New York Day: 6

Today was the hardest to get up.  But We had to pack and be out of our rooms by 9am.  One thing I have learned on this trip is that it really doesn’t take me that long to get ready.  We got all our stuff put in the room and went to Jamba again for breakfast and then headed to the fashion district to shop for fabric.  We went to 3 different stores that sold spandex to find material to make swimsuits for our class.  Finally we found some we liked at a store but it took forever to try to figure it out.  We then decided to go to 5^th avenue and go to the nice stores down there.  It was actually really fun to stop in to some of the stores.  We went to Steve Madden and probably could have spent the whole day there.  I loved looking at the shoes.  They didn’t have the ones I liked in my size, but I got flip-flops for mom and I.  We were probably just sitting in there for an hour an they brought us whatever we asked, it was so nice!  On our way down the street we stopped into Urban Outfitters and H&M.  We also passed by Abercrombie and Fitch, which is funny because there is a line out the door.  They have live models inside with their shirts off and stuff, pretty crazy.  Hollister is awesome because the front of their store is a huge TV screen of the surfers at Huntington Beach.  They also have live models.  We also stopped into Sephora, which was awesome because of how it was designed with balconies and everything.  Our last stop was Henry Bendel, we felt weird walking in because it was so nice but we went in and it was awesome!!  Its an old mansion that they have turned into a store.  A girl wanted to show us hair stuff so she did our hair.  She just re-curled Desi’s hair and straightened/curled mine, except she didn’t do the back.  So I had wavy hair in the front and curly hair in the back.  We decided we were hungry so we stopped to eat at the Plaza Hotel (like in Home Alone, Eloise and Bride wars).  We just got sandwiches from a cheese shop (they had like different food sections).  I got an Italian grilled cheese that was way too cheesy…I couldn’t eat the whole thing.  I forgot my metro card so we walked back to the hotel, but it only took us like 30 minutes so we had time to kill.  We went to Time Square and just sat at a table and chilled.  After we got to the hotel and put our purchases in our luggage we were waiting in the lobby and the fire alarm went off.  It was funny because no one moved or did anything and then they announced it was a false alarm.  Our bus came and we watched them load our luggage before getting on.  As we were standing there a weird guy dressed up as Elvis came right up to Desi and stood there staring at her till she noticed, it was way weird!  We hurried onto the bus.  It took us 2 hours on the bus to get to the airport because of rush hour, which meant we had a little over an hour to check in and go through security.  We got special treatment checking in and ran to the security line.  Everyone was split up and trying to figure out what to do.  I got in the security line and realized something had to be done because we weren’t moving and our flight was boarding in 20 minutes.  I went up to the guy and told him the situation and everyone in our group joined me.  So I told him we had a class that needed to get through security fast.  He let us through!  I have never done anything like that before.  It was still a long wait though because they only had one guy checking tickets and two scanner things.  We ran to the gate only to find out we had to take a shuttle to our gate.  Everyone started getting together and then we realized Desi was the only one missing, so we were calling her like crazy.  Two girls went running to find her just as the shuttle was loading, thankfully they did and we all got on the shuttle with 20 minutes till our flight was supposed to leave.  We got to the gate just in time an got on the plane.  I mean I doubt they would have left with 20 people missing, but it was a crazy experience.  So now I am on the plane and we are supposed to arrive around 11pm.  I am planning on opening my mission call around midnight.  So that will be crazy!!  I’ve been freaking out about it.  I want to open it, but I don’t.  It kind of makes me feel stressed and scared and like throwing up, but I am sure it’ll be okay once I open it.

New York Day: 5

So I guess last night Desi woke up and our faces were an inch apart.  Yep a little awkward, don’t worry she rolled over so her back was to me.  Oh the joys of sharing a bed.  We slept in a little longer than our alarm today but still made it in time for breakfast!  We got Jamba juice and it was fantastic!! 

