My Month in Europe: Stratford-upon-Avon and London, Day One

Our travel day to London was incredibly relaxing!

We had a rather long drive, but we broke it up by stopping at Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare is (allegedly) buried.

We walked around the town, saw some of the memorials, and went into the church where his burial site is.

We also had lunch at a place called Rose & Crown, where people have been dining since 1596.

I had the best garlic bread I've ever tasted in my life there!

After Stratford-upon-Avon, we drove another few hours to get into London!

I was already in heaven as we were driving into and around the city.

I won't lie when I say that London wasn't top on my list for the whole trip.

I was more excited for Switzerland and Italy, but London ended up being the highlight of the entire trip along with Switzerland.

That night we went to the Hyde Park LDS Visitor's Center where we spent some time with some of the missionaries, and we also had a business visit.

From there we checked into our hostel... which ended up being one of the worst experiences of the entire trip. More to come on that later... :)

The next day we had a City of London walking tour.

Our guide was Greg, and he does all of the P.R. for the City of London.

He was so knowledgeable and I really liked learning more about the city from his business perspective.

The architecture was so cool!

It was crazy to be walking around downtown along these beautiful cobblestone streets where the Vikings walked, with incredibly historical buildings sitting right inbetween these massive new-age business buildings. The first one pictured up there is "the egg," and the one after that is "the cheese grater."

It's been so fun to watch movies and shows such as Sherlock since getting home because I recognize so much of the city!

At one point we went inside the Parrish Church of St. Stephen Walbrook, which is this stunning round cathedral.

Inside there were three men setting up and rehearsing for a performance later that afternoon.

It was Benjamin Williamson and James Akers, Counter Tenor and Guitar.

Their rehearsing was beautiful! I couldn't help but sit and just listen for about ten mintues.

I wanted so badly to go back that afternoon for the performance, but at that point we were on the other side of the city.

I really loved stumbling upon different performers of all types throughout the whole trip.

Once I found out I was going I wanted to find some sort of performance, whether it be classical, ballet, or opera to attend while I was in Europe, but unfortunately I just couldn't work it out.

Thankfully though, I had my fair share of musical encounters, whether like the one above, or a simple (but absolutely amazing) street performer.

Later that afternoon we headed over to BBC for a business visit and tour.

Now, I've never watched Doctor Who, but I took the below picture for the benefit of my cousins who are crazy about it :)

I almost met Ed Sheeran right outside of this building!

We were waiting for our group to go in for the tour, and we had some time, so myself and a couple of people set out to find some gelato... I'm telling you, that stuff is so delicious and addicting.

As we were walking away we heard about 20 girls screaming so we looked back but obviously couldn't see that the whole commotion was about Ed Sheeran because they had swarmed him by that point.

I'd like to think if I'd have known it was him I would have quickly ran over and told him I'm quite possibly one of his biggest fans, but... I think gelato still may have won my attention :)

The unfortunate part is that we never did end up finding gelato.

Such is the life!

After BBC we had some time to do some shopping and grab dinner before heading off to see Wicked!

Lindsay, Madi, and I all spent way more than we should have shopping, and then we had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant near BBC.

For dessert I ordered this delicious creation...

It was a pastry filled with mascarpone and raspberry filling, with a white chocolate and raspberry sauce on top.

Oh my it was so good, and was just a little taste of what I'd experience in France!

Finally we went to see Wicked!

I saw this on Broadway in New York in high school, so I was definitely excited to see it again.

Little did I know that it would be about a million times better than when I saw it in New York!

The woman who played Alfaba that night was the understudy, whose name is Emma Hatton.

At the risk of sounding like a crazy lady, by the end of Defying Gravity before intermission I was in tears because of her incredibly powerful and pitch perfect voice!

Afterwards we went out to the side of the theatre to see if we could meet Emma and Savannah Stevenson who played Glinda.

Savannah is a member of the church and in one of the single's wards, so we had a little connection there.

When I met Emma (above), I told her she had me in tears with her performance of Defying Gravity, and she said, "Oh, well I didn't mean to make you cry!"
She was so sweet and I'm quite glad that she was the one playing Alfaba that night!

