Hello Everyone!
The last few days have been both incredibly awesome and relaxing.
I flew back to London on Thursday (July 26) from Norway and everything was just fine. In fact, it was oddly quiet considering the Olympics were the next day. But I did enjoy having an entire row of seats to myself on the plane :)
Friday (July 27) I went over to Charlotte's apartment to watch the Opening Ceremonies with her and some other people from Britannia Ward. Cortney brought some DELICIOUS cupcakes with the most incredibly yummy tasting icing in the history of icing (well, it's defiantly up there with Cinnabon's cream cheese icing. Don't know if it bet that classic taste) and we snacked on other foods like Toffee Waffles, Pringles, chips (fries), and juice to drink. As the ceremonies were proceeding, Amanda was telling us some fun facts about random things about the set, the animals, and the actors/performers. She is a volunteer with the Olympics so she was at the stadium while they had some rehearsals!
We all got a kick out of the Children's literature section of the ceremonies and especially when Mr. Bean was playing the keyboard for "Chariots of Fire" xD
As the countries were being announced, we all commented on their outfits. Well most of the time, the girls were just picking out which country had the most cute guys :P
When the fireworks went off at the end of the ceremony, we actually got to see them from the window which was so cool! Sure they were still quite a ways off, it was fun to see them live instead of through a TV.
Yesterday (July 28) I went up to Fulham Road to watch the kick-off from the Men's Road Cycling Race fairly early in the morning (9:15am). I thought there would be a small crowd starting to form by the time I got there, but no. I got to pick my spot from a whole lot of options. The crowd didn't start forming till about 9:45. As we all waited for the race to start, we saw all the country cars with the bike racks on their roofs, the press cars, and security cars. There were some policemen riding their motorcycles that passed as well. Some gave high-fives to the crowd, a few tried to get the crowd cheering, but mostly they all just smiled and waved. one policeman stopped right in front of me to have a cheer contest. My side was like "WOW OOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and the other side was like "...Uh, what?" Guess it was still pretty early for them. The cyclists passed by in thirty seconds and about two minutes later, everyone walked away. Short moment, but it was a awesome moment.
After that, I went back to the Johnsons' to figure out my plans for the day but I ended up taking a long nap. Darn.
Today (July 29) was a great Church meeting! During sacrament I sat next to a lady who just finished her study abroad with BYU. She and I didn't talk a whole lot since she wanted to catch up with her journal writing but I did find out that she took Politics and British Literature classes while she was in the program. She also seemed very surprised to find out I had finished only my first year at BYU. Not the first time someone thought I was older then I am, but I find it entertaining when that happens.
after Sacrament I met two ladies who were visiting, Tipee (a great Thai name that I have no idea how to spell) and Jessica. We ended up hanging out the rest of church which was fun. They both graduated from BYU but will still be working in the area when we all return so I might be able to see them again! We managed to add each other on Facebook so we all have our contact info in some way.
After Church, we walked to South Kensington tube station together and Tipee gave me her spare Travelcard for the day so I got to save some money today! We had to take different lines so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
Till next time!
Take care everyone
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Roadtrip!
Phew! Finally caught up with the posts!
Today (July 25), Amanda and I went on a road trip to lovely little town up north named Norheimsund. We stopped to see a waterfall (called Steinsdalsfossen) that you could hike up to and go behind it. It was B-E-A-U-TIFUL! When we climbed back down, I wanted to go to the bottom to get some more pictures. As I was walking towards the bottom of the waterfall, the ground was getting REALLY wet and muddy, but I was walking on the stones to avoid getting my shoes dirty. Amanda managed to get some pictures before I lost my balance and moved my foot to catch myself. When I pulled my foot up, my shoe had come off and was in the mud. Lost my balance again and my sock went into the muddy pit. I gave up so I just walked straight through the mud. Had myself a nice mud bath for my feet. Amanda went inside the gift shop to buy some cheap socks and get some plastic bags. So I spent the day in my brand new socks and shoes. My shoes being plastic bags. Yup, totally going to be the new fashion.
When continued up to Norheimsund and we had our lunch break there. We found a nice bench to sit and busted out our sweet pastry-like bread. Shortly after this, birds started gathering around us. We started feeding the ducks and the seagulls and little birds started coming like crazy. Eventually a baby duckling came out with its mother (so adorable!). We kept trying to find him, but the seagulls were VICIOUS. One looked like it was going to kill the baby for trying to go for the bread but the mama duck was a fighter. It was intense. So eventually we worked out where I'd throw a piece of bread in the opposite direction to distract the seagulls and then Amanda quickly tossed a piece to the baby duck. Luckily the plan worked. I also got to feed some of the small birds. Some of them ate right out of my hand! Don't worry, I washed my hands twice afterwards.
Amanda and I then got some slushies from a store and were on our way back to her home. On the way to and from we were playing Bruce Springsteen CDs (yup, we really loved that concert). We stopped by where Mona worked so I could see her one last time before I flew out tomorrow.
Then Amanda and I went to the grocery store to meet up with her mom to buy ingredients for dinner. Her sister and niece were also with her mom talking. They got a kick out of my new shoes, especially Amanda's niece. She kept asking Amanda, "Did she really wear those outside?" Yes, yes I did :P
For dinner we had tacos! The taco spice tasted like curry so we ate some yummy curry-tasting tacos. For dessert we ate chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks inside and frozen strawberries^^ Amanda's mom also gave us some chocolate called "Hobby" which had a marshmellow-like tasting foam with a jam-tasing jelly all covered in chocolate. It had a unique, very sweet taste to it.
Well, that's it for now. Hope all is well! I'll work on posting pictures soon :)
Today (July 25), Amanda and I went on a road trip to lovely little town up north named Norheimsund. We stopped to see a waterfall (called Steinsdalsfossen) that you could hike up to and go behind it. It was B-E-A-U-TIFUL! When we climbed back down, I wanted to go to the bottom to get some more pictures. As I was walking towards the bottom of the waterfall, the ground was getting REALLY wet and muddy, but I was walking on the stones to avoid getting my shoes dirty. Amanda managed to get some pictures before I lost my balance and moved my foot to catch myself. When I pulled my foot up, my shoe had come off and was in the mud. Lost my balance again and my sock went into the muddy pit. I gave up so I just walked straight through the mud. Had myself a nice mud bath for my feet. Amanda went inside the gift shop to buy some cheap socks and get some plastic bags. So I spent the day in my brand new socks and shoes. My shoes being plastic bags. Yup, totally going to be the new fashion.
When continued up to Norheimsund and we had our lunch break there. We found a nice bench to sit and busted out our sweet pastry-like bread. Shortly after this, birds started gathering around us. We started feeding the ducks and the seagulls and little birds started coming like crazy. Eventually a baby duckling came out with its mother (so adorable!). We kept trying to find him, but the seagulls were VICIOUS. One looked like it was going to kill the baby for trying to go for the bread but the mama duck was a fighter. It was intense. So eventually we worked out where I'd throw a piece of bread in the opposite direction to distract the seagulls and then Amanda quickly tossed a piece to the baby duck. Luckily the plan worked. I also got to feed some of the small birds. Some of them ate right out of my hand! Don't worry, I washed my hands twice afterwards.
Amanda and I then got some slushies from a store and were on our way back to her home. On the way to and from we were playing Bruce Springsteen CDs (yup, we really loved that concert). We stopped by where Mona worked so I could see her one last time before I flew out tomorrow.
Then Amanda and I went to the grocery store to meet up with her mom to buy ingredients for dinner. Her sister and niece were also with her mom talking. They got a kick out of my new shoes, especially Amanda's niece. She kept asking Amanda, "Did she really wear those outside?" Yes, yes I did :P
For dinner we had tacos! The taco spice tasted like curry so we ate some yummy curry-tasting tacos. For dessert we ate chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks inside and frozen strawberries^^ Amanda's mom also gave us some chocolate called "Hobby" which had a marshmellow-like tasting foam with a jam-tasing jelly all covered in chocolate. It had a unique, very sweet taste to it.
Well, that's it for now. Hope all is well! I'll work on posting pictures soon :)
Events on Tuesday
On Tuesday (July 24), Amanda and I went to the flower shop to pick up some roses. We then went down to the cemetery to meet up with Amanda's family to lay flowers down on her dad's grave. It was three years ago that he had passed away. As the family was talking, I just looked at Amanda's dad's tombstone and all the other tombstones in the cemetery. Whenever I visit a cemetery, I especially pay attention to the older tombstones that rarely have any flowers and are covered by wild plants. Seeing those tombstones makes me wish to learn about those people's stories for some reason. I said a silent prayer to myself and then we left.
Amanda and I went to pick up Mona from her house and we went back into town. Since we didn't have any cash on us at the concert, we went back hoping to buy a Bruce Springsteen concert. When we got there, we saw Bruce and the band rehearing for the concert that night! It was at a distance but it was still cool! We asked one of the security people if we could go in to buy a shirt, but he said no. Amanda then asked a security lady if she could buy us the shirts if we gave her the money and she said yes! Amanda and I got the same shirt and we were so excited to have them!!
On our way back to the car, we got distracted with a tourist shop. Mona and Amanda wanted to feel like a tourist in their own town so we explored the shop. We tried on the crazy hats, sunglasses, and played with the moose themed objects.
We then went to the stores that Mona wanted to stop by at. We went into a store called "Lush" that is similar to Bath and Body but all the products are made from all-natural ingredients (meaning you could eat a lot of them). We spent a lot of time in there smelling the different hand soaps, bath explosions, lotions, and such.
Afterwards, we went inside a store called "Kicks" which sold perfume, make-up, lotions, and such (I guess it's most like the make-up section in Macy's). There was some INCREDIBLY nice perfumes but of course they were ridiculously expensive. Darn. Mona got herself a round brush and Amanda got some hand lotion that was on sale.
For dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant. Yes I know that's not Norwegian but we all were craving some Chinese food. After we finished eating our dinner and desserts we tried out the massage chairs in the waiting area in the front of the restaurant. All three of us took turns with it (total time was 7 minutes which was pretty good). Mona kept playing the the remote so half the time it was nice, the other half was very painful >.<
We originally planned on going on a road trip but we got distracted... But it was still a very nice day :)
Amanda and I went to pick up Mona from her house and we went back into town. Since we didn't have any cash on us at the concert, we went back hoping to buy a Bruce Springsteen concert. When we got there, we saw Bruce and the band rehearing for the concert that night! It was at a distance but it was still cool! We asked one of the security people if we could go in to buy a shirt, but he said no. Amanda then asked a security lady if she could buy us the shirts if we gave her the money and she said yes! Amanda and I got the same shirt and we were so excited to have them!!
On our way back to the car, we got distracted with a tourist shop. Mona and Amanda wanted to feel like a tourist in their own town so we explored the shop. We tried on the crazy hats, sunglasses, and played with the moose themed objects.
We then went to the stores that Mona wanted to stop by at. We went into a store called "Lush" that is similar to Bath and Body but all the products are made from all-natural ingredients (meaning you could eat a lot of them). We spent a lot of time in there smelling the different hand soaps, bath explosions, lotions, and such.
Afterwards, we went inside a store called "Kicks" which sold perfume, make-up, lotions, and such (I guess it's most like the make-up section in Macy's). There was some INCREDIBLY nice perfumes but of course they were ridiculously expensive. Darn. Mona got herself a round brush and Amanda got some hand lotion that was on sale.
For dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant. Yes I know that's not Norwegian but we all were craving some Chinese food. After we finished eating our dinner and desserts we tried out the massage chairs in the waiting area in the front of the restaurant. All three of us took turns with it (total time was 7 minutes which was pretty good). Mona kept playing the the remote so half the time it was nice, the other half was very painful >.<
We originally planned on going on a road trip but we got distracted... But it was still a very nice day :)
Bruce Springsteen Concert
Monday (July 23) I got to see a spectacularly phenomenal concert!
So Amanda, her mom, and I drove into Bergen to meet up with some family and friends that were also attending the concert. When Amanda's aunt and uncle came, we went our separate ways. Amanda and I went to meet up with Mona, Juni, and Juni's friend (who looked very much like a doppelganger of Julia Stiles).
There were TONS of people making their way towards the park where the concert was being held. It was raining a lot going from light to hard rain every other minute. Since the concert was in a park, there were no seats so we had to stand. Yup, we stood for almost 6 hours (3 hours just walking around and waiting for the concert, the other 3 was the concert) but it was well worth it.
Bruce Springsteen was AMAZING!! He was super fun and hilarious! He kept coming up to the audience to let them touch his hands, guitar, and he picked up some signs to show what song they'd play next! The hotel next door to the park had some people who got to watch the concert for free (grr). One guy had a big poster that said "Bruce" on his window and he got to be in the spotlight for being so enthusiastic. Bruce kept teasing them saying he needed a place to stay for the night, haha.
Here is the list of songs he sang:
Who'll Stop the Rain (Perfect kick-off song)
Downbound Train
Cover Me
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball (Tour Title Song)
Death to my Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
Seaside Bar Song (he let a lady sing along with him on the mic)
This Depression
Atlantic City
Because the Night
The Promised Land
Darlington county
Shackled and Drawn
Waiting on a Sunny Day (he let a little boy sing the chorus with the mic by himself. So cute^^)
For You (he played on the piano by himself)
The River
The Rising
Radio Nowhere
Badlands
I'm on Fire
Thunder Road
Born in the USA (got so excited he played the one song I knew!)
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark (Amanda and Juni's favorite song)
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
and the big Finale song: Twist and Shout
After the concert, Juni's friend went off to meet up with her family and the rest of us went to our meeting point with Amanda's mom. We had to hold hands because it was PACKED trying to get out of that park. When we got out, Juni and Mona left to go find food and we said goodbye. There was a huge herd of people walking on the roads with random groups singing songs from the concert. It was so fun!
It took us awhile to get out of the parking garage but after what felt like hours (probably just like 30-45 minutes) we finally merged into the long conga line of cars and another few hours (less then an hour really) we got out and were on the highway back home.
So Amanda, her mom, and I drove into Bergen to meet up with some family and friends that were also attending the concert. When Amanda's aunt and uncle came, we went our separate ways. Amanda and I went to meet up with Mona, Juni, and Juni's friend (who looked very much like a doppelganger of Julia Stiles).
There were TONS of people making their way towards the park where the concert was being held. It was raining a lot going from light to hard rain every other minute. Since the concert was in a park, there were no seats so we had to stand. Yup, we stood for almost 6 hours (3 hours just walking around and waiting for the concert, the other 3 was the concert) but it was well worth it.
Bruce Springsteen was AMAZING!! He was super fun and hilarious! He kept coming up to the audience to let them touch his hands, guitar, and he picked up some signs to show what song they'd play next! The hotel next door to the park had some people who got to watch the concert for free (grr). One guy had a big poster that said "Bruce" on his window and he got to be in the spotlight for being so enthusiastic. Bruce kept teasing them saying he needed a place to stay for the night, haha.
Here is the list of songs he sang:
Who'll Stop the Rain (Perfect kick-off song)
Downbound Train
Cover Me
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball (Tour Title Song)
Death to my Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
Seaside Bar Song (he let a lady sing along with him on the mic)
This Depression
Atlantic City
Because the Night
The Promised Land
Darlington county
Shackled and Drawn
Waiting on a Sunny Day (he let a little boy sing the chorus with the mic by himself. So cute^^)
For You (he played on the piano by himself)
The River
The Rising
Radio Nowhere
Badlands
I'm on Fire
Thunder Road
Born in the USA (got so excited he played the one song I knew!)
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark (Amanda and Juni's favorite song)
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
and the big Finale song: Twist and Shout
After the concert, Juni's friend went off to meet up with her family and the rest of us went to our meeting point with Amanda's mom. We had to hold hands because it was PACKED trying to get out of that park. When we got out, Juni and Mona left to go find food and we said goodbye. There was a huge herd of people walking on the roads with random groups singing songs from the concert. It was so fun!
It took us awhile to get out of the parking garage but after what felt like hours (probably just like 30-45 minutes) we finally merged into the long conga line of cars and another few hours (less then an hour really) we got out and were on the highway back home.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Sunday BBQ
Sunday (July 22) was a nice, relaxing day.
Originally, we planned to have an outdoor BBQ but since it was raining hard and the wind was quite strong, we had a indoor BBQ. Amanda's friends Juni and Mona came over and we had a fun time. We ate cheese burgers, pork chops, fish cooked with carrots and onions wrapped in aluminum foil (camping style, oh yeah), potato salad, homemade toss salad, and boiled potatoes. I think that's everything. We had a feast. And for dessert, I showed everyone how to make S'mores! It was a bit different since they don't have graham crackers over here so we used cookies that I guess would be like bigger versions of waffers (hopefully that's what they're called). Juni, Amanda, and Amanda's neice really loved it! Mona doesn't care for marshmallows but she still tried it. She asked me questions about what a graham cracker tastes like, what it looks like, and such.
When we finished up eating, we moved over to the sofa to watch some episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." Amanda and her friends LOVE this show so I decided to give it a try. I can see why they love it so much. It's pretty hilarious. For those of you who don't know what it is, long summary short it's a newer version of Friends combined with Seinfeld. Need more detail? OK then, it's about a guy named Ted and he is telling his kids how he met their mom. He talks about the crazy adventures he has with his friends Marshal, Lily, Barney, and Robin along with the women he dates. If you have some spare time, I'd recommend watching it.
After we watched eight episodes, we watched the Hangover (edited). It was... Interesting. I liked the Doug/Tiger Song the best.
When the movie was over, we spent quite a bit of time on Youtube. I showed everyone some BYU Divine Comedy videos and they LOVED them. They really liked the videos "Good" and "Class Can't Even Handle Me". I also showed them other BYU videos like "New Spice", the car sharing commercial with the zombies, "Gotta Be Scholar", and others. We then proceeded with watching some Ryan Higa videos (Bromance, Nice Guys, Movies in a Minute - Chronicle), Weird Al videos, and KevJamba videos. Youtube surfing is the best :)
We ended up staying up till 3am and decided to call it a night.
Originally, we planned to have an outdoor BBQ but since it was raining hard and the wind was quite strong, we had a indoor BBQ. Amanda's friends Juni and Mona came over and we had a fun time. We ate cheese burgers, pork chops, fish cooked with carrots and onions wrapped in aluminum foil (camping style, oh yeah), potato salad, homemade toss salad, and boiled potatoes. I think that's everything. We had a feast. And for dessert, I showed everyone how to make S'mores! It was a bit different since they don't have graham crackers over here so we used cookies that I guess would be like bigger versions of waffers (hopefully that's what they're called). Juni, Amanda, and Amanda's neice really loved it! Mona doesn't care for marshmallows but she still tried it. She asked me questions about what a graham cracker tastes like, what it looks like, and such.
When we finished up eating, we moved over to the sofa to watch some episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." Amanda and her friends LOVE this show so I decided to give it a try. I can see why they love it so much. It's pretty hilarious. For those of you who don't know what it is, long summary short it's a newer version of Friends combined with Seinfeld. Need more detail? OK then, it's about a guy named Ted and he is telling his kids how he met their mom. He talks about the crazy adventures he has with his friends Marshal, Lily, Barney, and Robin along with the women he dates. If you have some spare time, I'd recommend watching it.
After we watched eight episodes, we watched the Hangover (edited). It was... Interesting. I liked the Doug/Tiger Song the best.
When the movie was over, we spent quite a bit of time on Youtube. I showed everyone some BYU Divine Comedy videos and they LOVED them. They really liked the videos "Good" and "Class Can't Even Handle Me". I also showed them other BYU videos like "New Spice", the car sharing commercial with the zombies, "Gotta Be Scholar", and others. We then proceeded with watching some Ryan Higa videos (Bromance, Nice Guys, Movies in a Minute - Chronicle), Weird Al videos, and KevJamba videos. Youtube surfing is the best :)
We ended up staying up till 3am and decided to call it a night.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Old Bergen and At-Home Gourmet
Had a nice fun day with everyone!
I went on a little road trip with Amanda, her mom, and her niece to the older part of Bergen (now it is a museum). It was raining on and off but luckily it was light plus we all had our rain equipment. We walked around the towns, went through some of the buildings, talked with the "locals (actors/actresses who played merchants, maids, family of a book keeper, and such)", and played a lot with the random things they had. They had a little playground set up with swings, a toy boat pond, swings, a tight rope, and some little shelters. Amanda, her niece and I took turns on the swing and helped each other on the tight rope (was too cold to play with the toy boats). We also took some silly pictures in the shelters :)
Later on, we found some... Wow, just had a brain fart. For now I will call them "walking sticks." Anyways, we had fun attempting to stand on them and trying to take a step with them. Eventually it turned into a pole vault jump contest. The joys of being silly.
After we finished walking around, we went to visit Amanda's grandparents while we were in the neighborhood. The adults didn't know a whole lot of English but they tried as best they could. I ended up playing with the niece since she was restless and the adults wanted to talk. She taught me some Norwegian, I taught her some English and Japanese, and we made funny faces and noises. Oh yes, we were very mature.
When we got back home, we watched a little TV. There was a Swedish movie about a young boy and girl who run away from home to live in a mountain fortress together. Had no idea what was being said but it looked pretty cool.
Amanda and I then went to her friend Mona's house for dinner along with their other friend Renathe (hopefully the spelling is right). Mona cooked us a stunning and very delicious meal (pictures will be posted on another page) and we had fun chatting about American TV shows like the Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother, and other random things that came up with we watched some TV. Mona then showed us her newly decorated room but then we got a bit cold so we went back upstairs and watched a bit of "Just Married."
It was a nice chill day :)
I went on a little road trip with Amanda, her mom, and her niece to the older part of Bergen (now it is a museum). It was raining on and off but luckily it was light plus we all had our rain equipment. We walked around the towns, went through some of the buildings, talked with the "locals (actors/actresses who played merchants, maids, family of a book keeper, and such)", and played a lot with the random things they had. They had a little playground set up with swings, a toy boat pond, swings, a tight rope, and some little shelters. Amanda, her niece and I took turns on the swing and helped each other on the tight rope (was too cold to play with the toy boats). We also took some silly pictures in the shelters :)
Later on, we found some... Wow, just had a brain fart. For now I will call them "walking sticks." Anyways, we had fun attempting to stand on them and trying to take a step with them. Eventually it turned into a pole vault jump contest. The joys of being silly.
