Oh the joys of airports

       Right now I'm sitting in a crowded, noisy airport wishing I was home.  Our flight left early Friday morning (11:00 pm Thursday in Utah time.)  We had a layover in D.C and our flight was two hours late so we missed our connecting flight.  The earliest flight we could get back to Utah won't be until Saturday morning at 8:00 am.  I was supposed to get home at 8:20 pm Friday, but I won't get there until 4:00 pm Saturday.  That's 20 hours later.  So frustrating.  We'll I guess it's good that it happened on our  way home instead of going to Europe.   That means from Manchester to Salt Lake it'll take 40 long, tiring hours.  It's very frustrating.  I hope I'm tired enough to sleep on the airport floor tonight.  Anyway, enough of the bad news.  I just had an incredible six week dream vacation to talk about.  

I just want to go home!!!!  At least I get to
wear my Paris hat to make it a little better.  

       I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog.  I’ve had a lot of fun posting pictures and writing about my experiences.  I’m excited to see everyone again. I love you all!  

    Going home is bittersweet.  This has been an incredible trip but I’m ready and looking forward to coming home.  I will miss Europe though, but I know I’ll be back in the next five years.  

         I’ve been unbelievably happy.  The six-week Europe vacation far exceeded my expectations. I appreciate all the little things.  Just walking down a street was exciting because I loved all the buildings.  My head was always looking out the window while driving.  I could never get enough of the spacious fields and unique houses.  I found myself giggling a lot, gasping at the sights, and getting way too excited about little things.  The English people here found it very amusing how excited I get about the things they’re so use to.   Even when we weren’t doing something exciting it is because we were in Europe.  I can’t even tell you how many times a day I think how lucky I am.  For a month and a half my life was pure enjoyment.   I had no stress, work, meetings, or obligations. I’m SO lucky! I've made so many priceless memories.  This really was a dream come true.

Cost of trip $,$$$. Bought 4 skirts, 9 shirts, 7 paris of shoes, 2 sweatshirts, 3 hats, 2 purses, lots of jewelry, and WAY too many souvenirs. Predicted weight gain 8 lbs.  Seeing the Eiffel Tower and having the trip of a lifetime…Priceless.   I know that was cheeeeesy, but it’s true. 

Things I’ve missed about Utah: 

-Going to the gym

-Beautiful mountains

-Seeing temples everywhere I drive

-Buying inexpensive food (it’s almost double for everything out here)

-Seeing tall guys dressed in the all American shorts and a t-shirt.
-Being around people that make eye contact and say "hi" to you.    

-Warm, sunny weather

-Seeing the American flag

-Being home.  I LOVE Utah.

-Most important of all…my friends and family.

Things I’ll miss about England:

-Being surrounded by British accents

-Sunday dinners with roast, potatoes, vegetables, and LOTS of gravy.

-Every street has character with old buildings, and beautiful architecture.

-Seeing the bobbies.  It makes me laugh just thinking of the name.

-Eating incredible dessert and several times a day. I’ll miss this, but it’ll be nice to eat healthier again. 

-Experiencing foods I’ve never had before.

-Having green, beautiful fields.

-Seeing red telephone boxes

Scotland, I'm in Scotland!!!

I found myself a Scottish man. Also, look at my
cute Eiffel Tower umbrella.  I get a little excited
when it rains because I get to use it.  

Congratulations to my lovely mother for winning the chocolate.  You’re going to love it! 

        So any guesses on our last adventure?  I’ll give you some hints.  We left England,  saw a castle,  it has large hills and cliffs, some men wear skirts and we heard bagpipes.  That last one gave it away…we went to Scotland!  

       A couple days ago I was sitting on the train when I saw we didn’t have anything planned for the last two days of our trip.  I then looked at the map and thought I’ll never be this close to Scotland again and I should take advantage of every opportunity here.  Look how spontaneous I am : )  

          We went up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the day.  Going to Scotland meant a lot because my ancestors are Scottish.   When we arrived it was raining sheep and cows (I made that up because cats and dogs doesn’t describe how hard it was raining. You need bigger animals.)   I was a little distraught because we were getting soaking wet.  There were puddles of water in my shoes.  We were lucky and the rain lightened up and stopped a couple times.  I guess the rain gave us a true Scottish experience. 

         We mostly explored the Royal Mile.  This is a mile with large buildings, shops, churches, and museums.   The architecture of Edinburgh was my second favorite with Paris coming in first.  Every building had character.  I loved the dome buildings, stone wet and darkened from rain, and Roman influence of the buildings. 

