London July 13th-July 15th

July 13th, Friday:
Friday the 13th! Ahhh...Scary! Not really. Sleeping in is great...for those of you who never do, try it sometime. It does wonders! So, a bunch of us (Kim, Anna, Patrice, Heather, James, Holly, and Me) went to find where our good friend Charley resides in Londontown. You may know him as Charles Dickens. He wrote some obscure books like "Oliver Twist" and "A Christmas Carol" or something like that. In any case, after running around like American tourists (because that's what we are), we finally found the house. It had a green door, which was wonderful for me. Dickens charged us 8 American dollars EACH just to look around. I mean, c'mon, my house is bigger and I don't even charge that much to tour my house. Whatever. Anyways, it was a nice small house, and I got to see a copy of "Oliver Twist" that he autographed, it was way cool (In face, I'm actually in the midst of reading "Oliver Twist" right now, and I'm really really enjoying it so far). In any case, it was a joyous time.
After Dicken's house, we split up, and Holly, Anna, Kim, and I went to the British Gallery (or something like that...not the same one I went to previous, a different one). This museum was also very interesting. We didn't have to answer any questions for this class, which was nice, because we were able to just walk around and enjoy (although we had to listen to some of the audio tour). My favorite was seeing some of da Vinci's actual work. Also, I saw Monet's actual real painting of the water lillies and japanese bridge. This was quite the breathtaking experience for me, because I've been staring at that picture my whole life every time I go to the bathroom! Mom...I got a picture of the ACTUAL painting of this, and I had to do it secretly, because you know these heavy security art people.
After the museum, I decided it was time I jet over to Foot Locker for some new shoes (because I was to go on a 9-mile hike/meander on Saturday). Parents be proud moment: I spent only 30 pounds on new Nike shoes. Very proud of my frugal self.
Then, I went to Whiteley's very quickly, and bought Enrique's "Do You Know?" single, and I had to include this, because for all those haven't heard this song yet, you must. A little friendly promotion there.
After din din, I got ready for the night. The night didn't even begin until around oh...say...11pm. Lexi, Anna, Kim, Kiley, and I went out to 1 Leicester Squre AKA Sound. We basically needed to get out of this center and dance dance DANCE. We were basically the most dressed up, decent looking, and fun people there (oh I crack myself up). But seriously, it was a pretty ghetto club, and it cost 10 pounds. When I walked in, I started yelling at the lady, because it was advertised in a magazine for only being 5 pounds. And she was like, "That's only if you come before 9PM". Who in their right mind goes out before 9PM? So, that was a little crazy. But, OTHER THAN THAT...we had soooo much fun just dancing in our nice little Mormon circle. Everyone loves the Americans. We owned that dance floor. I really don't know how else to explain it. It was a lot of fun. **Note: bottle on table NOT OURS. We just wanted to sit down...and bottle was there...non-alcoholic beverage anyways.** Then, we left the club around 2AM, and since the tube stops running at midnight, we found our way back by bus. It was a good experience to learn the bus system in case I ever need to use it again. On the way back, I was talking about my Dad and my Spanish tapes we listen to, and how instead of saying Espanol, it tells us to say Castilliano. This really nice, sweet lady chimed in, and started telling us all about Castilliano as a dialect of Spain. She's from Barcelona, and she told us all about Spain. She lived in NYC for a year (so we connected on that level). We just make friends wherever we go. Well, we got home at around 3:45AM, I ate some food, took a shower, and got to bed at 4:15AM...and had to wake up in 3 hours for the hike. Sean you crazy kid.

