Catching Up!

So I am finally catching up on everything I've been doing for the last three weeks! Boy, things have been busy! Anyway, I'll try and begin the update. So get ready for lots and lots of pictures!!! :)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A REALLY REALLY LONG POST!

First, I'm going to finish my trip to Ireland. We stayed at a really cute bed and breakfast! The couple running the place was so nice! They helped us and cooked us a fantastic breakfast. I've decided that Irish hospitality rivals southern hospitality! :) (We did have one scary incident when we first arrived. Mom and Dad, you may not want to read this. Just wanted to warn you! Anyway, as we were moving in, Lola looked out her window and saw someone steal someone's purse! We were all super paranoid, but we were smart and stayed safe. But it was just a reminder about how we always need to be careful!)

My key to the room! I was SO excited! I've never actually used one of those kinds of keys before! It was awesome.

My bedroom... I shared it with Jean! It was perfect. Comfy, cute, and roomy. :) And only 35 euros.

For dinner, I tried something new. I had duck! (lemon duck) It wasn't bad. Not my favorite, but not bad.

Traditional Irish Breakfast. It was not my favorite, but it wasn't bad either. I'm not a fan of sunny-side up eggs (but I tried them!) and definitely not a fan of the black and white pudding. But the meat was good and I had toast and orange juice and fruit and... We ate good. :)

After breakfast, we went to Blarney Castle! It was so beautiful and so much fun. Also, thanks for complimenting my eloquence. Ever since kissing that stone, I've definitely got the gift of gab! :)

The castle!!!

Who is that gorgeous girl presenting this castle??? :)

I can't get over how beautiful it was! But it was also super windy! (And chilly)

Tanner and I switched cameras and took pictures of each other. :)

I didn't know he took this one! :) But I figured I'd take this time to show you my hair. It is completely different here! It can be straight in the morning, but by the end of the day it is super wavy! I'm trying to learn how to deal with wavy hair! :) But I kind of like it. It looks good. 

Waiting in line to kiss the stone!

Still waiting...

I kissed it! It was MUCH lower than I expected! I am so glad he was holding me. It was scarier than I expected. But definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience! :)

Look how green it all is! And such a beautiful view! Pictures don't quite do it justice.

A tower

A couple offered to take our picture if we took theirs.  I have to say, this is one of my favorite pictures! :)

SO WINDY!

A bench in the Poison Garden. They had a whole garden full of poisonous plants! Strange, but cool!

Sitting on a huge tree!

I think it looks like an elephant! :)

Me blowing a dandelion

A mansion that was nearby

I really liked this flower

A pretty waterfall

These were wishing steps. If you walk up and down them with your eyes closed while thinking about your wish, you're supposed to have it come true within a year. I made my wish... we'll see! :)

Supposedly, the witch makes it happen. So you need to donate to the cause. :) Do you see the witch face on the side of the rock?

 Later, we went to Shandon church where we were allowed to ring the bells! It was so fun! :)

It was pretty tall!

Here's where you ring the bells. You just pull on the strings. Each string has a different pitch!  I played Phantom of the Opera, part of Praise to the Man, and I am a Child of God. :)

As we went up, we were able to see more about how the bells work.

Going up MORE stairs. I have been on SO many stairs!

One of the bells

Going out on the roof

It was a beautiful view! It was so clear and colorful, everything looks fake! But I promise, it's real!

Why do I have earmuffs? We had to wear them in certain places because the bells were so loud!

My view

An LDS church in the background!

This sign made us laugh! :)

Well, that pretty much sums up my trip to Ireland! It was so much fun and I am SO glad I went there. So clean and beautiful and friendly. I've decided Dublin is happy London. About the same atmosphere as London, but everyone is happy! :) After hearing about my friends' adventures in Paris, Rome, Italy, etc. I can certainly say that I made the right choice for me. Just a relaxing, fun week!

Next... We went on a country walk! We took a train to a tiny station and then this old WWII veteran led us on a tour through beautiful countryside and to a few cool places. It was super fun, but very long. My feet were tired at the end!

The "brave" people who decided to wade through the COLD water instead of going on the bridge. I was tempted, but decided against it because I didn't want wet socks. I guess that makes me cowardly... :)

Madison and Jean wading through

A cute duck!

I laughed so hard at this. The people at this house sure do have a sense of humor! :)

Super beautiful!

I kind of wanted to sing "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE..." :) But then I was reminded I was in the wrong country. So I took this picture instead. :)

This place was seriously beautiful.

My first place where I've seen "Ye Olde." L)

A small, super old church we passed by. It smelled dingy, but was cool.

