St. Michael's Mount... and the HONEYMOON SUITE!

We woke up in Tintagel, and I had my very first "Traditional English Breakfast". AKA a breakfast that is the size of Thanksgiving dinner. We had toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, tomatoes, fruit, tea, and black pudding. Side note about black pudding: it isn't pudding... it's this... weird... meat? I actually don't know if it is meat. It tasted like black meat. But it was good! Just black.

On the coast of St. Ives

We loaded back on my favorite thing in the world. The bus. And headed to St. Ives!!! Which is a small fishing community that has kind of turned into an art center. I would compare it to England's very own "Park City". We walked around for a couple of hours, shopped, ate crepes, and enjoyed the sea breeze!

Look Mom and Dad! I'm being extra safe while I'm away!!!

Our next stop was St. Michael's Mount which is in Penzance (Pirate's of Penzance anyone??) It's as far west as you can get in England, and absolutely beautiful! I love the ocean! St. Michael's Mount is a castle that's a little ways off the coast on a tiny island. When the tide is low you can walk on this little walkway out to it (it's only low for a couple hours though so you have to time it perfectly otherwise you are stranded!) We toured the castle (which is a family home!!!) and then looked around Penzance a little more.

St. Michael's Mount

Well hello... Welcome to the Honeymoon Suite!

Almost everyone got to stay at a hotel this time, and again my luck continues. I got to stay in THE HONEYMOON SUITE! It was a luxurious room right on the coast with bay windows and roses everywhere. I almost cried it was so beautiful. And clean. We ate yummy Italian food, and Janie and I headed back to our suite where we watched TV and fell fast asleep in our huge bed.

WALES

First off, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! We had quite the early morning! Because we started our WEST TRIP today!!! We woke up and got on the Coach (which is just a way of making a bus ride sound MUCH more glamorous than it actually is). Anyways. Coach ride to Tintern Abbey! Which is an old abandoned monastery from the 12th century, King Henry VIII sent his soldiers to destroy it, needless to say they did kind of a crappy job because it's still there! Maybe not all the way, but it's still absolutely gorgeous. That was really neat to see, and probably one of my favorite spots.... I know I say that a lot....

Emilee and I at Tintern Abbey!

Isn't it breathtaking???

After Tintern we drove further west to WALES!!!! It was so amazing!!! Welsh is a crazy language. We stopped at this abandoned Industry Plant from the Iron Age, roamed around there for awhile... it was kind of spooky actually! Then drove a little further to Big Pit. It's this old coal mine that hasn't been in operation for a couple decades. We went 300 ft down and toured all the old shafts. It was way fun learning about all the hard work these guys did, and what their lives were like.

Just chillin' in the mines. No big deal.

We then drove to Salisbury. Which I'm convinced is one of the most perfect places on the planet. It's right in the middle of the English countryside, and also 15 minutes away from Stonehenge! (But that's for another day...) We got to stay at The Red Lion, this little hotel that was seriously so cute. I shared a room with one of my favorite girls Sarah Bradley. It actually might not have been good to stay and something so nice the first night because now I'll have extremely high expectations.

So nice and fancy! I could get use to this :)

Outside our hotel!

After checking in we went to a local pub (Coach and Horse) to have some fun, walked around town, and checked out the LOVELY cathedral. Then we went to McDonald's to get ice cream because that was the only way for us to really celebrate the 4th, and McDonald's is as American as it gets! Unfortunately.

Such a grand cathedral!!!

Night folks! More later!

No big deal... Just hit up Stonehenge and Bath.

I'm living the dream. Did I mention that? I'm seriously so lucky to be here! Not to brag or anything... :)

So we woke up from Salisbury, and were a little sad to go because it would have been fun to see more of the town. But we were headed to some great things so it wasn't the end of the world.