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July 14th, Saturday:
Well, needless to say...given the night I had Friday, I was EXHAUSTED. I slept the whole train ride to Shoreham. And, then I started to crave candy, but there was no candy machine. So, I made a scene out of that. We started on our walk, and it started out pretty hard going up this steep hill, but (and note to self) once you focus your mind on the countryside and conversation rather than feet, the hike becomes so much easier. I had a lot of great conversations with people about Idaho, Vegas, Special Education, Jersey, etc. I really enjoyed myself throughly. It was so peaceful, and we ate lunch in this anciet Roman Castle (only the walls were still up, and those were even withering away AKA Eynsford Castle). Spencer and I took some more token jumping pictures (see below), and the lavender fields (in Kent) were just BREATHTAKING. Seriously, for people getting on England's case for raining so much, they don't give the English countryside the justice. It's gorgeous to say the least. I pet about a thousand dogs (every dog I saw I had to pet)...I miss Tucker lots! Holly and I got lost nearing the end of the hike (Lavender fields), so we found our own way back to the train station. It was actually really nice to get lost, we could walk at our own pace, and stop to see the things we wanted to, and go at our own speed. But, we were so confused on how we could get lost. I posed the question to her, "How could they not notice the loudest girl and the loudest boy missing from the group?", and Holly just said, "They probably left us on purpose saying, 'Oh Sean and Holly are distracted with the Lavender and Lemon Curd, now's our chance to leave them!'" It was pretty hilarious. But no worries, we got back in time for the train, and met back up with the group there. PS: I found a weird sign on the way back on one of the connecting tubes, "Anti-climbing paint used"...what does that EVEN MEAN!?
After we made our way back, and got off the tube at Bayswater, Spencer, Melissa, Lauren, Amy, and I went out for a nice Indian dinner at Kahns. It was decorated so nicely, and the food was DELISH. I got a spicy chicken tikka masala meal, it was hott.
Then, the whole group watched the movie "Notting Hill". It was pretty good. It was fun to see London in a movie, and point out all the places we've been to. Just like in Harry Potter when they flew past Londontown on their broomsticks (I think I saw them flying across the Thames the other day actually). ALSO, in Notting Hill, the actor from the play "Landscape With Weapon" that I have a picture with in an earlier blog post, is in that movie! I had NO idea until I saw the movie. It was one of those..."Oh wait a second!" moments.
After the movie, I yes IIIII found my Italy group a cheap, great proximity hostel to say in while venturing in Rome. Can't wait!

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July 15th, Sunday:
So, basically, some days I get up on time. Wait no...that's wrong. Every day I get up late. However, this time it was SUPER late! Whoopsie! My church group called my room to ask where I was, because they were leaving the Center for church, and I was still in bed catching Z's (which is so unfair, because I went to bed so early the previous night)! Anyway, I got ready SO quick, like the Flash or Quicksilver. I got on the tube with my Strawberry, Apple, Blackberry Granola (perfect for a Sunday), and I got to the train station. OH MY GOSH moment: So, I go up to buy my ticket (I'm buy myself obviously, because everyone left me), and the ticket guy was already pressing things on his computer and before I could say ANYTHING, he said "Round trip to Blackheath, right?" WHOA! Weird...like he totally read my mind, and how does he even know this! I've only been to church so many times since I've gotten here, and HOW MANY people go through that train station every day? Lots. Craziness. I got on the train, and made it to church in time for Sacrament Meeting! INCREDIBLE! I can't believe I pulled that off. It was perfect. Only 15 minutes late, and I had to tube it, train it, walk it, and everything.
But yes, church was amazing as always. There are 2 new missionaries in the ward. One from Idaho (And no Mom, I didn't get to talk to him), and one from Italy. I talked to the one from Italy, and he's from a small town outside of Bologna. I totally reminisced of my lovely time in Bologna (the scavanger hunt that we won, the Neptune fountain, McDonalds ("Uh, volio numero quattro"), and H&M). I talked to him in Italian actually (sort of). I went up to him and said, "Mi chiamo Sean". He said it was very good! But, then I couldn't carry on a conversation after that. A year of Italian in high school, and I only retain about 3 things. It's wonderful.
After church, Kiley and I went to St. Paul's Cathedral (and it was quite the trek to St. Paul's...For example, we asked a public worker how to get to St. Paul's and he didn't even know where St. Paul's was! I'm like "YOU WORK HERE" and "UM...IT'S ONLY WORLD RENOUND!"...some people...golly-gee). But we got there, and that's what matters. We attended the Evensong service. The singing was AMAZING! And, we had to read this thing "It's part of the service," and I accidentally said "I believe in the Catholic Church" or something like that, whoops! Well, we all know I don't. Love catholics so much, but I'm a Morm. I thought it was funny. Kiley just looked at me and was like, "Uh...Sean?!" And, the sermon the lady gave was kind of strange as well. She talked about how the singing people (choir) were able to AND I QUOTE, "take exams, have pillow fights, and YES...even water fights." What that has to do with church, or anything really...I don't even know. Great service though, obviously. And while exiting, one of the "high ranking" singing ladies said "Bye", and I said "BYE" and waved my hand and went all out. I totally didn't even realize what I was doing, and then, Kiley laughed at me...and I realized how rediculous that must have looked.
When we got back, I was ALL about dinner. Two church things?...I was CRAVING food. After being spiritually fed for so long, I needed some food in my rumbly tummy.
After dinner, not much noteworthy things came to pass. And so ends my Sunday.
This Monday through Friday, I'll be in York, Lake District, Edinbough (Scotland), etc. I wont have my laptop, so I'll have to blog about that when I get back. I'll be so busy, so let's hope I can remember it all.
Check you all later! Cheers!

