Puddle Stomping and Straddling the Prime Meridian

On November 13 we took a group trip to Greenwich. I had no idea what was there, other than the time line, and it was pouring rain and a little on the cold side so I wasn't very excited about it. But guess what, it was awesome!! The Old Naval Royal College is one of the main attractions in Greenwich. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, who also designed St. Pauls Cathedral. This picture is of part of the campus.

ONRC is a music college and while we were there they were having a special exhibition on early musical instruments. It was so cool! I felt like we were a little out of place in there because most of the people who went into the exhibition were music students who probably knew how to play the lute and all 50 different types of recorders, but I really enjoyed looking at all the instruments, some in various stages of completion, and listening to people play them and stuff. The other fun thing was that they had tons and tons of music for sale. It was all classical and I got an awesome Bach piano book.

The main part of the exhibition was in the "Painted Hall" which is one of the most famous parts of the buildings because of the beautiful baroque artwork all over the ceilings. I wish the pictures showed this better; it was so ornate and intricate. I can't imagine how amazing it must be to go to school in a place like this!

After poking around the exhibition for awhile we headed up to the royal observatory!

It was raining so hard and since I was wearing my rain boots I was really excited about it! I probably had a little too much fun jumping in puddles and standing in the little rivers that were forming on the sidewalks and the streets...I couldn't stop looking at my feet! Thanks to Elliot for catching these hilarious pictures, and thanks to whoever invented rain boots for providing me with so much entertainment.

The observatory is set up pretty high on a hill so it was a bit of a walk to get to it, but we got to walk through the prettiest park! Sometimes I get sad when I think of how amazing all of these places probably are in the spring with all of the flowers blooming, but you just can't beat autumn leaves!

Of course the main attraction up at the top was the Prime Meridian. Elliot and I had to wait for at least five minutes to take this picture because there was a large group of Asian tourists, all middle aged men, who could not stop taking pictures! They just kept going and going, completely oblivious to the line that was rapidly forming behind them. But we finally got our picture and did our best to avoid them as we went around the observatory.

This is the Millenium clock which I didn't even know existed before I came here.  It counted down to the  year 2000 and now it has been counting the days since! I am not exactly sure what the purpose but it is accurate to one millionth of a second and that's pretty darn cool!

This is the oldest object I will ever touch, isn't that exciting?

Elliot and I also saw a show at the planetarium called "Ice Worlds" that was all about the ice on the earth and ice in space...and lots of cool ice stuff. I was so so excited about it but once I got into that comfy seat and reclined a little bit and the lights went out I just had such a hard time staying awake. I tried really hard, and I felt like I was awake and just taking a couple of long blinks. Elliot would tell you I slept through it, but I definitely heard the important stuff.

And this is the view of London from the top of the hill! It was really fun to look out over the city and be able to recognize parts of the skyline: the Gherkin, St Pauls cathedral, etc. I love this place!

Chillin' with Darwin

Every couple of weeks the biology class takes a field trip. I'm not in the class but I always go on the field trips for two reasons. 1- they usually go to pretty cool places, 2- I enjoy going on class trips knowing that I don't have to do the assignments and everyone else does.

So this is Darwin's house! I was really surprised by how big it was. It was smaller when the Darwin's first moved in but they eventually had 10 kids so they added on. I learned that he was a very involved, loving father. All of his kids really enjoyed spending time with him and they had a close knit family.

This is the weed garden where he began forming his theory of natural selection. He noticed that some of the weeds survived and some of them didn't. It seems basic now, but that was a pretty major discovery!

This is Emma Darwin's garden. They have recreated it almost exactly based off of photos and journals. She had about six of these flower beds and they were all so pretty, I can't imagine how this place must look in the spring!

Here is the main garden where Darwin spent most of his time. He did all of his experiments out here, and this is also where they grew most of their food. I spent almost all of my time outside on the garden tour rather than the house (I'm not sure why, it was totally freezing) but I just have this thing about gardens lately, I love them!

