all things have to come to an end.

well most things. my time in london makes the list.


our last full day in london. we made it a good one.


it started justifying not runnng. we have become quite good at that. reasons to not run today: it was our last day, we were sleepy, and why would we want to not end with our "goodbye london" run?


the day really started with H&M. cali hadnt been yet, and they had forgotten to take one of the security tags off so i HAD to go back (not like i wanted to or anything). we picked up caroline on the way, and cami ran and caught up with us. being the great friends we are, we had forgotten to tell her when we were leaving. devil. but two skirts, one pair of pants, and a cardigan later- i left H&M a little poorer. but it was all perfect, especially for EFY! which is tomorrow! bah!!!


sweetheart moment of the day: while we were gone shopping, Elly checked me into my flight for me because i would be gone at the 24 hour mark. how sweet is she?!


comment of the day: walking home. talking with cali and how the world is our playground. shopping bags in hand. "no, my closet is my playground" have i gotten too many clothes. yes.


after H&M it was home to change (for cali) and then off to the orangery to end our time here with a traditional english tea. at which none of us got tea. dont tell- but i havent had tea the whole time i have been here- fail? yes. but the orangery was wonderful and delicious. and what did we eat for lunch you ask... cake.

cali, cami, and i at the orangery. photo cred. elly.

its okay to drool.

most decadent cake of my life.

what would the orangery be without pictures. photo cred. calianne jex

trying to pay was interesting when you are all trying to get rid of change. we sure had a lot of coins in the pence form down. sorry waitress.

cali and i were exact opposites in our outfits. blue skirt. khaki skirt. khaki top. blue top. blue purse. light brown purse. brown hair. blonde hair. after all opposites attract..right? we were bound to be friends.

this little guy was the funniest, and made me think of Eliza (efy style). he was just perched on a hedge looking out over the gardens. i tried to get close, but was scared he would attack me, and he ran away before i could. 

then it was home to change (again- yes it was a very changing day in our lives) and back to the park with more in tow to go for a bike ride around hyde park. they have these wonderful places you can rent bikes and then return them to other locations around the city. genius, right? and we had been meaning to go the whole time we have been here- so we had to go on our last day! problem. there were 7 of us. why problem. well the first place only had three bikes, the second place was broken, and the third only had two. quite the dilemma. so we split off. carolyn, preston, and amber went to ride the carousel, and cali, cami, ashlee and i went back to the first place in hopes of there being more bikes. and we were the luckiest! there were. not so lucky though. we couldnt get the machine to work. we finally got it to work, but then couldnt figure out how to get the bikes out. we figured out you needed a code, and then werent strong enough to get them out. 15 minutes later, and with the help of a random man we had our bikes and were ready to go. the ride itself was wonderful, except i was feeling the long run. cami was a little speed demon, and cali was an amazing photographer while riding. we rode to the exact opposite side of the park before realizing we should return them before the half hour is up and we have to pay more. we had a fun walk in front of us, but it was a grand ole time. cami and i talked about our plans for the fall. so fun. but it was amazing how slow walking is in comparison to biking and even to running.

trying to get the machine to work. 

we finally got our bikes. phew.

our wonderful bike ride in the park. ps there are only parts that bikes can go, so it was an adventure finding a route. also cali has mad picture taking abilities while riding her bike. amazing.

walking home.

we ran. they didnt. lost them at the cross walk. this is a normal occurrence in london. side note. pedestrians never have the right away. even if you are crossing a side street better make sure no cars are in a 50 foot vicinity. 

then it was home to check out of the apartment. which really just consisted of a lady coming and telling us to take out our trash before we go and seeing if anything needed repair.


last night in london. what do you do for dinner? crepes at hampstead! soo yummy. i had to stick with asparagus and cheese because it was soo good the first time. by body wasnt the biggest fan of the high amounts of butter but it sure was scrumptious.

waiting for our yummy crepes.

they are sooo good. and soo messy. and by messy i mean, dripping butter. aka dont get it on you because it will ruin things. no worries we made it through with no messes.

 we had to end it with a show. its only fitting for a theater study abroad. the winner for the last show in london. and the last show was...

before the show.

