Pemberley, Just add Mr. Darcy

Yesterday we toured Hampton Court, which was the castle and home of King Henry VIII and his 6 wives (although not all at the same time). It was absolutely stunning -- everything that I could ever want in a castle. I mean, just look at it!

It was complete with a great hall!

Here's a view from one of the courts inside.

And, despite how neat the castle was, the grounds were by far the crowning jewel. Doesn't this remind you of Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice?? And these are just the back gardens.

The grounds were meticulously manicured with so many gorgeous flowers, bushes, and more.

Another snapshot of the grounds that doesn't do them justice.

If I lived here, I would spend every day out in the gardens.

To end the day, we went to Shakespeare's Globe Theater right by the Thames and watched Henry V.

It was a somewhat surreal experience, considering that I've been studying Shakespeare and this theater since my middle school English classes. To actually be here was crazy!

The play itself was wonderfully done. My only complaint was that it got very cold by the end of the performance. Other than that, it was a fabulous day!

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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!

On the Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond

We made it to Scotland! We drove into the country on Friday and then walked an 8-mile trail to reach our hostel. Did I mention that our hostel is right on the edge of Loch Lomond!?!?! The views are incredible! Here are just a few pictures of the loch. This is our hostel, which looks like a gingerbread house perched on the edge of this beautiful blue loch. Yesterday we hiked to the summit of Ben Lomond, a peak near to our hostel. We hiked up into the clouds and got rained on again, but it was still a neat hike with some great views. Here's a picture of my professor's cute son at the summit. He was so proud of himself for making it to the top! :) Loch Lomond! It is WAY bigger than I though it would be! It is the largest lake in Great Britain and is 21 miles long. We get to spend the entirety of this beautiful Sunday here at the hostel and on the lake. Here are some of us enjoying this day of rest. What a view from our couch in the hostel! Wish...

"Put'em in the wash, they'll be grand"

You know it, you love it: It's... Dublin!!!! (For those who don't know, the title of this post is from the movie "Leap Year," which takes place in Ireland and Dublin.) First, a glimpse of the beautiful green countryside outside of Dublin and a headstone with some classic Celtic decorations. Oh, did I mention that we ended up on the side of the motorway AGAIN? Our coach blew a tire on the way to Dublin, so we chilled on the side of the highway for an hour and a half. So, for the second time in 2 weeks, we played playground games on the side of the highway -- this time, it was just in Ireland rather than in the UK. We're making it a new goal to try and get stranded on a highway in every country we visit. :) We went to an Irish pub for dinner called the Hairy Lemon. The food was DELICIOUS, despite the unappetizing pub name. It must be a requirement that all pubs have weird names. Today we visited Trinity College and saw the library, as well as th...

Abigail Across the Pond

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