After we finished walking around, we went to visit Amanda's grandparents while we were in the neighborhood. The adults didn't know a whole lot of English but they tried as best they could. I ended up playing with the niece since she was restless and the adults wanted to talk. She taught me some Norwegian, I taught her some English and Japanese, and we made funny faces and noises. Oh yes, we were very mature.
When we got back home, we watched a little TV. There was a Swedish movie about a young boy and girl who run away from home to live in a mountain fortress together. Had no idea what was being said but it looked pretty cool.
Amanda and I then went to her friend Mona's house for dinner along with their other friend Renathe (hopefully the spelling is right). Mona cooked us a stunning and very delicious meal (pictures will be posted on another page) and we had fun chatting about American TV shows like the Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother, and other random things that came up with we watched some TV. Mona then showed us her newly decorated room but then we got a bit cold so we went back upstairs and watched a bit of "Just Married."
It was a nice chill day :)
Arriving in Norway
Hello!
Sorry for the delay in new posts. Been recovering from a cold (doing a lot
better now :D)
So
I am in Norway now and it's been pretty fantastic thus far! I had a nice
somewhat short flight and met up with my pen pal Amanda just fine. We had a
nice chat during the drive back to her house while she pointed out some things
in her town. It kind of reminds me of Sandy, small but still fairly large. When
we got to her house, we watched an episode of "How I Met Your
Mother", "Phineas and Ferb", and I showed her the movie
"Kiki's Delivery Service" since she had never heard of Miyazaki
before. Met her mom and she is so friendly! She is always smiling and is just
so cute :)
On Thursday (July 19),
I slept in the longest I've ever had so far (till 11am). For breakfast we ate
some bread with lots of different things to top it with. I tried some Norwegian
cheeses, a chocolate topping (it was a mousse-like version of nutella but no
hazelnut taste. it was still DELICIOUS), some little fish, and showed Amanda
the American classic combo of PB and J. After we ate, Amanda and I went to the
mall to look for a European adapter for my electronics and I met Amanda's
friend Mona while she was working. We got some ice cream and chilled in the
Solbrod cafe while we savored our ice cream (I attempted to make a Winnie the
pooh sculpture with my ice cream. Looked nothing like him, but I tried). Amanda
and I then looked around the mall while we waited for Mona to get off work. We
spent most of the time in the Body Shop (the "Bath and Body" of Europe)
and Mona met up with us there.
Amanda
then drove Mona and I to a city at the coast named Glesnes and we had some snacks while we talked
about things that were the same or different in Norway compared to the states.
We
all then went to the super market to pick up some stuff for another friend
named Juni. Afterwards, we went to Juni's house to pick her up and we drove
around to the little islands. After our mini road trip we went back to June's
house in hopes of seeing a dolphin. He didn't show up but we all had a fun just
hanging out.
Yesterday (July 20),
Amanda took me to see Bergen. We saw a juggler named Bob do some cool tricks,
we went on a train that went up to the top of a mountain for a phenomenal view
of the city, went a on guided tour in a museum about the old merchant and
fisherman lifestyles back in older Bergen, walked through the fish market,
played for some of the lobsters and dead fish, looked at some funny hats, and
spent a lot of time looking around in a bookstore.
When
we got back to Amanda's house, her aunt and cousin were there for a visit and
they were pretty nice.
Working
on posting the pictures now, hopefully they'll be all rotated this time.
Good
night everyone :)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Temple Trip
Last Saturday (July 14th) was a wonderful day!
The day started pretty early with me going over to the library. I returned some books and decided to check out Great Expectations. After checking emails, reading a bit of my newly borrowed book, and humming along with the kids singing their songs I decided to head out.
I got to Victoria station about 30 minutes earlier then the meeting time (I was meeting with some members from the Britannia ward) so I decided to grab a brunch. I found this little cafe just down the street and got a hot chocolate with a bacon and egg sandwich. I went back to the station to eat my meal and to look out for anyone else who came early. When I finished the first half of my sandwich, a beggar women came up to me asking if I had any spare change for food. I told her I had no spare change, but I had half a sandwich if she didn't mind. She looked so surprised and said that was plenty good. She couldn't stop saying thank you and God bless you dear one. It warmed my heart to see how sincerely thankful she was to receive such a simple meal.
When it was 1pm (the intended meeting time), I went inside the station to the ticket counter where we were suppose to meet. I waited about 15 minutes in the Victoria tube station. Since no one was showing up, I went across the street to the Victoria train station and found the group. I was introduced to Wendy, Tom, Bishop Gill, Simon (in the bishopric), Edward, and the Bishop's niece Bethany and her friend Hannah. We all got out tickets and boarded the train.
Turns out the temple was much further than I had thought. After the hour long train ride, we had to take a cab over to the temple. I chatted with the cab driver about the Salt Lake temple, the wet England weather compared to Utah's sunny weather, roundabouts, and whatever else randomly came up.
When we pulled onto the temple grounds, almost instantly I was filled with wonderful warmth. The temple grounds looked like a cute little village. Wendy and I both started singing "Belle" as we walked over the the temple.
As we waited for other members of our group to show up, I realized that I actually recognized a lot of people and shockingly more people recognized me. I got to chat with lots of people, the temple workers shared their words of wisdom and some people shared their thoughts on temple work. The warm feelings just kept on growing :)
When we went back to the train station, my group was SO close to catching the :44 train. Our ride had pulled up when the train was still there. Tom, Bethany, and I were booking it to make it to the train while the rest of us were trying to catch up. But the train started leaving when we passed the gate. Oh well, we made a good effort.
While we waited for the next train, I spent most of the time talking with Natasha and we were just being silly. She was complaining about the new shoes she was wearing so we switched one of our shoes so I could feel how painful they were. Well, I tried them on but I thought they were the most comfortable shoes besides fuzzy slippers. And Natasha thought the same about my shoe so we stayed like that for awhile. Both of us wearing one of each pair of shoes :P
Eventually our entire group was reunited and we boarded the train. Natasha and I played thumb war, rock paper scissors (apparently in Singapore they call rock "stone" instead), and eventually switched our shoes back before we forgot. Natasha got off early so I was left to listen to Simon and another guy (never found out his name) about investing in stocks. Though I was a bit confused, I did occasionally find it to be interesting.
When we got back to Victoria, I talked with Amanda as we made our way over to the tube station. I told her about my earlier experience with the beggar women and also mentioned, "To be honest, I was still hungry but I wanted to help her in some way" and Amanda replied "That's very good, Reminds me of a quote that goes something like, 'You know you've given enough when it hurts a little.'" I believe she said the quote was by C. S. Lewis.
As we waited for the tube train to arrive, Amanda, Charlotte, and I were teasing Richard who was waiting on the platform across the tracks from us. We were trying to convince the other to come over to our platform and overall just being silly :)
A very fun and spiritual kind of day.
The day started pretty early with me going over to the library. I returned some books and decided to check out Great Expectations. After checking emails, reading a bit of my newly borrowed book, and humming along with the kids singing their songs I decided to head out.
I got to Victoria station about 30 minutes earlier then the meeting time (I was meeting with some members from the Britannia ward) so I decided to grab a brunch. I found this little cafe just down the street and got a hot chocolate with a bacon and egg sandwich. I went back to the station to eat my meal and to look out for anyone else who came early. When I finished the first half of my sandwich, a beggar women came up to me asking if I had any spare change for food. I told her I had no spare change, but I had half a sandwich if she didn't mind. She looked so surprised and said that was plenty good. She couldn't stop saying thank you and God bless you dear one. It warmed my heart to see how sincerely thankful she was to receive such a simple meal.
When it was 1pm (the intended meeting time), I went inside the station to the ticket counter where we were suppose to meet. I waited about 15 minutes in the Victoria tube station. Since no one was showing up, I went across the street to the Victoria train station and found the group. I was introduced to Wendy, Tom, Bishop Gill, Simon (in the bishopric), Edward, and the Bishop's niece Bethany and her friend Hannah. We all got out tickets and boarded the train.
Turns out the temple was much further than I had thought. After the hour long train ride, we had to take a cab over to the temple. I chatted with the cab driver about the Salt Lake temple, the wet England weather compared to Utah's sunny weather, roundabouts, and whatever else randomly came up.
When we pulled onto the temple grounds, almost instantly I was filled with wonderful warmth. The temple grounds looked like a cute little village. Wendy and I both started singing "Belle" as we walked over the the temple.
As we waited for other members of our group to show up, I realized that I actually recognized a lot of people and shockingly more people recognized me. I got to chat with lots of people, the temple workers shared their words of wisdom and some people shared their thoughts on temple work. The warm feelings just kept on growing :)
When we went back to the train station, my group was SO close to catching the :44 train. Our ride had pulled up when the train was still there. Tom, Bethany, and I were booking it to make it to the train while the rest of us were trying to catch up. But the train started leaving when we passed the gate. Oh well, we made a good effort.
While we waited for the next train, I spent most of the time talking with Natasha and we were just being silly. She was complaining about the new shoes she was wearing so we switched one of our shoes so I could feel how painful they were. Well, I tried them on but I thought they were the most comfortable shoes besides fuzzy slippers. And Natasha thought the same about my shoe so we stayed like that for awhile. Both of us wearing one of each pair of shoes :P
Eventually our entire group was reunited and we boarded the train. Natasha and I played thumb war, rock paper scissors (apparently in Singapore they call rock "stone" instead), and eventually switched our shoes back before we forgot. Natasha got off early so I was left to listen to Simon and another guy (never found out his name) about investing in stocks. Though I was a bit confused, I did occasionally find it to be interesting.
When we got back to Victoria, I talked with Amanda as we made our way over to the tube station. I told her about my earlier experience with the beggar women and also mentioned, "To be honest, I was still hungry but I wanted to help her in some way" and Amanda replied "That's very good, Reminds me of a quote that goes something like, 'You know you've given enough when it hurts a little.'" I believe she said the quote was by C. S. Lewis.
As we waited for the tube train to arrive, Amanda, Charlotte, and I were teasing Richard who was waiting on the platform across the tracks from us. We were trying to convince the other to come over to our platform and overall just being silly :)
A very fun and spiritual kind of day.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
My visit to Battle and Rye
First sunny day of the week! Decided to take advantage of the nice weather and headed out to Battle and Rye.
I went to Battle from London Charing Cross station and got there without any problems. The station was so small and abbey-looking. As I was looking at the tourist information they had, the station staff asked if I was going into town. He then gave me easy directions to the center of town. Super friendly and fun guy. About twenty minutes later (yes, the station actually was that far. I didn't get lost. Promise) I made it to the Battle Abbey. I bought my ticket, picked up my audio guide, and was off. The little intro exhibit was really cool. They had a video that talked about how the Battle of 1066 came to be and what happened during the battle that led to William the Conqueror's victory. The had a section that compared the English weapons and shield to the Normans' weapons and shields. Both swords and spears were pretty light but MAN those shields were heavy. Especially the Norman's.
After exiting the exhibit I made my way to the fork in the road. One way was the short version of the tour that just went around the Battle Abbey site. The other was the long walk around the entire battlefield and abbey. I chose the latter. It was actually a very nice walk. There were some little paths that most people just passed by and I got to see some really pretty greenery and even a water lily pond. Plus there were some great shots of the abbey from a distance. I really loved it. Both the history and scenery were amazing.
