but please don't take my baby because our love is all the rage

prepare yourself for a long-winded post.
everything in the last little while.
we went to wales last week, and it was beautiful. this is tintern abbey, which was my favorite part. wordsworth wrote a poem about it. he has fantastic taste


tintern abbey. on a foggy morning in wales.





that's us and tintern abbey. (hailee, sara, jordyn, me, alex, holli)


heretfordshire beacon hill in england. pretty.



england!




last saturday, we went to the lord mayor's parade on guy fawkes day weekend. i don't know who the lord mayor is but i do know that he throws a killer parade and that i got to wave a flag. it rained a lot. (stole this picture from lauren thanks)



all month people have been wearing paper poppies on their coats in honor of remembrance week and armstice day (November 11). this is the world war I memorial where on remembrance sunday, the queen leads a parade that ends here and she lays a wreath on this memorial. i didn't get to see it, but it is supposed to be a really touching parade. on sunday after church i went to the national gallery as always and then went next door to the national portrait gallery. i walked in and started wandering around and found out there was a war poets poetry reading in the theatre there for free. and so i went. and it was so fantastic. just me and a lot of elderly people listening to war poetry. i loved it.



the original theme for this post was going to be "a day in the life of me in london" because i haven't talked about the normal everydayness of life at the centre. i didn't take pictures of a lot of stuff i wanted to but i will document what i do have. yesterday after breakfast and classes holli and i did one of our assigned walks: "Whitehall Seats of Power" or something. This is a horseguard. Across from the Banqueting Hall. honestly, we couldn't decide what in the world he was guarding. the entranceish to st. james' park?



st. james' park. next to buckingham palace, it is the oldest park in london. very pretty. holli and i ate food here after our walk. i ate the most delicious apple of my life and we discussed how depressing it was going to be to go home. that means mostly i did and holli said she was excited for christmas. i take crooked pictures.




this was on time out's list of 101 things to do before you leave london. "stand on the bridge at st. james' park and gawp." i don't know what gawping is. but this picture was taken just as the most terrifying flock of birds took flight all around and through us. hence my face. i would like to think that it is something akin to gawping.



after our walk we came home. this is holli. she is my bunkmate.



byu london centre. my window is the open one on the far left.



entry way to home.



after our walk we came into the servery and ate rice pudding with hailee. and it was delicious. and hailee will hate me for posting this picture. lucky for me she doesn't read this blog.



after rice pudding we came upstairs. this is our bunk bed. i took a nap.



the only space i call mine at the centre.



that night we went to the london colliseum to see the opera, "aida" performed by the english national opera. surprisingly, i loved it. really, really loved it. i think if you're going to see opera, this is the way to do it. the music was so outstanding. much better than byu-idaho's rendition of "the magic flute."



holli loved the opera this much.



today we went to hampton court palace. henry viii lived here. oh henry.



pro benf loved this astronomical clock.



in the hampton court gardens there was a mze (the plaque outside claimed it was the most famous maze in all of history). this is us at the heart of the maze. hence the heartness.




grounds at hampton court.



archway in the gardens.


friends in the gardens.



hampton court palaceness

and now, i am going to spend the night doing readings and writing essays.

that is london life.

cheers,
alison