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...

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!

Abigail Across the Pond

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