Day 28

Today was a great day. I think it was great because the sun was shining. I always have a better day when the sun is out. We slept in just long enough to feel rested, Emma and I had hot chocolate for breakfast. Hazelnut hot chocolate is my new obsession, so tasty. We bought Phantom of the Opera tickets for Monday, and even though we got lost on our way to the theater, it was a good kind of exploring lost. We got to see more of Piccadilly Circus and found chinatown! While we were lost we found the greatest souvenir store known to man kind, and some crazy italian men asked to take pictures with us...

After a couple tube rides, we got to the London Eye at the perfect time, sunset. Usually I'm terrified of ferris wheels, but I loved the London Eye! The view was amazing! We ate dinner at a cute little pizza place recommended to us by Audrey's magic book, and it was delicious. We finished the evening with a little chocolate from Harrod's. It was just a laid back, fun, touristy day.

And guess what. We're going to Rome in 4 days.

Horses are still scary.

I found myself an english gent.

I am secretly Princess Diana.

The London Eye!

Sunset is the perfect time.

We rode in this.

We saw this.

And this.

Days 26 & 27

I just want to start off by saying that I am sick. I've been sick for awhile. It even feels like I've been sick the entire time I've been here. I have a weak immune system, and right now I have a cough. I cough(although hack would be a better word) constantly. I try really hard not to because I know how obnoxious it is, but I am that annoying, coughing girl all the time. If I don't cough though, my throat starts to burn, my eyes start to water, my face turns red, and I start to die. So I just want to make a formal apology to my roommates, because my cough wakes them up, my cough gets germs everywhere, my cough makes it hard for them to hear other people talking, and my cough gets us super dirty looks on the tube. I really am sorry guys, I'll buy some cough drops tomorrow, I promise.

The sign says: Beware! Horses may kick or bite. Thank you.

Horses are scary.

Now I can tell you about Thursday. Of all the days in the week, I think Thursday is my least favorite. In elementary school I hated Thursday because it copied Tuesday and started with the letter T. In middle school I hated Thursday because it was not Friday. In high school I hated Thursday because it was the day we ran the mile. Right now I hate Thursday because it is the day we have our religion class and our London Walks class. It just makes the day really long, and it eats up just enough time to make it impossible to actually do something before dinner...and I don't miss dinner. Since Thursday is so terrible we decided to make it our lunch date day, so we got to go to Wagamama's with Susan our Brit. Lit. professor. Macy, Emma, and I had a lot of fun with her! She showed us a much faster way to get to TopShop and Giraffe, we walked down Embassy Row, and she's just good conversation. Thursday night, I'm embarrassed to say, I ate two waffles. We went to Whiteley's, and it's cheaper than the Waffle House, and I was just really hungry. I definitely came to regret the decision. I don't even want to look at a waffle right now.

Today(Friday) we had a little field trip to the banqueting hall in White Hall. Turns out the Royal Military had a party there last night and they were still cleaning up when we arrived for our tour. They postponed our tour an hour, so it had to have been one great party. We ended up eating breakfast at McDonalds and talking about weddings for an hour. I love to talk about weddings, and I don't think it's just because I'm a single, female, byu student. I have a feeling I'm going to talk about weddings even when I'm married. I can't help it, they're giant happy parties...who doesn't want to talk about that? Anyway, the banqueting hall was a giant room. People ate and danced there. Macy and I danced there. Charles the first was also beheaded there, but not during a banquet. The banqueting hall wins the swankiest bathroom award. We ate again after that, and then went to the British Museum. It is a pretty fantastic museum. We didn't even see a tenth of what was there, but the lighting and atmosphere was so great that I didn't feel the least bit overwhelmed. I did however, feel overwhelmed at Primark. I'm never going there again, it puts me in a foul mood. Meatloaf for dinner = a hungry Caitlin. We went to a singles Valentine's Day dance tonight and got all dressed up. Our high heels and fancy dresses made us a few friends on our way to the tube station. I'm not going to lie, I though it was going to be one of those dances where there are 8 people standing, not dancing, on the dance floor, people standing against the wall because their mom made them come, and a couple I'm-so-cool-I-can-dance-creepily-by-myself-in-the-corner kids. I'm happy to be wrong. I had so much fun! Tonight's highlight was definitely 30 BYU students belting Miley Cyrus and dancing to Party in the U.S.A., while the british singles looked at us like we were just typical crazy Americans. British people always think Americans are crazy.

