Mufasa, I think I met your cousin!

May 28

This morning we had our history midterm-

I've decided not to dwell on it.

But I hope to always remember

Trent and his remarks on the Google doc

...

"Nothing irritates me more than lots of things students do."

Oh how I will miss the London Centre

and all the fun people here. 

After the midterm, we just had to get out.

Off to the National Portrait Gallery!

And then I had to play in Trafalgar Square

because it's the closest thing to a 

playground

that I've found.

I've put up to vote the name of

Mr. T

for this fine lion here.

At first it was Mr. T as in Mr. Trafalgar.

But now, it's just Mr. T as in,

"I pity the fool."

Because I'm pretty sure this lion would say

"I pity the fools who 

need a boost 

just to sit on my back."

  

Here's MaCall and I just sitting 

on the ledge of the square...

...on the edge of glory even?

It was a beautiful day!

The views here always take my breath away :)

My favorite view of the day though

has to be

...

Classic Asian Invasion. 

:)

Later on tonight we went to see

Wicked.

If you were to personally ask me

what my favorite part of Wicked was

I would say

  Elphaba's awkward dancing scene.

The theater scene here is 

so different than back in the states.

The theater was hardly full

so after intermission we moved up 

for some better seats.

I think now would be the best time to say,

Dear London

and everyone here,

"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

Thank you for that :)

May 29

Woahhh Baby.

Class for 6 hours is rough.

It was like being back in elementary school

but without

snack breaks,

recess,

naptime

or 

joy.

Just kidding, I still felt joyful...

I'm in London :)

Tonight...

the girls just wanted to have fun.

And what better way to have fun,

than to go to Piccadilly Circus

...

...

and see Zac Efron?

Well, 

see him in 

"The Lucky One."

First on my list though-

Lillywhites.

I bought an England jersey.

Why Engand?

Because this Saturday

I will be at Wembley Stadium

with Spence, Romm and Cree

cheering on at a white-out football match

between 

England and Belgium.

I am stoked for this.

Thank you for having a birthday Romm 

 :)

Ohh Piccadilly Circus.

At night, you are oh so filled

with dodgy chaps.

One specific bloke kept following me

talking about a night club,

and asking where I was from.

Finally I just said, 

"Nowhere."

And he replied,

"Oh, Norway!"

All I could think of was "A Cinderella Story"

Quote:

"You know, it costs a fortune to fly in that stuff from

Norwegia."

And I just couldn't just help but laugh.

Always an adventure in London town.

Food, Glorious Food

May 26

...and you thought I was joking, huh?

:)

Borough Market-

You

are a glorious place.

And it's not just the 

food,

glorious food,

oooh no.

It's the...

...the.... 

...the...

(The Grinch!)

everything.

I love the massive amounts of people,

the bulging eyes when people see a hunk of bread on the counter,

the samples,

the freshly squeezed juices,

and even

the silly tourists there who take pictures of 

everything

just like me.

Like these yummy snacks I just bought.

I couldn't just buy

honey cashews and 

chocolate

cinnamon

covered

almonds.

Absurd.

I had to take a picture and document such an 

exciting moment!

Or like this time I saw this sign

and all I could think of was Aerosmith

and me singing into a spatula

while my dad plays the air guitar.

Okay now,

that was probably the peak of my 

tourist-ness

during this whole study abroad

that day.

Other photo worthy moments of the day...

Eating a kangaroo burger

...well that was sure tasty

and quite the experience.

Taking pictures

just because the Union Jack is present.

 It's Jubilee Weekend so flags are everywhere!

Or even meaning to take a picture

of my scrumptious raspberries...

but not remembering until they're all pretty much gone.

Maybe that's why my smile is so big,

because I ate them all.

Food for thought...

:)

Next we went to Harrods.

It was more of a museum than a store to me.

The prices were just so out of reach

that I felt like I couldn't touch anything.

...

You could even say the prices went to

Infinity and Beyond!

 Yes, he is completely built of Legos.
I wonder if Buddy the Elf could do that.

That place is like...a whole new world. 

I also decided to be clever

(yes, decided-it doesn't happen naturally)

and make it look like I was in their magazine.

Trickster.

Later on I went to the Champion pub

with my buddies Trent, Romm and MaCall.

We watched the England vs. Norway football game

and England won.

Then to celebrate our victory

we all sipped through individual straws

from a single cup of

our non alcoholic

diet coke

beverage...

at the same time.

Seal of the friendship. 

It was nice to do some of the local stuff today. 

I like being,

pretending to be

British. 

I love Old York

May 25

York certainly wasn't quiet in the morning,

and I liked it.

I liked it a whole lot.

Well,

it was quiet at the first place we visited...
Wassup York Minster.

I really liked it in there.

I hope you'll get to go inside someday too!

York...

you are one happenin' place.

I dare say, you are one of my favorites.

Maybe it was all the delicious chocolate...

(Thank you Thorntons Chocolates!)

or maybe even possibly..

the Ostrich burgers...

mmm...or was it even the market

where there are lots of 

good treats

and yummy eats?

