Abigail Across the Pond

Westminster Abbey, the resting place of so many famous kings, queens, and famous British citizens. My favorites were the graves of Geoffrey Chaucer and Elizabeth I.  Westminster Abbey We also walked down to take a peek at Buckingham Palace! The flag was up today, which I think means the queen was home. Sadly, we had to decline her invitation to join her for a cup of tea because our schedule wouldn't allow it, but we were charmed and flattered by her offer all the same.  I've also loved all of the beautiful parks and greenery scattered throughout the city. Here I am with one of my classmates in St. James' Park, just down the street from Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. If you look closely, you can see the London Eye in the distance behind us.

You'll have to excuse the title of this post, but this morning as I was walking down the street I heard a man say, "Aw, bloody h*ll," and I have to say I have never been so utterly thrilled to hear someone curse before in my life. :)  Well, this is day 2 in London! Today, we went to church at the Hyde Park chapel, which is also a visitor’s center complete with a Christus statue and several exhibits about the church. I was surprised that at least half of the congregation was American - of the 7 people who presented or spoke, 4 were American. We also doubled the size of their Relief Society. However, the best part of church was an elderly British gentlemen who blessed the sacrament. I swear, he has to be a narrator or actor or something for a living, because his voice, his enunciation, and the feeling with which he read the prayer was just amazing -- and that’s not to mention his absolutely beautiful accent. I felt like I was listening to a celestial reading of th...

The British Museum of Natural History I made it to London!!!!! It is so charming here - that’s the best word I can think of to describe it. The accents, the buildings, and landscape - everything just makes me want to smile. All of the buildings and houses are either made of brick or are white, and the part of London that we are in is full of international embassies and beautiful museums. A beautiful little church I stumbled upon just a few blocks from my flat. I made it from the airport to my flat by myself by taking the tube, which was fun. I felt so resourceful. :) Once I made it to the flat, we met up with our group and took a quick walking tour of the area of London we are in. We took a quick walk through Hyde park, which was beautiful. There were walking paths and bikers and lots of people out for an afternoon stroll. However, it was blustery and very windy, so everyone was wiping pollen and dust from their eyes the whole time. The other thing I lo...

Hello, friends and family! Tomorrow I embark on my adventure across the pond: my hiking trip across, around, and through the British Isles. I will hopefully be posting updates of my adventures here for those who are curious. Stay tuned!