London July 11th-July 12th

July 11th, Wednesday:
FIRST DAY I'VE WOKEN UP ON MY OWN SINCE I'VE GOTTEN HERE *claps*!! Horray for me! So, I actually got to have breakfast this morning, it was great! We had classes again today! After classes, Holly, Anna, Kim, Kiley, Lexi, and I went to the British Museum. It was sooo awesome! For reals, I saw like the Elgan Marbles AKA THE PARTHENON! Way cool! Then, we made our way into the Assyrian carved wall things. And let me tell you, there is so much detail carved into the rock, it's unbelieveable. Like, so ornate and wonderful! Then, you will not even believe this. I saw the REAL ROSETTA STONE! How awesome is that? Very special moment right there. Then, things got a little less spiritual when I walked into the mummy section. There was a for real 2,000 year old dead body...and it still had hair and teeth. Kind of...gross yet interesting. I also found a necklace made of hummingbird heads just for Krista! Yay! Then, after the Asia (I just felt so at home) and Indian exhibit, we left for the Center for dinner (Note to self: Spiri DinDin).
After dinner, Kiley, Spencer, James, and I left for CAMDEN TOWN (Yes parentals...I went to CAMDEN Town!!!...scary)! We went to a Shiny Toy Guns concert at Dingwalls. We met up with the Aquabats, and went into the venue. It was a very small building, but only the BEST TIME EVER! The first two bands were pretty good (Neon Plastics, and some UK techno band). I also made some friends! Yay! They were nice and fun. But anyways, when the Shiny Toy Guns came on...the crowd went CRAZY! I was stuck in a mosh pit of crazy English people! It was sooo much fun! I was drenched in sweat, people were stepping on my toes, this girl kept whipping me with her nasty dreadlock hair, but yet, I LOVED IT! Just the atmosphere was so fun, and natural to me. When Shiny Toy Guns sang my favorite song of theirs, "Le Disko" I went CRAZY! People were tossing people around, somehow I got from the middle of the audience to the very front. I don't even know how! Ah you have to look at the pictures (Christian was there in spirit), it was crazy fun. Spencer thinks the girl singer (Cora, I think her name is) looks like a bird...but whatever...I think she's a hottie.
After the concert, we went back to the Center to get some shut eye!

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July 12th, Thursday:
So...I slept in until exactly 11:59AM! So, at least I woke up in the AM right!? I think I did good! After waking up and getting ready, Kiley, Ashley, and I went to the National Portrait Gallery (Leicester Squre stop). We got our homework, question answering stuff done, and the portraits were actually very amazing. I'm not a big art person, but it was so neato to see all these portraits of these monarchs I've been learning about. The contempoary art was also very very cool! We unfortuanately had to leave the gallery early for dinner.
After dinner, of course we went to the HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHEONIX movie! But first, on our way there, I realized that I left my glasses back at the center (at least our theater was close by at Whiteley's), so Lexi and Spencer walked back with me. Lexi was already dressed like Hermione. She had the earings, cloak, wand, Herbology book (aka her Spanish Bible), etc. So, she convinced Spencer and I to dress up. Spencer as Draco Malfoy, and Me as Asian Harry Potter. Oh it was wonderful! But, first we had to eat a Lebanese Mango (YUMMY!). But, I got all dressed up, and then we picked wants from the plants in the Center. But, as I was perfecting a spell, I broke my wand...so I ended up having to find a branch for my wand. Everything worked out though, don't you worry. Before the movie started, Spencer and I (more like Draco and I, Harry) had a battle. It was intense! We did it in front of the whole theater...everyone was clapping for us, and J.K. should so hire us for the next movie! I am replacing Daniel Radcliffe. The movie was INCREDIBLE. I loved it! And I want to see it again, and again, and again, and again, and AGAIN! Afterwords, Spencer, Lexi, and I posed for pictures. People in the audience stayed around to watch us pose...it was great. Oh good times. EXPECTO PATRONUM! LUMOS! STUPIFY! See pictures of this...YOU MUST!
Good night...I need to go perfect my poem critiques now!