When we were going back to the train to head back to London, we saw this snake. Our guide told us it was harmless, so a girl tried to pick it up. But it was super fast and wriggly! When she finally got it, the snake released his tail just like geckos do! She felt so guilty. It was kind of gross. But definitely memorable. :)

That evening, we went to Les Mis! It was beautiful! The British accents made everything better. One of my favorite shows here. But I have to admit, I liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime better. (Sorry Dad.) :)

Two thumbs up!

We also went to a WWII museum, where we got to see the underground headquarters where Churchill conducted war business.

This tells what the weather is like above ground. :)

Everyone always had a gas mask. This one is special so that people working in communications can continue their  jobs.

The kitchen

The operator

This is where lots of phone calls and business came in.

Churchill's room

I thought this was an interesting poster. Never thought of that with WWII before. I usually just think of rationing.

The next day, we took a tour of the National Theatre. It was neat to see how everything works backstage. (Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures.) But while we were waiting, my roommates got a hold of my camera. And I found this wonderful surprise! :)

This is my roommate Melissa.

Tanner was teaching me a game in the background where we try and make the other person lose their balance. It's actually really fun!

My other roommate Madison has joined in on the fun! (And Jean happens to be in this picture too!

Fish Face!

I'm not exactly sure what this face is... :)

Love you too! :)

And... Madison and Lola

Yep. That's Madison!

My roommates are great. I love them so much! :)

That evening, we went to Hard Rock Cafe. It was good, but super loud! :) We had a great time and saw some very interesting music videos! :)

This isn't mine... I forgot to take a picture of mine. But this is Tanner's (I think). I think it's really funny that they have to put a knife through it to hold it together!

The next day, we woke up early and went to Hampton Court! I didn't know what to expect, but I had a blast! We had fun storming the castle! (Yes, I just made a reference to The Princess Bride.) :)

Near the entrance to the court/palace?

Gold coins here are a lot bigger than in America. I've seen them everywhere and they're always this big!

I had to... just look at that tankard! :)

We were allowed to wear these all around the castle. And I loved it! My roommates and I have decided I'm really five years old. And I love it. :)

Hampton Court

It was super pretty!

Me being royal at a banquet. Still waiting on prince charming... :)

And me being royalty in a circle where people council the king. Ironically, the debate for today was whether women could rule a country! :)  

Amazing wall murals

Art made of weapons

I can imagine it would be intimidating to approach royalty here.

One of the royal beds that they never used. I feel like they had at least three beds and then another private one!

A glimpse of "King Henry"

Even kings have to pick a wedgie! :)

The beautiful gardens

We also went to a puppet show as a class. It was... very interesting. They were marionettes. It was cool to see the puppets work, but the plot was lacking. :)

It was on a barge!

This was our show. It was about a farm where they get a new mule. Then, someone steals the mule. They try to get him back and eventually succeed. Then, they have a talent show. That's pretty much the whole story. :)

On the way there, we passed by this! Pretty cool! Anyone know anything about The Anomaly?

While waiting, we played a game where we said "This is your face if..." and then we said some crazy scenario. We ended up with some awesome faces! :)

The next day, we decided to do a few things. First, we went to the Hummingbird Bakery. Evidently, it is award-winning. (I must say, it WAS delicious!) Then, we went to the London Dungeon. It was way spookier than I expected! And finally, we went on the London Eye before catching the show Children of the Sun at the National. Children of the Sun was great, but super sad. At the end there was an explosion on stage and I could actually feel the heat from the fourth row! Super cool!

Strawberry milkshake cupcake

Yummy!

The London Dungeon!

I laughed at this! :) What did I tell you? The dungeon was creepy!

Me looking scared in a bubble. On the other side there were a couple rats!

I made a wax mold of my hand. Live Long and Prosper. :)

All of us with our hands!

Me on the London Eye!

This is what the carriages looked like.

Parliament!

We went to Trafalgar Square as well. It was neat and we got some great pictures!

It was a feat to get up there! But so worth it!

As we were leaving, we passed by the actor who played Dudley in the Harry Potter movies. That is him over my shoulder talking on the phone. I took a sneaky picture! :)

That evening, we went to the Rose theatre and saw The Alchemist. It was good, and pretty funny! 

I took this picture after the show. It's the same area as the Globe Theatre.

On the weekend, we went to Adventure Island--a theme park. We had a blast! It wasn't too busy and we had great food. The weather was perfect too!

Haha, we saw this advertisement on our way to the park!!!

Here's the park. It was right on the coast!

Group picture!

After we went on the rides, we went on the pier. I love the ocean! It was beautiful.

On Sunday, I went to church and helped out with the primary. It is super fun, but also super crazy. These kids are so rambunctious! But Grandma Emma was at church again from the hospital! I love her. She is so sweet and possibly the most energetic eighty-year-old woman I know. She always gives me a big smile and a big hug and insists that I call her Grandma. Then she tells me I am a great granddaughter. :)

Me and Grandma Emma. Like I said, she's in her eighties and is from Ghana!