When I made it back to the abbey site, I explored the ruins. Again, I found some pathways that people didn't see (or thought they weren't allowed to enter) and got to climb up some cool spy/archer towers. Even found the old lavatory aka bathroom. I'm glad it's been freshened up over the years.
I spent some time in the gift shop playing with the toy swords and debating whether I wanted to buy some jam and biscuit cookies. Decided not to. I also looked at all the books they had. There were about five I was seriously tempted to buy. Three of them were history documentaries about Medieval England or The queens before Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I. The other two were novels both taking place during Queen Elizabeth's rule. One was a thriller about a spy working for the queen to find out about the catholic rebels' plans to assassinate the queen to return England back to its former Catholic state. The other was about what happened to Elizabeth after her mother was executed. Hopefully the library has copies.
When I was officially done with my visit in the Battle Abbey, I went across the street to ask directions on how to get to Rye. The lady asked if I was driving or taking the bus and I told her I was walking. Her eyes popped out a bit and she replied, "You sure about that deary (thought of Mr. Gold from "Once upon a time" right there)? That is a very long walk. It'll take you a few hours." Even though she kept saying things similar to that, she eventually did give me directions. After walking around the outside of the abbey and looking at the scarecrows from the scarecrow contest, I decided to take the train to Rye.
I boarded the train and got off at Hastings and took another train to Rye. On the second train, as the conductor was going around for tickets, he checked my Britrail pass and then asked me where I was from. I told him I was from the Northwest part of the states and he said he actually went there once. We then proceeded to having a nice chat about how when he was younger he traveled the midwest/northwest of the states and about my travels. His phone cut our conversation short but it was still a fun talk :)
It was a good thing I took the train to Rye. When I exited out of the train, it was raining (lightly though so it wasn't bad). Since I got there late, everything was pretty much closed but I still went on a walk around the town. The rain started coming down a bit heavier and soon there was hardly anyone walking on the streets. It was a quick self-guided tour but I managed to see The Mermaid Inn, Mermaid Street, St. Mary's Church, the tower, the Lamb House, and the landgate.
When I boarded the train back towards Hasting, I ran into the same conductor as before when he went around for tickets again. We didn't talk, but we exchanged some laughs at seeing each other again so soon. The train ride back was nice and without difficulties. Sadly, the tube ride back home was not so nice.
I got stuck at Picadilly Circus due to the Picadilly line having problems. I waited 40 minutes watching tube trains go by but not taking on passengers. I gave up waiting and took the Bakerloo line to Embankment and then the district line to Fulham boardway (The stop for home). And when I exited the station, it started raining. At first it was light, but it quickly got heavier. I ran about halfway then sped walked the remainder of the way home.
It was interesting how people were all whiny and complaining about the rain while I was all smiling and humming in the rain. I'm pretty sure the locals think I'm officially strange. Oh well.
I went to Battle from London Charing Cross station and got there without any problems. The station was so small and abbey-looking. As I was looking at the tourist information they had, the station staff asked if I was going into town. He then gave me easy directions to the center of town. Super friendly and fun guy. About twenty minutes later (yes, the station actually was that far. I didn't get lost. Promise) I made it to the Battle Abbey. I bought my ticket, picked up my audio guide, and was off. The little intro exhibit was really cool. They had a video that talked about how the Battle of 1066 came to be and what happened during the battle that led to William the Conqueror's victory. The had a section that compared the English weapons and shield to the Normans' weapons and shields. Both swords and spears were pretty light but MAN those shields were heavy. Especially the Norman's.
After exiting the exhibit I made my way to the fork in the road. One way was the short version of the tour that just went around the Battle Abbey site. The other was the long walk around the entire battlefield and abbey. I chose the latter. It was actually a very nice walk. There were some little paths that most people just passed by and I got to see some really pretty greenery and even a water lily pond. Plus there were some great shots of the abbey from a distance. I really loved it. Both the history and scenery were amazing.
When I made it back to the abbey site, I explored the ruins. Again, I found some pathways that people didn't see (or thought they weren't allowed to enter) and got to climb up some cool spy/archer towers. Even found the old lavatory aka bathroom. I'm glad it's been freshened up over the years.
I spent some time in the gift shop playing with the toy swords and debating whether I wanted to buy some jam and biscuit cookies. Decided not to. I also looked at all the books they had. There were about five I was seriously tempted to buy. Three of them were history documentaries about Medieval England or The queens before Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I. The other two were novels both taking place during Queen Elizabeth's rule. One was a thriller about a spy working for the queen to find out about the catholic rebels' plans to assassinate the queen to return England back to its former Catholic state. The other was about what happened to Elizabeth after her mother was executed. Hopefully the library has copies.
When I was officially done with my visit in the Battle Abbey, I went across the street to ask directions on how to get to Rye. The lady asked if I was driving or taking the bus and I told her I was walking. Her eyes popped out a bit and she replied, "You sure about that deary (thought of Mr. Gold from "Once upon a time" right there)? That is a very long walk. It'll take you a few hours." Even though she kept saying things similar to that, she eventually did give me directions. After walking around the outside of the abbey and looking at the scarecrows from the scarecrow contest, I decided to take the train to Rye.
I boarded the train and got off at Hastings and took another train to Rye. On the second train, as the conductor was going around for tickets, he checked my Britrail pass and then asked me where I was from. I told him I was from the Northwest part of the states and he said he actually went there once. We then proceeded to having a nice chat about how when he was younger he traveled the midwest/northwest of the states and about my travels. His phone cut our conversation short but it was still a fun talk :)
It was a good thing I took the train to Rye. When I exited out of the train, it was raining (lightly though so it wasn't bad). Since I got there late, everything was pretty much closed but I still went on a walk around the town. The rain started coming down a bit heavier and soon there was hardly anyone walking on the streets. It was a quick self-guided tour but I managed to see The Mermaid Inn, Mermaid Street, St. Mary's Church, the tower, the Lamb House, and the landgate.
When I boarded the train back towards Hasting, I ran into the same conductor as before when he went around for tickets again. We didn't talk, but we exchanged some laughs at seeing each other again so soon. The train ride back was nice and without difficulties. Sadly, the tube ride back home was not so nice.
I got stuck at Picadilly Circus due to the Picadilly line having problems. I waited 40 minutes watching tube trains go by but not taking on passengers. I gave up waiting and took the Bakerloo line to Embankment and then the district line to Fulham boardway (The stop for home). And when I exited the station, it started raining. At first it was light, but it quickly got heavier. I ran about halfway then sped walked the remainder of the way home.
It was interesting how people were all whiny and complaining about the rain while I was all smiling and humming in the rain. I'm pretty sure the locals think I'm officially strange. Oh well.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Visiting Brighton
Bit of a rough day, but it was still super fun.
When I got to Victoria station. The departure board said that the 10:36 train I had planned on traveling to Brighton on was cancelled. There was another one for 10:50 so I waited around the area. Check the board again, it got cancelled. I went to the information desk to ask what was going on with the trains traveling to Brighton. Apparently an earlier train was having problems and was blocking the path so other trains could get by. So then I asked for an alternative route and the info lady said I could take a train to Hove and take a local train over to Brighton. When I asked when the next train for Hove was leaving, she replied in 4 minutes. I had to speed walk (the people wouldn't let me run for fear of a collusion) like no other to make it in time. Made it right when the doors were starting to close.
I managed to find a seat and was starting to get comfortable when the speaker announced that when it reached Haywards Heath, the train would split and you needed to make sure you were on the right part of the train. Whoopee. As I was studying the little map in my book to figure out which part of the train to get on, the French lady behind me asked if she was in the right part to go to Gatwick Airport. I told her that yes she was in the right coach and she thanked me. I finally figured out that I needed to be in coach 1-4 to go to Hove. I was in 10. Not going to lie, it was actually pretty fun to walk through the train. Sure it was less thrilling compared to the scene in the Anastasia movie, but I couldn't help playing that scene in my head as I was walking from coach to coach.
When I got to Hove, there was a HUGE thunder storm. The rain was coming down hard, the lightening was flashing brightly, the wind was blowing, and the thunder was LOUD. Luckily there was a waiting room. As I waited, there was a little family with a little boy who started singing "rain, rain, go away". That made me smile.
About 20 minutes later I arrived in Brighton. Luckily, the thunder storm wasn't over here but it was still sprinkling. I got a map from the travel info centre and headed straight for the Royal Pavilion. As I went through the main gate to the ticket office, there were some French students on a school trip to the Pavilion (seriously, why do I keep running into these groups?). I went through a bit slower then everyone so I could actually see everything. I was expecting to see something similar to Windsor or Hampton Court when I went inside, but nope. Nothing like that at all. Instead, I was in China. Almost everything in the Pavilion was Chinese decorations. The Long Gallery had all sorts of bamboo decorations in the furniture and on the walls. There was some cool illusions going on.
The banqueting hall was GORGEOUS. There were Chinese paintings everywhere, bird sculptures, dragon sculptures, and just numerous beautifully crafted decorations. The center chandelier was absolutely stunning. The ceiling had painted palm leaves with 4 actual pal leaf sculptures coming out for the illusion effect. Then a huge dragon sculpture holding the giant chandelier. Towards the bottom were four dragons that had lotus shaped lanterns in their mouths with lights inside. It looked like the dragons were breathing fire! That room was defiantly my favorite (gave the detailed description because I wasn't allowed to take pictures T_T).
After I finished walking around the rest of the pavilion, I decided to go eat some lunch. When I went outside, the rain was coming down a bit harder. I tried using my umbrella but the wind was picking up so I put it away since the rain wasn't too bad. About five minutes later, the rain was getting worse. Decided to try the umbrella one more time. But the wind was getting stronger and cause my poor umbrella to break (not just the wind blowing it inside out. The little metal supports actually snapped and broke). I thought that the restaurant wasn't too far so I could not get too wet. Boy was I wrong. The restaurant was a lot farther than I realized. The rain by itself would've been alright but the wind was blowing it so hard it felt like bee-bees being shot in my face. I eventually had to use my sunglasses for goggles. As I was walking I kept thinking "this restaurant's fish and chips better be worth this" (my guidebook highly recommended the place). When I finally got to the restaurant, a lot of the customers were shocked by my appearance. I was soaking wet, but just the front part of me. My back side was almost completely dry (very funny wind). The service was super quick so what felt like 15 minutes later, my food was out. Best fish and chips I've ever had. Defiantly worth going through bee-bee gun rainstorms for.
When I went back outside, the rain had lighten up so I went inside a store that sold some umbrellas. Of course when I went back outside, it was bright and sunny. Like it never rained at all. Oh well, I needed the new umbrella anyway. I gazed out over at the wild waves on the beach (they were HUGE waves btw) and enjoyed the lovely scenery.
I then made my way over to Brighton Pier to see the rides and such. I ended up playing at the arcade. After an hour of gameplay of Bejeweled, Fruit ninja (I knew all that training on my phone would be worth something!), a hammer hitting game, and deal or no deal (I actually won the 100 tickets once!! The other time was 70) I earned 528 tickets. When the couple behind me saw how many I had from the counting machine, the girl said "Honey, she beat you by like 200 tickets" and the guy replied with "oh be quiet." Sweet victory. After much pondering, I decided my prizes. I got a I love London keychain, a karate rubber duck, giant mickey mouse pen, a foil art thing, a incense kit and two lollys. Was pretty tempted to get the glowing shoelaces but the rubber duck was just calling out to me (haha).
