Visit to The Boy Who Lived.

I had class for three hours this morning, then took part in THE Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour. Those two things took up an entire day! I'll be the first to say that I am not the biggest HP fan; no, I did not preorder the books or wait in line for seven hours for a premiere (although I did attend a few of the premieres) or draw scars on my face and wear black cloaks and carry around a wand as a kid. I take that back... I may have drawn a scar once or twice, and I definitely embraced the glasses for special occasions, but that was the extent of it. I am indeed a fan, though, and I really enjoyed the studio tour.

I am completely fascinated with behind-the-scenes work. I love learning about the little things that nobody really notices during the movies and that people are certainly unrecognized for. I couldn't believe how many people worked on so many different teams for those movies. Did you know that they created 588 different sets for Harry Potter? It was SO FUN to see the actual costumes and set pieces and props and backdrops and paintings and statues and animals and EVERYTHING. The one thing that would have made the visit complete would have been to have my little number one fan of HP brother there with me. The one who's read each book a total of thirteen times... I think he may have appreciated it a bit more than I did. The creators of that place sure did well, because I walked out certain that magic exists and determined to experience my very own fairytale.

Just "As I Like It."

The V&A museum didn't last long this morning for those of us who had been there and done that. However, I really enjoyed the one exhibit I had somehow missed the first time around: the theatre exhibit. It had some great costumes and mini stage models and such, my favorite being the fascinating costumes from The Lion King musical.

Kind of like YMCA... but just V&A....

Lion King costumes

A few of us headed to Primark with a few things on our shoppings lists, most of us leaving the store with  bags full of items not on those lists. Isn't that how it always happens? We had fun spending time in that crazy place that, at any given moment, is at least five times more crowded than Disneyland. Dad, I think it's safe to say that you would never set foot in that place. I finally broke down and bought a soft blanket and a hoodie, but was unsuccessful in finding a good pair of rain boots. Those will have to wait.

Oh Taylor.

A sample of the Primark craziness.

The shopping spree continued on the way home as we all realized that we were in need of a few groceries. Again, we left the store with too many bags full of items not on our lists. But we had a good time shopping at the giant Tesco Metro and finding all kinds of things to our liking, i.e. an entire wall shelved with gluten-free goodness. I've never been so happy to greet a wall in my life.

Caroline and I decided that we didn't want to sit around the flat when the sun was shining outside, so we set off for another adventure after putting away our groceries. We explored a few different tube stops, then decided to stroll around St. James Park for a while. That was an excellent decision. The part was beautiful! We walked and talked, sat in some lawn chairs that we soon found out were not free to the general public, watched a girl get attacked by the same bird repeatedly, took pictures and admired the pretty views on all sides of us, sat on a bench right off of the path and read books on our kindles, and laughed at the funny sight of ducks running for their lives across the water like airplanes landing on a runway. The little outing was extremely relaxing and extremely enjoyable. Simple and satisfying.

The two of us left the park with plenty of time to spare, and headed to the little Lion and Unicorn Theatre across town. We located the theatre, went on a failure of a gluten-free dinner hunt, then went back for our showing of As You Like It (during which we may or may not have gawked and drooled over the beautiful Orlando, the main character of the play).

The long day continued as several of us goofed off on the subway home (making it all too obvious that we are very American) and decided to stop for a crepe last minute. Because I ran into the crepe shop as it was closing, the nice Italian man agreed to make me a take-out banana and nutella crepe. As he made it, he kept saying in his funny accent, "we are closed; you are very very lucky. It is your lucky day" and I thanked him, time and time again. Because he would only make one, we passed the crepe around and shared it on the walk home. Kenz and I then walked Kyla back to her station and finally made our way back to the flat for the night. And then I stayed up two more hours reading and blogging. WHAT A DAY. What a very very good long day.

Overthinker.

To be completely honest, the day didn't start out all that great. I woke up feeling pretty sick and a little bit down, but still had to attend class for three hours. As Dad always says, "half the world works when they don't feel well," so i figured the same applied to me and my studies. It did help a little when the sun was shining in my face during my walk to class, but I may have cursed myself and everyone else by joking that it was going to be rainy and overcast again the moment we stepped out of class. Yep, I guessed it.