British Museum!(No, I didn't take this picture.)

Banqueting Hall.

Banqueting Hall ceiling, painted by Reubens.

Tomorrow we're going to the aquarium and the London Eye!

22, 23, 24, & 25

This is going to be a long post. Really, really long. But, you should still read the whole thing...and look at the pictures.

Anyway, Sunday was great. For some reason, the weather here is always the best on Sundays. It was my first time in Primary and I met some of the most adorable little kids. Poppy and Julian are twins and they told me about their "wobbly teeth" and how "cheeky" their little sister Victoria is. Thomas and I talked about Star Wars, Emma and Mary told me all about the robot movie they watched, and Sarah sat on my lap the entire time I wasn't playing the piano. It was only the 6 of them, but I we had so much fun! I forgot how catchy primary songs are. On the way back to the train I had a little adventure. We have to buy extension passes because we travel out of our zone on Sundays, which means we have to put money on our cards before our ride back. So, while I was trying to put money on my card, the machine was refusing to read my credit card and the train that we needed to catch was 5 seconds from arriving and we just really couldn't miss this train. So, Brittney threw 5 pounds at me, I put it on my card, touched my card to the machine, touched my card to the entrance gate, ran up the stairs, ran across the bridge, ran down the stairs(in heels), across the platform, and then dove onto the train. It was like a relay race and I WON. Sunday dinner was so good, and we had a really cool fireside given about war time London. And then I went to the Waffle House to use their reliable internet to talk to my family on videochat! I love talking to my family!

Monday I spent the day in the centre going to class and doing homework, but at night we went to Oliver! It was such a good play! The music is always stuck in my head though. We got to Covent Garden early, so we went to Ben's Cookies! I really love the chocolate cookies at Ben's. Also, we ate baked potatoes for dinner and they were delicious.

Oliver! Oliver!

Tuesday was more class and then Emma and I got hot chocolate and went to a few stationary stores to find Valentine's Day Cards! It was so nice to not be in a rush. Emma and I took our sweet time browsing and walking and it was just a nice trip. Plus, we didn't get lost once. Later Macy and I ended up at Frog and had some delicious frozen yogurt and then it was early to bed for us, because Wednesday we had a day trip.

Wednesday!! Today we went to Dover castle and to Canterbury! We walked through some war time tunnels that were built during WW2 and they looked curiously like our dorms...The castle was very pretty, but I think I'd rather live in a cathedral. In fact, I am going to live in a cathedral, minus the crypts. I really love gift shops, but seriously all the gift shops we've been to lately sell the exact same things: Henry the 8th glass dolls, quills, goblets, and weird medieval jewelry. I just want a cool postcard or something.

Dover Castle, my new home.

So pretty and green.

White Cliffs of Dover.

This is Maddy taking a picture of me while I was telling Emma to come get in my picture, because I felt silly standing alone.

Emma and I!

On the castle steps.

We're the Hercules statues.

View from the castle roof!

The view on our walk back to the coach.

After Dover, we went to St. Augustine's Abbey and took some pictures on some crumbling walls. I understand the cultural and religious significance of the place, and had a great time reading the plaques, but you can only take so many pictures on crumbling rocks.

A nice crumbling wall.

A bigger crumbling wall.

We soon made our pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathdral and it was gorgeous. The vaulted ceilings and stone pillars were my favorite. And someone was playing the organ! It felt like Phantom of the Opera.

Canterbury and I!

I want to live here.

Pretty, pretty ceilings!

The bus ride home was long, but luckily my ipod held out until the bitter end. However, while I was touring Canterbury a pigeon decided to drop one right on my window. Seriously, right in my line of vision there was a huge bird dropping...so unfortunate. I had to stare at it for 2 hours. We had Subway for dinner, waffles from Whitely's for dessert(they didn't have fruit at Whitely's...Audrey...), and now I'm home blogging and reading for class tomorrow. Tomorrow is our lunch date day! I'm excited to go to Zizzi's!

Right underneath the flash from my camera is the super nasty bird poop. Disgusting.