Overall, it was an insanely long and busy day, but it was so much fun.
From walking the business district, to touring BBC and seeing Wicked, it was a great first day spent in London :)

My Month in Europe: Lake District, England

This day started off by attending church in Chorley right near the temple housing in Preston.

We went to the Chorley first ward and I loved it!

In Relief Society the sweetest little woman sat in front of us, named Audrey. 

She's almost 90 years old and is such a proper little firecracker! Audrey is a recent convert to the church and her son is the bishop of the ward.

We complimented her on her scarf and she immediately lit up and kept saying things like, "I just love pretty things!"

At one point she told us about the skirt she was wearing and said, "I went to adjust the waist of my skirt this morning and I wasn't sure if it was my skirt or a skin flap, so I just left it alone!" We all laughed so hard and she was just soaking it up. 

She kept telling us that she loved that we were smiling, happy, and "sparkling" girls.

She was just such a sweetheart!

My other favorite part of church were the men...

Let me tell you, European men know how to dress, and they definitely know how to dress for church.

Every single man was wearing a full suit, jacket and all.

It was so odd coming back to the states and seeing men wearing oversized white shirts without a jacket. I'd move to Europe just for the perk of the well-dressed men ;)

After church we headed right off to Lake District for the rest of the day.

It was beyond words how beautiful it was!

The first lake we stopped at was very obviously a wealthy vacation destination.

The shopping reminded me a little bit of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but still with that English charm.

The second lake we went to was where William Wordsworth lived a lot of his adult life.

Once I heard we were headed there I knew that I had to look to see if I could find something for my dad, who has quite the affinity for poetry. 

I spent the majority of my time in this district at the gift shop right next to Wordworth's home looking for the perfect gift.

I was lucky enough to stumble on a rare first edition copy of poetry that Wordworth collected and assembled as a gift for a "lady friend" painter that lived in the town. 

I couldn't wait to give it to my dad :)

I snuck away for a little bit of time alone walking through the grounds of Wordsworth's home, Dove Cottage, and around the lake.

It was so peaceful.

I loved the contrast between the busy touristy feel of the first lake we visited and the serene countryside of the second lake.

I would love to bring my parents back here and let them experience Lake District!

One day.

:)

My Month in Europe: English Countryside

After our walking tour of Preston (see previous post here) we headed out to the English countryside where we saw some quaint little towns. 

I had the hardest struggle wanting to sleep but so completely loving the views of the countryside.

It was just absolutely beautiful.

We started off in Ribchester where my dreams came true with the cutest little houses complete with flower baskets outside of every window. 

So perfect!

Ribchester was very small and it almost felt like taking a step back in time a few decades, complete with farms as far as the eye could see :)

We then ventured on through Green Hurst, where we drove past Stonyhurst college.

Guys, go google Stonyhurst college right now.

I literally thought we had stumbled upon one of the Queen of England's summer homes or something.

We even saw some rather good looking rugby players ;)

Imagine attending a University like that!

Next up was Downham, a village in the town of Lancashire.

Within minutes I decided I could easily retire there!

Just to the right of this little river is the famous tree that Elder Holland calls "his tree." 

I have searched endlessly to find the talk where he mentions it, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

If anyone knows what I'm referring to, I would love for you to send me a link!

I loved the quaint feel of Downham.

Every person or couple that walked by had a dog walking with them off of a leash, everyone said hello, the stores only took cash, and it was so incredibly quiet and calm.

I am so happy we were able to see some of the English countryside, and I know if I had gone to Europe on my own I never would have seen these places.

Thankfully we did, because those small towns quickly became my favorite.

After getting back on the bus to head back to the hotel, we were all out within seconds.

A war had started with people taking selfies with sleeping people, and this was the first one where I got caught :)

This may have been the winner of the whole trip, lucky Katy :)

My Month in Europe: Preston, England

From Ireland we ventured on to England!

We drove our bus onto a ferry and took the ferry across the Irish Sea to Wales.

It was a beautiful ferry ride, but what awaited us on the other end was beyond beautiful!

I was in heaven as we drove through Wales to get to Preston, England, our next destination.

I wish I could describe Wales, but it's something you just have to see. Let's just say that it definitely made my list of places to return to and explore later in life! 

Once we got to Preston we headed straight to the Preston temple to do some work.