the show was grand. we started by playing musical chairs because we had obstructed view, but eventually we got to a spot where we could see most of the stage. and i just love the  spectacle that is phantom. the chandalier crashing, the boat ride. what they can do on stage is amazing. this was my third time seeing it, yes third. excessive. a little. but i have learned to have really low expectations and then you will love the show. i ruined myself by seeing the movie first, and there are things you can do with film that you cant do on stage- so its good to not expect them to. favorite songs from the show tonight: wishing you were somehow here again, masquerade (it had been stuck in my head for days), all i ask of you- oh brother the list goes on and on... 

our starting seats.

funny story of the night: walking home we saw a waggamama's sign to which i said to cali something along the lines of wag-your-mama. her response. "i'll wag my mama all the way home" (hello this little piggy). my response. "no you wont". challenge issued. challenge accepted. so cali wagged her "mama" all the way home that night. walking to the tube. on the escalator. on the tube. did she get weird looks? you bet. did people ask her if she needed the loo? yes. did i laugh? you betcha.


funny story number two of the night: what do you bring home people from london? a cute shirt, maybe some royal wedding memorabilia. nope. i bring them the best part of london. CHOCOLATE. after doing many price comparisons- tesco was the winner. so i walk in. grab the box. yes the entire box. 24 galaxy bars. dear family i love you. and take it to the front. the guy at the register looked at me looked at the box and back at me. side note: tesco is a small convience store- not a like cosco. you dont buy in bulk. so there he is looking at me. he then goes on to pat his tummy and say "youre going to be fat like me" i died laughing. and then quickly explained that they were for people back home. he just looked at me. so if you see me in the fall and i am 300 pounds- you will know why.

yum. yum.

the rest of the night consisted of saying goodbye to people- and avoiding going to sleep to try to beat that nasty thing called jet lag. keep your fingers crossed. tomorrow is going to be a long day.

the "final" days in London.

alarm clock. i hate you. this morning it went off at 5 30 for Cali to wake up to do her final. I woke up, woke her up, and was very grateful to get to go back to bed. 7 00 alarm goes off again. i dont wake up. i wake up to cali on top of me. literally. she had flopped down across me to wake me up. a funny way to wake up. yes. now why did the alarm go off at such an early hour? for a "goodbye london" run. 


we had finished our theater final so we didnt have class until 10 30. so we laced up our running shoes. put our hair back. and headed out the door. one hour and forty-five minutes later, and 8.25 miles later, we were home after seeing the following on our run.

• Hyde Park
• Buckingham Palace
• Westminister Abbey
• Parliament (Big Ben)
• The London Eye
• The Thames
• The National Theater
• St. Paul's Cathedral (the dome of)
• and much much more.

it was a wonderful run. im not going to lie, i was feeling great when we decided to do it, but then was really worried about it considering the run yesterday was pretty rough. but it was perfect. getting out to the center of london kept my mind busy and visually stimulated. and talking with cali made the time fly by. 

we got home. stretched and worked out a little more. and then had a wonderful breakfast of muffins, corners, and orange juice together. it is so nice to sit down and eat with someone, rather than just eating on the run.

we were then off to take our last final. we walked in with preston who started singing "after today" from the goofy movie. ah best song ever. we got to the top of the stairs and phil was standing there laughing telling us to "shhh people are still taking finals" we just smiled sheepishly. whoops. the final itself wasnt bad at all. just two essay questions. one hour later i was on my way home.

ashlee and i then ran over to H&M for some last minute shopping with the 40 pounds we had gotten in class today. thank you rodger and phil for giving us the left over money. one skirt, three shirts, and 26 pounds later we walked out of the store. i love that store. so cute.

then it was home for lunch. the apartment was surprisingly empty. but it was perfect. i was able to talk to a girl on the program, Amber, and it was just wonderful. she is just so inspiring to talk to and such an example of trusting in the lord. the rest of the day wasnt too exciting before the show. just worked on some stuff and took a nap. oh how i love naps. and then it was off to our final show as a group. haunting julia. sounds creepy. yes. looked creepy. yes.

before the show. we were so nervous for what was going to happen.