Our first appointment was at the Anna Sui Boutique.  It was sooo cute!!  When I open a boutique I want furniture like she had!  Her store felt more like home than a store and had lots of really cute things!  I thought it was so funny because they were talking about make up and how everyone wants their eyebrows to be pointy and then she pointed to me and said like yours!  I just laughed to myself because I had just plucked my eyebrows the night before; I couldn’t stand them anymore and it totally paid off!! Hahaha

On our way to our next appointment we stopped in Chinatown.  Yes of course I bought a few things.  I got a cute new purse and a I <3 NY sweatshirt.  Desi and I decided to shop there instead of eat so we didn’t get lunch before our next appointment at Macy’s.  We got to take a tour of Macy’s and then shop for a little.  It was the first Macy’s ever built and the first store with escalators; they were wood!! I learned a lot of cool things, like that they put food stores in each section according to the age group that they are selling to. 

Our next appointment was Anne Klein Suiting.  They talked to us about sales and also designing suits.  We got to take a tour of it too and it looked like it would be way cool!  We then walked through central park, where a bird almost pooped on me and a guy spit and it almost went on my feet.  Gross!!  We went to the Metropolitan Museum and saw a cool Egyptian temple and the picture of George Washington crossing the Delaware!!  It was probably my favorite!  I looked at it forever; it ws huge!!  Desi and I then figured out a bus to take to the fashion district.  We were going to go to a fabric store to buy swimsuit material but it was closed when we got there, so we decided to go eat.  Which was good because I was exhausted!  We went to Shake Shack!  It is supposedly the best burgers and shakes in New York!  It was way good!!  A guy we sat by talked to us about New York and plays and actually the Book of Mormon play.  He said that it didn’t really disrespect Mormons and that it actually made him like Mormons even more, so that’s good to hear from a random guy.  Then we were going to shop but couldn’t find the store we wanted to go to.

New York Day: 3

Desi and I had a late wake up.  I was sleeping so beautifully and then she tapped me and said it was 8:36am.  We were supposed to meet at 9:15.  I didn’t jump out of bed though to get ready; I just put my make up on in bed.  We actually got ready in time but didn’t have time for breakfast.  Good thing I am used to not eating breakfast.  We met up with everyone and went to our first appointment, which was the Tobe Report.  It is like fashion forecasting for companies.  We saw a power point and learned all about what they do there, it sounded way awesome!! 

New York Day: 2

Well to start out a great day our clock/radio went off at 12:30am.  We couldn’t figure out how to turn it off so we just unplugged it.  The real wake up call was at 7am.  Which meant I slept in ten more minutes.  Somehow I got ready way fast so I just kind of chilled on the bed.  We met in the lobby at 8:15 and walked to the subway.  Desi and I figured it out pretty quick since we had used the tube so much in London.  I had no idea where we were going for church but then I saw a big white building with an angel Moroni on top!  We had church in the Manhattan Temple!!  So cool! 

It was a way pretty morning rainy morning, but I loved it because it smelled fresh and everything seemed cleaner than yesterday.  Desi and I decided there was no better place to fill up our water than the temple drinking fountains, that water has to be clean.

There was this cute little boy on the row in front of us and he was showing me his key and quarter.  Then is mom asked if he wanted to see his friends and as they were walking away he called back to me, “I’ll be right back!”  It was way funny and cute.  Sacrament meeting was really good.  Two of the speakers talked about the scriptures and the word of God and a family sang the As Sisters in Zion/Army of Helaman medley.  They we were really good.  Austin Boaz was the concluding speaker.  The whole time I thought he looked familiar and then he got up and talked about himself and then I knew!  I talked to him after; of course he didn’t remember me because I was a little tike when he was friends with Ryan.  But I just said I was from Murrieta and Ryan was my brother.  I gave him the scoop on what’s going on with Ryan and then headed off for Sunday school and Relief Society.

