What I'm Going to Miss...

What I Am Going to Miss About London:

Markets on Saturdays. Going out and shopping anytime you want. Running through the parks. Yogurt covered banana chips. Going to a show any night of the week. Milka Chocolate. Snog. Accents. The tube (when its not crazy crowded)

My cute primary kids. Well behaved dogs. Flowers in bloom. Traveling with 40 people. London lovies.

What I'm Looking Forward to Back Home:

My family. Mexican food. Self-serve frozen yogurt. Driving. Friends. Knowing what is going on in the world. Sleeping in my own bed. Having a clean open fridge.

London Lasts

I’m getting to that point here where there are all these last things in London I want to do and I will make sure they happen-even if it means going solo. For instance (and my blog readers are going to think I’ve hit a new loner low) but I really wanted to see Phantom the other night and everyone else had already seen it, so I decided to just go on my own. And no shame..it turned out to be great cuz I got awesome seats and loved the play. I also went to check out the original Boden store the other day by myself to get my graduation dress (which is very cute might I add). And today I went for a little beautiful Hyde Park bike ride free for 30 minutes!

But, just to reassure I do hang out with people here’s some highlights of things I did with others this week:

Grenwich: a cute little village right along the Thames that is famous for its maritime history and royal place where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I lived. Unfortunately, it was a little rainy that day so not the best time for sight seeing but still a nice place to go and a great park to walk around in

St Pauls: where we went to see Evensong (a mens choir), which was a really neat worship experience. And there I am below right outside of it.

The Childrens Hour: we got to see Keira Knightley live in a play and there she is up close & personal where we did a little creeping on her afterwards

Abbey Road: you can’t come to London without getting hooked on Beatle mania so we had to go to Abbey Road to re-enact their famous footsteps there

and of course representing the Asians pose

London Eye: this was amazing and such a fun thing to do at night especially cuz we had our own pod. It was great just having time to overlook the city we have lived at for the past 4 months and reminisce on good times we have had together

Oh London lasts I will miss you...and especially these girls!

Sweet solo trip to Sweden

I feel like such an independent little traveler. I went to Stockhom Sweden by myself this weekend to check out a company my dad has done some work with and wanted me to check out.

As much as I love everyone in the center i have to say it was kind of nice to just get away. This was a 1st for me not traveling with my fam, friends or a group and it all went successfully.

I was mostly there checking out some work sites & talking about their business. But Friday night I had some time just to myself where I had a few firsts:
1) 1st time I've ever eaten dinner at a restaurant by myself. I got good sushi & just ate at the bar but I've secretly always wanted to go out to eat alone to see what it feels like. The verdict is it wasn't too bad but def wouldn't do it on a regular basis or in a place where I may see people I know.
2) 1st time staying in a hotel room by myself which consisted of me putting my robe & slippers on, eating chocolate & dancing around to glee! Ha it was fabulous after living in a room with 14 girls for 4 months to just have time to chill on my own!

Well that was my last little trip & next time I'll be at the airport will be to go back home to the USA! Pretty bittersweet. But below my friends though is just sweet. Yes that is a Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream bar I ate in the comforts of my hotel room-so good!

Finally Football

Finally we got to go to an England “football” match! We have done many shows, plays, opera, ballet-but unfortunately for the 6 guys of the group no sporting events until now. We got to go to an England vs. Ghana soccer game and boy was it crazy. It is such a big part of the English culture that was really fun for us to be a part of. We went to the Wembley Stadium that holds over 80,000 people (yes over 3 times the size of BYU & yes I was a little crowd claustrophobic) but it was worth it. We dressed up in England colors and there we are all below-in England red (not the Utes red might I add)

It turned out to be a tied game 1-1, but it was still awesome to see the fans from each side go crazy when their team scored. So glad we got to have a real European "football" experience before leaving. Go England!

Tate Modern

I loved the Tate Modern Museum I went to by myself on Monday. I went by myself: 1) because it is nice to have just “my time” living with so many and 2) looking at modern art pieces I kind of like just finding meaning behind it on my own. For those who don’t know, the Tate Modern is a gallery of amazing modern and contemporary art pieces. It is the most visited modern art gallery with around 4.7 million visitors each year! Yes it is different, but I loved the creativity and stories behind the pieces. Maybe it is coming from San Fran where the MOMA is or growing up in a household with a lot of modern art pieces, but I really have come to love modern art even with all its uniqueness.