London July 6th-July 10th

July 6th, Friday:
Today no class. Therefore, I slept in. I eventually woke up...at...noon. But at least I did wake up! Soon after waking up, Anna, Kiley (not Kylie), Kim, and I went to shop in Covent Gardens (It's mid-year/end of season sale time...so EVERYTHING is on sale...shopshopshop). Parents you will be happy, because I didn't spend any money (at Covent Gardens that is). Then, we made our way to Knightsbridge, because I've been DYING to go to HARRODS! So exciting!...Yes I know. Harrods was only AMAZING! You'll have to see the pictures below to fully see why Harrods is so incredible. So picture that, but then keep in mind that it's even BETTER in person! I ate the most AMAZING salad ever! It was an AVACADO MANGO CHICKEN SALAD! Quite possibly rivals to be the best salad I've EVER had! I also got Squid Rings (like onion rings, but squid) and they were positively delightful! Well, knowing me, once I get to eating, there is no stopping me. I started to crave a smoothie. What did I do? I bought a ten dollar smoothie, but it was quite the amazing smoothie (but also a once-in-a-lifetime ten dollar smoothie). I didn't even get to shop at Harrods, because I soon realized that I had to rush back to the Center for dinner, because I was going to see WICKED (musical) right afterwards.
Rewind: A week before flying out to London, I wanted to go into the city and see Wicked SO SO SO bad, but I wasn't able to go...so just imagine how excited I was to go. You can't imagine, it's beyond imagination. See, I'm getting excited just talking about it that I can't even form coherent sentences. Back to Wicked, my seats were honestly not even that great. I did get to sit next to two fun people, Lexi and her friend Jordan that just came up for the weekend from Italy (he's from Michigan though). Anyway, Wicked was AMAZING! I'm definintely taking my family to go see it (on the parents though), right when I get back, or someday. Because, one can not possibly go through life not seeing it. It was SPECTACULAR! So, so, so good. I cried, it changed my view about the WHOLE Wizard of Oz story, and Elphaba's (sp?) character did such a fantastic job. Amazing acting and singing. I can rant and rave about how wonderful this play is for days. One more note though: my favorite song in the musical went something like "Because of you, I have changed for good." and "Popular" is fun too.
After Wicked was over, Lexi, Jordan, and I went to see Big Ben and Parliament at night, and then we took the tube to Hammersmith to bring Jordan to his hostel. (PS: first day since I got here where it didn't rain once all day!) Good night.

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July 7th, Saturday:
So, again I was able to sleep in, but this time I only slept until 10:30AM. When I woke up, I decided to head down to Portobello Market by myself. It was a GORGEOUS day out, and I needed a nice, quiet, personal walk. I walked down to where the fruit was. I LOVE fresh fruit, so I couldn't resist such a great purchase. I bought 3 mangos, 3 avacados, 5 oranges, and 3 bars of chocolate for only 5 pounds! AMAZING! I walked back to the Center for a meeting with my TA, and then Lexi and Jordan wanted me to go out with them back to Portobello Market for lunch. There was a YUMMY Ghannian vendor, so I just had to have some. I had fried plantains, and a chicken in peanut sauce meal (Ghannian food is DELISH)! Afterwards, I bought yogurt almonds and dried papaya, and I bought Krista a present. Yay!
After all the Portobello Market fun, we went to Hyde Park to see the Tour De France bikers! It's so awesome that I get to experience all these fun things, and who knows if I'll ever be able to do it again you know. It's just way fun being in that atmosphere. Anyway, that was fun soley because HELLO it's the TOUR DE FRANCE!
And I knew this would happen, see when I wait a couple days before writing in my blog, I forget a lot. Like, I can't even remember what I had for breakfast, so recalling all this information is just incredibly hard for me. Honestly, I really think after the Tour De France, I stayed in the rest of the day doing assignments and homework.