After church we met with our tour guide and took the Subway/walked to the ferry.  On the ferry we went past the Statue of Liberty, which is on Liberty Island, and headed for Ellis Island.  We went into the museum at Ellis Island; before we looked around we went to the cafeteria to eat lunch.  I tried to order a turkey burger (I don’t really know why I didn’t just go for a normal one, maybe I was trying to be healthy), but instead of getting a turkey burger I ended up with a veggie burger.  I didn’t realize until after I bite into it.   Pretty disgusting!  They gave me vegetables to put on the veggie burger (I don’t know why you would need more veggies on veggies, but oh well) I had to finish my burger by eating French fries with every bite.  I was telling the girls I was sitting with that I had never had a veggie burger before and would never order one because I don’t even like vegetables that much.  But I had to eat it or I would get hungry later.  After lunch we looked around the museum.  It was pretty cool.  I tried to find the book of names to find my ancestors but couldn’t.  Thank goodness for the gift shop though because they had a book of names and I found mine!  I also did this interactive game there were you choose a character and immigrate.  I was a little 6-year-old named Alice (yes the game was for kids) and I was coming from the UK.  I had to label stuff and everything and sadly I got deported.  I didn’t pass the mental test because I couldn’t rotate and place different size rectangles in a square in 30 seconds.  I could see how to do it, it just took me a little to figure out how to rotate them.  Dr. Baugh said that I need not worry since I go to BYU I definitely would have passed the test.  Then Dr. Burnham was like well…. hahahaha I love Dr. Baugh and Dr. Burnham; they are so funny, especially together.  We got back on the ferry and then went to the 9/11 memorials.  It was 2 huge pools of water/fountains that were the size of the towers and deep too.  They had all the names of the people who died on the walls.  It was way pretty and calm.  Since it was way rainy we decided to be done sightseeing for the day, which was okay with me.  I was dressed pretty warm and wearing boots, but I didn’t bring an umbrella so sometimes I shared with Desi.  So I was pretty wet, but the rain made my hair curlier than it has ever been!  After the subway ride home we went up to our room to chill a little/dry off before dinner.  I just laid on the bed trying to decide if I should change.  I didn’t really bring any clothes besides business clothes and 1 pair of jeans (which may be getting a lot more wear than I thought).  Also I forgot to pack socks besides long socks and tights.  Ooops.  That is why it is important to not pack the night before.  I guess I have a little shopping to do tomorrow. 

Well we changed and headed out into the rain again for John’s Pizzeria.  Our tour guide told us it was the best in New York.  It was like a way nice restaurant selling pizza, which I like!  Hahaha The pizza really was way good!  I was skeptical at first but you can taste a difference in a well-made fresh pizza vs. others.  I liked it a lot.  The guy tried to convince us to eat dessert and not go out in the rain but we didn’t.  Now we are back at the hotel getting ready for bed and chilling.  Going to bed early tonight since we have a busy day tomorrow, well everyday is busy. 

New York Day: 1

Today began yet another adventure.  I woke up at 4am so that I could get to the airport at 6:30 and leave for New York.  Aaron and Caz came and got me around 4:45am.  We then set off for our wonderful drive.  We dropped Matt off at his house in South Jordan and saw were Aaron lives and headed for the airport.  I got there a few minutes early and checked in and everything.  I pretty much slept on the whole flight there, which was weird because usually I can’t sleep on airplanes.  My head didn’t do the fall forward thing!!  We got there and found our tour guide then headed out of the airport.  First thing I learned when walking out the doors is not to expect to smell fresh air.  It was gross.  We loaded all our stuff on the bus and headed to our Hotel in Manhattan.  We got there and got into our rooms and everything then tried to figure out what to do the rest of the day.  I was glad because it wasn’t raining!!  We went on a tour of the area around our hotel with our guide and got an idea of the things around us.  Since it was such good weather Desi and I decided to go to the Empire State building.  We walked to the building and found it okay but couldn’t figure out what entrance to use.  Finally some guards pointed us to the right doors and we went in.  We had to go through security and the guy only made me take my sweater off because he had made Desi take hers off, but the thing didn’t even go off when I walked through.  We took an elevator up to the 80^th floor!  It took like 2 minutes for the elevator to get up there!  I was a little scared.  It only showed the floors by tens.  Once on the 80^th floor instead of waiting in line for another elevator we just walked up 6 flights of stairs.  It was crazy being up there!  It was way high up and you could see things from so far away!  It was way fun!!  We had to get up early for church so we went to bed early.

