From DC with Love

Back in the summer, Caity and I were talking one day and brought up the idea of going to Europe over Thanksgiving. Usually when an idea like that is born, it quickly fades away because someone is non-committal once the logistics are actually thought of. But we were serious about it. And in July we bought our plane ticket to London, with our return flight going from Paris.

!!!

This was a big deal, because I have never before been out of the country. Ever. Not even to Canada or Mexico. I even haven't left the continental US. So I was ECSTATIC. Plus, I've always said that once I did start traveling internationally, I would go to London first. So this was perfect.

And, we were leaving on my birthday. my 25th birthday.

I MEAN REALLY.

So awesome.

There was so much going on, so I didn't start packing until the night before. I literally started packing at midnight, and I had to leave my house to go to work at 7am. So that was great planning. I sent this to Caity. This was AM. Needless to say it was a long night...

Finally got to use my passport!!!

Settled in on for our six hour flight to Iceland!

Layover in Iceland. No carpet to sleep on, no internet/phone service, dead tired. This was NOT my favorite part of the trip.

FINALLY IN LONDON. This was on the tube headed to our flat...clearly I was ready to be done with traveling.

Andddd we made it. Devin went out to get our friend Richard, and picked me up a Sprite. Soooo grateful because I was feeling so gross.We relaxed for a little bit before heading out.

Richard was in London the same time we were and ended up staying with us for a couple days.

We walked through Trafalgar Square, past Scotland Yard, and then to Big Ben/Parliament! It was an unreal feeling, seeing all these things I have learned about through two semesters of English History at BYU, and from my own personal reading.

We walked over Westminster Bridge to the South Bank and had some food at McDonalds (don't judge). Then we went up in the London Eye. It was magical seeing the city from the sky at night.

They had this nice memorial set up for JFK-this was November 22nd, the 50th anniversary for his assassination. There were about 10 portraits on a stone wall, each with a lit candle above. It was very tender.

Then we got uh-mazing waffles and walked through this little fair.

We walked a little more, over the Millenial Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was breathtaking.

When we got back to our flat, Devin and Richard went out again, but Caity and I decided to stay in. It felt wonderful taking a long hot shower and changing into new clothes. It had been a while for me...eek.

Saturday we got up and went to Portobello Road and did some shopping/browsing. First, we got DIVINE crepes that I am still dreaming about.

Thennnn we lost Devin. Since we had our phones on airplane mode the entire time we were on our trip and could only message when we had WiFi, we sent Richard out among the crowds to find him. Success! We were reunited. So grateful.

Next we headed over to the Kensington Palace Gardens which were BEAUTIFUL...

...through Hyde Park...

...to the Prince Alfred statue. Like that crusty face i'm making in the corner?

Next up, Buckingham Palace! Of course this was amazing. Heyy Queen E!

At a nearby war memorial, we saw leftover poppies left from Veterans Day (Remembrance Day for the Brits).

Next, we got on a bus and went to the studio outside London where they filmed Harry Potter. I never got into it when I was younger, but I am not anti-HP. Caity and Devin are really, really big fans so they were excited. While I didn't understand the significance of a lot of things, it was very fascinating.

When we got back to London, we still had one more thing to do: watch the nightly Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London! It was so cool.

Sunday we woke up and went to Covent Gardens! I loved this day. It was a little overcast and rainy but not too cold, and the decorations were very festive. There are several shops and a little market area, so we had a good time doing a little shopping.

In the afternoon, we went up to the top of the Shard, the tallest building in the EU. The views were amazing!

Devin went to do something so Caity and I went back to the little fair/market on the South Bank (after getting some donuts, duh). We had a nice little lady date.

Some randoms from the day.

our tube stop.

Monday, we met the man who we were renting our flat from, David. Ha! He was so pleasant.

In the afternoon, we walked over to the British Museum! I was so excited to go and take pictures for my mom, since she loves Egypt and mummies and all of that. It was so, so impressive. I was able to facetime her, which was pretty cool.

Rosetta Stone!

We ate at a pub...

...then the boys went to go see Les Mis while Caity and I had another lady date. We walked through Picadilly Circus, then I got some McDonalds (again, no judging) and we went back out to see Trafalgar Square at night.

Tuesday we got up and walked back over to Westminster Abbey and then to St. Paul's Cathedral to see them during the day. Impressive. Really all I can say.

the steps of St. Paul-"Mary Poppins" anyone???

We also saw the Churchill War Rooms from World War II. I so wish we had had the time to go inside for the little tour.

We were going to go inside the Tower of London, but we ended up just walking around outside and walking a little on the Tower (London) Bridge.

We went back to Harrods and then took a little rest before going over to the Winter Wonderland fair at Hyde Park. Caity and I got this amazingggg little donut things. Afterwards we walked back to our flat and I saw this door that I love.

Some random transportation photos from our last day. tube & mini elevator.

So this was London! GUYS. I loved it. I had a great time in Paris (coming up next), but I could have stayed in London for a lot longer. There's so much we didn't get to see, and so much I would have loved to have seen more of.

I guess that means i'll just have to go back one day :)

A couple months ago, Ben and Jessica told me they were planning to go up to Provo for homecoming in October with the boys. I really wanted to go, and one day happened to find a round-trip flight from DC for $340 (!!!!!!). So I took advantage of that deal and bought a ticket.

I had not been to Utah at all since I graduated from BYU in April 2011, and I was actually really excited for my visit. I had a lot of moments while I was in Provo where I hated Utah and I was so ready to leave...but since I was away from it for a while, I grew a little nostalgic for the good times and was looking forward to a little weekend visit with my family. Enough time to have a tender moment and then peace out.

My most favorite roommate ever, Heather, picked me up from the airport Thursday night and we chatted for hours. LOVE HER. We hung out the next day and watched "Friends" on her couch before I met up with Ben and his family at the bookstore and for dinner. My aunt also met up with us, who flew out from California.

Saturday morning we headed to 7th North for the homecoming parade. The boys enjoyed their blue pancakes and an encounter with Cosmo.

We had lunch at Tucanos and went over to the stadium for the Cougar Walk. (love sitting in the backseat with these cuties)

Then it was time for the game against Georgia Tech at our beautiful Lavell Edwards Stadium. Jess and I bought some retro royal blue Adidas track pants and wore the same t-shirt. Sista twins!