The picture of me below is in front of Henri Matisse’s “The Snail” that we actually have a copy of in our house. I love it because it is one of Matisse’s last pieces in his series of works called the “cut-outs.” Matisse was confined to his bed through illness but had his assistants cut out sheets of paper in gouache, which he then cut out (talk about dedication). I love the vibrant colors yet the simplicity in this painting. It dominated the room it was in at the Tate Modern and really drew me in. So overall a great little adventure at the Tate Modern for my last museum of my Fine Arts class!

Biking & Stratford

Well the sun is shining here in London town which means people our out having picnics, walking their dogs, playing with their kids, jogging, paddle-boarding (you get the picture). And we are out biking in Hyde Park! It was so nice to just rent bikes for free for 30 minutes in the park and ride by the Serpentine river. Check out how cool we look below too..I think we are all just ecstatic to be taking pictures without our big coats on finally!

Friday we took a half day trip to Stratford upon Avon. We saw Shakespeare's birthplace, the house he lived in and his grave site. Shakespeare was such a genius and prodigy for his time and it was neat to be right at the place where he thought of such radical ideas. I loved learning more about his marriage, his family, his thoughts and overall just his life.
Also Stratford was a really cute little town that we had fun just wandering around. Then that night we got to see King Lear at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I must admit it was a LONG play-3 hrs & 20 minutes, but I did my best to appreciate it and the acting was incredible. So that was our last bus ride trip together as a group-kind of bittersweet...

Brugge & France

It's a good thing we didn't stay in Brugge any longer or else I may have just ended up taking permanent residence. It is the cutest most quaint little European town. It has the appeal of Venice with it's canals, the charm of Prague with the city square and the amazing treats of France with chocolate shops, waffles & frites everywhere you turn. Combine those traits all together & you get Brugge!

We were only there about a day but as our professor said it was kind of like "our vacation spot" (although I feel like we are on one constant vacation ha) But we had time to just roam the cobblestone streets, go on a boat ride, tour the chocolate museum & walk up 360 stairs to the top of the Belfry tower.

We then went to Iep where we did a great tour of the Flanders Museum learning more about World War 1 where the neutral territory of trench warfare took place in Belgium.

Wednesday we went to to Amiens France where we went to the largest cathedral in all of Europe! If you think notre dame is great-this is even bigger & better (but unfortunately it doesn't have the bell tower & Quasimodo appeal)

Our last but not least stop on our France adventure was the Sommes battlefield. We had a chance to walk around the trench warfare sites right where the fighting between France, Britain and Germany took place. The battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the first World War & where the British suffered the most casualties. My appreciation of World War 1 greatly increased being right where this horrific battle took place. I tried to imagine the fighting & lives lost at the time on that exact field we were walking on which made it come much more to life.

Well that concludes our group traveling adventures of "March Madness." It will be nice to be back in our home of London for the remainder of my time here. We have a list of things we need to make sure we do before leaving so the fun & adventures will continue..as they did with riding bikes in Hyde Park with our shades on today after our religion class!

Luck of the Irish

Being in Dublin, Ireland on St Patricks Day is definitely one experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. When I used to eat my green lunches my Mom would pack and the kids would look at me in envy-who would have thought years down the line my St Patricks Day would be even more envious? Well I certainly never thought I would have this opportunity but I am so glad I did!

Although our journey from London to Ireland started at the crack of dawn leaving at 3 AM- it was well-worth it in the end. The first thing we did when we got there was…The Guinness Factory. So funny to have a big Mormon group scoping out the famous beer factory and at the end we were offered free drinks with our tour (of course we all got Diet Cokes and they looked at us like we were crazy college students haha) But it was a fun way to get to learn more about the drinking culture of Ireland.

We had all day Wednesday on our own to just explore Dublin. We checked out Phoenix Park-one of the largest city parks in Europe where the pic below was taken. Any chance I have to get out of the city and explore nature a little bit-I’ll take it. Don’t get me wrong I love the city but getting out and seeing parks, the countryside, rivers, etc. is also one of my favorite things. Wednesday we also did the National Museum of Ireland, St Patricks Cathedral and Trinity College.

