Westminster Abbey

May 16th

I would have liked to sleep in a little, but Tracy was set on leaving early for Westminster Abbey and I was keen on going with her. The line moved quickly to get in and the nice lady at the window gave me the student price even though I did not have my card on me.

Westminster is a self guided tour with audio boxes that explain different points of interest around the abbey that you can choose to listen too. These were different than other audio boxes because they did not have headphone. You simply held the device up to your ear like a telephone.

There were no pictures allowed inside, so here are the outside shots and shots in the courtyard. I was so happy I went. Not only is the church beautiful, but we saw where so many important people are buried. I also liked the Coronation Chair. Getting excited to see the  crown jewels in a few weeks.

Elizabeth I, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Sir Issac Newton, Lewis Carol, etc.

I'm surprised how many memorials there are all over the city. George was telling us in class that it is like this all over the country. Not only is war a large part of English culture and history, but the World Wars are still very fresh in their memory. I am glad we do not live in a place that had a war fought on our soil. We are extremely lucky to be so distanced from physical conflicts. I really liked this memorial. It was one of several in the church alone. What really struck home was the large circle at the back of the abbey for innocent lives that have been killed in war. It was so sad.

A peak into the gardens. Feels a little like secret garden, doesn't it? I wonder what it is like to live somewhere made famous by literature, media, and songs. Gilbert and Provo are not necessarily known across the globe. London is filled with history. I should take a picture next time I see one of the acknowledgment plaques. The city hangs blue oval plaques over historical sites. For example, I saw the home of George Orwell yesterday.

After the abbey I was able to buy some groceries. Here are examples of international shopping. Frosted Flakes are called Frosties. They seem to be the exact same. Sun Chips are called Sun Bites. Pre-packing chips into snack bags is popular. It is Costco style on a small scale. There were six little bags in this big bag. The rest of my goodies are program favorites. Galaxy bars are glorified Hersheys. They taste a little bit milkier, like a dove chocolate. Cadbury is the popular brand here, so imagine everything tasting a little more like Cadbury eggs. KitKats had the milkier chocolate too. Twirls are excellent!!!! I'm trying to think how to describe them. It's a chocolate bar, but the inside is flakes of chocolate making it more airy, but also crunchy. I recommend them. The last package on the counter is a sleeve of dark chocolate digestives. They are cookies that come with in either milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or orange chocolate icing. They are great for snacking. The name is unfortunate and I literally thought people were sharing laxative pills when they would talk about them until I was offered one. Think of the name like a FiberOne treat.

Living with roommates makes me more aware of what I eat, but mostly more aware of what others eat. I was surprised how often everyone buys chocolate and treats, eats out, and spends money on drinks. I do not drink caffeine. I rarely buy soda at all. I am glad I am not addicted because we would be walking around London and someone would literally make us stop because they had to have a coke (or the equivalent thereof). I just don't understand it. Starbucks is way expensive too. I must be frugal.    

*All portions are smaller once you leave the states, especially soda. The cans and bottle are noticeably different. During the interval of shows everyone orders drinks. At least it feels like that. You can bring drinks and food into the theatre. Outside food is acceptable too. England is chill.

After eating some real food I was able to do much needed laundry. I felt like I was embarking on some lively adventure with my suitcase full of dirty clothes and backpack full of school work. It looked much more exciting than it really was. When I got to the laundry room at Metrogate an older gentleman was fixing a washing machine. We talked just for a minute and then he rigged one of the machines so I could do a load for free. I went to the computer room and started on one of the several papers we have been assigned. I used a PC instead of my laptop since they were up running, but I might have been more productive on my own computer. The keyboard here is just a little different. My difficulty came from the left hand shift key that I am use to using a lot. It is tiny!!! Most of my sentence began with a slash when I first started out.

I went switch my laundry and somebody had left fifteen minute on one of the dryers. It did not fully dry my clothes, but it helped and I just came home and hung up the clothes that were still damp. Not only did I not have time for a full dry cycle since I was late to our tour of the National Theatre, but it meant I did all my laundry for free. It costs nearly five pounds to do laundry around here. That is equivalent to $8.

Ready for the tour of the National Theatre. It is where we saw King Lear and then Silver Tassie.

We were encouraged by our tour guide to take selfies with the construction hats we have to wear on the tour. My hair was in a bun, so my helmet was not too snug, as you can see. The tour guide, Chris, did a great job. He answered all of our questions about the theatre and just what to do in London in general while we're here. He seems to be quite in the know.

Ate dinner at the cafe in the National since we did not have much time before the show and after talking to Chris. Here is vegetable lasagna and the cutest lemon cupcakes you have seen. The lasagna was actually really good and everything seemed pretty fairly prices. British cupcakes are different than American ones too. It seemed more like a little loaf of light lemon bread rather than spongy or fluffy or crumbly like a cupcake we are used to.

The Silver Tassie: Do not go see it. So strange. I spent the entire first act waiting for the show to really get going. I had some empathy for the characters and their struggles, but it was so weird. It was more of small snippets of life rather than a story. I've decided plot is very important to me. When shows do not have a good plot, I do not like them. It is as simple as that. 

Delanie and Raeni stop by the convenient store every night on our way back from shows and adventures. The store owner acts like he does not know them even though they've been visiting for almost two weeks. I thought it was totally funny they would buy something everyday. They both lived in Helaman last year, so maybe they are not accustomed to going to the grocery store as little as possible yet. It's not a bad habbit in London though since food expires faster here anyways.