London, England

I have to admit that London is somewhere I've wanted to go for a really long time. Ever since my sister studied there I've been dying to go, and now I finally had the chance. Thankfully we were staying with two girls Jessica met while in Costa Rica, and they were such a blessing to us. It was great to stay with old friends and meet new ones. Ruje and Menai were lovely hosts, and we are truly indebted to them.

Jessica and I got to London on Halloween night and it was quite a sight. Having forgotten about my least favorite holiday (if you can even call it that), I was quickly reminded about it by all the people getting on the tube dressed in different costumes. My favorite was the guy who was dressed in all white bandages with fake blood all over himself, who ended up sitting next to Jessica. She looked at him and was like "Are you alright there?" which he quickly and confidently replied "Yeah. I'm fine", almost sincerely forgetting what he was dressed in. Being a nurse I'm sure her instincts kicked in-that's definitely something I love about her.

On Saturday we were able to sleep in until 9am then decided to slowly introduce ourselves to the city. Since we had about 5 days in London we wanted to have time to relax and really enjoy our stay there. It was raining (why didn't anyone tell me how much it rained in London?) so we decided to go to the Kensington Gardens and Palace. The funny thing about the Kensington Gardens is that THEY ARE OUTSIDE! I think you know where I'm going with this. We were definitely outside in the rain, enjoying the gardens of course, but very wet. We then decided to take the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk from the gardens to her Memorial Fountain, walked a really long way, ended up getting lost, and proceeded to get even more wet. We decided we had enough with the rain so we went to Harrod's and got lost there instead. AND it is very important to note that Harrod's is not like a department store in the states; oh no, it's like ten times bigger and ten times better and ten times more expensive. I'm glad we went but I could live without it. At least until my next trip to London. That night we went to dinner at this nice restaurant called Langley's close to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square and it was definitely one of the best meals we had on the trip. Interestingly enough, it was a restaurant/club/bar, so very noisy but very delicious.

On Sunday we woke up and Ruje took Jess and I to this cute pub/restaurant where we were able to get a traditional Sunday English roast. When Jessica and I ordered our beef and chicken roasts, respectively, we had no idea how much scrumptious food they would cram onto our plates. I was definitely not prepared for this Thanksgiving size meal. Jessica finished her meal, but I just couldn't. I kept telling myself to "just eat it", but then I was thinking and I only allow myself to eat that much food on two days a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. It was neither, so I didnt feel so bad. After that it was dark so Jessica and I went to the London Eye, and walked around the Parliament building and Big Ben. All the lights made London so gorgeous at night! We then walked along the Jubilee Walk and towards Shakespeare's Globe and the Tate Modern, something I had been looking forward to seeing since Malia told me about it. After that, we called it a night.

On Monday we got an early start to get our tickets to the Tower of London, and the play "Rain Man" starring Josh Hartnett and Adam Godley. Our morning and early afternoon were dedicated to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and London Bridge. The Tower of London was huge and included some very fun sights, such as the royal crown jewels, diamonds, and armor from back in the day. We also got to play with these fighting simulators, which was really fun but too hard for Jessica and I. It was definitely a good laugh though. My favorite part in the afternoon though was when we were walking away from the London Bridge and I made Jessica stop so we could listen to the song "London Bridge" by Fergie. It was fun to stop and sing/dance in the middle of London; when else could we do that together!? Although I'm sure the other people at the bus stop weren't too impressed. Oh well. After that Jess and I did the Rick Steve's Westminster Abbey walk. We started in Trafalgar Square and ended up at the Abbey. It was a nice walk and we got to go to the National Portrait Museum, see a man rescue a bird trapped in the metal spicks at the National Museum (don't worry, the bird was okay), and see the House of Parliament and Big Ben during the day. Our fun filled day ended with seeing the play "Rain Man" and boy were we excited! It's not everyday you get to see Josh Hartnett in a play in London (with his shirt off). We were debating between "Wicked" and this play, but we are so glad we chose "Rain Man", considering we both have seen "Wicked" multiple times. Josh Hartnett was an excellent Charlie Babbitt, but Adam Godley stood out as Raymond Babbitt. They brought out the best in each other and I honestly recommend you seeing the play if you're ever in London. Just do it.

Tuesday was our "last day to do everything" day, as well as Election Day in the U.S. On the bus an older gentleman turned around and asked us if we were Americans. When we told him we were indeed Americans, he replied "Well I hope he wins". We were like "Yeah we do too". We, of course, were referring to McCain, where as I'm 100% sure he was referring to Obama. (I Just don't know why they love him so much over there.) Oh well, Obama won anyways. In the morning we hurried to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards to only learn that they weren't changing the guards that day. Unfortunately we didnt get to see such a fun event but we did see this other parade including horses and guards and such. I'm sure it was just as important. After that we continued onto Harrod's to do a little last minute shopping. I'm still completely amazed by that place. Then we headed to Notting Hill to find this cupcake place Ruje recommended to us called The Hummingbird Place. It was raining (go figure) and the cupcake place ended up being closed (it just wasn't our day) but the good news was that Jessica found some boots. We then went back to Menai's to eat a meal she cooked for us and watch the election updates on BBC. That night we went out for drinks where we toasted to our amazing trip, good friends, and to Jessica's wedding. It was a great end to Jessica's trip.

On Wednesday Jessica left early to catch her plane. I went back to the Tate Modern to spend more time and ended up losing track of time and almost missing my train to Manchester. Honestly it was totally a God thing that I made it. I finally made it to Capernwray just around "Tea" time or what I like to call dinnertime. It was so good to see Alex Kenney and catch up, and then meet all of his students and friends there. Everyone is so nice, and Capernwray is such a blessing. After dinner, I went to Alex's futbol game and it was quite interesting, considering I was the only spectator (can you say awkward?). The most random thing happened that night too: when I was meeting all the students I ran into this kid Matt Joanou, who grew up at Voyagers and went to Woodbridge. How random is that? It was good to see him and talk about home, but it was just so random; God just continues to amaze me.

Downside of my U.K. trip: didn't make it to Bath or the Stourhead Gardens (where Pride and Prejudice was filmed), and I didnt see/meet Kiera Knightley. Oh well, another time I suppose.

On Saturday I leave for Limerick, Ireland to see my good friend and college roomate, Laura. I can't wait to see her and finally visit Ireland. Yet again, I'll be flying RyanAir so be praying for my safety and the rest of my trip. I appreciate all of you who have been reading my blog and keeping up with my journey across Europe. Know I'm thinking about all of you and praying for you as well!