After church, we went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey. It was beautiful.

Westminster Abbey

Across the street view of Parliament and the eye

There was some kind of protest going on that day. It was very calm, but lots of people were wearing orange!

Alright, hang in there. I'm almost done. This week, we went to Stratford-upon-Avon (where Shakespeare lived for most of his life). It was very cool. Stratford was such a charming city and we were able to see lots of historical places! On the drive there and back we also stopped by many castles, which were also pretty neat!

We first stopped at Coventry Cathedral. This was the place where Churchill knew the Germans were going to bomb (in WWII), but let it happen so that the Germans wouldn't know that they cracked the code. This church was destroyed, except for the outside walls. It was pretty neat to see!

A statue promoting reconciliation and forgiveness. There's a matching one in Germany at a church that faced a similar fate.

This was a staircase.

I lost my balance and was laughing! :)

Dramatic pose!

After the Cathedral, we went to Kenilworth Castle. It is mostly ruins now, but it was still very beautiful.

Peeking through a doorway

There were these really cute kids in a group while we were there. They all had on vests so they wouldn't get lost!

Yay!

Princess pose through the window.

After Kenilworth, we stopped at Warwick castle. We had a great time there! :)

Me trying on a knight's helmet

Grrr. I'm so fierce!

Traditional garb at the time

Don't forget the hat!

I was a servant!

And I tried on a gentleman's hat!

Hello.

I struck this pose when I reached the top of the tower

Isn't that a great view?!?

My first bathroom where I had to pull the cord to flush! :)

After that, we drove until we finally made it to our bed and breakfast we were staying at. It was really cute and the staff were so nice! I've decided I really like bed and breakfasts. Anyway, here is our room. After we got settled, we explored the area, ate dinner, and the saw As You Like It by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It was good, but super long! Three and a half hours!

Our room

Such a cool lamp! 

Bookworms! :)

The next day, we toured lots of Shakespeare places. First, we went to Shakespeare's birthplace.

Ta da!

This guy was great. He serenaded us. :)

Heehee!

Iago jewelers... I think they could have picked a better namesake! :)

I loved these flowers!

After the birthplace, we went to Nash's house and New place. Nash's house was where Shakespeare's daughter lived and New place is where Shakespeare bought his house after he became rich and famous. Unfortunately, a puritan lived there years later and decided to destroy the building to get back at all of the theatre-loving people. But it was still beautiful!

This is what the inside looked like. They were really rich!

On the way there, we passed by Shakespeare's school!

After lunch, we went on a tour at the Royal Shakespeare Company's theatre. I learned that they make all of their costumes and wigs (made from real hair) but buy their fake blood. We also saw lots of stuff back stage. Pretty cool.

This is actually us after Hamlet, but it's the only picture I have of the theatre.

So cruel.

Such a great hat!

 After the tour, we were so exhausted. So we went home to take a nap to prepare for Hamlet. We expected it to be four hours. It turned out to only be three and a half. But I'm glad I was rested for it! It was a great performance! Both As You Like It and Hamlet were spectacular!

Today (yes, I'm finally caught up!) we left Stratford. It was sad to leave, but I was excited to go "home." On the way back we stopped at Anne Hathaway's cottage (Shakespeare's wife). It was adorable!

We weren't there for very long, and after that we went to Mary Arden's farm (Shakespeare's mother). I loved it here! There were animals and people were friendly, and it was awesome. I played a game of snakes and ladders with some people from my program and a guy dressed up in that time period clothes. I almost won! But then someone got really lucky and beat me. But I had a great time here!

This was to scare away birds. It's a potato with feathers stuck in it!

Cool tunnel!

Chickens!

I'm a little proud of this picture. :)

A super cute owl!

Games!

This is what the beds were like.

This was a child's bed. I love the doll!

Dad, these pictures are for you. Old woodworking tools!

I think this was a table to saw things

Ducks!

Me trying to eat the flower

I love this flower!

There was a place in the house where people could say where they met their sweethearts. They were so funny and sweet! :) ("I opened my wallet and that's how I met my wife.")

This one made us all laugh! "She held my hand when I cried. I held her hair when she was drunk. True love forever." :)

"Stole him from my roommate"

Disco!

La!

This horse was so sweet!

She let me pet her!

After the farm, we went to Blenheim Palace. Honestly, I was a little tired of palaces by now. But it was still lots of fun and really neat.

No palace is complete without elaborate gardens!

Beautiful.

A castle way off in the distance!

The inside entryway

I liked this sketch

One of the state rooms

Statue of a queen... I think it was Victoria.

An organ! And I'm sitting at it. If only I could play.

This was their chapel. Gorgeous.

And there you have it. I never want to get that behind again! If you're still reading this, congratulations for making it through! :) Hopefully you'll be hearing from me soon! :)