A Weekend Recap and a New Week

We've been as busy as ever here in London, but alas, many of the places and things we have seen have regrettably not allowed photography, so I have fewer pictures to share, but still just as many fond memories.

This evening, we went to the Royal Opera House to see "Faust." The theater was beautiful, and the opera was... well, "interesting" is probably the best word for it. Those who have seen Faust or know the story will understand.

Saw this cute sign in a bakery window and just couldn't resist a picture. :)

On Saturday, we took a tour of Westminster Palace, which is home to Britain's government and Parliament. I learned so much about the British government system and how it differs from our system in the U.S. For example, after the meeting room of the House of Commons was destroyed during WWII, Winston Churchill had it rebuilt, but he only included enough benches to seat 400-ish people, and there are 600+ MPs. He designed it that way because he wanted it to feel "up close and personal," so to speak. So, when the House of Commons meets, people have to sit on the floor, stand, etc. Crazy, but kind of funny, too.

Just an example of the cool buildings that we walk past on our way through the streets of London everyday.

Today we also went through the National History Museum, which is housed in this gorgeous building.

A glimpse inside the museum.

The other highlight of the last few days was visiting the British Library and seeing original manuscripts of the Tyndale New Testament, the King James Bible, a letter from Jane Austen, the original "Kubla Khan" text by Coleridge, several medieval texts, hand-written scores by Mozart and Beethoven, and more. I was geeking out over all of it just like a true English major should. It was awesome.

Sending love to you all from across the pond!

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Edinburgh

We're in Edinburgh! Here is the Scott monument, honoring Scottish author Walter Scott. It is the largest monument to a writer in the world. Edinburgh castle! How Scottish... I love it! :) We went to an adorable little tea shop and had fruit tea, scones, and clotted cream! It was so yummy! This is the tea shop. Today we hiked King Arthur's seat, which is a big hill/ridge just outside of the city. A view of the city from the top of King Arthur's Seat. This is the "birthplace" of Harry Potter because it is the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Look at this awesome Scottish hat!!!!! Love to you all!

Bronte Country and Yorkshire

Lots of cool pictures from the last couple of days but not a lot of time to post, so here's a super quick update: The Bronte house in Haworth where Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte all grew up. The library where the girls probably wrote some of their famous novels. The Bronte moors covered in heather This is called Bronte falls, and is a place that the Bronte sisters came often on their walks through the moors. This was an art instillation along our hike that was called "Literary Landscape." Today, we are in Yorkshire Dales National Park. This rocky outcropping is where they shot some of the scenes from Harry Potter 7, part 1. A very different landscape than those we've been in thus far. this might just look like interesting bark at first, but those are actually a bunch of coins stuck into the wood over the years, and the tree has grown up around them. Lots of love!

Punting on the Thames

Today we were in Oxford! We went to a pub called The Three Goat Heads for dinner, and I tried liver. :) But first, a few group pictures that I've missed from past days. This is from last Sunday in Bath. This is our whole group at the Cliffs of Dover. This is our classroom. :) We stopped along the trail in Cornwall to have a class and do some travel writing. A fun view from Stourhead. And here's Oxford! A pic of some of our group in the punting boats. One of the girls learning how to use the punting pole. An Oxford bridge. Some of the cool buildings in Oxford. This is the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would meet and talk about their books together. That's all from Oxford. Love you all!

Abigail Across the Pond

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