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July 8th, Sunday:
Church day! We got to church EARLIER this time, and right when I opened the program, what do I see? "Bearing of the Testimonies of the BYU Students" with my name listed right next to it. Great. What a lovely surprise. Actually it went really well...and for some reason I felt the need to address a certain life experience of mine. I knew that a lot of the members probably work or go to school in an atmosphere where they are the only member. I wanted them to know that they aren't the only ones. In fact, they have a perception that there are a lot more members in America (which there are), but growing up in New Jersey, I was the only member in my school. I just felt like they needed to know that, and I reminded them that if they keep the commandments, and live true to the standards and morals we hold, then they will be blessed so much. I think they really appreciated hearing that, because a lot of people came up to me afterwards telling me "Thank you for your testimony". And, then in Elder's Quorum, one of the members referenced to my testimony during the lesson, I'm glad people could take something out of it. It was a special moment.
After we got home from church, there was a lot of reading to be done. It was such a nice day out and so Kiley and I went to Hyde Park with our towels, and laid in the sun, relaxed, and read 'Persuasion'.
Then, we had dinner, and after dinner, I organized a meeting all by myself for the people the want to travel to the continent for the long weekend we have. I was just getting so frustrated that people kept TALKING about their plans, but no one was actually acting upon and DOING. So, I decided to do something about it. So, I organized a meeting (even the professors attended). It went very well, and now (after the meeting I held) most of the people have their plane tickets already, and hotel accomodations figured out. FINALLY! It was actually a great experience doing that. The students thanked me for organizing something, and DOING something about it, because it probably never would have gotten done, and no one would have been going anywhere for the long weekend. The professors even complimented me, too. YAY. Now, July 25-28th I'll be in ROME, ITALY! Woooo, I can't wait!
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July 9th, Monday:
So, back to classes. Not much to say about this day. Other than, after class I went to the Bristish Library with a couple students and I saw some of the most AMAZING manuscripts and old...things. They had a special exhibit on display about old religious books. I saw some of the oldest versions of the Bible ever. It was so cool to see how many different types of the Bible there were before the King James Bible. My favorite part was that I got to see the DEAD SEA SCROLLS! It was so cool! It's like, you hear SO much about something, and then it's just astonishing when you get to see it in person! So, let me tell you some notes I took about the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were found between 1947-1956 in caves at Wadi Qumran. They date back to the mid 2nd Century BCE to 1st Century CE. Most of it is written in Hebrew and Aramaic. There was a Psalms fragment written on Sheepskin. The fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls I saw were Psalms 35. It read, "Ke-re 'ake-ah li hithalakhti..." which means, "I walked about as though it were my friend or my brother." WAY COOL I SAID! Other things I got to see were another one of Shakespeare's Folios, original notes from Leonardo DaVinci, Magna Carta, Beatle's Lyrics written by hand, etc.
After this my day way pretty much over, because I stayed in ALL night doing homework. Joy.