Inside the greenhouse there were tons of creepy looking plants. These ones are all carniverous! They were like Venus fly traps, and if you stick your pen in them they really do close up. It was so cool.

More creepy plants.

This doesn't have anything to do with anything...it just reminded me of Cinderella :)

So, yay for Darwin! It was a fun day, even though it was so so so cold.

Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Bath (sorry these are a little out of order)

I feel pretty darn lucky to be living in London for many reasons, but being able to see Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Bath all in one day trip is definitely one of them!!

We started our morning in Stonehenge so that we could be there before the crowds came. It was so amazing! I was a little bummed that we couldn't get closer to the rocks but hey, they have been in place since 3,000 BC I guess it would be shame if some idiot was to knock them over now...

Here is what Stonehenge used to look like. Something I learned here was that Stonehenge is only one of a number of henges throughout Europe. Obviously it is the biggest, and the most famous, but these things are everywhere! There are a lot of theories surrounding Stonehenge, and just henges in general, but you can Wikipedia that on your own time :)

This is a little mini henge that I saw while I was in Shrewsbury. It's very small and understated, located in the middle of a schoolyard, and yet it represents a huge historic mystery!

And here is the most hilarious jumping picture I have ever taken. I realize that I am totally embarrassing myself by posting this picture for the world to see but it is just too funny not to share! I think it looks like I am levitating or something. Haha.

This is Dr. Paxman posing with the coach. Elliot took this picture and I know she asked him to stand by the coach but that jaunty pose was all his idea.

Next stop was Stourhead Gardens! This is where they filmed part of the new Pride and Prejudice: the scene where it's raining and Mr. Darcy proposed to Lizzie for the first time. All of us were so excited to see the "Apollo's Temple" where they are standing but, surprise surprise, it was covered in scaffolding. That was disappointing but I got over it pretty quick since this was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen in my life! The weather was perfect, and we spent a couple of hours just wandering around and soaking it all in!

Bath is a place that I have been wanting to see for awhile. This town has been a social gathering place since the 18th century! That is the Bath Abbey in the background, thanks to Elliot for letting me use her pictures since my camera died after Stourhead.

People in the 18th and 19th century would come from all over to drink the water, which had magical healing powers, sit in the hot springs, and enjoy the social scene. Bath has always been a place to observe mixing social classes and Bath society is depicted in a lot of Jane Austen novels.

This is an example of the plumbing that was put in place by the Romans. It was the first advanced plumbing in Northern Europe and although it was improved upon as time went on, the original plumbing was restored during the 19th century.

Elliot has been talking about Sally Lunn buns since she went to Bath with her Mom and her aunts back in September. Apparently these buns are super good and super famous and the bakery shop was closed when they were here the first time. So, as soon as we left the Baths we found Sally Lunn's.

Sally Lunn was a Frenchwoman who came to England and started working in a bakery. She made really good buns and they became famous. The recipe is top secret, and that's the whole story! I must admit, I was kind of hoping for a more exciting story but the buns were really good. Elliot and I got one to share, I promise I didn't eat that thing all by myself.

Again with the mannequins!! This is the original kitchen where Sally Lunn baked her buns (it's ok to laugh, I meant that to sound funny). I don't know why they put the mannequins everywhere...probably for dramatic effect. Or maybe I'm just thinking to hard about it...it just bugs me.

Elliot, Brittany and I grabbed pasties for dinner and raced back to the coach thinking we were late and they were going to leave us stranded in Bath. We had time to spare though so I got to leisurely enjoy my first pasty standing on the sidewalk outside the bus, rather than sitting in the bus and grossing everyone out with the food smell. It was really good! And surprise, surprise, the ride home was really long and uncomfortable. A small price to pay for such an amazing day!!

"Hurry, the children are coming!"