Ps: I only spent 2 pounds today, and I'm pretty proud of myself for not buying anything at the TopShop or Next in Canterbury and not eating lunch out this week...and my dad should be too haha.

Days 19, 20, & 21

I want to blog everyday, but not everyday is worth blogging about...For instance, Thursday was a lazy day. We were still pretty tired from our day trip on Wednesday and we had a lot of homework to do. Mostly, we just hung out around the centre, there were no lerftovers so Emma and I ate waffles for lunch, and I finished Northanger Abbey for British Literature. I love Jane Austen and I love Northanger Abbey. It's such a darling story and it was so fun to have been to some of the places in the book. Read it, you'll like it.

Friday was a free day because of the day trip scheduled for Saturday, and we had a lot of fun with the day all to ourselves. We didn't take the tube very often because of the terrorist threats surrounding Tony Blair's visit so we walked down to Portabello Road. It was a little rainy and cold, but we found some of the cutest shops! Including a bakery called Hummingbird. I got a delicious fudge cupcake, and the atmosphere was so cute! I'll definitely go back and take pictures. The weather makes me want to leave my hands in my pockets, not whip out my camera and have a photo shoot and I'm getting kind of tired of not having very many pictures. But, after Portabello Road we went to a great little restaurant called Giraffe. It served everything from hamburgers to edamame. The design of the place and the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen made me want to stay all day. Right across the street from Giraffe was Top Shop, Kate Moss's store. I think I built it up a little too much though, because ultimately I left empty-handed and slightly disappointed. Maybe as the weather gets warmer the clothes will get cuter. I'm so glad I ate a lot at Giraffe because we had curry and rice for dinner, and I don't fancy myself a fan of authentic thai food. We finished our Friday with a little gelato from Gelato Mio. It was just a fun day!

Today I was a Sikh woman. We learned all about the Sikh and Hindu temples and then set off to South Hall to experience them ourselves. At the first Gurduara(Sikh Temple) we entered, removed our shoes, covered our hair, and washed our hands in preparation of worship. We learned a lot about the ten prophets that wrote the book of scripture that Sikhs read and believe. We ended up upstairs in the main worship hall and I didn't know you could take pictures, so I just have a video of part of the scripture reading. On the weekends they read the entire book of scripture and it takes about 48 hours. It kind of reminded me of mutual and how we would have B.O.M.-a-thons and read the Book of Mormon in one sitting, but anyway, the scriptures sat under a canopy at one end of the room. We walked down a long aisle and when we reached the canopy, to show respect to their god and prophets, we touched our foreheads to the ground and then walked around the canopy and back to our seats on the carpet. Our guide taught us for about half an hour and right in the middle I had a coughing fit(I'm sick again), and it was one of those situations where your throat is really dry, your eyes are watering, and you just can't cough enough and I felt terrible because the guy was already hard to hear. Honestly though, I need to find a good vitamin. On our way back downstairs they gave us a "gift" and it was a dough-y wheat ball, and we touched that to our forehead in gratitude and Calvin finished mine...After you worship you go down to the cafeteria for Langar, which is basically a free communal meal paid for by tithing. They feed an average of 5,000 people a day. The food down there was pretty authentic and I liked the rice, and only the rice...the water was good too. After we left, we went to a Hindu Temple and spoke to a little old man there. We still had to take off our shoes and cover our head, but Hindus are polytheistic(Sikhs are monotheistic), so instead of showing respect for one god, we learned about several gods and got to see statues of them. It was difficult to understand everything we were told and the cute old man would say something he believed followed by the question, "is it not true?" All we could do was nod haha. We went to one more Gurduara, this time in a smaller group and worshipped on our own. I was pretty proud of us. We remembered everything and touched our heads to the ground like pros. We had a lot of time to explore South Hall and to be honest it was kind of ghetto. It literally looked like a little India. There were a ton of little shops lining the streets full of beautiful scarves and saris. I got a really pretty scarf and I'm going to wear it over my hair in Provo. It will be the next big thing, just wait. We also got awesome henna tattoos! They're beautiful! We got them done in a bridal shop and also in the bridal shop were the most beautiful dresses in the world. They were traditional hindu bridal gowns, hand-beaded, 500 pounds, and I lusted after them. They were so intricate and beautiful, but I just couldn't justify the purchase haha. The plan tonight was to eat Indian food at Gifto's in South Hall, but I just kind of knew that I wouldn't like it, so we went to McDonald's before dinner and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The Indian food was alright, but way too spicy. We caught the train back, and now I'm in the dorm blogging my little heart out and shining my Sunday shoes. Pray the organ behaves tomorrow.

