Days 11, 12, 13, and 14

Well, not much has happened lately, folks! We've been going to class and adjusting to our new found freedom in the city. Saturday we went to St. Martin's-in-the-Field for a concert called Baroque by Candlelight, which was truly amazing. The achitecture and beauty of these churches all throughout London is unbelievable! I wish that we had more churches like these back home. Sunday we went to church, then napped (does it get any better?) and then we had a fireside on hope, in which I sang (Alto II---scary!) with 5 other girls "The Prayer of the Children", and then we had a speaker from one of the wards come--he was SO cool!

Anyway, Monday we had Brit Lit again. Professor Talbot is one of the most entertaining persons I have ever had a class from. His expressions and vocal inflections, and personality quirks in general keep us all rolling in the rows of seats. I truly want to bring a camcorder to class and post a movie on youtube for you all to witness. Any time he tells a story, I wish I had popcorn and candy to go along with it. But he is truly a wealth of knowledge, and it is an enlightening experience wherever we are. Today I wandered aimlessly throughout London, found St. Bride's Church--which is the church for publishers and journalists and writers, so I found my pilgrimmage appropriate--, sketched a statue at St. Paul's--which is amazing--, and then went to St. Mary Abbots, which is the church that I want to get married in. Yes, I know, I will get married in the temple, no doubts there, have no fear. BUT in England when you get married you HAVE to have a public ceremony. Like, the government requires it. So that is what I am going to do, and St. Mary Abbots is the place.

Tomorrow we leave for Scotland (at 4:15 AM!!!!) and we won't be back until Saturday, so there will be no updates until then. But have wonderful days ahead, cuz I sure will!

Cheerio, mates!

Part of the garden at Kensington Palace, which is just down the road from us.

St. Bride's Church--for writers. The top was the inspiration for the first tierd cake. True story.

St. Paul's Catherdral. So cool.

St. Mary Abbots. The most beautiful small church ever!

The aisle. I practiced.

Even the DOORS are amazing!

Cheerio!

Well, it is Saturday, which means you have to suffer through a bit of my writing. But this week's selection is not a fiction blurb. It is something I jotted down during my first visit to Hyde Park, and now you all get to read my thoughts! Enjoy, friends, and Happy Saturday!

If you ignore the sounds of the cars driving all around, if you forget the motors of busses and the chopping of helicopters, you might be able to imagine what it must have been like. The sounds of horses hooves and carriage wheels invade your imagination, even as you see an old newspaper tumbling in the breeze. You might see young men trying to impress their ladies in their fast riding phaetons, or lovers strolling along winding paths striving to embody propriety even while their hearts beat faster within them. Proud men in fine clothing on horseback with their fine ladies sidesaddled beside them. Back when men were gentlemen and women were ladies and chivalry was not dead. If you forget that you are walking on paved roads in your out-of-place modern clothes and shoes, your camera dangling from your wrist, your backpack on your back. If you forget all of that, then you might be able to feel how it felt. To see with your eyes and your mind what your heart already knew. Peace and tranquility and nature surrounding you, filling you, until you wonder how you ever went without it. And then you find another path, one that is not paved, and suddenly there is nothing but you and the dirt beneath your feet, the sky above your head, and the beauties that encompass you. How will you go back? How can you, having found this, leave and return to the emptiness you once inhabited? All that is spread before you are the beauties of God and man blending together in perfect accord. And though you are oceans and miles from where you live, you are home.

Days 8,9, and 10

Well, kids, it's been a few days, but I am exhausted by the amount of things we have been doing. Days 8, 9, and 10 have been lo-o-ong. Wednesday we went to Canterbury Catherdral (amazing amazing amazing), Rye(cutest little English town ever), and Beachy Head (breathtaking....literally). Thursday was the first drawing class (stop laughing, I'm experimenting my artistic-ness), and then we had to go to museums to do our assignments. And I will have you know, mocking masses, that while I was sketching a Greecian sculpture, a lady came up and asked if she could take my picture while I was drawing. Then she looked at my sketch and told me it was beaiutiful in a quiet, awestruck voice. No lie. Of course, she may have been patrially blind or completely ignorant of art, but HEY! I'll take it. Then Thursday night I went and saw Les Miserables and paid a decent price....to sit on the FLOOR 8 ROWS FROM THE STAGE!!!! It was my first time seeing the show, and it was amazing. Tears were shed. And then today we went to Kew Gardens (Aunt Karen, I was so excited when you told me to visit there because we were already going!), which was one of the most amazin places I have ever seen. I have a slow weekened, thank Heavens, so I can get some rest!

