Before I start talking about the amazing events of the day called today, I want to step backwards and share something I realized about my adventures yesterday! While in my tour of Westminster Abbey, I got to see the area where they perform the coronation of royalty. At the end of the tour, I also got to see the Coronation Chair, also known as King Edward's Chair. That chair has been around since 1296! Well the realization I had was that I've also seen many of the other key elements of the coronation. Two years ago when I traveled to Scotland I saw the Stone of Scone, or the Coronation Stone. It was originally used for Scotland royalty, but is now used in the coronations of British royalty as well. I also had the opportunity to visit the Crown Jewels that are used in the ceremony as well! And let's not forget the time I encountered the Queen herself. Combine all these amazing things that I have seen in many different places and it's like I've been to a coronation myself. So there you go!
Now to the things that happened in the today! Our study group was invited to go out to the countryside in Kent to go on country walk with some members that live in Kent. A wonderful man named George started a tradition back when he was a Stake President and invited the BYU students to walk through the countryside. This tradition has continued for a while now and I am glad I got to take part. In 2012 when my group was invited, I actually was sick on the day we were supposed to go! It was awful, but was rectified today! We were also joined by his brothers and nephews, as well as their friends.
That fun moment when we realized we are all wearing BYU blue (on the train to Kent)
Our Country Walk was absolutely amazing. We took the train out to Eynsford (a station in Kent) and met up with George and his family there. The weather was absolutely fantastic today as it was slightly cooler and cloudy as well. It would rain every now and then, but only briefly enough to make it smell wonderful. Our walk started out in a residential neighborhood, which was still really fun to see, but then we made our way out into some amazing green fields. We stopped momentarily to see Eynsford Castle, small ruins that slightly resemble what was once a castle structure. It was not the most amazing sight, but it was still very fascinating. Like the true college students that we are we went to town and explored that structure!
Rainy day in Kent
Ellen, Amanda, and I at Eynsford Castle
The rest of the walk was mostly across grassy or tree covered hills. It was so incredibly breathtaking. I found myself stopping frequently to simply try and take it all in. This also meant that I would attempt to take some photos, but no matter how many I took I just felt that they couldn't compare. I managed to snap some pretty decent ones too, so I think it just shows how awesome this place truly was! Times what you may see in my photos by a hundred and you'll know how it was to be there! The walk was pretty long but I think we were all really enjoying being out and about in a new place. We visited and had a great time with one another! It was adorable because George (our teacher) kept racing Brett's youngest son Ethan to different locations on the walk. So every now and then you'd see these two figures sprinting across the path or down a hill. I'm so lucky to be traveling with these wonderful people.
We passed through many different locations, like a field of daisies, lavender, poppies, and many other incredible flowers. There was even a moment that we shared as group where we burst into singing "The Sound of Music". It was pretty fantastic. Other moments of the walk include tiny ziplines, hiding snails in backpacks, talking about the time that Ben was arrested, singing Les Miserables as awful as we could (a la Russell Crowe), passing through a golf course while golf clapping for those that were playing, and asking our new Brit friends to talk with American accents. Towards the end of our trek with stopped by a little shop that was on a lavender farm. They had an assortment of flower-flavored treats. I tried some lavender chocolate, lavender fudge, and bought a glass of Rose Lemonade. For some reason we were all very fascinated by the lemonade, but it wasn't exactly the best treat to be had. The rest that I sampled were actually pretty good, if you're into flowers in your food. George's nephew Harry bought a bottle of Ginger Wine (non alcoholic) that he was nice enough to share with us. It's a very strong drink that has quite a kick of an after taste. We all took turns taking a sip and then making a face as we were kicked by the ginger. It's a pretty popular drink here for those that don't quite go for alcohol, and I think they were incredibly amused to see how the Americans handled it. We were more than happy to oblige.
The hills were alive
A shot of the view and our wonderful guides
So happy to be there
The rose lemonade
So many flowers! (And fortunately they did not set off allergies)
Just before the end of our trip we stopped by a little cathedral to rest. It was completely empty when we arrived, so we all took a seat and sat there for a while to enjoy the peace. Brett then asked Justyne to go to the piano and she began to play "Come Thou Font". We all began singing with the piano and it was quite a beautiful little experience. It was over pretty quickly and we had to start on our way to make our trip, but it was a fun little experience to share with these friends that I have been making. We made it to the station just as our train came. We thanked our wonderful guides and then made our way back to London.
The tracks that go on forever
Our country walk went for about four hours or so, and I didn't think that I was really tired until I sat down on the train. I fell asleep pretty quickly and woke up once we arrived back in London. Though I initially just wanted to go back to the flat and sleep for a while, I joined Ben, Dallin, Chloe, and Brooke in an adventure to Camden Market. I'm frequently asked by people if Londoners are all incredibly classy. I then think that they need to see some of the incredibly fascinating people that inhabit this sketchy part of town. I'm not overly fond of the market itself, but I really love Camden Lock, the fantastic food market just by the river. Ben and I quickly made our way over to the Lock where we sampled some delicious food and then bought some dinner. Ben had never been before, and was quite surprised at the amount of fantastic food to be had. This time around I had a delicious Turkish wrap while he ate some Peruvian food. We wandered for a bit and we were about to leave when Brooke and Dallin caught up with us (Chloe was still shopping for clothes). We returned to the market and I bought a Brazilian churro. So much goodness to be had!
The river and bridge by Camden Lock
Turkish wrap
This part of Camden is amazing
The rest of the day was dominated by football. The England match was on tonight as they played against Italy. Due to the time different between England and Brazil (where the World Cup is taking place), the game was not on until 11:00pm London time. We had original contemplated going to a pub and watching the game with the rest of the crowds, but eventually decided against it. Instead we set up base in our common room with loads of treats to substitute for alcohol and had a great time watching it on the flat screen. We had so many treats and a lot of Coke and it was a fantastic time. We were a little disappointed when England lost to Italy, but were enjoying ourselves enough to get over it pretty quickly. Plus we had loads of chocolate, which always helps.
Football (soccer) game night. Jace, Ellen, Ben, Collette, Emily, and Amanda
Photo Credit goes to Dallin who was a good sport
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