a walk in the park

This past weekend we didn't have any class or program activities which left only about 10 of us at the centre all day Friday and Saturday.  The weather has turned SO NICE(notice the lack of coats in the pictures), so we took the opportunity to go to the park, go to a free classical concert at St. Martins in the Field, and rent bikes!

Hiking 66 stairs multiple times a day and riding bikes are totally different.  We may look happy in this picture, but we were DYING our quads were burning.  This picture was just an excuse to take a break!

Gelato after the concert at St. Martins in the field, obviously.

We were the only ones in the Lift at Queensway tube station, so we had to take a picture!!  It may not seem like a big deal, but it is!

roma part 2

Surprise!  A couple of weeks late, but here's my Rome part 2 post.  I didn't mention in my last post, but I went to Rome on my 21st birthday!  The first two days in Rome were AMAZING, but the last day was cold and rainy the. entire. day.  To be honest, I really did not love my last day in Rome, and I do not want to go back to Rome, or even to Italy ever again unless it is during the months of April, May, June, July, August or September.  April and September are questionable.

21st Birthday shot(Gelato next to the Trevi Fountain!)

Our 'hotel' room.

Sadly, we had planned on going to the colosseum on the last day we were in Rome, and because the weather was bad they closed it for tours, so we were out 25 euros and we only got to see the outside, but it was still breathtaking!

Triumphal arch of Constantine!  Take Humanities 201 and you will know why I was so excited to see this!!

Yep, it's COLD by this time.  And raining.  behind me are two domes, the first one I have no idea what it is, the second is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.  Love.

Last meal in Rome.  Vegetarian Pizza for me.  SO GOOD.  Best pizza I have ever had in my life.

After we ate on Friday, we went to the airport.  We spent two and a half hours at the airport drying out before boarding our plane.  We then spent 5 hours on the tarmac waiting for our plane to be deiced and then for the airport to open and then for the deicer machine to be fixed.  Our scheduled departure was 8:50 PM and we took off at 1:09 AM.   Luckily, the people sitting around us on the plane were super nice and we talked and laughed the entire 5 hours, making it fly by.  Because we were so late getting back to London the trains were closed, so we then got to wait for 2 1/2 hours for the trains to start again.  We finally made it back to the centre at 6:30 AM Saturday morning.  It was pretty horrible at the time, but looking back I'm so happy I did it!!

birthday

A couple of weeks ago I had a birthday.  Luckily, I have an amazing family, and they sent me this crazy awesome package.  See all of that candy?  It's not even all of it.  I only pulled out a small sampling of it to give an idea.  The best part about the package is that although it came a little late, it came at the perfect time because I am right in the middle of midterms and I was in need of a little lovin from home!

I also want to give a shout out to this guy.  He broke his arm skiing last Saturday:( Get better soon Brian!

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.