They aren't accustomed to such big groups at this temple, so it was quite an adventure getting over thirty of us through the baptistry!

Afterwards we were fed a traditional meal in the cafeteria. 

There were some parts of it that I wasn't such a big fan of, like the rhubarb pie, but everything else was pretty delicious!

The temple workers were all so welcoming, and it was a truly great experience.

The rest of that day was spent back at the hotel resting up from jet-lag and a crazy two days we spent in Ireland.

A big group of us took over the lobby with some fairly intense games of Egyptian Ratscrew and Catch Phrase.

It was a great day :)

The next day we met a church historian, Peter Fagg, who took us on a really incredible walking church history tour of Preston!

We saw so many amazing things, including the home where Gordon B. Hinckley stayed on his mission in Preston, and the River Ribble where the first church members were baptized.

It was an amazing experience to spend the day learning about the early Latter-day Saints in Preston.

River Ribble, Preston, England

This is the home where President Gordon B. Hinckley stayed on his mission in Preston.
He was sitting in his room in the top right hand window when he was feeling a little discouraged about his mission and why he was there spending so much of his family's money for such little reward.
He opened a letter from his dad and in it read, "Forget yourself and go to work," which we heard President Hinckley quote so many times throughout his time as a general authority for the church.

That is such a powerful lesson that we can all learn no matter our situation, whether as a missionary, a mom, or a mechanic.
Just forget yourself and go to work.
Serve one another.

Our stay in Preston was an unexpected surprise and I am very thankful I had the opportunity to visit a city so rich with the history of this gospel! 

My Month in Europe - Ireland Day 2

This was the day I got to see the Ireland I always dreamed of seeing!

We ventured outside of Dublin to the Irish countryside and I immediately fell in love!

Rolling green hills, fog, and sheep!

We started our day off by spending a few hours at the Powerscourt Estate and Gardens.

This was rated the third best gardens in the world by National Geographic.

I was super excited to see it because we would be seeing number one, Versailles, just a couple weeks later!

I should probably stop and apologize right now for the lack of pictures I will have from here on out.

I really focused this entire trip on being in the moment rather than worrying about ISO, f-stop, and whether or not I was able to capture something exactly as I was seeing it.

I used my DSLR only a handful of days I spent in Europe, the rest were taken with my iPhone, and I definitely do not regret it.

While the memories might fade faster than pictures, I am truly happy that I spent those photographic moments etching them in my mind and truly being in it.

Now, let's carry on :)

After Powerscourt, we took a very scenic drive through the countryside to get to the Glendalough Monastic Settlement in Wicklow.

This settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century!

This was some seriously historic stuff we were seeing!

After Glendalough we headed back to Dublin where we finally got to see the inside of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

I was a little disappointed because there were students from Catholic schools there doing some sort of program, so for me it kind of ruined the atmosphere a bit.

Overall though, this place was stunning!

The rest of the day went as follows...

Dublin Castle - The Chapel Royal

We then walked around the corner from this castle and stumbled on a TV set!

I asked one of the crew members what show they were filming and they said Penny Dreadful.

Turns out, my dad loves this show!

I immediately asked if Josh Hartnett was there filming, but he unfortunately didn't fly in for a couple days to start filming his scenes.

Too bad ;)

Our next mission was to find the famous Temple Bar!

 This place was so much fun with the live music!

We wanted to stay and eat here, but one of the locals caught me looking at a menu and advised us otherwise.

I still think he just didn't want a bunch of tourists in there :)

So we headed off to find a famous fish and chips place called Leo Burdocks which was pretty good!

We wanted to find some live traditional music and a place called O'Donohughes had been suggested, but once we got there and walked through we quickly learned that there wasn't any live music, and there was only one woman in the entire place.

I'll let you make your own conclusions on that place!

We stopped to ask a few dapper looking men if they had any places they could suggest, so they walked us back towards Grafton street all the while trying to convince us to go out dancing and drinking with them.

They were a ton of fun, but we obviously declined :)

After a few attempts at finding some live music most of us girls settled for gelato and an early night in, still suffering from jet lag. 

It was such a fun day, and I loved being able to spend some time in the countryside.

I would definitely travel back to Ireland to experience more of those gorgeous green rolling hills.