In the words of mah boys T-Pain and Maino
 ...
"all the above"

Really, 
York is such a cool place.
I'd like to imagine that Harry Potter comes here
for a nice escape from wizarding pressures. 
Or One Direction?
I don't know,
just someone British and famous I guess. 

Famous like this street...
It's called 
the Shambles.

 But none of this could even prepare me 
for 
Jamie.
Yep, I met a British man.
We were going to run off together
but
.....
 I made him let go of my hand.

I just couldn't let him give up his
fun tricks and shows!
That would be...
well...
just not okay. 


I started as an innocent bystander,
laughing along with the crowd
when he'd drag on his stories for 
wayyyyy too long
before getting on to his trick.
And then somehow,

I was picked out of that crowd

to throw knives at him 
while he sat on top of an 
8-foot-tall-unicycle.

I do not retract the statement that 
I tend to "throw like a girl",
but I did okay at sending
sharp blades
8 feet up into the air.
See how he's holding them 
all the way up there.
That must mean I did something right.

So I did a little awkward

Kelsey 

dance/bow/"thank you for being here today"
jig.
:) 

From York,

we made our way back to the coach

and onward.

Oh yes, 

we went to Fountains Abbey.

 I was blown away by the ruins there
and the relevancy of the song
"Build me up Buttercup."
Just check out how many they have!

 After being at a place like this
it was rough to get back on the coach.
But you know what,
it's always so nice to be back home-
Back in London. 

Northern Trip=success :)

What the Lochness?

May 23

Today, would be the day 

I would arrive in Scotland.

I can't believe this part of the study abroad is

already 

here.

Before getting on the road again 

and leaving Ambleside behind,

it was time for another hike.

I even got to be like a ballerina,

tip-toeing across the river

on these nice rocks.

Later MaCall and I even found this lovely fountain.
It was refreshing.
Just like Sprite.

Back on the coach.

Choo chooo!

Well, it doesn't make that noise...like I wish it did.

But our coach driver,

Mr. Peter,

he was pretty snazzy.

He always just says, 

"Okay,"

when people say thank you.

It makes me smile...a lot :)

We got to stop at this mysterious stone circle

called Castlerigg.

Chyea, if it were celebrating its first birthday,

Stonehenge wouldn't have been invited.

That's right.

Castlerigg is even older. 

It only seemed appropriate to do some planking.

Time for Scotland?

I do think so.

We headed to Edinburgh and went straight to our

Hostel. 

Oh yes, that's right.

My bed had a number on it...3

I felt like Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables.

I'd rather not dwell on that experience.

But I do feel like we should each get some kind of 

wilderness explorer badge

for sticking it out there.

Edinburgh impressed me that first day.

My, oh my.

I even got to go to 

The Elephant House Cafe

.....

know what that is?

It's the Birthplace of Harry Potter!

It was here that J.K. Rowling sat,

looked longingly out the window at the famous castle

and started her brainstorming for the 

greatest series ever!

I tried to have the seriousness of the moment

reflected in my very soul.

That only lasted about a second though...

until I found this awesome elephant chair.

Elephants are my favorite animals.

Shout out to my Squirt :)

And then the hikes continued.

After a delicious, delectable, mmm-tastic 

piece of chocolate cake

my buddy Cree and I walked up to the top of 

Calton Hill.

That place was beautiful and all

but I was blown away when we reached 

Arthur's Seat.

I had a bit of a moment up there.

I've never felt so small in my whole life,

and yet so important at the same time.

I know that Heavenly Father knows who I am

and he knows who you are too.

This is me writing this all down.

Of course I couldn't help but smile at the thought of that.

May 24

Oooh Smartcity hostels.

Thanks for the interesting night.

I will miss the singing outside my window all night long.

Good morning Edinburgh!

We started off the day with a tour from 

this nice-old-man in his kilt.

He likes to make jokes...a lot of jokes.

Us wee lasses couldn't do much more laughin
by the end of that tour.
The castle was sweet though.
I kept trying to spot Rapunzel
but then again,
she ran off with Mistah Flynn Rider.

 

See that crazy cool place below MaCall and I?

That's Edinburgh...

and a delightful old couple.

So tender!

And of course we had to get a picture like this.
It was fun to catch them 
when they were just walking around.
We were allowed to talk with them and everything!
Deluxe.

 And I just like their outfits.
Toga parties, really?
 How about we bring out the kilts!


 We had the rest of the day to just wander.
Wandering is different here in the UK.
When you get lost here,
it's not scary.
It's just beautiful.
So if someone yelled to me
"Get lost!"
I'd say...
"Alrighty chap, I accept your challenge."
 Tonight, we drove out to York.
The city was quiet
as we dipped in and out of alley ways.
I think the best part of tonight was 
pulling into the Holiday Inn.
Kate and I just ran, jumped on the bed
and layed there for a minute.

Secret?
I took the pen from the room to remind me of the

pure bliss

I felt when seeing this clean, 
toe-nail-clipping-free room.
Really, happiness is in everything.
And now it's in my Holiday Inn pen.

Tomorrow...York time.

I wonder if they have peppermint patties... 

:)