Canterbury Catherdral. It's been around since about 670 AD, and it is still gorgeous.

The cloisters of Canterbury. I kept waiting for the nuns from Sound of Music to show up, but alas...

Rye. I told you it was cute! Quaint might be a better word.

So I had this one taken as a joke, but I kinda like it. Beachy Head.

Beachy Head again. It's part of what is called the Seven Sisters.

Love this shot. It was SO WINDY there! Chicago's got nothin on this place.

My favorite little spot I found in Kew Gardens.

Look how cute we are! Me and some of the girls in the archway of Kew Palace at Kew Gardens.

Totally like the house in Little Women. But it was actually Queen Charlotte's summer cottage. Go figure. I want it.

Days 5,6, and 7

It's been a few days, but now that we've completed our assigned walks through London, we don't see as much as we did before. Church was on Sunday, naturally, and it took me an hour to get there. No joke. Public transportation rocks! And our bishop is from Ghana, how cool is that?!? Then we started classes on Monday (actually, I guess I should just say class--we only have one a day) and that was also rather enjoyable. Today was my day off of classes, so I took it upon myself to go and wander. I went to Mayfair, which I had been DYING to see. Those of you who don't know, Mayfair was a part of London that during the Rengecy Era (my favorite) was the center of the ton, or the height of Society, the haute volee, the rich folk. Many of the characters in the books I read (and some in the ones that I write...) live in Mayfair. And one of the things that I love about Mayfair--I didn't know this until today--is that they have random little parks all over the place. I accidentally ran into about 5, no joke. They have these cute little benches and flowers and paths and trees, and people just come and eat their lunch and sit and talk or sunbathe during the day...right in the middle of the city! Although I loved every minute, I felt the entire time that something was wrong. There were these gorgeous old houses all around me, and then there were stores and buisnesses at the bottom of them and cars and trucks everywhere. It didn't at all and made me sad. But anywho, if you don't like nature or architecture, don't look at the pics, cuz that's all today!

Buckingham Palace again. I can't help it, I love it. And no one was there today, it was so nice!

In St. James' Park. Beautiful, isn't it?

I couldn't resist....

This was a WAAAAY cool building in Grosvenor Square, and it turns out that it was the center of the Allied Forces operations in WWII. Go figure.

Hyde Park...a.k.a. Heaven.

This has to be the best piece of real estate ever. This is also in Hyde Park, and I want to live there.

Hyde Park, right along the Serpentine, which was man-made in honor of Queen Caroline, wife of George II, in the 1700s. It is absolutely GORGEOUS there.

The cutest footbridge ever! Well, maybe not ever, but I really like it. It's on the Serpentine and separates Hyde Park from Kensington Park.

When I saw this in Kensington Park, I thought of Sleeping Beauty. I think this is what her house in the woods looked like. Isn't it cute???

Ooops...

