really small maps of a really large area. You can't really see the street names. Two positives about this situation: 1) It was a sunny day and 2) I love parks and being outside, so this was a happy accident! Good thing I wore my walking shoes!

We got to the house after everyone had already been inside, but who really cares? Not me! It had an amazing library...so many books! I've decided I'll have a room full of books in my house. There were a lot of portraits by famous artists I've never heard of (big surprise there) and we met this crazy British guy who worked in the gift shop who impersonated George W. Bush and a Canadian.

We didn't want to go back to the Centre so early so we went to...*dun dun dun*...Camden! A market area with lots of vintage stores shopping. And it's the home of the world's best donut. Really...me and Sarah almost died.

Jersey Boys

This is the musical I saw this week. I loved it. I realize how much I like music from this era...they actually have talent. Everything I hear on the radio now drives me crazy because it's so computerized and glossed over. Not this! We got lost on our way to the theater...I guess we walked the wrong way for about 10 minutes.It's okay though, we sprinted and made it just in time to get...

Box seats! I felt awkard...all the old people in the theater were looking at us like we were crazy. Maybe we are. They said the F-word a lot but they like to do that in England. It's just another word...so that makes it okay, right?

Alas, another day trip!

Wednesday the 3rd of March

Longest day-trip in the history of the BYU London Study Abroad Winter 2010. Woke up at 6 am and didn't get home until 1 am. The best part: we still had regular classes the next day.

1. Warwick Castle. It was the British version of Disneyland. But not. Half of the exhibits were closed. There was a Princess Tower, but no one under four feet could go in, and there was a Castle Dungeon exhibit that reminded me of a haunted house. A really bad haunted house. Funny thing is...I have a ton of pictures from this place. Maybe that's because we had too much time to wander around so we entertained ourselves with our cameras. Yes...I think that's it. But we did get to go through the wax museum of medieval times. If only this wax figure were Josiah.

I was so happy to be going up these narrow spiral stairs! I wonder what really big people did who lived in castles like this...they wouldn't fit in the tiny stairways. I didn't know that they would make me dizzy. I'm so naive.

The top of the tower had the prettiest view of the little city and its cathedral nearby...good thing you can't see any of it in this picture. It was so windy at the top so we didn't spend much time there, but it was so pretty!

The world's largest trebuchet!...I look the same size as this catapult but it's bigger in real life trust me. This thing supposedly weighs 22 tons...I don't know how true that is. Does it look like it weighs 22 tons?

My favorite part of this place...the peacock garden! I have this weird obsession with birds. And these peacocks were just wandering free in the gardens, and one of them opened up for us! That made me so happy, peacocks are my favorite! I thought of little Madison because I passed my love of peacocks onto her. At least I take credit for her liking them a lot. And Josiah sent me a peacock feather in his last package...how perfect.

This is me with David and Louis, the man and the owl. They had a "birds of prey" exhibit and we ran into David while he was getting ready for the falconry show...so he let us see Louis! A real live owl and I got to stand next to it. And a real live person who's not a female.

2) Stratford-upon-Avon. The land of Shakespeare! We first went to Anne Hathaway's house (not the actress...but William's wife) and took a little look around her cottage! I am so thankful to live in a house that has more than one bedroom and a real kitchen and plumbing. I was born in the right century.

This is William Shakespeare's birthplace-I was in the bedroom where he was birthed! How many people can say that? There were two actors in the house/museum that did scenes from some of his works...they were really good! They just started a scene in the room we were standing in and acted like we weren't around. I loved that.

Another house! This is the Nash House, where Shakespeare died. What a good day, seeing the homes where his life began and ended.

I'm standing by Shakespeare's grave...this is in the Holy Trinity Church. I only had to pay 50 pence to see it too! So worth it. I got to see where the greatest playwright and poet was buried-that is his resting place. Right there.

We ended the night with an amazing production of King Lear. We had seats in the highest balcony in the corner but the theater was a black box so it actually wasn't that bad. It was an amazing show and I loved it even more because we just finished reading King Lear in literature.

I thought I would fall asleep but surprisingly didn't! It was too good of a show...so well done. It was a three and a half hour long production but went by faster than I thought it would. I was so happy to be reunited with my bed after the coach ride back home.

I LOVE MARCH!

This has been the best month yet. And it's only been two days so far. Where do I begin?...How about with yesterday, the first day of this lovely month!