i remember walking into the theater wondering what Rodger had gotten us into. where we normally talk about the shows beforehand, we hadnt talked about this one at all, and it looked weird. the show ended up being great. it was in real time, same scene the whole time. it talked about a child prodigy "little miss mozart" who had committed suicide. her father had created a memorial to her in her old room. the play showed him, julia's old boyfriend, and a man who lived in the building trying to figure out what happened and trying to connect with her. the whole time we were on edge waiting for julia to appear. there was many a moment that elly and i grabbed eachother's hand or arm. when the climatic point came i learned what it will be like for my husband when im in labor. i havent squeezed someone's hand that hard in my life. there was one point that the trunk flew open and i almost jumped into elly's lap. she laughed as my leg cam flying towards her. the show was good. scary. and had us all on edge leaving. but wasnt as creepy or demonic as i was expecting.


one thing that was said in the show that i loved was when one character was talking about being a psychic. he was saying how you have to switch to the receive mode, but that we are all stuck on transmit mode. and even when we think we are listening normally we are trying to come up with the next thing to say. while i didnt think of it in the way he was talking (connecting with spirits) what he said about talking to people is so true. how often do we listen to someone's story thinking about a story we can share right after. its hard to truly listen to someone- and not think about what to say- because the time will come when they stop and expect a response- but how wonderful would it be if we truly listened to one another. that we were fully present when talking to people. our mind was there, and not thinking about the hundreds of other things we have to do that week. how much better would communication be? so that is one of my goals. to truly listen, to not think about what i can share, to be fully present.


then it was home for an efy fashion show. aka making cali make sure there is no question whether it is modest or not. while they all come to my knee and are great, i dont want to be close to "skirting" around the line because i am supposed to be an example. it was grand, and it was nice to have a stamp of approval from cali and elly.


ps. efy is in three days. three. oh brother! meaning only two more days in london. sad day.

two hemispheres. one name. an ell(ie,y) day.

today was a day sans this girl because her family was in town. silly family why did you have to want to hang out with your daughter slash sister.

but i did get the morning with her. for our morning run. and boy we were feeling it today. it was a good run. and then we came home and had more energy that a 13 year old boy. so what do you do..have a dance party to justin bieber of course. who cares if it 9 30 in the morning. our dancing was a mix between aerobic workoutness, and just plain craziness. we figured anything where we were moving was working out- poor elly who had to put up with us. and lauren for the last part. 

look at those mad dance moves. and the grossness after running.

even though life was sad without cali. elly and i were excited because it meant we got to have an ell(ie,y) day. she was so patient as i took forever to shower and get ready. and worked on figuring out what we wanted to do with our completely free day. first choice windsor castle...surprise couldnt get tickets for today. second choice. hampton court. surprise- we are going there with the group in june...so what do we do you ask...i will tell you...


it started at H&M on our way to the tube stop. what was supposed to be a short perusal turned into a two hour, try everything in the store on, trip. but really. it was three stories, we only did two. and tried on over 20 things each. unfortunately the fashion is short. so a lot of things were cute but werent quite long enough, even for my short body. but there were a few "loves" which i had to get. a long dress. two cardigans. (because i dont have enough of those) a pencil skirt. and cute hair clips. all that for only 45ish pounds. i am very happy with my purchases...as you can see below.

at the south kensigton tube station so excited for my new clothes

this is the girl i got to hang out with all day! im the luckiest.

the next part of our adventure was to go to lunch at the rhythm factory described in elly's book as "perennially hip and popular, the Rhythm Factory is a relaxed and friendly coffee shop with a Thai lunch and dinner menu during the day, but come the evening the large back room is opened up, and tonnes (yes, that is how the book spelled it) of bands and DJs of all genres keep the up-for-it crowd happy until late" due to the fact we love thai food we thought this would be fun, and be an exciting adventure. so we followed the circle line to aldgate to see what we could find. having no idea where we were going we followed the map to the address it said (so i guess we had some idea). and were pleasantly surprised by the shadiness of the town. while not scared for your life shady it was hold on a little tighter to your purse shady. so we are walking purely on faith and our map when we came across the Rhythm Factory. lets just say it wasnt what we were expecting. it definitely was more of a concert venue than an eatery. the door was closed, and we peaked in the window and it was empty. so the adventured continued.

aldgate tube station was the cutest tube station. 