Pink Day!

While going through and reading my dad's mail as part of my job I learned that today is indeed National Pink Day!  I didn't even know that one existed!!  This could potentially be on my list as one of the best days of the year!  Since I realized it was Pink day I decided that a good way to celebrate is posting the pictures of everything Pink I saw in London.

 Flowers in Hyde Park

 

 Door on the way to Portobello

 Random sign on Portobello

 I completely agree

 I need one of these!

 This is by far my favorite!! Not only is the car pink but the seats, phone, and sunglasses!

Delightful Dover

Well I can definitely say we have accomplished drving all over England.  The driving did not end yet though.  Today we drive to Dover and stopped at a little gas station store for breakfast.  No complimentery breakfast today.  I missed having a big breakfast.  We got to see the white cliffs as we drove up to Dover Castle.  It rained all day today and was way windy up on the castle.  I loved feeling the wind blow my face and hair.  It is almost as if weather like that gives me more energy.  We first went to the war time tunnels and saw what it would have been like to be in them in WW2.  The set up was really cool.  They made it like you were a soldier there and learning about the plans, wars and weapons.  They had projectors that made it seem like real life people were there.  I would definitely recomend seeing that.  We went to the hospital/dressing rooms tunnel next but I didn't think it was as good as the other one.  It made me slightly nervous because they said it would have similar smells to when it was used and it did.  It had hospital smells and then in the kitchen it had food smells.  My favorite part was the great tower.  We took a spiral staircase that kept going up and up but had branches of stairs off the sides.  It was pretty much like a maze with stairs and rooms.  When you got to the top there was a chimney and one of the rooms had a fire in it so it smelled like fire.  It was so cool to be up there with the wind, looking over at the water and the village, and smelling the fire.  We also saw the museum ther and found out our ancestors lived there.  We are related to Eleanor of Aquitaine, who married King Henry 2 of England and the King of France.  She was the mother of King Richard the Lion Heart.  Knowing that made the castle even better.  Technically I should live there!  Pretty much I have learned in the last few days that I need to live in a castle and have a farm.  We spent a lot of time at the castle so we had to rush to Canterbury to see that.  We didn't really know what was there to see but we found it.  There was Cathedral there and it had some ruins around it.  The village is pretty cute.  We got to look around in the cathedral.  We stopped at Pret Manger for dinner and got yummy sandwiches, crisps and cookies.  It was delicious!   We still had time so we went to the London Temple.  We took some pictures then went in the visitors center and talked to a lovely missionary sister in there.  She told us what church to go to on Sunday and just chatted.  Since it still wasn't very late and we learned from her not to go to Brighton on Sunday due to  London to Brighton bike ride, we headed for Brighton.  We pretty much drove around for a little and then decided we needed some ice cream.  We found a Tesco so dad waited in the car while mom and I ran in to get some Magnum bars.  Best ice cream bars ever!  Wehn we got back dad asked if we heard the girl singing in the pub across from the car.  We said no and he said he thought it was a boy.  The singer was wearing an open back long dress, evening elbow gloves, necklace and had red curly hair.  When we got a better view and heard it singing it was definitely a boy.  Then we noticed it was all men in there, so we assumed it had to be a gay bar.  To top it all off the guy thing was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow!"  Pretty much the gayest thing I have ever experienced.  Well I noticed plenty other gay bars on our way out.  They aren't hard to miss with rainbow lights and such.  Interesting place Brighton is... at night.  We got back to our hotel and a guy held the elevator for us.  Now this is sad because he had pushed the third floor and we got off on the first floor but he followed us off and walked down the hall.  We went the wrong way at first but turned around.  We were unsure our room number but I was pretty sure I remembered it.  We finally figured out our room and saw the guy walk back down the hall after he figured out he was on th wrong floor.  Once we got to our door, our key card wouldn't work; we tried it in the surrounding doors with no luck.  Well it was time to be embarrassed and ask the guy at the front desk what our room was.  He told us it was the room number we had thought so we informed him of the defective key card we had.  He tried to get it to work but ended up giving us a new one.  I was just glad it was the card and that not all three of us are stupid.  Sure enough the new card worked.  It was nice to sit on my queen bed and relax.  We watched a western movie on the TV for a little bit.  It was interesting and funny.  I am excited for tomorrow!  I am going to get the bag I have wanted ever since I have been here and we are going to the Romeo and Juliet ballet!!

