Part 2!

Okay so here is part 2 for this week!
So on Wednesday we started out early by taking a 2 hour bus ride at 7 in the am to…STONEHENGE! Our Professors were kind of preparing us and said “Some students get a little disappointed when they see Stonehenge is just a bunch of rocks…” but hello, they were a bunch of humungous, thousands of years old, rocks! It is crazy to think how long they have been there, and how in the world they were actually moved. There are several theories on Stonehenge, but I think the theory that Aliens moved the rocks is definitely the most accurate. Just kidding, but seriously, it was awesome. It blows my mind to think about how many of my ancestors over thousands of years have seen Stonehenge. London is sooo old. And did I mention beautiful?! It was so green and there were these fields that stretched on for miles full of bright yellow flowers with sheep grazing along the side…can you say right out of a movie? Because it was! Speaking of movies, guess what I did next? I went to the Wilton House. What is the Wilton House you ask? Let me tell you…it is the most gorgeous house known to man! It is also the place where they filmed scenes from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and The Young Victoria! Ah!!!! I still can’t believe I was there. The house was breathtaking. The walls were covered in ornate detail and everything was lined in gold. The floors were wood with massive thick and patterned rugs on the floor, and there were so many pretty paintings. I was speechless as I walked though the house…and then I freaked out when I realized I was really there! All I want to do now is watch those movies and be like “oh my, I was there; I saw that, I stood there!”…the only thing that would have made seeing this house better was if I had been able to see the Earl. He just got engaged (danget), I wanted to change his mind! Next we hopped back on the bus and drove a little ways to Stourhead. I know you won’t believe me because I say this practically every other sentence, but this as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL place I have EVER been. The Gardens were designed in the 1700’s and have been taken care of ever since. The path you follow symbolizes the myth of Hercules’s Journey. About halfway through the walk, which is also the peak, you come to Apollo’s temple, which happens to be the meeting place of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth when her first proposes to her! The rest of the path takes you through moss covered caves, flowers galore, trees like you would not believe, and a pond that is home to several swans. So basically I decided this place is where I want to be proposed to, its where I want to get pictures taken, where I want to get married, and where I want to come on my honeymoon. Do you think that is too much to ask? Haha. But seriously, the whole time I was just thinking how absolutely incredible this garden was and how anyone who doesn’t believe in God needs to come to this Garden; because it was such a testimony that there is a higher power. I was in love!
On Thursday night I got to go to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and see “A midsummer night’s dream”. The globe was cool and it was fun to see a play how they were first experienced. We had “yard” tickets though so we had to stand for 3 hours…I am pretty sure my feet were screaming at me by then end of it. And the play was…interesting. I laughed myself silly at the end, but the beginning and middle were a little, inappropriate, for lack of a better word. Let’s just say it was very similar to how Shakespeare probably would have wanted it!
Friday was the best! We went to Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey has the prettiest ceiling in all of London…not that I’ve seen all the ceilings, but I would pay big bucks to see one that can top it. The ceiling was made of this cream looking stone, but it was so carved so intricately that it looked like ivory. I have never seen anything like it. Before I left, my Aunt Elizabeth gave me a piece of advice that has proved to be the most useful piece of advice anyone gave me for this trip. That advice was to always look up. Well I am going to have a stiff neck by the time I get home from all the looking up I have been doing, but it is so worth it!!! The floor was just as cool as the ceiling though. I had no idea that Westminster Abbey was basically a cemetery for every famous person that ever existed (okay maybe that is a slight exaggeration)! So many people are buried there. From Charles Darwin, to Mary Queen of Scots, to Shakespeare. And if they weren’t buried there they at least had a memorial. It was so cool. After Westminster Abbey we went to the Cabinet War Rooms. I had never even heard about this before, but I am so happy I went. It is a whole Museum dedicated to Winston Churchill, and a tour through the Cabinet war rooms left exactly how they were during World War II. First of all, anything that has to do with WWII has always fascinated me. Second of all, Winston Churchill is the man. Third of all, London is just the best! Lately all the things I have been learning have been old history. And it was fun for a change to talk about stuff that is a little more recent. I would definitely recommend going to this museum, it was the bomb!
Okay, now that my fingers are about to fall off I better rap this thing up. But I think I am all caught up now! Thank Goodness. I have my first Sunday in my new ward tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes. Next on my Agenda is homework, yes! I am so excited (hopefully you can all here the sarcasm dripping in that comment!). It’s weird because during the week all I want to do is go out and play at night, and on the weekends I just feel like staying in (which I usually have to due to my lack of homework doing the days previous)—quite the opposite of when I am at home. Welp, I’ve got to get going, a paper is calling my name! xoxo