Just a heads up, I don't have a whole lot of pictures of Brighton due to lame "no photography" rules and the weather. And I didn't get to take a picture of the life-changing fish and chips. My stomach did the thinking on that one.
Take care, and remember: You are great.
When I got to Victoria station. The departure board said that the 10:36 train I had planned on traveling to Brighton on was cancelled. There was another one for 10:50 so I waited around the area. Check the board again, it got cancelled. I went to the information desk to ask what was going on with the trains traveling to Brighton. Apparently an earlier train was having problems and was blocking the path so other trains could get by. So then I asked for an alternative route and the info lady said I could take a train to Hove and take a local train over to Brighton. When I asked when the next train for Hove was leaving, she replied in 4 minutes. I had to speed walk (the people wouldn't let me run for fear of a collusion) like no other to make it in time. Made it right when the doors were starting to close.
I managed to find a seat and was starting to get comfortable when the speaker announced that when it reached Haywards Heath, the train would split and you needed to make sure you were on the right part of the train. Whoopee. As I was studying the little map in my book to figure out which part of the train to get on, the French lady behind me asked if she was in the right part to go to Gatwick Airport. I told her that yes she was in the right coach and she thanked me. I finally figured out that I needed to be in coach 1-4 to go to Hove. I was in 10. Not going to lie, it was actually pretty fun to walk through the train. Sure it was less thrilling compared to the scene in the Anastasia movie, but I couldn't help playing that scene in my head as I was walking from coach to coach.
When I got to Hove, there was a HUGE thunder storm. The rain was coming down hard, the lightening was flashing brightly, the wind was blowing, and the thunder was LOUD. Luckily there was a waiting room. As I waited, there was a little family with a little boy who started singing "rain, rain, go away". That made me smile.
About 20 minutes later I arrived in Brighton. Luckily, the thunder storm wasn't over here but it was still sprinkling. I got a map from the travel info centre and headed straight for the Royal Pavilion. As I went through the main gate to the ticket office, there were some French students on a school trip to the Pavilion (seriously, why do I keep running into these groups?). I went through a bit slower then everyone so I could actually see everything. I was expecting to see something similar to Windsor or Hampton Court when I went inside, but nope. Nothing like that at all. Instead, I was in China. Almost everything in the Pavilion was Chinese decorations. The Long Gallery had all sorts of bamboo decorations in the furniture and on the walls. There was some cool illusions going on.
The banqueting hall was GORGEOUS. There were Chinese paintings everywhere, bird sculptures, dragon sculptures, and just numerous beautifully crafted decorations. The center chandelier was absolutely stunning. The ceiling had painted palm leaves with 4 actual pal leaf sculptures coming out for the illusion effect. Then a huge dragon sculpture holding the giant chandelier. Towards the bottom were four dragons that had lotus shaped lanterns in their mouths with lights inside. It looked like the dragons were breathing fire! That room was defiantly my favorite (gave the detailed description because I wasn't allowed to take pictures T_T).
After I finished walking around the rest of the pavilion, I decided to go eat some lunch. When I went outside, the rain was coming down a bit harder. I tried using my umbrella but the wind was picking up so I put it away since the rain wasn't too bad. About five minutes later, the rain was getting worse. Decided to try the umbrella one more time. But the wind was getting stronger and cause my poor umbrella to break (not just the wind blowing it inside out. The little metal supports actually snapped and broke). I thought that the restaurant wasn't too far so I could not get too wet. Boy was I wrong. The restaurant was a lot farther than I realized. The rain by itself would've been alright but the wind was blowing it so hard it felt like bee-bees being shot in my face. I eventually had to use my sunglasses for goggles. As I was walking I kept thinking "this restaurant's fish and chips better be worth this" (my guidebook highly recommended the place). When I finally got to the restaurant, a lot of the customers were shocked by my appearance. I was soaking wet, but just the front part of me. My back side was almost completely dry (very funny wind). The service was super quick so what felt like 15 minutes later, my food was out. Best fish and chips I've ever had. Defiantly worth going through bee-bee gun rainstorms for.
When I went back outside, the rain had lighten up so I went inside a store that sold some umbrellas. Of course when I went back outside, it was bright and sunny. Like it never rained at all. Oh well, I needed the new umbrella anyway. I gazed out over at the wild waves on the beach (they were HUGE waves btw) and enjoyed the lovely scenery.
I then made my way over to Brighton Pier to see the rides and such. I ended up playing at the arcade. After an hour of gameplay of Bejeweled, Fruit ninja (I knew all that training on my phone would be worth something!), a hammer hitting game, and deal or no deal (I actually won the 100 tickets once!! The other time was 70) I earned 528 tickets. When the couple behind me saw how many I had from the counting machine, the girl said "Honey, she beat you by like 200 tickets" and the guy replied with "oh be quiet." Sweet victory. After much pondering, I decided my prizes. I got a I love London keychain, a karate rubber duck, giant mickey mouse pen, a foil art thing, a incense kit and two lollys. Was pretty tempted to get the glowing shoelaces but the rubber duck was just calling out to me (haha).
Just a heads up, I don't have a whole lot of pictures of Brighton due to lame "no photography" rules and the weather. And I didn't get to take a picture of the life-changing fish and chips. My stomach did the thinking on that one.
Take care, and remember: You are great.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Visit to the British Library
I went down the street to Sally's to get a straightner and a small thing of hairspray. My hair just hasn't been cooperating much so I decided to tame it. It was a bit strange walking into a store I was familiar with back in the states but it was very different. Kinda like when I went to a Denny's restaurant in Japan. Except no food. The set-up was basically the same, but all the brands were British/European. Did not recognize a single one. So I shall see how I like this "Schwarzkopf - Silhouette" brand.
When I got to the tube station, I thought I'd actually explain inside. There was an accessory store, a store called "Joy" that sold expensive clothes, crafts and strange greeting cards, a grocery store, a convenient store, and some restaurants that all had yummy smells coming from them. There's also a gym and a cinema on the upper floors. Cool stuff.
As I walked over to the tube entrance, there were some people trying to advertise a new make-up that they had coming out soon. Since no one was really paying attention to them, I decided to talk with one of them. I ended up having a nice conversation with Lauren. She talked about the make-up (of course), but mainly we talked about traveling and where we both have been to. After chatting for about 20-30 minutes I had to leave, but Lauren gave me a free treat bag with some of the make-up she was selling. See? Being nice can be a bonus :)
Found the library easy enough. I know I use this word a lot but the library was HUGE. There was a big courtyard with a little cafe and a big statue/artwork. When I went inside, I noticed there was a restaurant (can you believe that? An actually restaurant INSIDE of a library!) and decided to have some lunch. I got a egg and cheese sandwich and some herbal tea to warm me up (been raining literally almost everyday lately). After lunch, I went up to the information desk to find Aly Conteh (friend of my dad's who I will be staying with later on). We confirmed some details and chatted about what I've seen/where I've been along with some comments about the weather. Apparently it's never this wet in July over here. Aly then asked if I'd be interested in seeing an exhibit the library had about British writers and I said yes. So he got me a ticket for the exhibit with his work ID, said our farewells, then parted.
The exhibit was actually quite fascinating. I did recognize some authors but it was still really intriguing to learn about other British authors (except Edgar Allen Poe an American. Still pretty cool that he was part of the exhibit). They had lots of displays of first editions, drafts, and manuscripts of books. I got to see one of the only remaining first drafts of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the author got the story idea from a frightening dream he had and wrote it down when he woke up. His wife though, was worried about her husband's mental health and she was just really terrified of the dream so she kept burning his drafts), the last pages of the manuscript for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", and some letters that Edgar Allen Poe wrote to someone who was asking for his advice about a story.
The exhibit was divided into the different parts of England based on the type of land. Country side, Big city, by the sea, along the river, and so on. With each area, they displayed the different authors and the description boxes talked about the author's connections to the type of land they wrote about.
When I went through all the exhibit, I figured out one thing for sure. My reading list grew much longer.
When I got to the tube station, I thought I'd actually explain inside. There was an accessory store, a store called "Joy" that sold expensive clothes, crafts and strange greeting cards, a grocery store, a convenient store, and some restaurants that all had yummy smells coming from them. There's also a gym and a cinema on the upper floors. Cool stuff.
As I walked over to the tube entrance, there were some people trying to advertise a new make-up that they had coming out soon. Since no one was really paying attention to them, I decided to talk with one of them. I ended up having a nice conversation with Lauren. She talked about the make-up (of course), but mainly we talked about traveling and where we both have been to. After chatting for about 20-30 minutes I had to leave, but Lauren gave me a free treat bag with some of the make-up she was selling. See? Being nice can be a bonus :)
Found the library easy enough. I know I use this word a lot but the library was HUGE. There was a big courtyard with a little cafe and a big statue/artwork. When I went inside, I noticed there was a restaurant (can you believe that? An actually restaurant INSIDE of a library!) and decided to have some lunch. I got a egg and cheese sandwich and some herbal tea to warm me up (been raining literally almost everyday lately). After lunch, I went up to the information desk to find Aly Conteh (friend of my dad's who I will be staying with later on). We confirmed some details and chatted about what I've seen/where I've been along with some comments about the weather. Apparently it's never this wet in July over here. Aly then asked if I'd be interested in seeing an exhibit the library had about British writers and I said yes. So he got me a ticket for the exhibit with his work ID, said our farewells, then parted.
The exhibit was actually quite fascinating. I did recognize some authors but it was still really intriguing to learn about other British authors (except Edgar Allen Poe an American. Still pretty cool that he was part of the exhibit). They had lots of displays of first editions, drafts, and manuscripts of books. I got to see one of the only remaining first drafts of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the author got the story idea from a frightening dream he had and wrote it down when he woke up. His wife though, was worried about her husband's mental health and she was just really terrified of the dream so she kept burning his drafts), the last pages of the manuscript for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", and some letters that Edgar Allen Poe wrote to someone who was asking for his advice about a story.
The exhibit was divided into the different parts of England based on the type of land. Country side, Big city, by the sea, along the river, and so on. With each area, they displayed the different authors and the description boxes talked about the author's connections to the type of land they wrote about.
When I went through all the exhibit, I figured out one thing for sure. My reading list grew much longer.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
The fun (and wet) day at Bath
Saturday I took a day trip over to Bath!
Got my Britrail validated quick and smoothly, got through the ticket gate fine, boarded the train fine, but we were delayed 30 minutes at the next station in order to fix the headlight that got flooded from the heavy rain. At the following station, they had all those going to Bath and other stations get off since they'd head straight to Bristol to attempt to make up the lost time. Almost all the train passengers got off then. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a seat on the next train. Luckily, Britain trains have long coaches with plenty of seats. While on the train, I finished reading Northanger Abbey so I was officially ready for Bath. Jane Austen style.
I arrived at the Bath station and waited for the HUGE crowd of people to exit while looking at some tourist stuff in the tourist info booth. Once the crowd was gone, I exited the station and made my way over to the visitor center to get a map. After I left the center, I was going to hit the Roman baths first, but there was a HUGE line for it. Tried the Bath Abbey but it wasn't open yet. So I then made my way over to the Assembly rooms and Fashion museum.