"What great things did you see today Megan??" Oh no big deal. I just saw Stonehenge. You know... Stonehenge. One of the most iconic landmarks in all of England, thousands of years old, and the background to most computers? Ring a bell?? Well it was awesome. They block it off now so you can climb on them, but I got some great shots and loved every second of it!

Janie and I at Stonehenge. Freaking out.

After hanging around there for a bit, we sadly had to go. But never fear! It just got better from there! We then went to Bath, home of the ancient Roman Baths!!! People have been going there for their health because of the healing powers of the water for centuries. And now I can say that I have too :)

The Roman Baths!!!

Sarah and I just chillin... Do as the Roman's do :)

We went on a tour of the Baths, learned about how they discovered these amazing Roman ruins, and what their lives were like. It was fascinating. I wanted to jump right in the water and just relax (even though the water was a big green, only from the minerals though!) At the end of the tour you get to try the water!!! It was warm, and a little...rusty tasting. I won't lie. It wasn't that great! BUT if it makes me healthy, wealthy, and wise then POUR ME A GLASS! Better yet a gallon! After touring the Baths I walked around town with some friends, visited the Royal Crescent, and had lunch!

Yummy water.... kind of.

Unfortunately we had to get back on the road again! (Really starting to hate that Coach....)

And drove to Tintagel! Tintagel is a tiny village on the West Coast, in Cornwall.

It. Was. To. Die. For.

At Tintagel Castle!!!

I'm moving there. Sorry Mom and Dad. But feel free to join me!!! We arrived and split up into where we were staying. Me and three other girls were lucky enough to stay at this quaint little B&B, while everyone else had to go stay at a hostel. I'm starting to figure out that I have amazing luck! We planned on meeting our group a little while later at Tintagel Castle. But of course got lost. We wandered around the Coast, and eventually found these old ruins, which actually ended up being the castle! But alas our group wasn't there. We just enjoyed the sights, took some pictures and hiked around for a bit. It was a perfect moment. I got to go off on my own for a bit and just enjoy where I was! Our group finally found us and we departed on a "stroll", at least that's what Papa Wade called it. It was morel like a 5 mile hike. BUT I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!! This hike should be added as the 8th Wonder of the World because it was lovely. It was raining, muddy, and everyone got extremely dirty, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Hiking from Boscastle to Tintagel!

After we stumbled back into town (and looking like we had wandered for days in the wilderness) we grabbed some Indian food at the only place that was open, and climbed into bed. Such an eventful day! So much to take in! AAAHHH it was GREAT!!!

A view from our lovely hike! It looks fake doesn't it!!!

One Man, Two Guvnors

Another week in heaven!  So because we are going on our West trip this weekend, we had to bump class up to Tuesday. So after another long day of classes (okay it wasn't that long but still), we went to Nando's! Nando's is Portuguese food. AKA simply delicious! After Nando's we went to Piccadilly Circus and headed to Lily Whites, which is a huge sports store. And since the Olympics are coming up it was extra exciting to see all that they had! I bought a pair of England boxers... for myself...because that's all I could afford. They are cute. I'm wearing them right now. Sorry for painting that picture for you all. But I had to share.

Then we went to Primark. Again. (We were kind of in a shopping mood if you couldn't guess...) After hours of girly entertainment we headed back home for dinner. And guess what we had. STEAK!!! I was craving meat. We had been having all these weird... squishy.... type food....stuff....things.... and I just wanted some protein. Also we had this bread that we call "Cheese Balls" (it sounds super classy I know). It's a roll, stuffed with cheese. It was so good I sang a song to it. That's how much I loved it.

Though I did love the Cheese Balls and shopping. It was nothing as great as "One Man, Two Guvnors". Have any of you seen or heard of this show? Well let me tell you: it was HILARIOUS! It's an English adaption of "Servant of Two Masters". It was just so fun. Everyone was roaring with laughter; I even started crying a little bit. I didn't want it to end. I would recommend that everyone FLY out here and get your tickets.

The show unfortunately had to end, so I rode the Tube back to Palace Court, and packed for my West trip!!!