Last Friday we went as a group to Hampton Court. I have to admit, I had no idea what Hampton Court was before we went but it is really cool! It is a royal palace that was originally built by Cardinal Woolsey as his dream home but Henry VIII came for a visit and decided he really liked it. Well, what Henry wants Henry gets so the Cardinal "gave" it to him and then Henry and all of his people moved in. There were 2,000-3,000 people living there so the already huge house was enlarged to a full fledged royal palace. As you can see from this picture there are two different styles, the Tudor style and the Stewart style. I'm pretty sure that the lighter brick sections are the later Tudor editions. King Henry spent a significant amount of time here, but after the whole Anne Boleyn episode he ditched it and never went back.

Henry VIII was actually pretty educated and he liked to have the latest technology. Probably half to show off and half because he really thought it was cool. This is one of the first astronomical clocks!

The walls inside were covered with these enormous, beautiful silk tapestries. I was eavesdropping on one of the guided tours and I learned that when a tapestry like this was all fresh and new it was strong enough to hold up two double decker  buses! But now it's so old and brittle that if you even touch it it will disintegrate. I think maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration to scare the school children, but you get the idea.

Speaking of children...they were everywhere. There were at least 200 kids running around this place on school tours. British children are adorable in small numbers, but the accent gets less cute when it is echoing through the halls and running around your legs and almost tripping you multiple times. Elliot and I figured out that as long as we stayed a couple of rooms ahead of the kids we were fine, but those guys moved really quickly! They kept us on our toes, that's for sure.

This is a picture of the wine cellar...and me pretending to be drunk. Mormon much? By the way those are my audio guide headphones around my neck, not a bow tie.

We had lunch in a little cafe that was located in the "Privy Kitchen." Here's Elliot looking all suave and sophisticated with her medieval soup...

and I'm just chillin' with my kids meal, which was better because I got a cookie, a juice drink, and an eraser.

We discovered some Christmas cheer in the wine cellar gift shop and just couldn't pass it up! It tasted very festive.

Inside the King's apartments there were so many beautiful little things I just couldn't take pictures of everything. So I just caught a couple of my favorites.

A lot of the pictures had these amazingly intricate wood carvings around them. I wish that you all could have been there to have seen this. All of the little flowers and leaves were so intricate and delicate looking...I can't imagine how anyone could do this.

There were a two sections inside the residential section of the house: the King's apartments and the Queen's apartments. Each section had three different throne rooms and the first two looked exactly the same. I had a little audio tour that gave me all the information and when I walked into this room I just had to laugh a little bit. According to the guide, this is the chair that means business. Can't you just tell? I mean those tassels...and three footstools instead of just one, this chair just screams business.

The red velvet toilet seat, so classic! Emily introduced me to this little YouTube gem that you might enjoy while we're on the subject of "potty humor"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYW6C44zo24

This hallway is called "the Orangery" because it is where King Henry would keep his citrus fruit trees during the winter! It was fun to imagine this place all full of the trees, I just had to skip a little bit :)

After Hampton Court Elliot and I went down to Regent Street to buy tickets for Phantom of the Opera! It was so fun to walk down the street and see the Christmas lights and feel a little bit of Christmas cheer (even though it's mid November) and we came across this cute little band playing Christmas carols!

We ate dinner at Pizza Hut, which is a legit restaurant here not just a fast food place. After dinner we met up with a few more girls and went to our show! It was SO GOOD. The cast was phenomenal and anyone who has seen that show knows how cool the special effects are. We're talking fire shooting out of the stage, the giant chandelier swinging around, guns that shoot out fireballs, thick fog and mist in all the dungeon scenes...it was perfect. I will post a picture as soon as I can!

Theatre Walk

This was another one of our "London walks" that we have to do as an assignment for class. I love going on these! Once I overcame the embarrassment of walking around with this guidebook that just screams tacky tourist, I really enjoyed myself. These walks are a really great way to learn about the history and learn how to get around London when you are above ground, as opposed to just taking the Tube everywhere.