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July 10th, Tuesday:
Excursion Day! Okay, so first let me begin saying that I slept the WHOLE bus ride up to the first stop. One of the BEST sleepings (can I even say that?) ever...2.5 hours. Anyway, the first stop (Grandma pay attention)...was JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE! It was actually very interesting. PS: All you Jane Austen lovers like Grandma, Donna, Mayree, and Cheryl...You are what we call 'Janeites'. Back on track now, I got to see the table that she wrote a lot of her work on (very tiny), and there was a lock of her brown hair that was framed, and it was a very nice house. Inside her bedroom she had a Chinese make-up box (Jane loved Chinese people! YAY)! Inside the Admiral's room (her brother), was a globe, and Philadelphia was spelled Filadelfia (I found that interesting).
After Jane Austen's home, we headed over to STONEHENGE! This was my FAVORITE part of the day. It's like, amazing how people got those stones up there a gazillion (okay, maybe not THAT long ago) years ago! I just found it to be so neat and interesting. What made the experience even better was the gorgeous weather we had today...AGAIN! WOOHOO! Basically, I guess I'm just really intrigued by a bunch of big rocks.
After Stonehenge...we went to Bath. (Grandma pay attention AGAIN!) I saw the street in Bath where in the movie 'Persuasion' Anne and Wentworth kiss at the festival. Back to Bath, I got to walk all around the Roman Baths, which was SOO AWESOME! Like, the draining system they used 2000 years ago (Yes, two THOUSAND) STILL works! Amazing! The water was green by now, and even though green in my favorite color, I don't think I want to bathe in it. Well, I'm glad the Romans thought of hygiene at all actually. Then, I went to some 'Pump Room' where you can taste the filtered water, or some sort of weird water. It is supposed to have a lot of minerals in it, but it's so gross and disgusting tasting...and it's scorching hot. Bleh! Becca, John, and I then decided to explore more of Bath. We went to Sally Lunn's house (she invented the bun...like the buns you eat)...so we got a bun. One word: Scrumptious! But of course, while Sean is enjoying his Sally Lunn Bun...other students from my group ran into Nicholas Cage and his family in a little food place in Bath. Apparently he is there to film 'National Treasure 2'...but ugh so jealous...I would have been SO excited to see him just walking around in Bath! Way cool!
Later at night, one of the Queen's gaurds (the big black furry hats and red coats) came over, because Ashley made friends with him on the street, and he said he would come over one day in all his apparel and take pictures with us, so that was interesting. I didn't have my camera, but someone took a picture and it's floating around somewhere.
For real...bedtime.

London July 2nd-July 5th

July 2nd, Monday:
So, now that I have an alarm clock, I've been waking up all by myself! NOT! My alarm clock isn't waking me up. Like, I don't even know if it goes off in the morning, because I don't wake up. Waste. Anyway, so Monday's are of course class days. Class went from 9-11AM. Then, we had an hour break. I had to make the hardest decision of my life. "Should I take a 1 hour nap?" or "Should I eat lunch?" Which two of the things that I love doing most more than anything won? I ate food. It shouldn't even be considered eating food though...I ate 4 slices of bread with milk chocolate spread ALL over! Yummy! Then, class again from 12-2AM.
After class, some of us decided to head over to Wimbledon to see if we could even get on the grounds. I had very little faith that we would get in. Well, bite your tongue Sean, because we got into the grounds. Not only that, but Kim, Sarah, and I decided to wait in the queue (showing off my British language), to try to get better tickets. This is how it works, when you buy the ticket (18 pounds) to go into Wimbledon, you get to walk the grounds and see courts 2-19. Centre Court and Court 1 are where are the more famous/talented tennis players play. Therefore, we waited in the queue in the rain to try to get better tickets. In order to get these tickets someone that already has the tickets has to bring their ticket to the office so it can be resold for 5 pounds for charity (basically...i'm a saint). While waiting, I pulled a Sean...I started talking with all the Brits in the line. It was a lot of fun. Yay for British friends! Okay...no more tangents (for now). When we got to the front, we were given one Row K ticket and TWO FRONT ROW TICKETS! That's right...I'm amazing...ROW A to Wimbledon! Regular admission ticket (About 100 pounds) turned into charity ticket for Sean...5 pounds! I can rant and rave about my luck forever (aka...I'm very thankful). We made our way to Centre Court, and I took the Row K ticket first, but we switched on and off, so I got fair 1st Row! And Lo and Behold, who was just starting the match when I made my way into the stadium?...SERENA WILLIAMS! I remember last time I saw her was when I met her at TRL last year. Now...I'm seeing her play for real! It was amazing! Serena was doing INCREDIBLE. But then she got a huge cramp in her leg, fell to the floor, and had to get medical assistance. She made it back up and LUCKY FOR HER, it started raining. They can't play tennis in the rain, so they postponed it until it stopped. During the rain, I decided to be hungry (as always), and so I ate pizza and STRAWBERRYS AND CREME (the Queen's favorite snack at Wimbledon no less). Then, we went to the gift store where everything cost a billion pounds which is 2 billion dollars. I mean, I could have gotten something, but I'm just too frugal with my money (...if only). When the rain subsided, we went back to our FRONT ROW WIMBLEDON (I can't get enough of that) seats. Serena finished her match after birds flew in her face, she broke her raquet, etc. (She just has a drama filled-life okay?...Leave her alone). SERENA WON! I went crazy! It was so great! Note: During the game whenever it would get too loud, the announcer would say "Quiet please," and it would get DEAD SILENT! Just thought I would share that random information (because American sports are so LOUD).
Right after Serena, Andy Roddick was supposed to come on and start playing his match. I was EXTREMELY excited to see him play, but then it got dark and rainy, so he couldn't! So sad...no really...VERY sad. On the way back to the tube, I basically got drenched, soaked, and wet...which totally equals hot chocolate when I got back.
I stayed in the rest of the night, solely because cold rain is just not my deal. And I needed to wake up at 6AM the next morning for our little excursion. Night.

