weekend trip to Wales

Last week we took an overnight trip to Wales!!  Here are some pics from the trip!

STOURHEAD GARDENS

Probably one of my favorite places in England.

Pride and Prejudice anyone?

BATH, ENGLAND: romans and fudge

CARDIFF, WALES: Museum of Natural History?(we just walked around the gardens)

AVEBURY: prehistoric site. Similar to Stonehenge, but not.

CHAWTON: Home of Jane Austen

Jane Austen's brother's' house

Shoutout to my momma and aunties-quilt made my Jane Austen

Headstones for Jane Austen's mother and sister

Three of the girls from primary and then some of the youth in my ward

I can't believe the semester is already half way over!!  I'm still loving everything!

Bella! I love you!

Last week I spent a couple of days in Rome, Italy.  I had so much fun!  The weather was pretty crazy as it snowed in Rome for the first time since 1986!  This is only my first post about Rome, hopefully the second will follow shortly... Enjoy!

The Pantheon

(Sorry it's blurry!)

The Imperial Forum

The Vatican

Halls and halls lined with statues.

(Although my face may look like sarcastic, I really was so excited to see this statue because I learned all about it in Humanities last year!  The same thing with the Pantheon.  It's so neat to learn about all of it, and then see it in real life!)

Upside down because this is the ceiling.  Is it painted or a a relief?  It's painted.

Even the floors were beautiful!

SAINT PETER'S BASILICA!

The following is the breakfast we received at our B&B.  Croissant, jam, pre-packaged toast.

overnighter: Stratford and Oxford

This week we took our very first overnight trip to Stratford Upon Avon(the birthplace of none other than the William Shakespeare) as well as Oxford.

Shakespeare memorial. Yes, the man part is made from wax.  It's cool, just go with it.

The following are pictures at Oxford.  If you don't recognize them, we may or may not be friends anymore.

(Think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-Professor Moody turns Draco Malfoy into a Ferret)

The BYU London Centre is located across the street from Kensington Palace Gardens.  Perfect for walking and jogging, and as you may notice in some of the pictures, walking your dog.

Dover and Canterbury: the white cliffs and cathedral

Welcome to the Dover.  Home of the white cliffs.

If you look closely at the top of the cliffs on the left side of the picture, you can see Dover castle.  We went there.  Whilst up there we looked across the channel and saw FRANCE!!  Pretty cool literally and figuratively.

English countryside. Don't let the green fields fool you, it's still a balmy 35 degrees out there.

St. Augustine's Cathedral and Monastery.

Believe it or not those stones are the foundation for a cathedral which was built in the 6th century, survived the viking invasion only to be torn down by England's very own Henry VIII. 

Treats after lunch before the cathedral in Canterbury. 

(R-L Custard King, berry danish, double chocolate muffin)

Canterbury Cathedral. Pictures(especially mine) do not do it justice. It was amazing.

Candle=Place where St. Thomas Beckett's memorial once stood.

The warped stairs from tens of thousands of pilgrims making their way to St. Thomas's memorial in search of miracles.

Actual spot where Thomas Becket was murdered by four of the King's knights inside of the cathedral.

(four swords: two actual swords and then the shadows that they cast=2 more)

The middle are depictions of the three wise men. Top: Following the star to find Christ. Second, the wise men visiting Herod, Third: Worshipping Christ(shepherds on the right side of the picture) Bottom: The angel appearing to warn the wise men to take a different route home.

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