OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

Who agrees with me that Kid President is one of the most awesome humans?? I need this kid to be my best friend. Right now. What the world needs now is more people like this, don't you agree?? It's my goal from now on to try to make the world more awesome. And also to give people more corn dogs.

P.S. If you haven't seen any of Kid President's videos, head over to YouTube and watch all of them. Yes, all of them. It is serious entertainment while being equally inspiring! I could watch these videos all day long.

SNAPSHOTS OF LONDON

Here is just a few of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks!

|1| A lovely view from Trafalgar Square

|2| Just the most delicious grilled cheese ever. Courtesy of Borough Market

|3| Tube love with my adorable friend Sarah

|4| Abbey Road. My life is complete.

Well friends, I'm off to Prague for the week! Be sure to stay tuned to hear about all my crazy adventures over in that beautiful city. It has been my dream to visit this place for the longest time and I can't believe I'm actually going! I'm so so excited. Look out Czech Republic, we comin' fo you. 

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

The other day my friends Sarah, Hannah, Kenzi, Ford, and I went over to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. I still can't believe it took me this long to get over there..? I've been here for  almost 3 months, kind of ridiculous. London is such a big place though there is just so much to do! We didn't have the greatest of spots to watch and I'm a super short human (5'3'' to be exact) so I couldn't see a whole lot but I did manage to capture a little video! Is it just me or do they make you think of the guards from Wizard of Oz?

 

SATURDAY BOOK MARKETS AND OTHER FUN THINGS

This past Saturday my friends Kenzi, Sarah, and I headed over to this book market we had heard about that is under Waterloo Bridge here in London. And since all three of us are lovers of books, we had to make a trip over (or under) the bridge to check it out. It was so amazing you guys. Just rows and rows of books as far as the eye could see. I was in heaven. We wandered around the the tables forever, scouring over the many titles. I found an old printing of Shakespeare's First Folios that I just had to buy. I also found some cool old maps that I'm thinking of doing something artsy with when I get home. 

Right next the book market there was a super cool skate park as well as rows of little shops selling treats and trinkets. By this point we were freezing to the bone so we picked up some hot chocolate and watched the skaters for a bit. Some of those kids had some major skill, I was impressed. After the hot cocoa had warmed us up we wandered down through where there was a cute little carousel that was just so adorable. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of it.

So it get's dark over here around 4:30, which is just too early for the day to end, so after our book shopping we just weren't ready to head home! We decided to jump on the tube and take a trip over to Carnaby Street which is right off of Regent Street. It's just the cutest little shopping area. We spent our time wandering in and out of stores for a bit. We didn't splurge on anything this time but I had my eyes on a few pairs of shoes that I'm thinking about going back to check out. We finished the night off by going into Anthropologie and the new J.Crew store they just opened here, which is beautiful. We died over all the perfect things we could not afford (it's much more expensive here than back in the states because of the stupid exchange rate). I'll be waiting to shop at those stores until I'm home, thank-you! 

It was just a wonderful, whimsical Saturday.

ARTSY FARTSY

A view from West London

A  J.M.W. Turner

The view from East London

All my friends are dead

Pucker up Shakespeare

So the other day my friends Sarah, Kensington, and I were feeling real artsy so decided to venture across the Thames to the Tate Modern. And, as you can see, we had a real fun time. We admired all the modern art andddddd also made fun of some of the modern art. Some of that stuff is weird guys...like you can't just project a blue screen on a wall and say it invokes the feelings of terminal illness. Am I right?? Haha but overall I really really enjoyed it. 

Since I've been studying art history here I've started to gain more of an appreciation for art and the meanings behind it. I get so excited when I see pieces or artists that I recognize or techniques of painting that I've learned about in class! So of course, when I saw J.M.W. Turner and Picasso I had a mini heart attack about it! I'm a nerd, I know.

I also really loved that America one, but that doesn't really have anything to do with what I've been studying, I just love it cause I'm from 'Merica and stuff...and also it was just really cool lookin'. 

After a while we just got way silly with the pictures. It was just such a fun day. I just love all these opportunities I have in London. Oh, a free afternoon? Why I don't i just hop over to the art museum! I don't think I could ever get sick of it here.

CAMBRIDGE

A cute little market they had in the square selling books, movies, clothes, food etc.

