Vacations.

No matter what happens,

don't end up with a box full of vacation brochures.

even when....

Even when life is completely confusing... it's still worth it. That's a nice feeling.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

"They're just... life. Things happen in life. A child is born with tender eyes. A man in crushed to death up against a wall. While another man has to flee from his home because he's been given the birthright blessing that his older brother expected to receive, and he doesn't want to fight with his brother. Are these things all the plan of God? Maybe. But they don't happen because God is angry with us. They happen because God wants us to find out what kind of people we are. When everything is going well, then it's easy to be nice to people and obey the commandments of God. When things are hard to bear, that's when we're tested... Maybe no matter what kind of life you have, you still have plenty of chanced to show how righteous or unrighteous you are."

-Jacob talking to Leah-

Rachel and Leah, written by Orson Scott Card.

He's my favorite right now. Love his work. amazing.

Jesus Christ knows us all and loves us all. There is ALWAYS light at the end of the tunnel. Even when we can't see it, it's there. Things will work out. He could not and will not ever leave us behind.

CAN'T BUY ME LOVEEEE

ABBEY ROAD!!

* I get by with a little help from my friends * All you need is love * Here comes the sun * Eight days a week * I wanna hold your hand * She's got a ticket to ride, and she don't care * Come together * You have found her, now go and get her * Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes * Strawberry fields forever * Hello Goodbye * Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away * Won't you please please help me * Cry baby cry * Love love me do! You know I love you. I'll always be true. So please love me do * Twist and shout * Eleanor Rigby * I got to get you into my life * Tomorrow never knows * In my life * Lucy in the sky with diamonds * Hold me tight * You've really got a hold on me * I wanna be your man * Not a second time * Let it be * She loves you, yeah yeah yeah. She loves you yeah yeah yeah. She loves you, yeah yeah yeah yeah *

I'll bet you've never tried THIS

My first experience with fish pedicures!!!

It was so so cool. Richie and I got it done while shopping in Camden Market. It felt like little bubbles or like vibrations. As soon as you put your feet in the water the fish swarm to you! It was so cool! I will do it every time I get a chance from now on. I loved it.

STONEHENGE!!

It was everything I imagined and more! AMAZING!

OXFORD!!!!

We visited Oxford on the way back to London after Stratford and it was so so fun! Basically, we just got dropped off in the town and got to walk around and do our own thing for a few hours and it was amazing! I lovedddd Oxford!

One of the coolest things was I got to see Christ's Church where the Great Hall from Harry Potter really is! I also got to see some of the University and the best part was.....

EAGLE AND CHILD PUB!!

this is the pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien used to sit every tuesday morning and talk about what they were working on! Amazing. I felt myself getting smarter and smarter as I sat there! The pub was super cute too.

(ps. my computer is being slow and gay... but pictures are coming!)

STRATFORD UPON AVON TRIP!

I went to Stratford (the home of Shakespeare just a couple hours outside of London) for a couple of days and it was probably one of the best parts of my London excursion.

Ok, so

DAY #1

* We stopped at Coventry Cathedral which is one of the oldest cathedrals still standing. One of the walls was from the 10th century i believe. Crazy. And it had been bombed during world war II and was left broken to show the effect of war on Europe. It was gorgeous and truly moving.

*Next we went to KENNILWORTH CASTLE! This place was so so so cool! Gorgeous! amazing. beautiful! I loved it. Can you tell? Just look at the pictures!

*Anne Hathaway's house. (no... not the actress.... Shakespeare's wife, thank you.) This was pretty cool because the house was beautiful but it was also where Shakespeare courted anne. Bow chica bow wow. ha. ps. did you know that they were pregnant before they were married?? Scandalous!

*Mary Arden's Farm. This is the farm where Shakespeare's mother lived and it is still a working farm today. We got to see amazing owls and hawks. Sounds weird, but it was really amazing.

*Then we checked into our Bed and Breakfast (Lex, heidi, Jason, christian and I shared one) called the Woodstock and it was the cutest little place I have ever been to! Even the toilets were pink! The couple who ran it were so so nice and they made AMAZING breakfast. Plus, it was so nice sleeping in a nice bed with a tv for the first time in weeks. Not to mention the endless supply of herbal teas!