As I was walking, I passed by lots of stores. Once I entered that street, you could divide the crowd into two groups. Shoppers and tourists. Didn't know Bath was popular for its stores. I did see a Disney store. I went inside. Don't judge me, I can't simply walk pass a DISNEY store without looking around. I love Disney too much.
After my short visit to heaven (hehe ;P), I found the Assembly rooms. It was open and there was few people there. Seeing the rooms was free since one of them was in use (Score!) I got to see the Great Octagon, The Ballroom, and the Tea Room. All were gorgeous and I could see the scenes in my head from Northanger.
I then made my way down to the Fashion museum which was interesting. Lots of it was displays of contemporary outfits and were pretty funky. Most of them I couldn't really tell if they were meant for guys or girls. The Victorian clothing was super fascinating to see. I actually liked a lot of them and probably would wear one today. They had a section where you could try on Victorian clothes but since it was too popular, I moved along with the exhibit.
I then went through the little history section about what importance certain Victorian clothes and accessories meant back in that society. Then the museum ended with some new dresses that were designed including one that won Best Dress of the Year 2011. Guess the contest hasn't happened yet for this year.
Next, I went to the Jane Austen Center. It was actually pretty fascinating to learn about Austen's family, her relationships with her siblings, her personality, and so on. the exhibition itself was fairly similar to Ben Franklin's house. Just a lot more displays and less acting with special visual effects.
I spent a lot of time in the gift shop. There were so many books I wanted to buy, but I resisted since that would be heavy in my suitcase when I fly back. There was a poster that said, "Keep Calm and Read Jane Austen" which is a rip-off (for lack of a better word) of the Churchill ad in the Second World War. Again, very tempted but decided not to get it either. So I debated with whether I wanted a huge car sticker, key chain, or pin that said "I <3 Darcy". After a long debate going on in my brain, I decided on the pin.
I walked behind the Royal Crescent (a semi-circle of fancy Victorian homes) as I made my way back towards the Roman Baths. The Baths were pretty incredible. So much history and beauty in the craftsmanship. It was breath-taking. I got to see the main bath, the only hot spring in the entire UK, the drain system underneath, the sacred spring, and other archeology findings. I even got to taste the bath spring water. It was warm which wasn't super tasty, but I'm sure if it were chilled I'd like it a lot more. When I finished up my self-guided tour, it was already 6pm and decided to head back to the station.
The ride back had no troubles with rain or anything so I made it back to London quickly and safely.
Hope you all are well!
Got my Britrail validated quick and smoothly, got through the ticket gate fine, boarded the train fine, but we were delayed 30 minutes at the next station in order to fix the headlight that got flooded from the heavy rain. At the following station, they had all those going to Bath and other stations get off since they'd head straight to Bristol to attempt to make up the lost time. Almost all the train passengers got off then. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a seat on the next train. Luckily, Britain trains have long coaches with plenty of seats. While on the train, I finished reading Northanger Abbey so I was officially ready for Bath. Jane Austen style.
I arrived at the Bath station and waited for the HUGE crowd of people to exit while looking at some tourist stuff in the tourist info booth. Once the crowd was gone, I exited the station and made my way over to the visitor center to get a map. After I left the center, I was going to hit the Roman baths first, but there was a HUGE line for it. Tried the Bath Abbey but it wasn't open yet. So I then made my way over to the Assembly rooms and Fashion museum.
As I was walking, I passed by lots of stores. Once I entered that street, you could divide the crowd into two groups. Shoppers and tourists. Didn't know Bath was popular for its stores. I did see a Disney store. I went inside. Don't judge me, I can't simply walk pass a DISNEY store without looking around. I love Disney too much.
After my short visit to heaven (hehe ;P), I found the Assembly rooms. It was open and there was few people there. Seeing the rooms was free since one of them was in use (Score!) I got to see the Great Octagon, The Ballroom, and the Tea Room. All were gorgeous and I could see the scenes in my head from Northanger.
I then made my way down to the Fashion museum which was interesting. Lots of it was displays of contemporary outfits and were pretty funky. Most of them I couldn't really tell if they were meant for guys or girls. The Victorian clothing was super fascinating to see. I actually liked a lot of them and probably would wear one today. They had a section where you could try on Victorian clothes but since it was too popular, I moved along with the exhibit.
I then went through the little history section about what importance certain Victorian clothes and accessories meant back in that society. Then the museum ended with some new dresses that were designed including one that won Best Dress of the Year 2011. Guess the contest hasn't happened yet for this year.
Next, I went to the Jane Austen Center. It was actually pretty fascinating to learn about Austen's family, her relationships with her siblings, her personality, and so on. the exhibition itself was fairly similar to Ben Franklin's house. Just a lot more displays and less acting with special visual effects.
I spent a lot of time in the gift shop. There were so many books I wanted to buy, but I resisted since that would be heavy in my suitcase when I fly back. There was a poster that said, "Keep Calm and Read Jane Austen" which is a rip-off (for lack of a better word) of the Churchill ad in the Second World War. Again, very tempted but decided not to get it either. So I debated with whether I wanted a huge car sticker, key chain, or pin that said "I <3 Darcy". After a long debate going on in my brain, I decided on the pin.
I walked behind the Royal Crescent (a semi-circle of fancy Victorian homes) as I made my way back towards the Roman Baths. The Baths were pretty incredible. So much history and beauty in the craftsmanship. It was breath-taking. I got to see the main bath, the only hot spring in the entire UK, the drain system underneath, the sacred spring, and other archeology findings. I even got to taste the bath spring water. It was warm which wasn't super tasty, but I'm sure if it were chilled I'd like it a lot more. When I finished up my self-guided tour, it was already 6pm and decided to head back to the station.
The ride back had no troubles with rain or anything so I made it back to London quickly and safely.
Hope you all are well!
Friday: Lego day
Friday was a busy busy day.
Juliet, the kids, Ruby (a friend), Ruby's son Henry, and I went to Legoland in Windsor!
We left at 9:30 in the morning and had a easy time finding the place (not to difficult finding the lego deer, "Welcome" sign, and people scattered around the entrance).
When we got in the park, we went to see Miniland where they built small models of cities out of legos. IT WAS SO COOL!! Here are some pictures to show you what I mean:
Since it was raining, we then went to see the puppet show in the covered tent. A lot of people had the same idea but luckily we were able to get seats. We ate our lunches as we waited for the show to start. They acted out The Three Little Pigs. It was pretty cute :)
After the show, the rain was coming down harder. We moved on to the 4D movie theatre and watched a Lego movie called "Spellbreaker." Which I guess was the more "big kid" movie so the little ones got scared with more surprises "popping" out of the screen. But they still liked it a lot.
Afterwards, we went to see the Star Wars Miniland. Same thing as Miniland, but Star Wars themed. I think the kids really liked all the little moving bits (it was indoors so they had more Legos moving without having to worry about them getting wet from rain). Here are some pictures:
We then went to ride around on some trains. One was a transportation one where the strollers could get on and the other was an actual ride that went around the park. We got squirted in the face several times (I didn't care since I was already wet. And I'm also part duck). After the train ride, the kids had several gos with the "desert chase" aka the merry go round. Afterwards, Marylin went to "driver's school" and got to drive around in a little Lego car. She kept crashing into the median but she eventually got the hang of steering.
We moved on to the Atlantis ride where you go in a little submarine into a aquarium. It was super cool even though we didn't get to see much (we got the less exciting side I suppose).
The park was about to close so we went around the corner to the dinosaur ride. Marylin and I went on it three times and the final time she went with her mom.
Before the restaurants closed, we ran inside to buy quick dinners for all of us and ate outside right when the rain finally stopped.
Finally, we waited about 30 minutes in traffic trying to exit Legoland and then it was smooth sailing back home.
Fun stuff :)
Juliet, the kids, Ruby (a friend), Ruby's son Henry, and I went to Legoland in Windsor!
We left at 9:30 in the morning and had a easy time finding the place (not to difficult finding the lego deer, "Welcome" sign, and people scattered around the entrance).
When we got in the park, we went to see Miniland where they built small models of cities out of legos. IT WAS SO COOL!! Here are some pictures to show you what I mean:
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| Juliett, Marylin, Hardy, and Aticus admiring the models. |
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| Yup, that's all made from Legos. Well just the buildings. |
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| Even the tube train is made of Legos! |
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| Hardy, Aticus, and Marylin getting wet from the rain. |
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| Mont Saint Michel |
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| Trafalgar square. |
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| The Space Shuttle. Pretty much all the USA stuff they had. |
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| An Italian village. A Lego wedding is taking place. |
Since it was raining, we then went to see the puppet show in the covered tent. A lot of people had the same idea but luckily we were able to get seats. We ate our lunches as we waited for the show to start. They acted out The Three Little Pigs. It was pretty cute :)
After the show, the rain was coming down harder. We moved on to the 4D movie theatre and watched a Lego movie called "Spellbreaker." Which I guess was the more "big kid" movie so the little ones got scared with more surprises "popping" out of the screen. But they still liked it a lot.
Afterwards, we went to see the Star Wars Miniland. Same thing as Miniland, but Star Wars themed. I think the kids really liked all the little moving bits (it was indoors so they had more Legos moving without having to worry about them getting wet from rain). Here are some pictures:
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| A submarine ship that spun around when you press a button. |
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| This one had cool laser sound effects. |
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| Naboo. The ocean city of Jaar Jaar Binks. |
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| What are you looking at? |
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| That's Lego Obi-Wan. Awesome. |
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| Marylin went through a tunnel to the little observatory dome. |
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| Lego Luke doing epic stunts. |
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| The Lego musicians playing the catchy tune. |
We then went to ride around on some trains. One was a transportation one where the strollers could get on and the other was an actual ride that went around the park. We got squirted in the face several times (I didn't care since I was already wet. And I'm also part duck). After the train ride, the kids had several gos with the "desert chase" aka the merry go round. Afterwards, Marylin went to "driver's school" and got to drive around in a little Lego car. She kept crashing into the median but she eventually got the hang of steering.
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| Tiger cubs we saw on the train. |
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| You can sort of see the snake that squirted water at us. |
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| A dragon, a dragon, I swear I saw a dragon! |
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| Marylin getting ready for her first driver's ed class :) |
We moved on to the Atlantis ride where you go in a little submarine into a aquarium. It was super cool even though we didn't get to see much (we got the less exciting side I suppose).
The park was about to close so we went around the corner to the dinosaur ride. Marylin and I went on it three times and the final time she went with her mom.
Before the restaurants closed, we ran inside to buy quick dinners for all of us and ate outside right when the rain finally stopped.
Finally, we waited about 30 minutes in traffic trying to exit Legoland and then it was smooth sailing back home.
Fun stuff :)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Celebrating the Fourth of July
Yesterday was a nice fun day :)
I decided to go over to the nearest library so I knew where it was and got a temporary library card set up. Ended up staying at the library for 2 hours reading books on analyzing art, how to make stuff animals, and 1001 comics you must read before you die. Time well spent ;)
After hanging out at the library, I took the tube over to Westfield (one of the very few malls they have over here in the UK) to check it out. There were tons of stores and multiple food court areas scattered everywhere. They had The Gap and Banana Republic which was nice to finally recognize something. What's cool is that the stores within themselves have different levels for the guys and girls clothes. Eventually I caught on to the fact that all the women clothes were on the second floor and the men's clothes were on the third floor. I found a fantastic store called H&M that I guess is like Old Navy combined with British fashion.