Yesterday we traveled to the beautiful city of Cambridge and visited the University! I absolutely loved everything about that place. The city was lovely and charming and the University was spectacular.  We took a tour of the campus, visiting specifically Kings and Queens' colleges and learned all about the history of the university. Did you know that students where their cloaks to lecture? Like Harry Potter style?? It just looked so fancy and a official… it had me wishing that I had to wear cloaks to my classes back home!! Gosh what a dream it would be to attend that school…ahh if only! But hey, a visit was fine none the less.

Then, our time was spent with free time walking around the city, taking pictures, eating delicious food, shopping at the shops and the little market they had in the square, and just exploring. Oh, and can't forget cute Sarah and my's matching tights! We just love each other so much that we have to dress alike.

We ended the day by going to Evensong at King's College Chapel, which was so so beautiful. I could've listened to that men's choir all day, their voices were unreal. It was such a fun experience to be able to participate in a religious ceremony that was different from my own, I really enjoyed it. The service was uplifting and I loved hearing their messages. 

Goodness, I can't believe there's only 4 weeks left in this beautiful country! Please oh please don't make me leave….xoxo

A WEEK UP NORTH

So yes, I realize it has been over two weeks since I last posted. Man, life has just been crazy I've hardly had a moment to sit still!

So this past week all of us headed up north to the cities of Liverpool, Preston, Ambleside, Edinburgh,  and York! It was such an amazing week filled with some of the most beautiful places I've ever visited in my life. A week to remember to be sure.

So first off we stopped in Liverpool just for a couple hours and went to a museum there. We were really not there for very long and didn't see much, but what I saw seemed lovely! Next we headed to Preston, England to visit the temple and see some of the LDS church sites there, which was really fun! Those first couple pictures are on the grounds of the Preston temple, it was such a beautiful place!

After that we went to Ambleside in the Lake District. And lemme tell you, that place is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It is straight out of a fairytale. And to make things even better, our hotel was right on the water; the view out my window was unreal. I just stood there in the early morning staring, not even believing that places like that even exist. It was breathtaking.

Much to our dismay, we couldn't stay in Ambleside forever… But up next we headed to Edinburgh, Scotland which wasn't really anything to complain about. That city is one of the most charming cities I've ever been to! I loved it so much. The medieval castle at the top of the hill was amazing and I just love all of the history of the city. We also made a stop at The Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! It was so amazing! In the bathroom, everyone who's visited has signed their name, joining Dumbledore's Army. So of course I signed my name too. It was so cool to sit where all that inspiration came. We also went to Tom Riddle's grave, where J.K. Rowling got more of her inspiration for the novels. It was definitely spooky fun! Oh, and I can't forget our awesome Halloween tour that we went to through all of the most haunted places in the city. I'm not even ashamed of my Halloween costume. At all. Like, I think I look pretty dang hot in that alligator suit.

The final stop on our journey was in York. We were only there for an evening, but I have to say this was probably the highlight of my trip. One of my best best friends is serving his mission in the Leeds, England mission and is currently in York. When we discovered that we would be in the same place at the same time, we couldn't resist planning a meet up! So, I was supposed to be at York Minster for Evensong with my group until around 6pm but wasn't sure exactly when I'd be done. He said he would try to get there around 6 if he didn't have any meetings, but couldn't make any promises. We hoped for the best and said we would try to see each other! So Friday night, when the service was done, I checked my clock and it said 6:30… later than I'd thought. My friends and I headed outside to see if he was there and, sadly, he was nowhere to be seen. We walked around for a bit and decided that either I'd missed him or he had a busy evening and wasn't able to make it. We gave up and headed down the street to look for dinner. All of sudden, my friend Kenzi yells, "Oh my goodness look! It's the missionaries! Kate is that him?" I look across the street, and sure enough, there he is walking down the street with his companion! I ran across the street and almost attacked him I was so excited! Don't worry, we only shook hands, we were good kids haha. It was so lovely to see him and talk to him. He didn't have any appointments for the evening so we ended up talking for about an hour and it was so great to catch up on life and what's been going on the past year and a half since I saw him last. He has a little accent too, which is hilarious. It was such a miracle that we saw each other, we were both so ecstatic that it all worked out. I can't wait till he gets home in 6 months so we can hang out all the time! (Disclaimer: we are not dating, just super good friends).

The next morning we headed back to London, with a stop at Fountains Abbey along the way. It's mostly just ruins, but is beautiful none the less. I still can't get over how green this country is. I love it so much. It's going to be depressing when I have to go back to brown ol' Utah. But, I shall soak in all this loveliness while I can!