Days 16, 17, & 18

This post has pictures! And stories...

Monday was the day of reckoning. We had an Oliver Twist quiz, and I'm happy to say there were 10 out of 10s for everyone! So we celebrated at Nando's! I really love that chicken place, and not just because they have free refills. But before I tell you the next story, you need some background info. The BYU London Centre is on Palace Court in Knotting Hill. We live right across from Hyde Park, down the street from Kensington Palace, and very near the embassies. Long story short, we live in a pretty swanky part of London. Which is why it came as a complete shock to us when saw a poor little old man get robbed right across the street! He had just walked out of the bank when he yelled, "Stop those men! Stop those thieves!" A few good samaritans chased after the thief, but they didn't end up catching him. It's like we were literally watching a scene from Oliver. It was heart-breaking to see that poor man looking so forlorn, and we all walked home holding our purses a little tighter and talking about what we would do if someone tried to steal our bags. I assured Macy and Emma that I could take care of them because I grew up in the hood, and I'm positive they feel safer. The excitement didn't stop there though. Around 2:30am we woke up to the loudest ringing noise I have ever heard in my life. I kind of laid in bed for a few minutes wondering if it was someone's alarm, and then I realized that it was more likely a fire alarm. After I finally figured out what it was, I panicked. See, I don't wear pants to bed, it gets hot. So I stumbled down the ladder of the bunk bed, with Maddy yelling at me to hurry and found my shoes and grabbed my leather jacket. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw that I was wearing a Harry Potter t-shirt, a leather jacket, and leather loafers, but no pants. I have no idea why I was so flustered, but it took me a few minutes to find my sweatpants and the whole time I just kept thinking that I was going to burn to death in my room, in my underwear. It was a nightmare. We all ended up downstairs in the lobby(by this time I had pants on) and eventually we found out that the old lady that lives next door left her oven on and open, and that's what triggered the alarm. Luckily, there was not smoke or actual fire.

I don't usually take pictures of only my feet, but I had to show you these awesome shoes from Camden Market.

Attitudes were out in full force Tuesday, because of the midnight parade down the stairs and we were all so tired we just stayed in and did homework. After our portion-controlled dinner, we set off to try and get into The Woman in Black. We finally got tickets and were very happy. The play was very good, and the acting was fantastic. I even jumped a few times.

We are finally holding tickets to the Woman in Black!

Today, Wednesday, we woke up bright and early to head off to Brighton to find the regiment and dance with officers. Really though, we went to see the palace at Brighton, which looks as though it could have been built in India. It was very pretty inside and at the gift shop Audrey and I found some adorable teapots. We had a photoshoot on the pier, and I'd really love to go back to Brighton when the sun is out and I'm wearing a swimsuit instead of a coat.

Royal Pavillion

Audrey and I(I'm never going to wear this hat in pictures again..)

Brighton, the location of my future summer home.

The sun came out and we put our sunglasses on faster than you can say overcast.

Brighton Pier, too bad the rides were closed.

Brighton Pier again.

The whole lot of us.

45 minutes later we found ourselves at Battle Abbey, the sight of the Battle of Hastings(it's Hastings day today) and had another photoshoot. The Abbey has been modified and added to and basically abandoned so we just walked around the pretty english countryside. It was really, really cold today. After Battle Abbey we ended up at Hayden's, a little cafe in Rye for dinner which was very tasty. We finished our very long, successful day with waffles! But, in order to ensure that I do not gain 50 pounds, Tuesday is the official waffle day from here on out. Tomorrow we're beginning Jennypalooza, she's turning 20!

Battle Abbey

Macy and I guarding our Damsel.

By night we're Black Leather, and by day we're the Ladies in Scarves.

Such a loyal subject.

We had a group ANTM challenge.

This picture doesn't do the countryside justice.

Hedwig came and sat on my shoulder.

Cute candy shop!

Hayden's!

P.S. My roommates informed me that I snore. How embarrassing.