Thursday was the main day of festivities-from boat racing, parading, dancing in the streets, and tons of drinking (by the Irish of course)-let’s just say the Irish know how to throw a big community party! We got all decked out in our green gear & had such a funny time just people watching and getting involved in all the festivities.

Friday we were in the green lush countryside of Ireland in a cute little town called Kilkenny. It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of Dublin (where I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by people & crazy drunks) and into a smaller quaint medieval town. We toured the Kilkenny Castle and just walked around the gardens there. Then that afternoon we went to the Rock of Cashel, which is the conversion site of the King of Munster by St Patrick in the 5^th century. We saw a lot of neat Celtic art and medieval ruins there. Elise and I walked over to an abbey where we got to just wander and explore in the green meadows (exactly what you imagine when you think of Ireland). Well that concludes my Ireland adventures for the past few days. I am one lucky Irish girl…; )

Wishing a little better on Wales

Wales may not have been the best trip I’ve had over here (due to not feeling too well), but it was still a pretty and green one nonetheless. Oh and ps I’ve given up complaining for lent so just trying to keep looking on the bright side of things (no matter what). Note the smile below-still trying to make the most out of it!

Well this being a BYU Study Abroad the Religion Department requires we do 2 church history site tours. We did one in Preston already and then we did one on Thursday (on our way up to Wales) in Herefordshire. It was kind of a long day being on and off the bus looking at churches, ponds, houses, etc. But the highlight of the day for me was walking up this big hill to reach the top of this mountain where Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff would have meetings and just contemplate church matters in England. It was seriously probably the windiest place I have ever been in my life. I’m glad I didn’t blow off that mountain (as the pic below shows my hair wasn’t handling it so well), but I just love spots like that one looking over the countryside and you could just feel and see why those church leaders felt such a spirit up there.

Friday we made our drive over into Wales to check out Tintern Abbey. It was the first Cistercian foundation in Wales and William Wordsworth has a poem all about it, “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.” It was a pretty neat place and I accomplished my goal of finally getting a picture with the Crowes. Sister Crowe is my Fine Arts teacher and Brother Crowe is my English Writing teacher over here and they are just the sweetest couple who we all absolutely adore.

Next up we went "mining" at the Big Pit! I must first confess I was a little worried, inheriting some of my Mom’s claustrophobia, but after getting all our mining gear on and getting down there-I realized there was much more space than I had imagined. We had the funniest Welsh tour guide and it turned out to be a really fun little adventure (made me have a lot more sympathy for those Chilean miners stuck down there for 69 days too!)

Friday night and Saturday we explored Cardiff, which is the largest city and most populous in all of Wales. Cardiff is right along a bay where we found a fun little “merry go round” to take a ride on at night (funny that us college students still get excited when we see a merry go round). And then Saturday we were able to just explore love spoon shops and check out the city on our own. It was also really cool to be there the weekend Wales was playing Ireland in Rugby as there was a bunch of hard core fans out, making it a fun way to see Welsh sports pride. So that concludes our Wales trip…and the adventure continues with Ireland for St Patricks Day week leaving on Tuesday!

Perfect Prague

Prague was the perfect adventure for our travel week and it greatly exceeded my expectations! I had heard rave reviews but it takes one to actually see and experience it to believe it. And let’s just say it lived up to the hype. We stayed in a great location at the Marriott in the center of the city (thanks Mom, Priceline & Mormons!) making it very easy to hit up all the major Prague hot spots.

1^st day we did the Astronomical Clock-as we happened to time it right on the hour when it goes off. Next we walked up Old Town Hall-with a great view overlooking the whole city down below (where my pic above is taken). Then we went over to the river and walked over Charles Bridge-its only a pedestrian bridge so we took our time meandering across & taking lots of pics (both day & night). We even ran into the missionaries walking by-it was their last day there & you could tell they were pretty excited to see us BYU girls & to be going home. We then saw the major event-the Prague Castle, which was huge (the largest castle in the world to be exact). We toured the inside of the castle, St Victus Cathedral and St George’s Basillica-it was absolutely amazing. Then that night we had a beautiful dinner right along the river & our restaurant was a boat. It was perfect because we had time to just sit as they made our reservations from 6-8 so we took advantage & enjoyed lingering just a little longer (which I have never really done at a restaurant before).