I found out early today that an essay (that I hadn't started) was due this afternoon, so I stayed home to do homework instead of exploring London. Luckily I was thinking pretty clearly and kicked it out relatively quickly, just in time to hit up the Westminister Abbey evensong service at 5:00. That place is phenomenal, both inside and out. I have a new appreciation for stained glass windows and sculptures and paintings. Every few minutes during the hour or so that we were inside, the sun would stream through the colorful high windows and bring them to life, then pretty soon they'd be dim again. It was also interesting to sit through the Catholic service; the music was beautiful, though I have to admit that it put me right to sleep. It was so pure and soothing! Is it bad that I plan to go back again when I'm feeling keyed up because it's an excellent relaxation tool?

The sun popped out once again for a few minutes after the service, and I took full advantage of it. I caught several photos of the classic London sights with blue sky in the background... It's a miracle!

Pretty good lighting, eh?

Meggy poo and me

London Eye

KayCee!

Meghan, KayCee, Kenzie, and I ate at Wagamama's, another London "must try," before making our way home. It's a favorite restaurant of almost everyone that comes here. Pricey, but delicious. It turned out to be a fun outing; Kenzie knows how to cheer a friend up. There have been a couple different evenings where I've been completely exhausted and maybe not my cheerful self, yet somehow Kenzie and I always end up laughing (about nothing in particular) until our abs are aching. She's just a very happy person and a very genuine friend. Thanks, Kenz!

KayCee and Kenzie

Pioneer Children.

The tube line we used to get to church last Sunday was closed today, so we had to try to a new route. The result? Catastrophe. We got lost, at least four times over. We took several buses after the long tube ride, asking several people for directions along the way, each pointing us in a direction far off from our destination. I literally couldn't help myself from singing the primary song Pioneer Children as we "walked and walked and walked and walked... and walked." We missed sacrament meeting but made it in time to help in primary and nursery. I fell asleep while playing with the nursery children. How does a person do that? Pretty darn embarrassing. On the way home, we got lost again.

As miserable as I just made that sound, there were a few enjoyable parts along the way. As we walked to the church, I fell behind the group a bit so that I could hear myself think a little more clearly. I thought about several things (all at once, like usual--call it a talent or a curse) that've been at the forefront of my mind lately. I thought about my family. When I get home, we're all going to be together in the same state again, at least for a few days. I am so excited. Not just the kind of excited that makes you smile, but the kind that turns your stomach upside down every time you think about it. I haven't seen my sisters in what feels like years! I can hardly wait the five weeks to play with the twins and help out at home as much as I can. I am very very grateful for the close relationship that I have to each of my family members. I also spent some time thinking about a mission, weighing out pros and cons like I do every day without fail. It's a big decision! Before I left, I told my mom that these seven weeks would be great prep for my eighteen months in some crazy place serving the Lord. The other day when we were skyping, she mentioned something about the mission and I said "oh yeah, don't worry about it. I'm not going." And today, I'm back to square one. Undecided. Being far away is helping though, slowly but surely, because I'm spending my time making up my own opinion rather than asking for advice and counsel from everyone I come in contact with.

I'm off to our little Sunday night group devotional. More to come tomorrow.

Portobello road, portobello road...

This morning we got up early enough to go Portobello Market before going to the Globe. I've never seen a bigger market in my life! It lined both sides of the street for at least a mile. Bright colors, people fighting through crowds, musicians playing on ever corner, cars trying to squeeze down the road without killing anyone, the smell of pastries and freshly-baked bread... it's quite the exciting environment. I got a few cheap scarves and a British flag beanie to block out the cold a bit. I love to experiment and see just how low of a price I can get away with when I find something I like; I pretend to walk away because their price is just too high and I usually hear someone calling after me saying something like "wait Miss, you're my first customer, so I give you deal!" in some cool accent. I do that at least a couple of times and eventually get down to a decent price. Normally I'm really not a fan of arguing or even debating, but for some season I am fascinated by this new game I've found.

We saw Hip hop Othello at the Globe. Oh my goodness, those actors were talented. Four men from Chicago wrote the script in rhyming rap, and the same four acted out every character in the play. It was extremely entertaining, but also extremely inappropriate... I guess maybe that was to be expected, being Shakespeare and all. Very very impressive show, though.

Bundled up, ready for the Globe.

We spent the rest of the evening sitting around the family room, doing homework, and giggling over nothing. Turned out to be one of my favorite evenings yet.