*we ate at the Windmill Inn, which in my opinion is the best pub in England

*Finally we saw an amazing performance of Romeo and Juliet performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Incredible.

ok.. DAY #2

*We visited Shakespeare's birthplace

*His sister's house (she married a doctor and we saw lots of old scary medical tools). It's really sad to see that the instruments for pap smears and other fun things like that really haven't changed at all over time.... dang it.

*The house Shakespeare lived in during his married life. Also cool.

*Shakespeare's grave

*Spent some time on the river on this gorgeous gorgeous day!

*ate at the WINDMILL Inn AGAIN.

*Saw Antony and Cleopatra performed by the ROyal ShakespeareCo. again after taking a tour of the theater! It was, as always, an incredible show.

DAY #3

*we left Stratford and visited Blenheim Palace (The home of many famous people, including Winston Churchill). This place was amazing. We took a tour of the palace, took a little train to the gardens and maze. Went into a butterfly house, walked through a maze and walked around a giant life size chess set! This place was amazing.

MEDICAL BREAK THROUGH!

THE MIRACLE REMEDY FOR THE MIGRANE:

*big gulp

*watching the movie Hot Fuzz

trust me. You've gotta try it.

I must admit, I was a sceptic at first, but now,

I swear by it.

MORE TO COME FROM LONDON!!!

Stratford upon Avon and Oxford trip!

Reviews from the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Romeo and Juliet, and Antony and Cleopatra! (both amazing shows by the way)

And the show, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. BRILLIANT

Stonehenge trip!

It's coming, I promiseeee!!!!!

MORE TO COME FROM LONDON!!!

More Museums in London, Stratford, and Oxford

Here's a list of some more museums that I went to and tours that I took while still in London and on my Stratford upon Avon/ Oxford trip!

All of them were so so so good! recommend all of them.

London:

*Tate Modern Museum

*Globe Theater backstage tour

*London National Theater backstage tour

*Tower of London

*Country walk way outside of London

*Tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company Theater

*Coventry Cathedral

*Kennilworth Castle

*Mary Arden Farm! (Shakespeare's mother's home)

*Anne Hathaway's house (Shakespeare's wife's house, where they dated)

*Shakespeare's birthplace, house, and grave

Shopping district in London:

*Portobello Road

*Camden Market

Our lovely warm day in Hyde Park

Tower of London Tour and Country walk in England and of course platform 9 3/4!

Pictures from France!

we're all the same...

"How's Judy?"

"Adjusting to change..."

"Who isn't?"

It's going to be okay, one way or another.

All My Sons at the Apollo Theater

This is one of the saddest most moving, honest plays I have ever seen. It was beautiful. If you ever get the chance to see it or read it, DO! (oh, and madame Hooch from Harry Potter was the lead! fun little tid bit there.)

Ok, here are my notes!

*"The trouble with you is you don't believe in anything." "The trouble with you is that you believe in anything!"

*"War changes everything. I once had two sons and now I have one."

*"Every week a different book comes out. All different."

*"In was, men don't die. Men kill themselves for each other."

*"You have a right to whatever you have. whatever you want."

*"Do you not realize how people can hate? They can hate so much that they tear the world apart."

*"When is the right time to let go?"

*"You can never owe something without resentment."

*"When you get older you want to feel like you've accomplished something. The only thing I ever accomplished was my son. And that's enough."

*"Everything can cross your mind."

*"How could we argue? We call got hit by the same lightening."

*"A little man makes a mistake, they hang him by his thumbs. A big man makes a mistake, they make him an embassador."

*"There are some men in this world who will wait to see the whole world hanged before they'll take the blame."

*"I knew you were no worse than those men. But I thought you were better. I thought you were better than all those men."

*"A man can't be a Jesus in his own world."

*"Silence is more effective than shouting. Stop shouting."

London Assurance at the National Theater!

This show was one of the best that I saw while in London! And the leading lady was Petunia from Harry Potter! Ha. fun. She's so so brilliant. I definitely have a girl crush on her. It was a comedy and it was excellently done. Here are some quotes that I wrote down and some notes:

*"State? What do you mean state? I'm in a beautiful state!"