More Castles?

Last night was a bit of a struggle.  I have been having a hard time with allergies the last few weeks I have been here.  Pretty much since I took such a long nap yesterday in the car, I could not go to sleep no matter how hard I tried.  Not to mention I couldn't breathe very well.  After an hour or more of laying in bed I did finally fall asleep.  It's all good I have learned to deal with the allergies.  Well maybe not so much. 

I think this hotel has been my favorite so far.  It is a castle, with free wifi, and complimentary breakfast.  I could have used a longer and more substantial bed but thats okay; I am used to bad beds by now.  So we went down to breakfast and it was a different guy this time, so dad asked him if it was complimentary for sure, he said it was but he would double check.  Well after we had gotten our food, including a delicious waffle for myself.  Seriously they had some of the best waffles I have ever had.  The guy told dad it was free for mom and him but not me.  Yay! haha  Thanks guy for making me feel like I shouldn't be here.  Don't you worry, we ended up getting my breakfast free too.  The guy went back to dad and told him he would have the front desk take off the charge.  This was turning out to be a great day auntil I heard mom's reason for why.  She said that the guy was looking at me and probably thought I was cute and thats why he took it off the bill.  I don't know if I believe thats the reaon, but free breakfast is always a good thing.  Well we did discover upon arriving in our room and researching on the ipad that we were indeed very near to a Costco.  That's right England has Costco!  So of course we went after we struggled with Mrs. GPS for a little while to get there.  The food samples here are so much bigger!  A slice of cake and a regular size cup of apple juice beats a bite of cake and a lid size amount of apple juice.  The clothes and things were more stylish too.  Oh and they had huge boxes of Galaxy bars!  I was tempted to get one but that would be a lot of weight in my luggage, which is already bursting.  After a quick looksy into Costco we started the wonderous drive to Warwick Castle.  The drives are always great when you have a GPS that you have to trust but is not always completely reliable.  Anyways we made it and discovered that this castle is a huge operation.  They have almost tried to make it like a Disneyland time thing.  Not that huge of scale but really kid oriented and magical.  We got to attend the Royal Weekend Party and visit with all the "guests"and see the inside of the castle.  It was a pretty cool castle.  I liked all th einteraction type things.  We tried to go up this tower and got up the steps only to find it was roped off at the top but the was this girl on the other side.  So I stepperd over the rope and followed where she and her friends went.  They ending up disappearing once we got to the next tower but there were other people so we figured it was okay we were up there.  We were limited on time because we only had 2 hours on th etime meter.  So it was time to go to Blenheim Palace, which I had already been to before with my study abroad group.  I got to go upstairs this time though and it was like a virtual tour that took you back in time.  I like when they do stuff like that...it is way more interesting than reading about it.  I think Blenheim is my favorite one.  I would live there if I could.  I just need to figure out how I can marry one of the Duke's grandchildren or something.  Since Oxford isn't too far away we drove through there adn saw the university and such.  It's a pretty difficult city to manuver a car around in.  We hadn't really eaten besides breakfast so we decided there was only one thing to do.  Go to Hampstead and get the best crepes in England!  I thought for sure the people would recognize me but I am pretty sure it was a different guy for the first time ever for me.  Oh boy those crepes are delicious!  I could eat them all day everyday and they would still never get any less amazing!  Now this is when Mrs. GPS was making us the most miserable.  We were trying to get through busy crowded London in rush hour to our hotel in Gatwick.  She would not show us the right streets to trun on so we were going in cirlces and making u-turns but on the bright side we saw the Marble Arch and Buckingham Palace.  I got to see where I sat on the night before and day of the royal wedding.  The flowers that were there are gone and there are now lovely red flowers.  I think they were Tulips.  It was pretty much over an hour to make the short trip through London.  We go to our hotel fine though and got upgraded to a room so I get my own queen size bed!  I went to set some things on the bed and leaned against it only to have it roll away from me.  Definitely not what I expected but I guess in some cases that could be very nifty.  Bottom Line is: I will be sleeping comfortably tonight!  No more missing and falling out wooden slats!  My allergies may still affect my sleep but there is nothing to be done about that.  Tomorrow we see even more castles!