Yeah, I just realized that I hadn't posted writings for today, and it is a Saturday.....I'll find something short as it is nearing my bedtime over here. Besides, I don't want to take away from the London thing.
Anywho, here's a bit about one of my favorite characters ever created:
Nicholas Riverton, otherwise known as the Duke of Lidden, was rough, rugged, rakishly handsome, and utterly romantic. Yes, romantic. For all his attractive, incredibly masculine form and manners, he was truly romantic at heart. Not that he boasted of such, for what man in his right mind would? But he knew that his sensibilities and most especially his affection for his garden and flowers were not common to the male sex. And so he feigned indifference most of the time, posing as a rogue, rake, and all-around scoundrel. His actions never actually declared him such; it was merely his attitudes and outward appearance that hinted to others that he might be. No one minded, to be sure; the young ladies indeed found him more appealing because of his “might be” reputation. Fawning, fainting, and shameless flirtation were now typical, and downright irritating to Nicholas. Was it his fault that he had been given features women enjoyed? If he heard one more word about his eyes being the color of a stormy sea, he might just gouge them out. Another word about his chestnut hair being glorious and tempting, and he could cut it all off. And any further comparisons to Adonis, David, or any of the gods, and he would take himself for a ride under his carriage with his ankles fastened to the bottom of it. Oh, he liked his appearance well enough, and was proud of his strong family features, to be sure. But was it really too much to ask that someone for once be more interested in his heart than the angle of his jaw or the size of his fortune? That he be loved for who he was and not what he was? He wished for it, hoped for it, had even prayed for it once or twice, but he had very little hope of ever recieving his one true desire in life.

Days 3 and 4--getting my groove back

Well, friends, it's been a very full two days and right now is the literal first chance I have had to do this. Our days are packed with excursions to help us get to know London better, and let's just say the Tube and I know each other well. (For those of you who don't know, the Tube is their subway system, also called the Underground. I have not developed a dangerous relationship with toothpaste.) And so, for your viewing pleasure, I present further snapshots of my time in London. So much for blending in over here. I'm practically a Japanese tourist with my camera flashing out. Anywho, here we go:

This is me in Victoria Tower Gardens right beside the Houses of Parliament. It was SOOO cool. I think we get to go inside eventually....

Parentals, this is where you should retire to. It's in St. James' Park and right on a little pond. Or maybe, Mom and Lori, this is where you should escape to. It's not PEI, but hey!

I want to point out, first of all, that this is not zoomed in at all. This, my fellow Americans, is a royal carriage. The drapes are closed, which means someone is IN there. I almost got run over by this and this was the first shot I got because I was whipping my camera out. I dunno who it was, but I was halted by some royal guards when we went around the corner. This was at St. James' Palace (another amazing historical palace from at least Henry VIII) and NO ONE ELSE was around. AWESOME!! Say what you will, Yanks, I like royalty.

Me and Buckingham Palace. The flag is flying so the Queen is home...or was....maybe she's at St. James' Palace now...and ignore that strange man. Fool was rude and walked through and we were lucky for this shot.

Yes, Pride and Prejudice fans, I was ON Gracechurch Street. You know, where the Aunt and Uncle Gardiner lived? And I dunno what Caroline Bingley's problem was, it's a perfectly nice prt of town.

...yeah. I was confused too. (Leadenhall is the street it's on.)

We give them a hard time about this phrase, but honestly, can YOU think of a better way to say it? "Watch out for the distance between the train and the platform"? Give them a break.

Ah, Home Sweet Home. I present Number 27 Palace Court.

The Portobello Market. NIGHTMARE! But cool as well. If you don't mind smashing up against cigarette smoking Brits and Indians and various other people who smelled of wine and cheese, you might really love it.

The entrance to Kings College in London. I suddenly didn't feel so cool about my school.

Oh, and did I mention that the Russian EMBASSY is at the end of our road? I didn't? Well, IT IS!

Day 2--the pain of the feet

So, our professors gave us a book about different walks to take in London and we have to get 8 done by Saturday at 6. Today I did two of them (yesterday I did 2 also) so here are some pics from today!

The Brits are blunt. This was a sign on the Tube that I thought was very funny.

I searched and searched up and down Drury Lane and I could not fine the Muffin Man. Sad day.

The Tower Bridge. SOOOOO cool. And crowded....dang tourists.



Southwark Catherdral. Shakespeare went to church here. No joke. He was literally in this parish. I would have LOVED to take pictures inside but it was not allowed. Let's jsut say, it was AMAZING!!!

They have this little restaurant everywhere, and I am dying to try it out.

Victoria Embankment Garden. BEAUTIFUL! So many flowers!

Now THIS is awesome graffiti!

And that's all she wrote! More to come! Cheerio!