1) Well...I woke up Monday morning just in time for breakfast (my favorite part of the day) and ate about 4 bowls of cereal and a banana and oatmeal so my stomach would be happy until I was done with classes a few hours later. The darn servery is closed from 9-11am and the breaks between classes don't work with that schedule! But anyway! Classes seemed especially long today because I was anticipating my politics midterm that would commence at 10:45am on the dot! I maybe should've been a little more nervous for it than I actually was, but I studied about 10 hours for it so I figured I was as ready for it as I could be! And it wasn't as bad as I was expecting so that made me happy...it was such a relief to have it over with! Nothing in the world could stress me out after getting that out of the way! I finished the school day with a lovely discussion about John Keats' poetry and his Ode to a Nightingale. This is the good part now *get ready for it* It was incredibly sunny outside, not just sunny...but incredibly! So I walked down the block to Hyde Park with Sarah and we found a bench, put in our earbuds and started listening to Mika because we were going to the concert three hours later! It was the best moment ever. Sitting in the sun, half sleeping on a bench in the park and listening to music. I could actually feel the warmth on my face...I was hoping for some color but I guess that change doesn't come after sitting for an hour outside.

I ate dinner super fast so we could get out the door and to the venue! We got there and realized that while we were wearing our weird American concert clothes, we were in London and the people in London are sophisticated. Everyone was wearing their sleek black coats and boots...Oh well! Even though England isn't that different from America...it really is! It seems like they just have a different sense of humor here and don't laugh at the same things we do...and they always look so put together! I throw on my hoodie and keens and walk out the door looking like I should be going on a hike, not into the city.

Okay...I'll get on with it. The show was amazing. So fun, and the opening act was really good! I forgot what his name was..Eric something, look him up! I'd heard a few of Mika's songs before deciding to go to the show, but I'm a fan now. He's crazy and so dramatic and weird and his songs are so funny and impossible to not get stuck in your head. It was a party. A party with two 60 year old women with gray hair in front of us. There were a lot of older people there, it was weird. Nothing wrong with that! Just not what I expected for this weirdo concert. Everyone was really chill and just stood in one spot the whole time, and everyone was obsessed with trying to take poor quality photos of Mika. I wish people would just enjoy the moment and not worry about trying to capture every moment of it on camera!

Everything was neon and covered in sequins & so flashy. And the best part...we were SO close to the stage and Mika! He's a fruitcake. But that doesn't matter. We were 3 people away from the stage, 'twas awesome! When he sang "We Are Golden", gold confetti dumped from the sky! Then at the end of the show streamers and more confetti and balloons came down! It was such a good night. We took a balloon home with us on the tube.

2) And that was only yesterday! Today I have been so happy! March has been such a good month so far! All two days of it! I slept in until 8am and went to breakfast! (I always have to mention breakfast whenever I talk about my day because it's my favorite part. Really...every night all I can think about is the fact that I get to wake up and have cereal and bananas!)

I tried to be productive in the morning because I didn't have class until noon, but that didn't work so I decided to go to the gym! Best decision. I love endorphins, so I love the gym. I've decided that if I got to spend everyday of my life hiking or running or surfing or snowboarding or walking through the woods or the park or biking or kayaking or canoeing or rock climbing or doing anything active I would be the happiest person in the world. So I think I'll do that. I spent a while there and felt so awake and rejuvenated and alive afterwards! I ran back to the centre and went to class and then...went for a walk in the park since it was sunny again! Best news of today: It was warm enough to wear my birkenstocks!

I went to Regent Park with a few girls and it was so gorgeous! We tried to find the playground but ended up walking around the whole park instead because I guess we can't read maps! Parks are my favorite thing in the world. I think Josiah and me found all the parks in Olympia that there are (okay probably not...but close) and that will always be one of my favorite things we do!

After we had enjoyed the wonderful outdoors we went to Big Ben just to admire him. I still can't believe I can just go there whenever. It's still surreal and I'll miss it so much! This next month and a half is going to go by way too fast, I already know it!

I fell in love with London even more today. I never thought it would start to warm up, but it is and the flowers are starting to bloom and the grass is green and the birds are singing and I'm just so happy! I'm so happy I didn't choose to come to the Spring term of this program like I originally was going to, I would already be home by now! I love getting to soak in London because it is wonderful! Oh how I love it!