Which I'll tell you all about soon!

(Sorry no pictures from today oddly enough! But who wants to see me shopping anyways. BORING!)

Conquering my BIGGEST fear...

On Sunday we went to church, which was so fun! I love my ward, I'm best friends with this cute old man named George Chittock. He is the sweetest. And then we headed home and did homework ALL day. Nothing too exciting. Pretty chill day. But it was definitely needed because the flu and the cold is going around the home and so everyone is sick and we all needed rest. It's kind of tough when there are 45 people living together.

So... MONDAY: We went to classes in the morning, and then we decided to go to St. Paul's Cathedral again and climb to the top to overlook the city skyline! The hike to the top was AMAZING! We climbed 656 steps, but it felt like less. Not only did we get to see the city skyline but we also got to see an aerial view of the cathedral/dome. It was perfect. The only thing that was super tough for me was the last half of the climb. The stairs for it were those see-through/grate type stairs without backs on them. That is one of my biggest fears. If you don't understand what I'm trying to explain... here's a picture. I don't know why I'm so afraid of them, but I am. I paid 14 pounds for the ticket though so I was going to the top!!! And I'm so glad I did because the view was perfect.

View from St. Paul's! See the London Eye? Jubilee sign?

Jace, Me, Janie, and Abbie at the top!!!

Icky stairs....

After going to St. Paul's we went to CAMDEN MARKET! My English professor from USU raved about this market and I also heard great things from others in my group. And boy oh boy were they right! I got  off the tube and arrived at Camden. Right on the street there were quite a lot of tourist traps. But when you walk off the main street you get in these "horse stalls", which is sort of misleading. It isn't actual horse stalls, but rather a bunch of booths and crafty things that are so fun! Janie and I went shopping and sort of broke off from the bigger group, and spent the afternoon looking around, haggling prices down, and shopping in a light drizzle of rain. It was so fun.

Loving Camden Market!!!

We went back home, ate some food, and did some homework. All in all, an amazing day!

Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, Mamma Mia!!! And weird Modern Art.

First off I'd like to brag a little bit. Here it goes: I have been nothing but consistent with my blog and haven't missed one single day!!! That's a pretty big deal. Because I truly thought I would be super flaky and not do it! But since this is my substitute travel journal I've got to do it! Or else I'll be mad at myself later.

 

Today we had another delightful walk around the city, and started our Saturday morning with the popular Borough Market. This is a farmers market near London Bridge, and it is AMAZING. There was so much lovely fresh food; and this market is home of "The World's Greatest Grilled Cheese Sandwich" (well, according to Papa Frank, that is). I of course had to see what all the hullabaloo was about. And lets just say...I want to marry that sandwich. It was that good. We purchased some fresh cherries and raspberries too, hoping to counteract the greasy sandwich we just consumed with some fruit. It didn't work.

Our next stop was literally 20 feet away from the market, and that was Southwark Cathedral. This has been one of my favorite cathedrals that we have been in (I say that, but I actually love them all, it's just too hard to choose a favorite). But I ventured in while everyone else was sitting outside on the grass. I paid for a votive candle, lit it, and said a prayer. Then just sat in the cathedral for a little while. It was absolutely breathtaking. I didn't want to leave but Papa Frank made me... ugh. It was just such a nice moment to gather my thoughts and have some alone time. That has been one of my favorite moments. Oh! I forgot to mention that this cathedral was the same one Shakespeare attended. No big deal. Probably just sat in the same pew as he did.