*My beauties are of home manufacture."

*A choice between marrying you and complete poverty, I dare say it's a tie."

*A woman is always in love with one or another ( a man or herself) and I know which is the most profitable."

*"I am a lawyer. Why do you think I'm lying?" "You're talking."

*"Men talk of killing time while time is slowly killing them..."

*Recommended? Is he a husband or a restaurant."

*"Excessively polite.... must be a solicitor."

*"Do you have a rifle?""Heavens no! I have people to shoot for me."

*"I wish that all creation had but one mouth, that I could kiss it!"

*"Darling, I'm sorry but you have lost the little bit of wit that was dribbled into your tiny head."

FRANCE!!!

Ok, so mid may, while still studying in London, Lex, Heidi and I went to France for a weekend! It was amazing! My computer is sick so I can't put up pictures yet, but here's what we did in Paris!

Day 1:

*We took the chunnel from London to Paris!

*we found our hostel!! it was called the Perfect Hostel and it was! It was so so great! We even had a bidet in our room! amazing!

*Then... I bought a real french baguette from a real little french bakery! It was amazing. I can never enjoy other types of bread again...

*We went to the Sacre Couer!!! It was a gorgeous gorgeous temple! Probably one of my favorite things we saw.

*PLACE du TERTRE! This was the coolest place! It's just a street covered with painters! I even got my picture drawn by a guy named Claude! (He probably went through 4 cigarettes while drawing me!) It was amazing! And the picture is gorgeous!

*Then we walked all around Monmartre (which is where we lived). The streets of Paris are gorgeous.

*we then went to a famous macaroon place and they were so so so so good! oh my gosh.

*La Madeline Chapel! Gorgeous!

*Tuileries Gardens! These were some of the most amazing gardens I have ever seen! And they were right in front of the Louvre! so wonderful! We just spent a while sitting around there. Amazing.

*We visited the Louvre, but didn't go inside until Friday.

*Then we went to the EIFFEL TOWER!!!! ... i didn't go up... since I'm a total pansy, and it's really high... but I did do some yoga with Heidi at the base of it.

Finally, we got dinner at a cafe called Cafe le Dome at the base of the tower and went home! An amazing first day in Paris!!

Day 2:

*We visited and took a little tour inside the Opera! This is the famous opera house that inspired the story of Phantom of the Opera and it was gorgeous! So beautiful and ornate. I wish I could have spent all day there.

*Comedie Francais! (A play house where some of Moliere's plays were first done! Love him.

*NOTRE DAME!!! This place was as amazing inside and out as you could ever imagine. Amazing

*Hotel de Ville (another amazing building that has been around since the 12th century!)

*Saint Michele!!!! This series of streets was covered in little shops, food places and lots of other stuff. I ate amazing food there and bought some art and was asked by a french man if I would kiss him! All in a days work my friend... all in a days work.

*Finally, once it got dark we walked down the Champs Elysees to the famous Arch! It was gorgeous! I promise... pictures are coming!!!

*after these two long days I had the sorest most tired feet and definitely soaked them in the bidet! DON'T JUDGE! it was amazing.

Day 3:

*We called this day our "dead people" day. ha!

*We visited Le Pere Lachaise. This is a famous cemetery were we found the graves or Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Moliere and a ton of others! It was so cool

*on our way to St. Michele street for a second time a man came a played the accordian on hte metro! It was awesome.

*We went to the catacombs just to find out they were closed due to a "small flood". This was sad... but we got over it.

*So we found Napoleon's Tomb

*visited the Tuleries Gardens again... and then.....

*WENT TO THE LOUVRE!!!! This museum was so so so wonderful. I can't wait to go again some day!

Finally Day 4:

*Versailles!!!!!! Amazing, amazing, AMAZING! the best part of Paris! amazing!

*Finally, we ate some french deserts by the Musee d'Orsay and then got back on the chunnel and went home!!!

AN AMAZING AMAZING WEEKEND!!!

(pictures are coming)

missing you!

Dearest blog, I have not forgotten you.

I promise to write on you soon and fill you in on all of my wonderful travelings through France and England. I'll write soon,

Love, Andrea.