1..2..3...Castles

Today we drove to Edinburgh in Scotland to see the Edinburgh Castle.  We parked down the street from the Castle Rock Hostel that I had stayed in when I came before.  We had to pay for parking of course which appeared to be a nightmare at first.  I would put in the coins and they would fall right into the coin return.  Nice but not what we wanted.  I figured out though that it was how you put the coin in that mattered.  I started giving the coins a little flick off my finger and it started working.  We got a parking ticket and headed up the steps to the castle.  For some reason they were building a huge ugly bleacher thing in front making the view less beautiful and castley.  I led Mom and Dad through the castle since I had been before and we only had as much time on the meter as pounds and pence I had in my wallet.  I enjoyed seeing the castle again.  I realized I didn't remember as much as I would have hoped.

 Edinburgh Castle

 The crowning of a King.

 The fireplace in the great hall.

We got to see the one o'clock gun shot. 

 After seeing the castle we began the drive to the next castle Alnwick.  We thought we wouldn't make it in time to go inside but a camera crew was there filming for a game show so we got to go look around for free.  It was really cool. There was a lot of open grassy area in the middle and a courtyard. 

 This brings a whole new meaning to picturesque.

 The Gardens

There was an awesome bridge with a river running through the beautiful farm land and countryside.  Mom called it my castle because Elizabeth Percy lived there.  I was so glad we got to go in.  I wish we would have been there when it was open though because they had archery and stuff.  It was still very cool though. 

 I am going to be an archer.  Just decided.  I will just join Hoyt Archery Team.  I already have the last name.

We then began the long drive to Derby, but first dad wanted to get gas.  We stopped at ASDA (England's Wal-Mart).  Mom and I got food and Dad tried to get gas but you need a specail card so we had to find a new place.  I thought the GPS was beginning to be our friend until then.  She had us all over going through neighborhoods to convenience stores and shopping centers but no gas stations.  I decided the best thing for me to do at this point is sleep.

 

 I slept pretty much the whole ride until we got to Nottingham.  I woke up and it really could have been a dream.  I was in Nottingham!!  I used to pretend as a little girl that I was fighting with Robin Hood in Nottingham and Sherwood forest.  It was one of the best wake up calls I have ever received.  Mom somehow found out about this pub that is the oldest in England.  It dates back to 1189 and is built into the rock under Nottingham castle.  I loved it!  It had fabric depictions of Nottingham and Robin Hood.  Apparently there are secret passages from the pub to the castle.  Crusaders you to stop by there on their way which is how it got the name, Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem.  After I enjoyed a delicious bacon cheeseburger, (for some reason I can't seem to resist those) we walked to Nottingham Castle and read a little bit about Robin Hood on some of the wall things.  I also got a picture with the statue of him.

 Robin Hood and I fighting side by side!

 Robin Hood, Maid Marian and Friar Tuck.

 Robin Hood and Little John fighting on a bridge.

 King Richard the Lion Heart join the hands of Maid Marian and Robin Hood.

Robin Hood shoots his last arrow.

The time came to finish our trip to Derby.  I pretty much sang Taylor Swift the whole way; I hope Mom and Dad like Taylor Swift because they have been getting a lot of here.  Oh I guess they had better like my singing too, which they have too since we are related and I ma their daughter.  I took a break from singing to tell Dad the street to take after I read the signs. Thanks for nothing GPS I refuse to name.  She redeemed herself in getting us to our Castle Hotel in Breadsall.  We got here and the people were a lot nicer than the Bat Guy before.  My bed was set up, we had free wifi, complimentery breakfast and they remembered my towels!  The only downside from last nigths hotel is I had a queen size to myself; tonight I got on my bed and a wood slate from underneath fell to the floor.  My head is for some reason sinking to the floor as well.  I might have to sleep at the foot of the bed.  Its all good though.  The hotel is beautiful and a castle so its makes up for that.