Our next stop was the Tate Modern Art Gallery. I have a really hard time with modern art, I've just never been able to appreciate it as much as I should. For instance: there was a piece in one of the exhibits that looked like an extraordinarily large piece of beef jerky hanging from the ceiling. It was called something like "Delicate Child"..... uhhh....?? "Delicate Child"??!!? I'm sorry good sir but you just picked up some left over food from your pantry and hung it from the ceiling! You may not call that art. And especially call it "Delicate Child"! That's just ridiculous. The one that really pushed me over the edge was a piece called "Ballpoint Pen and Notebook". Wanna guess what it was? A ballpoint pen and a notebook. Sitting there. On a stand. Hmm... pretty sure that's just left over office supplies folks. Don't be duped! Next time my room is dirty or I make a mess and someone asks me to clean it up, I'm going to say it's art and they are killing my artistic buzz. Because that's what the people in Tate Modern do. Therefore, I can too.

Next I led a group of girls back to the Underground so we could get home and do some homework before we tried to get tickets to another show... at least I thought I led them to the Underground....

St. Paul's from across the Thames.

Apparently London has some random tunnels near St. Paul's Cathedral and Blackfriar's Station that aren't actually connected to the Tube. So we just got lost underground for a moment, because of me. I was thinking a scene from the movie "The Descent" was going to occur or something. (Don't watch that movie. It's freaky.)

We got home. Did some homework. Ate some dinner. And got...

Christina, Kaitlyn, Janie, and I in front of the theater!!!

MAMMA MIA TICKETS!!! I love Broadway. Especially London Broadway. We just go there an hour before the show, ask for their cheapest tickets, show them our student discount card, and BOOM! Instant entertainment! Man I'm so lucky! We sang along, cheered, stood up and danced all together, everyone in the audience! It was a blast!!! After the show we thought we should probably go to the Stage Door at the back of the theater and have some of the guys in the show take pictures with our friend Kim Austin since it was her birthday! And we love embarrassing each other. Here's how the conversation went down.

"Hey can we take a picture with you?" -Emilee
"Uh... (confused look).... I'm not in the show..." - Random guy that walked out of the Stage Door
"Oh." -Emilee
A moment passes...

"Well can we still have a picture with you? You're hot... (the last part muttered under her breath but perhaps still not quiet enough)" -Abbie

St. Paul's!!!

How cute is this??

I just busted up laughing and had to walk away. It was such an awkward moment! I could watch it any longer!!! Let's just  say that was a great ending to an even better day :)

Cheers!

Tower of London

Today I went to The Tower of London! For those of you who thought that The Tower of London was just one singular tower, never fear. That's what I was expecting too. I feel embarrassed admitting that to you all. But alas. I was confused! But I'm not anymore!

Representing the Caps in front of The Tower of London!

The Tower of London is a castle that also was a military base for awhile, and then finally a prison up until WWII. (Talk about a very fancy prison...) We took all of the tours that were offered (ie the White Tower, Bloody Tower, Torture Tower- they were some messed up people) and then my favorite tour. THE CROWN JEWELS! The royals sure know how to do it right! They had items dating back to the 14th Century! I wish I could have taken pictures to show you all how lovely they were. I almost didn't believe they were real!!! Diamonds aren't suppose to be that big.

Rachel, Janie, Me, and Lauren!!! See the Olympic rings??

Afterwards we went to get some South African food, I have no idea what my food was called... all I know was it was DELICIOUS. I hope I don't get fat on this trip... Anyways. We met up with our group and took a tour around the financial district, a newer part of town that was heavily bombed in the war so most of the buildings are modern. BUT nestled in this district are parts of old Londinium, the old original Roman settlement dating back to 100 AD. We saw all these old Roman walls and this arena that they use to have battles in. It was very interesting to see the stark contrast in the two time periods. I just can't wrap my head around that kind of history!

Roman city wall next to the London Museum

Afterwards, we headed over to the London Museum for a couple of hours, looked at some really fun exhibits, and came home for our final lecture from Tim Slover about the different types of Theatre.

My home girl from up north! Christina and I just eating some cheesecake with...nutella. Don't judge.

Everyone was pretty exhausted so we either did homework or just hang out around home after dinner. We've been going non-stop this whole weekend that I think we all need to catch up on some need rest and homework. Night!