Sweet little missionaries on Charles Bridge

Julie & I on the bridge. Julie's from AZ, a Public Health major & we have a mutual friend- Bradford Waldie (Eric Olsen's Air Force buddy) who we had lunch with at Oxford

The girl crew in front of the Prague Castle

2^nd day we did the Jewish Quarter going to the Jewish Museum & cemetery. The cemetery was crazy with like 12,000 graves but since the Jews could occupy only limited portions of land, they would bury coffins on top of each other so there were tons of burials in such a small area. It was a really neat experience to read about the Jews in Prague. After that we did Wenceslas Square-fun little shopping area & then the National Gallery (where one of the Mission Impossible scenes was filmed). That night we decided (but were all a little nervous) to try typical Czech food for dinner at a place our concierge (who was probably way sick of me by the end of the trip) recommended. It ended up being way good tho! We just all shared a bunch of typical Czech dishes-goulash, pork, sauerkraut, fried cheese, and of course apple streudel for dessert!

At the Jewish Cemetery

Czech dinner time!

3^rd day we decided to venture out into the Prague countryside to the Karlstejn Castle for Carly’s birthday. Although the train station was a bit hard to figure out with no one speaking English there-we were quite proud of ourselves when we finally made it. It was like a 20 minute walk up to the castle from the station but so worth it. It was so nice to be out in the fresh air and we just walk around the outside of the castle without actually going in. It was really beautiful and nice to be there when it wasn’t tourist season too. After that half day adventure we came back to do Charles Bridge at sunset and walk along the river one last time (absolutely gorgeous at night). It was such a good trip & I would recommend anyone who hasn’t been to Prague to try to go at least once in their lifetime-well worth it!

I'm a Foodie

Well I discovered this weekend (well re-affirmed my belief) that I’m a real foodie and London is helping to foster this relationship even more. Yesterday I ventured off on my own to the Borough Market-which is known as one of the largest food markets in London selling a wide variety of foods. They had everything from great fruit & veggie stands to kangaroo and ostrich burgers! And of course a plethora of samples which I absolutely loved just tasting & trying different things. My taste buds have never been so happy since being here.

I finally realized I should maybe buy some lunch instead of just mooching off food from the different vendors...so I finally found this wonderful freshly made veggie burger on a whole-wheat bun to try and it was divine! Best veggie burger I have ever had (even tops the Counters which is saying a lot for me)

Then that night we went over to these BYU grads flat to watch the big bball game & see BYU beat SDSU! Such a great game & so fun to watch Jimmer play (even all the way across the pond) So of course after we had to have a celebratory dinner. And it was fun hanging out with guys who live here and know the hot spots. We went to Brick Lane which is the heart of the city's Bangladesh community and famous for their Indian food.

People were hassling us to come into their place so we finally chose a place that gave us a good deal. We had yummy naan & tried different curries! It was right up this food lovers ally-getting to share and try a little bit of everything. I love how eating here is such a cultural experience here & a nice way to just sit down & talk. We stayed at the restaurant till like midnight so since the tube was closed we took the double decker buses home but it was a fun adventure & let's just say great people watching at that time of night too!

A Sunny Spring Day & Camden Market

Ok first off admire my outfit below: no coat on + Toms + sun shining=one happy Paige. Seriously though it was great! We started the day off by going on a walk for our London walks "class" through Regents Park. It was beautiful and it couldn’t have been a nicer day out. The pic below is us at the top of Primrose Hill which had a great view of London.

We continued our walk that went around "football" fields, gardens (where flowers were even starting to bloom), and a pond! Oh man you would think I hadn't seen sunlight in years by the way I'm talking, but it was just so great to be warm and outside (but not all bundled up).

We went over to Camden Market after our walk. I thought Portobello was great (and it still is) but Camden was amazing! Probably like 3 times the size with way more food stalls and lots of treasures to peruse through. It was really diverse and I can hardly describe the feeling. But there was just so many fun things to see, great smells to take in and fun people watching to behold. It was nice to just take it all in today (without buying anything..except for food of course). Then I'll go back for more goods/souvenir shopping at the end here! Borough Market coming up tomorrow...love me market weekends in London!