Bath & Hyde Park

7/30
On our free day, some of us decided to go to Bath. Bath is a city in which a natural hot spring exists. The spring was mystical to the inhabitants of the town and it was regarded as sacred. This hot spring was used by the Romans to create a bath house. The bath house had an adjoining temple dedicated to both the Tribal and Roman pagan gods. So, the bath house was not only a place to relax, but it was a place of worship and pilgrims would come from afar to visit.

Once I got back from bath I went for a walk in Hyde Park and found the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. The fountain is a big loop that does several different things to the water as is goes around. The area was very peaceful and you are encouraged to paddle your hands and feet in the water. The park had many pretty views as well as a statue of Peter Pan.

From Hyde Park I headed over to Fleet Street to take a stroll. This is the street where Sweeney Todd the demon barber worked. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a British legend, but I learned that Sweeney Todd is actually a fictitious character who was charged with murder. They even found bones under his shop however; there was an abbey that was there before and the bones are most likely from the abbey crypt.

Burghley House

7/29
Our sightseeing began by traveling out to Stamford where Burghley House sits. This is the largest and grandest house of the Elizabethan age. It was built by William Cecil who was Lord High Treasurer and Chief Minister to Queen Elizabeth I.

The house was very grand and surprisingly had a piece of beautiful furniture made for King Louis XIV of France. Other interesting tidbits include the Olympic Corridor which pays tribute to the 6th Marquess’s outstanding athletic career with Olympic Gold and Silver metals on display, and the private herd of deer that roam the grounds! It was a treat to see the deer.

And how could I forget,Burgley functioned as Lady Cathrine de Bourgh's Rosing Park in the more recent Pride and Prejudice. It was also used in Davinci Code.

After our visit to Burghley, we roamed the village of Stamford and checked out lots of little shops. It was a cute little town that would be fun to visit again.

Blenheim Palace

7/28
Today we went out to Oxford to visit Blenheim Palace. The palace is home to the Duke of Marlborough and it is where Sir Winston Churchill was born. The inside of the palace was nice with its grand State Rooms. The grounds were beautiful to behold.

A few of the gardens we visited were the Italian Garden, the Secret Garden, and the Rose Garden. I liked the secret garden in particular. This was a true English garden set up to look natural with winding paths, an assortment of plants and trees, and some lovely steams and ponds.

Salisbury

7/27
It was a long day, but it was a good one! We caught and early train out to Salisbury where we visited the Wilton House. The Wilton House is owned by the Earl of Pembroke. He is the 18th in a long line of Earls that have inherited the beautiful property. Wilton is a stately English home that has see much history. Some interesting details include members of the royal family staying there, its interiors were uses as sets for Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice (aka the inside of Pemberly!), and plans for D-day were made in its double cube room which was a base during World War II.

After Wilton House we took a tour of the Salisbury Cathedral. This cathedral is the tallest in all England standing just over 400 feet tall. The cathedral was beautiful and we were able to climb up the spire and look out over Salisbury. From the view you could spot the house that was used as Mrs. Jennings’s London house in Sense and Sensibility.

From the cathedral we took a taxi out to Stonehenge. Stonehenge was neat to see. We took and audio tour as we walked around the ancient ruins. Still, we do not know why it was built. It could be a calendar, a way to measure the summer and winter solstice. What ever it was, scholars agree it was a very important center for one of the world’s earliest cultures.

Preston Temple

7/26
Its Sunday! I went to church. Can you believe it? Since the meeting would be in a language I could understand I thought I would go. The chapel we went to was wonderful. It was a much more modern building than what you find amongst typical LDS chapels.

After church I did not want to hang around the flat all day so I decided to trek up to the Preston Temple. It was beautiful. I recognize now that the shape of the temple comes form the former churches built in England with a central high tower. This was an English style developed that was different from the typical cathedrals built. It is cool to see contemporary architecture influenced by styles of the past. Compare the Preston Temple to the much older church at Cambridge University.

Billy Elliot

7/25
First thing was to get over to the Victoria Palace Theatre and get front row tickets for Billy Elliot. After that, it was a day for chores. I did my laundry, went grocery shopping, and made plans for my trip to Frankfurt.

At 7:30 I was in my seat anxiously waiting for the show to begin. The show was good. There were many great songs, fantastic dancing, and a meaningful message. The show was all about being yourself. If you are passionate about something then do it. Don’t worry about the stereotypes that exist, just express yourself.

London Weekend

7/24
Today is the beginning of some free days!! It was so nice to sleep in and relax. I went out around 10:30 to check on Billy Elliot tickets. They were sold out of the front row obstructed view seats so I am going there first thing tomorrow morning to get one. The seats are really cheap and it is considered obstructed because you can't see their feet. Fine by me.

After that I came home to shower and get ready to go see Angels and Demons that night. Yes, I finally got around to seeing it. It was neat to see all the cool shots of Rome in the movie. I had read the book, and I must say it was not as gory as I thought is would be.

Patterns

7/23
Second post of the day:

These are rough sketches of patterns I am developing from some of the things I have seen in the museums here in England.

Cambridge

7/23
Our day began early with another train ride. This time we traveled to Cambridge to see Kings College and go punting.

Kings College was wonderful to see with its fan vaulting and stained glass widows. Our guide shared some interesting stories about the college. One of these was about some stone work showing a crown over the fleur-de-lis. This was Henry VIII assuming he was king of France too. I found that rather humorous!

After Kings College we went punting on the river that runs along the back of the colleges of Cambridge. A punt is flat bottomed boat that is pushed with a pole. It is comparable to riding a gondola in Venice, except the boat is not nearly as pretty. Our ride was nice and relaxing as we went along the river. We even saw where Harry Potter learned to fly. (it is the ivy covered building)

On our way back to London, we arrived at Kings Cross Station and we went in search of platform 9 ¾. As you can see we found it! I almost made it through: )