I headed back to the Johnson's to go to a family picnic their ward put together at Primrose Hill park. Since I didn't know most of the adults and they were busy catching up with one another, I played with the kids. Aticus kept attempting to run with the runners that pasted by us, Hardy would switch from kicking a soccer ball and pushing the soccer ball in a toy stroller, and Marylin was playing with some of her sunbeams. About halfway through, Marylin and I ate our sandwiches and were eating our desserts when another girl named Aubrey decided to join us. It was starting to rain and I had opened my umbrella and soon the little babies were coming towards my strange device. The little toddlers got bored and went back to running around while Marylin, Aubrey, and I made up stories about Aliens and T-Rexes taking over the world and us fighting them off with magical necklaces. Gotta love imagination.
Once the picnic was over and we got back home, I had my own 4th of July marathon. I watched some episodes of Liberty's Kids, 1776, and Schoolhouse Rock: America Rock. I didn't get to see or do fireworks but at least I got to sing about them ;)
Hope you all had a great Independence day!!
I decided to go over to the nearest library so I knew where it was and got a temporary library card set up. Ended up staying at the library for 2 hours reading books on analyzing art, how to make stuff animals, and 1001 comics you must read before you die. Time well spent ;)
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| The Fulham Library. Looks smaller on the outside, but it's HUGE inside |
After hanging out at the library, I took the tube over to Westfield (one of the very few malls they have over here in the UK) to check it out. There were tons of stores and multiple food court areas scattered everywhere. They had The Gap and Banana Republic which was nice to finally recognize something. What's cool is that the stores within themselves have different levels for the guys and girls clothes. Eventually I caught on to the fact that all the women clothes were on the second floor and the men's clothes were on the third floor. I found a fantastic store called H&M that I guess is like Old Navy combined with British fashion.
I headed back to the Johnson's to go to a family picnic their ward put together at Primrose Hill park. Since I didn't know most of the adults and they were busy catching up with one another, I played with the kids. Aticus kept attempting to run with the runners that pasted by us, Hardy would switch from kicking a soccer ball and pushing the soccer ball in a toy stroller, and Marylin was playing with some of her sunbeams. About halfway through, Marylin and I ate our sandwiches and were eating our desserts when another girl named Aubrey decided to join us. It was starting to rain and I had opened my umbrella and soon the little babies were coming towards my strange device. The little toddlers got bored and went back to running around while Marylin, Aubrey, and I made up stories about Aliens and T-Rexes taking over the world and us fighting them off with magical necklaces. Gotta love imagination.
Once the picnic was over and we got back home, I had my own 4th of July marathon. I watched some episodes of Liberty's Kids, 1776, and Schoolhouse Rock: America Rock. I didn't get to see or do fireworks but at least I got to sing about them ;)
Hope you all had a great Independence day!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
First FHE in Britainia Ward
As the title says, yesterday was my first FHE while I've been here. I was about 10 minutes early (I timed the lights perfectly for once) and when I went into the gym, went straight for the strawberries. Love them berries. As I was snacking, the bishop (I'm assuming he was the bishop or is in the bishopric) gave me a cup of Sprite.
Two guys shortly come in and are quickly making their way towards all the food. One of them looked like he'd bulldoze me over so I moved out of the way for my own safety. After he got a bowl of potato salad, he started chatting with me. His name is Paul and had just moved back to London after doing some traveling of his own to the states and other places in Europe. He certainly has the gift of gab. It was actually pretty nice not having to talk and it was really fun listening to his stories. the other guy who came in with Paul was going for some crackers and Paul introduced him to me. His name is Edward and he's from Scotland. After that, Indeh (totally guessing on how to spell his name) originally from Cambodia introduced himself to our little group. A lady was having difficulties with opening the trashcan so I went to help her and then we started chatting with each other. Her name is Catherine and she is also from the states. She has a little sister attending BYU as well and I believe she said she was the same age as me.
We then moved on to go downstairs for the activity. Two ladies were setting up some chairs and I offered to help. Instead they wanted to chat with me since they haven't seen me before. One is Sarah and I feel really terrible for not remembering the other girl's name. I just remember she lived in France before she came over to London. We opened with The Spirit of God and had an opening prayer. We had a spiritual thought given by Jason (also from the states) about how even though we don't all see big miracles like seeing angels as Nephi, Alma the younger, or Joesph Smith had but the gospel is still a magical thing.
After we were done with the thought, we had a closing prayer and broke up into groups. I chatted with a girl named Meg who came over from Harvard to studying for a master's program/internship. I then chatted with George who is originally from Canada but he's moved around a lot. I then started to watch people play some ping pong while I talked with three people visiting from Scotland. Two were brother and sister and the third was a friend of theirs.
Eventually the ping pong match turned into a double and I joined in. After all of us had our "nearly-got-hit-in-the-face" moments, we all decided to play some foosball. But we used the ping pong ball. Bad idea. It kept flying everywhere and it got stuck when we got a goal. After tilting the table in all directions and getting the ping pong ball out, we moved back to ping pong.
Raul from Spain and I were a team and Jace a local and Indeh were another team. It was a hilarious match. At first we were playing a actual ping pong match but then it turned into how long we can keep the ball in play. We were hitting it off the ceiling, floor, walls using our paddles, feet, hands, and sometimes heads (that last one never worked for some reason).
I then had to leave at 9 since I had to take the tube back and then we all shook hands saying good game/nice meeting you and all went our separate ways.
Yup, pretty fun Monday :)
Two guys shortly come in and are quickly making their way towards all the food. One of them looked like he'd bulldoze me over so I moved out of the way for my own safety. After he got a bowl of potato salad, he started chatting with me. His name is Paul and had just moved back to London after doing some traveling of his own to the states and other places in Europe. He certainly has the gift of gab. It was actually pretty nice not having to talk and it was really fun listening to his stories. the other guy who came in with Paul was going for some crackers and Paul introduced him to me. His name is Edward and he's from Scotland. After that, Indeh (totally guessing on how to spell his name) originally from Cambodia introduced himself to our little group. A lady was having difficulties with opening the trashcan so I went to help her and then we started chatting with each other. Her name is Catherine and she is also from the states. She has a little sister attending BYU as well and I believe she said she was the same age as me.
We then moved on to go downstairs for the activity. Two ladies were setting up some chairs and I offered to help. Instead they wanted to chat with me since they haven't seen me before. One is Sarah and I feel really terrible for not remembering the other girl's name. I just remember she lived in France before she came over to London. We opened with The Spirit of God and had an opening prayer. We had a spiritual thought given by Jason (also from the states) about how even though we don't all see big miracles like seeing angels as Nephi, Alma the younger, or Joesph Smith had but the gospel is still a magical thing.
After we were done with the thought, we had a closing prayer and broke up into groups. I chatted with a girl named Meg who came over from Harvard to studying for a master's program/internship. I then chatted with George who is originally from Canada but he's moved around a lot. I then started to watch people play some ping pong while I talked with three people visiting from Scotland. Two were brother and sister and the third was a friend of theirs.
Eventually the ping pong match turned into a double and I joined in. After all of us had our "nearly-got-hit-in-the-face" moments, we all decided to play some foosball. But we used the ping pong ball. Bad idea. It kept flying everywhere and it got stuck when we got a goal. After tilting the table in all directions and getting the ping pong ball out, we moved back to ping pong.
Raul from Spain and I were a team and Jace a local and Indeh were another team. It was a hilarious match. At first we were playing a actual ping pong match but then it turned into how long we can keep the ball in play. We were hitting it off the ceiling, floor, walls using our paddles, feet, hands, and sometimes heads (that last one never worked for some reason).
I then had to leave at 9 since I had to take the tube back and then we all shook hands saying good game/nice meeting you and all went our separate ways.
Yup, pretty fun Monday :)
Monday, July 2, 2012
Building Dedication and Embassy Party
On Sunday, the Hyde Park building was rededicated for the third time. They added a visitor's center to the building so that's the reason they rededicated the building. It was a nice service with nice music. I found that the sister who sang "How Great Thou Art" is an actress who plays Mary in the church videos and is the female lead in the musical "Chariots of Fire" in London!
Back on focusing on the Sabbath, the Stake president and some other speakers bore their testimonies and gave really great talks. I feel terrible for not remembering their names. The first speaker bore his testimony about how he and his family came to know the gospel and overall it was a simple, but powerful testimony. The second speaker talked about how yesterday was the 175th anniversary of when the first missionaries set sail to serve in England and the great importance of missionary work. The final speaker talked about the power of revelation and how the Lord makes things fall into place when we follow his promptings. He talked about how the first church building in West Berlin was built in a area where there was nothing. but now it's in the middle of two Embassies, museums, and libraries. Just like the Hyde Park Building is right by many museums where people can pass by and see our building. He also talked about how the advancement of technology helps us share the gospel. All the speakers and musical numbers were great. Overall, a wonderful service.
Afterwards, I went back to the Johnson's to get ready for the US Ambassador's 4th of July party. Before we left, Rufus was telling me that he would try to get me in and was giving me the whole story so I'd know what might happen. We came up with an elaborate plan of me being his niece and holding one of the twins to look more like I'm part of the family and such. When we got there, Rufus showed them his invitations and we just went in. That was easy. I was pretty thankful for that.
When we walked into the garden, we said hello to some of Rufus' co-workers. One of them reminded me so much of Jonathan Steele from Tri-Cities. And his name was John. What a coincidence. Before we let the twins free, Rufus, Juilet and I ate a super fat hamburger (so good!) and then let the boys free. Merilyn, Juliet and I went to the kid's section to wait in line for the face painting. What a slow-moving line, but they did a great job and Merilyn was happy. All that matters. I then went to help Rufus watch the boys since they were going all over the place. Aticus and I went an a safari in a jungle (aka the more thick part of the garden) and pretended to be lions off and on. After awhile, Aticus was hungry for food so I took him back to the stroller where he and Hardy were reunited to eat some grapes while Rufus and Juilet got some ice cream. After they came back, I was able to get some ice cream myself.
As I returned back to my group, Merilyn and I talked about our ice cream, ponies, and unicorns. When we finished eating our ice cream, Merilyn started pushing the stroller and the boys wanted to go for a ride. So Juilet kept watch over the boys to make sure they didn't fall while I helped steer as Merilyn pushed. We eventually got to the stage when the musicians started playing a jazzy version of "When the Saints go Marching in." Merilyn and the boys started to dance and the band thought they were so adorable. The guy playing the drums and the guy playing guitar couldn't stop laughing while the other band members kept smiling. The singer copied some of Merilyn's dance moves. Eventually more people came up to the stage and their kids joined in the dance party. It was so adorable^^
On the way back home, Merilyn and I played the Sandwich game where she'd make all kinds of sandwiches as I ate them. The ones she kept making were the wood sandwiches and trash sandwiches. When she started giving me trash sandwiches, I'd give them to Oscar the grouch. As I was doing this with Merilyn, I was playing peek-a-boo with boys and we were having a contest who could make different noises.