This building has a really cool history. OXO was a company that manufactured beef stock cubes in the 1930s and when they acquired this building, which had originally been constructed as a power station for the post office, they had a dilemma. There were a lot of restrictions on advertising so they couldn't have lights or signs on their building to advertise their product. Their solution was to hire an architect named Albert Moore who redesigned the facade of the building in an Art Deco style that would conveniently have windows in the shapes of two outer circles and a middle circle with a cross...smart thinking huh? 

This obelisk is one of a part that was recovered from Alexandria in the early 1800s. The other one is in New York and I don't know how they got theirs but this one was sent as a gift by Mohammed Ali. Their is an inscription on the base of it that says that the obelisk dates back to two centuries before Ramses the Great came into power in Egypt, and it is from the city of On. There is a legend that suggests that On is where Mary and Joseph fled with the baby Jesus when they went into Egypt so they might have seen this exact obelisk in its original location!

On either side of the obelisk there were two huge sphinx. The close up shows little holes and stuff in one of them from when it was hit by shrapnel during the London bombings in World War II.

So this picture is a funny story...Elliot and I arrived at Charing Cross station and, following the instructions in the guidebook, we started searching for the Charing cross. We were under the impression that the cross would be pretty big but we looked everywhere and just couldn't find the cross! After wandering around the station for at least 5 minutes, and getting really confused and frustrated, we realized that we had been walking around the cross the whole time, it was just covered in scaffolding! We had a good laugh about that...scaffolding has never been so hilarious.

It's Gringotts bank!! This wasn't in the tour, I just thought it was super cool. Most of the movie was filmed inside the building but we definitely weren't allowed in, there were like three guards standing inside, so we had to settly for a picture of the outside. It's still cool though! Pictures of platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station are coming soon :)

Home of BBC!

Ok so do you see those three white steps? This gate is the old York Watergate and those three steps mark how high the Thames river was in 1626. To give you some perspective there is a good sized park and a two lane road in between the steps and the water, which means that the Thames River used to be a lot bigger (and a lot smellier but that really doesn't have anything to do with the York Watergate).

Here's a fun fact for you, Drury Lane used to be the center of London's red light district. Our book says that at the end of the last century, Drury Lane was among the worst slums in London now. It's all fine now, at least during the day time, but it was a pretty sketchy place! This sheds a whole new light on the Nursery Rhyme. Do we really want to know the Muffin Man?

When we got to Covent Gardens Elliot and I had our first Ben's Cookies experience and the first bite of that cookie was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Seriously, these cookies are so amazing and if you haven't tried one you should definitely put it on your to do list. They have one at the Gateway in Salt Lake and I am so excited that I will get to have the magic in Utah too :)

Leicester Square is the equivalent of the Hollywood Star Walk. All around the square they have handprints of famous actors and actresses! I'm not exactly sure what the criteria is for someone to get a handprint...they have a lot of movie premiers here so my guess is that when a major movie is premiered in Leicester Square they get a handprint? Or maybe all of these people or their movies have won a particular award? Anyways, I found Sylvester Stallone and almost peed my pants from excitement. For those of you who don't know, I am a huge Rocky fan and this moment was pretty big for me! Alex is holding hands with Arnold Schwarzeneggar and I included this picture to show you how huge and beefy his hands are. No exaggeration, his hand was practically the same size as my foot.

I followed this guy around for a bit to try and get a picture...he is wearing a Totoro hat! The picture isn't very good but if you look closely you can see the Totoro face, complete with the big toothy smile. He kind of looks like Hagrid too! Which makes sense, I mean Totoro is definitey a magical creature that I think Hagrid would be interested in.

These people sleeping outside the National Gallery brought back fond memories of BYU. Hey, once the sun comes out you've just got to take advantage of it! Hopefully none of these people are sleepwalkers.