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July 3rd, Tuesday:
Where to begin? Oh yes, that's right...Waking up at 6AM! Rushed downstairs, ate breakfast, got my things ready, and bolted off for the bus. We were soon well on our way (sort of, even though the bus driver had to keep going reverse down very narrow streets because he had no clue where he was going) to Stratford-upon-Avon. I read a lot and listened to "Poison" by Groove Coverage and talked to people and sang on the way up there. First stop: Anne Hathaway's house. So my professor asked on the bus "We are going to Anne Hathaway's house first. Do any of you know who that is?" I was about to yell, "Anne Hathaway! Devil Wears Prada!" And...it's a good thing I didn't, because apparently Anne Hathaway is Shakespeare's wife! Oh Sean. The house was actually very interesting. I learned that they put chickens down the chimney, because they would flap there wings to get all the grime and soot out. I went outside (it was sunny, but of course that didn't last for longer than 5 minutes), but I did go outside and sit on a bench and just really enjoyed the English countryside. It was very pretty.
Our next stop was to the church where Shakespeare is burried. Then, ironic enough, we went to Shakespeare's home (Go figure, first his burial site...THEN his home). Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I was touching everything in the house soaking up as much of Shakespeare's knowledge and intelect as I possibly could. I also got to see a REAL FOLIO (There are only about 200 in the whole world, and it's an original of a compilation of Shakespeare's works. It was worth 1 pound at the time it was printed. Now, it would sell for over 1 MILLION POUNDS!) After, we drove down to Blenhiem Palace, which is Winston Churchill's home. One word: HUMONGOUS! It was huge! It was incredible! I learned a lot of really neat things in there, too. For instance, the queen (Elizabeth I...i think) gave them the estate. Well, they put a statue of the queen in the library. The statue is of a very pretty Queen, however, Queen Elizabeth was actually very NOT pretty. She weighed over 300 pounds, and the statue was of a very trim lady. I guess it was just their way of saying 'Thank You'. OH MY GOSH Moment: So, during the virtual tour, we had to wait in a room for a little while. I was with one of my professors, his wife, and a lot of other students. The lady that worked there in the room turned to me and said, "You're not interested in anything are you?" I didn't even know what to say to her...like how rude! There was NOTHING to do in the empty room, except wait for the next room to open. Anal lady. Anyway, I wanted to say "Yeah you're right, I flew across the ocean just so I can NOT enjoy myself." Well, the professors and students still talk about my experience with that lady even now. We spent about 5 minutes in class on Wednesday talking about it.
After playing at Churchill's, we went to Oxford University. We only got to spend about 45 minutes there, but what a GORGEOUS campus! We decided to start walking back to the bus when it started to rain again. Well, torrential downpours soak me...so I was soaked even though I DID have an umbrella ella ella eh eh eh. Good times. But wait...there's more! Half way back to the bus, it started HAILING! Hail...falling...from...the sky...EVERYWHERE! We had to run for cover before we died. It was the WEIRDEST thing ever! But all's well, I'm alive.
That night, I studied, studied, studied.

