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!

Hello, London!

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...

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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