Lake District (Beatrix Potter & William Wordsworth Houses)

This morning I woke up to myself moaning.  Haha  I must have been having a bad dream.  I knew I was moaning in my dream but then I heard it and woke up.  My eyes were stuck shut and my nose was so stuffy I couldn’t breath.  It was misery, no wonder I was moaning in my dream.  Anyways Mom asked if my allergies were noticeably worse today and I said they were and she said she has asthma and an itchy throat, so we guessed someone must have brought a dog in the room at some point.  Who does that!?  I mean I love dogs and everything and understand wanting to take them with you but not in a no pets allowed hotel room.  Anyways since breakfast was only free for dad and 10 pounds a plate for mom and I, dad went to eat while we finished getting ready.  Yes we decided we would just starve while he had a feast for breakfast.  Better one than all of us right?  I am just kidding.  He did go to breakfast but mom and I had yogurt, bread and bananas in the car.  Plus it was the best yogurt ever!  If ever in London…the must get yogurt is the yogurt corners.  So good!  Now we are just listening to Taylor Swift, driving through the beautiful country on our way to the Lake District.  The small little towns are so cute!  It’s so fun to drive and see all the green and animals, then end up in a small town for a little and then back out to the greenness!  I love it!  I am so having a farm!

A Day at Pemberly and Pemberly

This is what our "Castle Hotel" looked like from the outside.

Today we had breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel.  They had Casmin and my new favorite cereal, Crunchy Nut.  I got some of that, a waffle, hash brown, baked beans and croissant au chocolat.  It was delicious!  Apparently though it is only complimentary breakfast for 2 people.  Lame!  So it was good that I ate my fair share since we had to pay for it. 

When we were leaving we saw the Royal Mail truck!  For some reason it was more exciting to me than it sounds.Our next stop was Chatsworth House, which is Pemberly in the Keira Knightly Pride and Prejudice.  It was one of the most beautiful palaces I have seen here, at least on the inside.  My favorite part was the beds.  Pretty much the kind of beds you dream about having. 
We stopped to grab food at a farm store on our way to the Pemberly used in the old Pride and Prejudice.  On our way I pretty much decided that I need to live in the English country.  It is so so so Beautiful!  There are cows and sheep everywhere!  It is green and has all these rock walls dividing the land.  For some reason I am just in love with cows, sheep and horses.  Oh and the cutest little baby goats were playing and jumping; it was one of the cutest animal moments I have ever had.
We got to Lyme Park the back way thanks to our GPS that I would name but I don’t think she is deserving of one at this point in time.  We may be getting rid of her after this trip and I am pretty sure it is the same thing as pets; you don’t want to name an animal you know you aren’t going to keep.  Anyways we asked a lady walking by and she said we needed to go back the way we came and take a different road.  We finally found it and ran into the entrance only to find out from the gift shop lady that they were already closing it down.  We went to the estate office and asked if there was anyway we could see any part of it so she took us through a part of it really quick and I got video before they told me we were not allowed.  We got to see the lake that Darcy swims in and the front of the house were the carriages arrived.  I loved it!  It was so fun being there and imagining what it was like.  We are now driving in the car with some extra time in the day not wanting to be spent at the hotel, so we are looking for a Top Shop and Primark.  It is too bad all the museums and things close at 5pm, it really makes for a short day.  We found a Primark but didn’t make it to Top Shop before it closed.  We stopped at Tesco on the way to the hotel to get the meal deal for dinner and some yogurt, bread, nutella and things for snacks.  The hotel doesn’t have free internet yet again.  I don’t understand how they wouldn’t when I stayed in hostels in Ireland with internet.  We watched a little TV.  Pretty much the end of a dumb movie with Sandra Bullock were she knows her husband is going to die and tries to prevent it but ends up causing it.