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July 4th, Wednesday:
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Oh wait, they don't celebrate American Independence Day here. Actually, they hate 4th of July, because that is the day we celebrate becoming free from the Brits. So, knowing me, I shouted "Happy Independence Day" all over town.
We had classes in the morning yet again. English class was the best, because we got to talk about "Merchant of Venice". I really enjoyed our discusion, and "The Merchant of Venice" is probably my favorite of all of Shakespeare's play's that I've read thus far. So, if you haven't read it yet...READ IT! Between classes, Lauren and I went to Diana Cafe.
After classes, a bunch of us decided to go out and do one of our assigned walks for class to get it over with. It was GORGEOUS outside, until class ended, and then it rained. Rain doesn't stop us here though! We walked down "Embassy Road", which was really cool because all the embassies are right next to each other. Little known fact: The house I'm living in right now used to be an Embassy actually. We followed that until we reached Kensington Palace (it was sunny again yay!). This was a grand palace. Princess Diana used to live here, and we saw these really cool flower figures set up outside in honor of her. As we made our way pass the palace, it started to rain again. I'm not talking a little rain. It poured (big surprise, i know). And, you know how I said the rain doesn't stop us? Well, I lied. For reals, we had to run for cover. When it stopped, we decided to power walk before the bipolar weather decided to change it's mind again (which of course it did). I am also very proud of myself, because I went this long without making a single withdrawl...Until I needed to buy laundry detergent.
After the walk, we ate din din and then...one of my FAVORITE parts of the trip thus far...WE WENT TO THE GLOBE THEATER (Shakespeare's Theater)! It was set up to still look like it would in Shakespearean times! We were SO SO SO fortunate to have it not rain the whole time we were there! We saw "MERCHANT OF VENICE", and the play was FANTASTIC! The BEST production I've seen in England so far. The acting was superb! It was throughly enjoyable and yet brilliantly cheeky. I LOVED IT!
Afterwards, Patrice, Kylie, Ashley, James, and Me decided to go out for 4th of July. Well, everywhere we went was closed, so we just ended going back home. I did my laundry, and got to bed at 4AM (Attention Mom: I had to wait for my laundry, and I knew this was the only time I would be able to do it/have the willpower to do it).

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July 5th, Thursday:
So, my alarm clock is set to wake me up. Yet, it wakes all my roommates up EXCEPT me! I don't even hear it! I feel so bad, because Spencer has to wake me up every day! I need to do something about this situation! In any case, we did our LAST walk for the class (London Walks Class). We went to Westminster Abby, and saw a lot of really cool memorials and burial sites. I got to see the coffin that Queen Elizabeth and Bloody Mary are buried in together (half sisters that hated each other). I got to see memorials for Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, etc. I got to see the coronation chair that I read about in my book. It was just really interesting to see all these things that I've been learning about forever! We walked around, and I met a horse which we named (chocolate). Everyone was taking pictures with the horse (there was a guard on top). Well, I went up to take a picture and the horsed kissed my shoulder with his snout (or he tried eating me...but I LIKE to think it was a symbol of affection), and I was the one of the 3 people he did that to. I feel like Dr. Doolittle. Not really. Anyway, we walked passed Parliament. REMEMBER REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER!
After the walk, Holly, Anna, Kim, and I went out for lunch in Soho. We went to a MOROCCAN restaurant, Zaytouna on Firth Street. It was DELICIOUS. Not only was the atmosphere really cool, because I got to sit on a bench with all these lavish pillows, but the food was amazing. I had an appitizer and my entree, Tagine Lamb (Lamb cooked with cinnamon, honey, prunes, rosewater, showered with almonds) for only 9.99 pounds! What a steal. It was amazing!
Then, on our way back to the Center, I decided to get off at Oxford Street to do a little bit of shopping. I've been here for this long, and haven't gone shopping yet! Incredibly out of the norm. Well, I found a store that rivals for the top of my list with H&M. I went to TOPSHOP, and the men's section is called TOPMAN! It is such an amazing store, and of course I couldn't resist getting myself some of that English fashion. I ran into Whitney RANDOMLY at Topshop, which is so weird because it's a HUMONGOUS store! Think H&M on 5th Ave in NYC, and double that. After Topshop, Whitney and I went to H&M, and I was able to get myself a new manbag, because I am in desperate need of one. I need something to carry my stuff in, and now I can pack food and water (I get so dehydrated out here so quickly...BUT NO LONGER)!
We made it home just in time for dinner. After dinner, Patrice, Ryan, one of the professor's family, and I went out to Hyde Park in the rain to play soccer or rather, Football. It was a lot of fun...and I won (well, we won...I just like to say I). I'm pretty much a David Beckham double.
And of course, it is always a good idea to start doing some homework.
Note: Kim and Kylie were out this night, and RANDOMLY stumbled upon the premiere of Hairspray. Saw Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amanda Bynes, etc...and I am jealous, but nonetheless very happy for them yay!