Another week gone by!

My time is passing so quickly here in England! I hardly know where the time has gone! I only have two weeks left of my program before I am off to France and Scotland, then I make my way home to start fall semester. The last week has been amazing as usual.... so here's a peak at what I did!

Last week I got to see a lot of art museums with some of my favorite painters. I spent time at the National Gallery which had exhibits dedicated to Impressionism. So, I got to see Monet, Van Gogh, Pissaro, Cezanne, and I have recently discovered J.M.W. Turner and John Constable who are two of my new favorite artists.

On Wednesday we took a boat up the Thames River to Greenwich where the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian are. It was neat to explore and learn more about time, geography, and space. Plus, I had a foot on each side of the Prime Meridian which was pretty sweet!

Prime Meridian!

On Thursday I went to the Science Museum and I saw a moon rock! Then, I went and saw Mousetrap, a play by Agatha Christie which is the longest running play in England! But, I can't tell you the ending :) 

On Friday I went to the Tate Britain which is another Art Museum with my favorite artists again :) I saw a painting of the Anunciation which is probably the most beautiful depiction of it that I have ever seen. I also went biking around Hyde Park which was a lot of fun! 

The Lady of Shalott

Gabriel appears to Mary

Peter Pan Statue

On Saturday, I spend the day at Kew Gardens! There were greenhouses with plants from all over the world, a waterlily house, a treetop bridge, a river, a flower garden, and a beehive :) I also went to a Brazil Party on Saturday afternoon and then I saw IN THE HEIGHTS! It's a musical and it was incredible and so much fun to watch! 

a sea cucumber in the mini aquarium...

tree top bridge

i fed the ducks with some bread covered in nutella

the bee hive! 

lily pads! 

Oh yeah this is where I live by the way :) 

Last Week!

Last week I got to go everywhere! Last Sunday I went to church and taught the 8 to 10 year olds. It was super fun even though they were kind of crazy and then I gave a talk in Portuguese. It seemed to go well? I just hope that everyone understood me hehe. Then of course I left my charger at the church, so I had to go back and get it on Monday. Sunday night we had a fireside with a woman named Hannah who has a career in development, counseling, and therapy. She has traveled all over the world helping in orphanages, homeless shelters, etc. Her fireside was amazing and very inspiring to me.

Monday, we went to a dutch pancake place and it was amazingly delicious. They were like huge crepes and they were so BIG! We are going again today :) I got my charger back and then I went to the National Portrait Gallery--the evil place where I dropped my phone in the toilet... I enjoyed looking at the artwork though.
Tuesday, we went to the Banqueting House where Charles the 1st was beheaded. The house was beautiful, especially the detailed paintings on the ceilings. Then I went with some friends to the British Library which was awesome! I got to see a Gutenberg Bible, letters from Anne Boleyn to Henry the 8th, the Magna Carta, original writings by Charles Dickens, the Beetles, Charlotte Bronte, and papers from the book of John that dates back to like the 4th century. This was an amazing place and I really enjoyed going there.

On Wednesday, we went to Stonehenge! A neat place in the middle of a field next to a pig farm and a field of poppies. We took a lot of pictures there and were annoying Americans as we tried to do headstands for a good picture. We also went to the Salzbury Cathedral which was pretty and spent time in an old town called Old Sarem. We also watched the first Harry Potter movie that night :)
On Thursday, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral which I really enjoyed. It was a very beautiful cathedral with a dome. It was built by Christopher Wren and it's the only cathedral to have a dome in London. The domes have mosaics and we were able to go up into the domes. The first dome, we walked around the inside of St. Paul's, but the other two were outside! I could see forever!

Friday, we went to Covent Gardens and went explored the market there. There was some fun stuff to eat and look at. Then we went to Regent's Park which has lots of different kinds of roses. So, we wandered through the gardens for a long time and then played frisbee. It was a great day. Friday night I went to Primark and bought clothes :) And then me and some friends got icecream.

Saturday, we went to Hampton Court which is a palace where many kings and queens lived such as William and Mary, George and Caroline, and Henry the 8th. We got to see falconry, sword fighting, and JOUSTING. The jousting and falconry were my favorites because they were so interesting and fun to watch. The gardens were beautiful and one of my favorites was the maze garden. It took me about thirty minutes to find my way out. The rest of the palace was amazing and it was neat to learn about the lives of these famous monarchs.

Sunday was church as usual. I took a nap, ate dinner, skyped with family and friends, played telestrations, journaled, and did my scripture study. Altogether, it was a great week :)

The rest of my North Trip

Thursday: We spent the day in York! We went to Clifford's Tower and then to the York Museum which had a Victorian city, an exhibit about World War 1, the old women's prison, and an exhibit about beauty and the body. I walked through the shambles which is an old street that used to house all the butchers (I know kind of gruesome). Then I ate dinner at a pub! I actually got to watch a soccer game in a pub in England which was on my bucket list :)

Friday: We spent the day at the William Wordsworth Foundation/Museum. We learned all about William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. They lived in Grasmere in the Lake District of Northern England. They lived in a little place called Dove Cottage. The Lake District is very beautiful full of green mountains, lakes, and trees everywhere! I really enjoyed it! We got to see Wordsworth's old journals and the first books of his ever printed. We hiked up the mountain and saw the valley. Then we toured around the cottage and museum. Later that day we stayed at a hostel right on Lake Windemere which was beautiful. We hiked up to a waterfall and spent the evening reading, journaling, and just enjoying the general splendor. 

Everyone should go to the Lake District in Northern England, it's now one of my most favorite places!