Church Today and Church Then

Today we got to sleep in a little bit because church wasn’t until 11:40 but we did need to leave time to get there.  We were a tad late due to poor navigation from the GPS (like usual) and the parking lot being mostly filled besides a tricky spot.  We weren’t as late as we thought though because they were only on the opening hymn.  Sacrament was good there was a girl speaker who talked about her conversion and how the gospel changes lives but only when you decide to let it.  She compared it to the stars and how amazing they are but you have to trust the person telling you that they are there to look up at them, and then you are in amazement and never want look away.  Then there was a guy speaker who also talked about his conversion and the atonement.  A missionary from New Zealand talked to us after and told us about the first Mormon chapel in England being only 20 minutes away.  So we asked someone for directions and these two nice men helped us.  As it turns out one of them was the uncle of a boy one my study abroad (Patrick).  It is interesting how small the world gets when you travel and get to know more people.  I love it!  

We found the cute little chapel with a wishing well in front.  The door had a keypad on it and beside it in the window was a paper with questions about the church on it.  So the answer to the questions would be the codes to open the door.  It was so cool!  It reminded me of a safe house or something from a movie. 

We went inside and there was the chapel and little displays talking about the founding of the church there.  Apparently there was a group of people that didn’t believe any of the churches on the earth were true and that a restoration had to take place.  They had a rigorous scripture study plan that they participated in and called themselves the united Brethren.   When Wilford Woodruff received revelation to go that area they were ready to hear the gospel and the whole congregation of 600 was baptized, so then the chapel became a Mormon chapel. 

There were old fashioned clothes you could dress up in so of course I had to.  It was fun to have the whole place to ourselves.

When we left it was raining again and we drove through the countryside to Stratford-Upon-Avon. 

We went to Shakespeare’s Birthplace and the lady said I could get in free!  I don’t know if I look like a child or if she just figured they were closing soon.  I felt good about it either way.  I like it better this time because they let us take pictures and I was able to read things that I didn’t have time for before.  The floor in the second room you walk in is the actual floor from Shakespeare’s time; I walked where Shakespeare walked!

Interesting things are that:

1.    They keep the nicest bed in the parlor as a status symbol of their wealth, only the guest would sleep on it.

2.    They put red around their bed to scare away the devil and other things and green to show family love and safety; which is why they dressed the children in green.

3.    Boys used to wear dresses and long hair up to age 5 so that they would look like girls.  It was believed that the devil would come and take the little boys in the night because they were more important.  However Shakespeare was the first child to survive after his two older sisters who died.  That was very unusual.

4.    We get sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite from the beds in their time because the mattress was suspended by rope that would have to be tightened by a thing they called a bed bug.  If you pinched your finger in it while tightening the rope it was like getting bitten.  If you didn’t tighten the bed you would be on the ground.

5.    Sleep caps were tied under the chin so it could hold your mouth shut.  If your mouth wasn’t shut then rat droppings and bugs from the thatched roof could fall in your mouth, which is the original reason canopy beds were made.

 The glove making room.  Shakespeare's father sold gloves right out of the window in the house.

 Shakespeare's bust in the window looking out to the street.

 This place has the best milk shakes in the world!  Or at least that I have ever had.

After the birthplace we drove to the Holy Trinity church where Shakespeare was buried.  We didn’t get to go in because it was closed.  I took mom and dad on a walk to the other Shakespeare sites like Hall’s Croft and New Place; we couldn’t go in of course since they had closed by now.

 We found a place to eat called the Garrick Inn and had beef and tuddles pie with mashed potatoes.  Then we started the drive to our next hotel, which was in Derby.  It was a really cool looking castle.  The guy at the reception desk was kind of weird and reminded me of the Bat on Rescuers Down Under.  We got to our room and didn’t have my roll away bed so we had to call the “Bat Guy” and get it.  He brought one and set it up for us.  It was pretty much just a little mattress on a metal and wood frame.