P.P.S. I desperately need someone to teach me how to make the photos on here larger, can anyone help a girl out?

Days 14 & 15

No pictures this time, sad I know. But Saturday was just so cold I forgot to pull my camera out. Won't happen again, I promise. We made a visit to Camden Market on Saturday and it is easily the coolest market we have been to so far. Don't get me wrong, I love Burrough Market and ostrich burgers, but Camden has vintage clothing shops, handmade trinkets, and waffles. If you've ever been to Canal Street it's kind of like that...but one hundred times better. However, if the lady selling scarves tells you that they're one of a kind, and that Top Shop sells the exact same scarves, don't believe her....the scarves are everywhere. We found a cute little shoe shop where Macy got some great boots, and the owner was adorable and slightly insulting haha. Finding a tube station proved a little difficult because they closed chalk farm down. The tube is fantastic and totally unreliable all at the same time. We ended up freezing our behinds off waiting for the world's most crowded bus. The bus driver was a little snappy, but I could tell he had a little crush on Audrey. Later that night we tried to go see the Woman in Black again, but there were only three seats available and five us. I guess the third time has got to be the charm. We ended up at the Waffle House by Queenway station and I am overjoyed and wary of it's proximity. They were the most delicious waffles in the world. Better than Whitley's and better than Camden Market. I can't stop thinking about them. I want to take a picture of my waffle and put in my wallet so I can brag to everyone about how fantastic it tastes.

Thanks to the awesome/unreliable tube, we were a few minutes late to church today. It's quite the journey to get out to Wansworth Commons though. I found out I am also a primary teacher, and I didn't end up playing the organ. I got the key to open it, but it just wasn't working. I seriously need more lessons. If you know anyone that could help a sister out with organ settings, I'd be forever grateful. The piano that I got to play on was beautiful though, so it all worked out fine. After church we had a linger longer and got tricked into eating haggis. It was so funny because there was chow mein, a corn and chicken casserole, and haggis all sitting side by side. It was quite the collection. Even though the food was very different and we knew only a few of the members, it still felt so homey. Running little boys were scolded(by a scottish woman named Martha who is really the ward grandma), there wasn't enough food, there were basketball lines on the floor, and it just made me so grateful that church is so constant. The doctrine, the people, the testimonies, they're all the same no matter where you go to church, it's wonderful. I'll never fall for that haggis trick again though..

Days 12 & 13

Thursday: Today was like a catch up day. Wednesday's trip tired me out, so I just went to class. I went to lunch with some girls at a chicken place called Nando's. My pita was so delicious, and they had free fountain drink refills...I almost cried. Later that night, we all decided to see if we could go get stand-by student tickets to Wicked, and we got in! We had fantastic seats and the show was so amazing. Sometimes I forget how great the music is. Every time I see Wicked though, I feel so bad for Glinda. Which is weird, because generally people identify more with Elphaba and love that she gets the guy in the end. I just can't help feel sorry for Glinda though, she gets her man snatched right out from under her. Anyway, it was wonderful and I wish life were a musical.

All the girls at Wicked!

Macy and I love ourselves(This is my Rhianna dress!)

Close up of the poofy sleeves, also it was Christina's first Wicked show!

Friday: We woke up bright and early to get to Westminster Abbey. I wish I could post a lot of pictures, but they wouldn't let us take any! Also it was very rainy, which kind of diminishes any desire to take pictures. Westminster is beautiful. It's such a peaceful, holy place. There are over 3,000 people buried there. I did in fact find Edward III's tomb(we're related you know), but I couldn't snap a photograph so I stole one from the internet. It was freezing and rainy. We ended up at the Burrough Market for lunch and I got my very own ostrich burger! It was seriously so tasty! Tonight we're going to watch the Young Victoria, and then Camden Road, Waggamomma's, and Lady in Black tomorrow. This has been such a good week!

West Minster!

Girls.

West Minster Towers.

King Eddie's tomb.

So funny story, we all walked out of the centre wearing black leather jackets today. Instead of the Pink Ladies, we were going to be the Black Ladies..but that's a little politically incorrect, so now we're just going to be a band called Black Leather(we're so hot).

Audrey and I seconds before this terrifying horse tried to devour us.

An Ostrich burger! So good!