hmmm this isnt what we were expecting.

so we headed back the way we came remembering we had passed a few cafes on the way to see what we could find. and we found a yummy little place. i got a peri peri chicken sandwich which i was kind of scared for because the lady said it was spicy, but it was soo scrumptious. i loved it, and elly got some pasta which was delicious. it was a definite happy london cafe moment.

yummy yummy sandwich

after that it was back to the tube to try to get to greenwich. or next goal was to get on the DLR which we had never done before. so we backtracked to where we could get on it and then followed to signs around until we came to the station. we had no idea what the DLR was, we thought it was just like the tube, but it is an above ground train, that you can use your oyster card on (atleast we hope so, because thats what we did) we were so confused at what we were supposed to do. but we finally figured out we needed to get on a train and then transfer to another line of the DLR. so on the train we went. and it was wonderful because sitting there a guy turned to me and asked me how to get somewhere and i could help him because we had just figured it our moments before. later another guy asked us how to get somewhere. i guess we are beginning to look like locals.

on the DLR

we got to greenwich- and knew we wanted to go to the prime meridian, but had no idea how to get there. so once again we were flying by the seat of our pants. but we are pros and found it. and had adventures along the way...

we finally took a picture with the stereotypical red phone booth.

found a college with my name on it..

found an old book store...

we finally made it to the park where the observatory (where the prime meridian is shown) but got distracted by...

the words cake and ice cream are like heaven to elly and i...we are bad for eachother

but it was an adorable place to eat so we couldnt resist

i got chocolate cake to share

and she got hoky poky ice cream- the single scoop was the smallest single scoop ever- and it was soo expensive..but yummy

it was the cutest place ever

then finally off to the observatory...

we had to walk up the biggest hill to get to the observatory. and we were already tired from all the walking we had done..but we owned that hill

two hemispheres at once- a walk to remember, two places at once, has nothing on this

the sign above it- east longitude and west longitude

the queens house, and greenwich is the background

the observatory. so pretty. it has newton and other famous scientists' name on the building

we love hands on things...but really..we were the fastest observatory lookers ever. luckily having the same name means we are the same person because neither one of us wanted to take the time to read everything.

we got to simulate sending a rocket into space. i was the mechanical engineer. i started the mission with two random people but they deserted me so elly took both of there places. she is the nicest. unfortunately our mission failed because we took the wrong supplies. better luck next time.

we then wandered around, because we had seen a pretty garden and wanted to try to find it, and find it we did. it was so beautiful and serene. we were in love.

we then just took some time to ponder. it was so nice to sit there in nature and think about life. to think of what all i have done, and what the future holds. to think about all the blessings in my life, and to have a chance to be still and thank my heavenly father for all he has given me, and he has given me so so much. i could have sat there watching the squirrels and birds interact, thinking, all day.

Elly and I decided we have to come back and bring Cali

unfortunately we had both forgotten our watches, which i guess was nice at the same time. it was nice to not have anything to be back for. to not need to watch the clock. but is also tricky when you are curious what time it is. so we headed home. it was nice to sit on the train for a bit, but it made us realize how tired we were. we were planning on grabbing some groceries on our way home but we couldnt muster up the energy. when we left glochester the bus that takes you to the end of the street was just leaving the stop. (i had never ridden the bus before, but didnt want to walk this time) so we did what anyone would do and ran to the next stop to catch it. lucky for us the light turned red so we could get ahead of it. and im pretty sure the bus driver saw us. but we made it! just barely. elly didnt have faith as was lagging behind because she didnt want to exhert the energy if we wouldnt get to ride. but we caught it. it was a moment of pure joy.

then home. resting. blogging. and homework. elly was working on homework and decided she wanted to eat, however i needed thirty more minutes so in my convincing ways- i told her she should do her response and then eat- her response, i should but im already standing up- my response *ellie pushes elly back onto the bed* we both laughed. a lot.

the rest of the night was very chill. and wonderful.

quote of the night: elly: your puzzle only has two pieces.

cali: you go play with your puzzle pieces in the dark.

ps life is way more entertaining when you have a roommate who is engaged. and they skype in the same room as you...

song stuck in my head today: somebody to love- j biebs