So overall it was a very happy Sunday indeed :)
Back on focusing on the Sabbath, the Stake president and some other speakers bore their testimonies and gave really great talks. I feel terrible for not remembering their names. The first speaker bore his testimony about how he and his family came to know the gospel and overall it was a simple, but powerful testimony. The second speaker talked about how yesterday was the 175th anniversary of when the first missionaries set sail to serve in England and the great importance of missionary work. The final speaker talked about the power of revelation and how the Lord makes things fall into place when we follow his promptings. He talked about how the first church building in West Berlin was built in a area where there was nothing. but now it's in the middle of two Embassies, museums, and libraries. Just like the Hyde Park Building is right by many museums where people can pass by and see our building. He also talked about how the advancement of technology helps us share the gospel. All the speakers and musical numbers were great. Overall, a wonderful service.
Afterwards, I went back to the Johnson's to get ready for the US Ambassador's 4th of July party. Before we left, Rufus was telling me that he would try to get me in and was giving me the whole story so I'd know what might happen. We came up with an elaborate plan of me being his niece and holding one of the twins to look more like I'm part of the family and such. When we got there, Rufus showed them his invitations and we just went in. That was easy. I was pretty thankful for that.
When we walked into the garden, we said hello to some of Rufus' co-workers. One of them reminded me so much of Jonathan Steele from Tri-Cities. And his name was John. What a coincidence. Before we let the twins free, Rufus, Juilet and I ate a super fat hamburger (so good!) and then let the boys free. Merilyn, Juliet and I went to the kid's section to wait in line for the face painting. What a slow-moving line, but they did a great job and Merilyn was happy. All that matters. I then went to help Rufus watch the boys since they were going all over the place. Aticus and I went an a safari in a jungle (aka the more thick part of the garden) and pretended to be lions off and on. After awhile, Aticus was hungry for food so I took him back to the stroller where he and Hardy were reunited to eat some grapes while Rufus and Juilet got some ice cream. After they came back, I was able to get some ice cream myself.
As I returned back to my group, Merilyn and I talked about our ice cream, ponies, and unicorns. When we finished eating our ice cream, Merilyn started pushing the stroller and the boys wanted to go for a ride. So Juilet kept watch over the boys to make sure they didn't fall while I helped steer as Merilyn pushed. We eventually got to the stage when the musicians started playing a jazzy version of "When the Saints go Marching in." Merilyn and the boys started to dance and the band thought they were so adorable. The guy playing the drums and the guy playing guitar couldn't stop laughing while the other band members kept smiling. The singer copied some of Merilyn's dance moves. Eventually more people came up to the stage and their kids joined in the dance party. It was so adorable^^
On the way back home, Merilyn and I played the Sandwich game where she'd make all kinds of sandwiches as I ate them. The ones she kept making were the wood sandwiches and trash sandwiches. When she started giving me trash sandwiches, I'd give them to Oscar the grouch. As I was doing this with Merilyn, I was playing peek-a-boo with boys and we were having a contest who could make different noises.
So overall it was a very happy Sunday indeed :)
Touring of London (Day 6)
The final day of my London pass. Today was Windsor castle and Eton college.
It was my first day using an actual train. I departed from Paddington station. HOLY COW IT WAS GINORMOUS. I had to ask a information desk person which platform I was to go. There were lots of people with suitcases and kids running around. Pretty much like an airport but no one was leaving the ground. The first train to Slough was pretty crowded but I managed to find a seat next to a super nice elderly lady. She was heading up to Oxford to visit some of her kids and grandkids. We weren't able to talk for very long since I had to change trains but it was still fun talking with her a bit. When I got on the train to Windsor I sat with a Asian family (their two little daughters were so cute^^).
There was a lot of people at Windsor. So many stores, cafes, some theatres, the castle, lots to do in the town of Windsor. I took an audio tour with me as I walked around the castle. But before I got serious with the tour, I went down to St. George's Chapel to find a nice spot to watch the Changing of the Guard. I was about 40 minutes early and only a few people were there so I had a pretty great seat. At about 10:50 other guards marched out of the guard room and the Sergeant was yelling out some orders of looking right and forward then all was silent. About 10 minutes later, we heard a band playing. Five minutes later we saw the band and new regiment come marching through King Henry's gate. Following that the old and new Sergeants went up to each other, shook hands, then yelled out orders to their regiments. Then the band played a few numbers. After all that took place, the band started marching out along with the old regiment while the new regiment marched back into the guard room and the new guard took his place by the booth.
After that excitement, I officially started my tour of the castle. I first went to see Queen Mary's Doll house, the Queen's drawing gallery, and the State rooms. There was a LONG line and it took some time to go through it. While I was waiting, there was a small group of elementary students with a mom and her son. The son was about my age. As we waited in line, we both got bored and almost at the same time we got out our iPhones. He noticed first and said, "that's a cool mobile you have there." After he said that, I saw he also had a iPhone and replied, "Thanks, you have a pretty cool mobile yourself." We occasionally made some small talk about apps and games but mainly played our games silently. When we got to the front, his group went on ahead and I had to wait to get in so the doll house room wasn't overcrowded. Another 15 minutes passed and I finally got in. The doll house was amazing! It reminded me of the doll house in the Secret World of Arreitty (probably spelled that wrong. The new Miyazaki movie) but it was bigger and more elaborate. All the furniture, paintings, and even the mini crown jewels were made my professional craftsmen. Sadly I couldn't take pictures because they didn't allow it :/
I then moved on to the Drawing gallery where they displayed 60 photos of the queen to celebrate her 60 years on the throne. I ran into that small group I waited in line with again and the guy and I nodded at each other and continued looking at the photos in silence. After looking around the room, I moved onto the State Rooms.
I went up the grand staircase and saw all kinds of suits of armor, swords, and shields. It was a cool little entrance to the rooms. I then moved into the rooms where the Queen and past royalties would have an audience with people, the dining halls, personal bedrooms, and a beautiful long hallway. Throughout the state rooms, I would run into the guy and his group again. Either they'd catch up with me or I'd catch up with me. When we got to the dining hall, the guy came up next to me by the window and said, "I'm starting to think you're stalking me" then I replied "I don't know about that. You just came into this room after me, You sure you're not following me?" And we giggled at that. It was pretty nice to sort of had some people to tour together with. After we all went through the rooms, we had some difficulty finding the exit. We eventually found it and went our seperate ways.
I ate my lunch on the North terrace and had a pretty nice view. Some guards marched past me and I'd salute them. The first ones looked pretty surprised that I did that and the last one actually saluted back to me.
I ended my visit by going inside of St. George's Chapel. Everything was repainted and restored so it looked extra shiny and new. In the choir room, I took a seat and decided to say a little prayer of gratitude for being able to visit Windsor.
After seeing pretty much all I was allowed to see (couldn't go inside the kitchens or Conquer tower. Bummer), I moved on to go see Eton college. It took me a little longer to get there since I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up leaving the town of Windsor (oops). I managed to get to the college just in time for the 3:15 tour. The tour itself was full of information but after having such hilarious tour guides at the globe theater and Tower of London, it was hard for the guide to reach those entertainment expectations. But I still had fun. Promise :)
When I got back to the Johnson's, I had a small dinner of homemade pizza (delicious). I decided to watch "Kiki's Delivery Service." Such a cute movie :)
Till next time!
It was my first day using an actual train. I departed from Paddington station. HOLY COW IT WAS GINORMOUS. I had to ask a information desk person which platform I was to go. There were lots of people with suitcases and kids running around. Pretty much like an airport but no one was leaving the ground. The first train to Slough was pretty crowded but I managed to find a seat next to a super nice elderly lady. She was heading up to Oxford to visit some of her kids and grandkids. We weren't able to talk for very long since I had to change trains but it was still fun talking with her a bit. When I got on the train to Windsor I sat with a Asian family (their two little daughters were so cute^^).
There was a lot of people at Windsor. So many stores, cafes, some theatres, the castle, lots to do in the town of Windsor. I took an audio tour with me as I walked around the castle. But before I got serious with the tour, I went down to St. George's Chapel to find a nice spot to watch the Changing of the Guard. I was about 40 minutes early and only a few people were there so I had a pretty great seat. At about 10:50 other guards marched out of the guard room and the Sergeant was yelling out some orders of looking right and forward then all was silent. About 10 minutes later, we heard a band playing. Five minutes later we saw the band and new regiment come marching through King Henry's gate. Following that the old and new Sergeants went up to each other, shook hands, then yelled out orders to their regiments. Then the band played a few numbers. After all that took place, the band started marching out along with the old regiment while the new regiment marched back into the guard room and the new guard took his place by the booth.
After that excitement, I officially started my tour of the castle. I first went to see Queen Mary's Doll house, the Queen's drawing gallery, and the State rooms. There was a LONG line and it took some time to go through it. While I was waiting, there was a small group of elementary students with a mom and her son. The son was about my age. As we waited in line, we both got bored and almost at the same time we got out our iPhones. He noticed first and said, "that's a cool mobile you have there." After he said that, I saw he also had a iPhone and replied, "Thanks, you have a pretty cool mobile yourself." We occasionally made some small talk about apps and games but mainly played our games silently. When we got to the front, his group went on ahead and I had to wait to get in so the doll house room wasn't overcrowded. Another 15 minutes passed and I finally got in. The doll house was amazing! It reminded me of the doll house in the Secret World of Arreitty (probably spelled that wrong. The new Miyazaki movie) but it was bigger and more elaborate. All the furniture, paintings, and even the mini crown jewels were made my professional craftsmen. Sadly I couldn't take pictures because they didn't allow it :/
I then moved on to the Drawing gallery where they displayed 60 photos of the queen to celebrate her 60 years on the throne. I ran into that small group I waited in line with again and the guy and I nodded at each other and continued looking at the photos in silence. After looking around the room, I moved onto the State Rooms.
I went up the grand staircase and saw all kinds of suits of armor, swords, and shields. It was a cool little entrance to the rooms. I then moved into the rooms where the Queen and past royalties would have an audience with people, the dining halls, personal bedrooms, and a beautiful long hallway. Throughout the state rooms, I would run into the guy and his group again. Either they'd catch up with me or I'd catch up with me. When we got to the dining hall, the guy came up next to me by the window and said, "I'm starting to think you're stalking me" then I replied "I don't know about that. You just came into this room after me, You sure you're not following me?" And we giggled at that. It was pretty nice to sort of had some people to tour together with. After we all went through the rooms, we had some difficulty finding the exit. We eventually found it and went our seperate ways.
I ate my lunch on the North terrace and had a pretty nice view. Some guards marched past me and I'd salute them. The first ones looked pretty surprised that I did that and the last one actually saluted back to me.
I ended my visit by going inside of St. George's Chapel. Everything was repainted and restored so it looked extra shiny and new. In the choir room, I took a seat and decided to say a little prayer of gratitude for being able to visit Windsor.
After seeing pretty much all I was allowed to see (couldn't go inside the kitchens or Conquer tower. Bummer), I moved on to go see Eton college. It took me a little longer to get there since I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up leaving the town of Windsor (oops). I managed to get to the college just in time for the 3:15 tour. The tour itself was full of information but after having such hilarious tour guides at the globe theater and Tower of London, it was hard for the guide to reach those entertainment expectations. But I still had fun. Promise :)
When I got back to the Johnson's, I had a small dinner of homemade pizza (delicious). I decided to watch "Kiki's Delivery Service." Such a cute movie :)
Till next time!
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