        Scotland National Gallery had Raphael, Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, and others.  I now realize Van Gogh is my favorite artist.  I love seeing his paintings in person.  I always look at them from the side to see the thick paint strokes.   I also love all the circle motions in his paintings because it makes them come alive.   His art really is amazing! When we walked around there were bagpipe players on the street.  When I hear bagpipes my heart starts to beat fast and I feel like my soul comes alive.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m Scottish or if it happens to everyone.  I can’t believe I heard real bagpipe player in Scotland!   I'm so glad we had the change to go here.  It was an incredible experience to go to Scotland.  I'm so lucky!!!!!  

Highlight:

-       Hearing strong Scottish accents.  I would go up to locals and ask them questions I already knew the answer to so I could hear their accents.

-       Hearing two girls sing opera on the street.  They sounded like professional opera singers.   

Lowlight:  

      Getting stuck in the train bathroom.  I tried for almost a minute locking and unlocking the door and pushing as hard as I could to get out.  I had a moment of panic and then I remembered it was a sliding door.  Who knew jet lag could last six weeks :)
  

Look at those beautiful buildings 

Cathedral 

Scottish Bagpipe man

 

Edinburgh Castle 

Pink Scotland hat.  Love it! 

Life is full of tough decisions 

Highlands in Scotland 

Who likes European chocolate??

I've loved keeping a blog of my travels in Europe.  It's been the perfect way to keep in touch with all my friends and family.  I know some of you out there have been dedicated followers.  As a thank you the first person to answer the following question correctly will get my favorite Aero mint chocolate bar from England.  It's DELICIOUS!

The question is:  Where was I when I first saw the Eiffel Tower?  There's no 50/50, phone a friend, or audience poll.  Good luck and many the best man or woman win :)

Looks just like Ireland 

         Amy and I spent the past two days in the Lake District.  This is where England's highest mountains are, but they were only hills.  We went one a "hike" up one of the hills.   As we walked around green, foggy fields with sheep I felt like I was in Ireland.  The top of the hill had a beautiful view of lakes and fields.  I kept jumping when I would hear sheep baaing everywhere.  You know you get scared easily when you get frighten by sheep.
      We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast and the food was amazing.  We had a traditional British breakfast   with sausage, bacon, toast, beans, and hash browns.  We then went a double-decker bus to tour the top.  It was topless so we had a great view of the area.
     I can't believe we're going back to America on Friday.  We have one more last exciting thing before we go that wasn't on our itinerary.  Stay tuned for the next post because it's be pretty exciting...

Highlight:
   -Eating a pecan pastry that tasted like a pecan pie.  Yummy!
    
Lowlight:
    -Walking through fields of sheep poop.  I was on my tippy toes to avoid the poo but I still ended up stepping in it. I now know the reason England is so green, fertilizer provided by sheep.

I LOVE being Mormon

The church I attended (this was taken a couple of weeks ago.  I did dress in Sunday clothes to go)

         Since all of Amy's family was in town we didn't go to church.  There's a Church of England chapel five minutes from the house we're staying so I decided to go there today.  I thought it would be good to see what other religion services were like.  They read scriptures together, sang, and the vicar gave a sermon.  There were only ten people there and I stood out from all the senior citizens.
     After the service I went up and introduced myself to the vickar and told him I was a Mormon.  His eyes went really wide and looked surprised.  We then talked about Mormons for a little bit.  I then met members of the congregation and told them a little about our religion.  It was good to answer some questions they had about our faith.  Going to another church is a testimony builder.  I feel very spoiled from all the joy and happiness the gospel brings in my life.  During the whole service I felt overcome with joy from realizing the difference between our religion.   Going to other churches helps me realize what we have.  It truly is my greatest blessing.  I LOVE being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
    All of Amy's family is leaving today and it was sad seeing them go.  I've loved getting to know all of them.  Being with them makes me miss my family.  They're all so warm and welcoming.  It's been a wonderful weekend of eating, laughing, and sitting around talking.  I'm living the life.

Highlight:
      Getting to wear my new skirt.  It's a purple pencil skirt with purple lace.  It may be my favorite clothes purchase on this trip.
Lowlight:
              Having to say goodbye to Lauren, Amy's cousin.  I've had so much fun being with her.   I love when you meet people you instantly bond and have fun with.  She'll be coming to Utah for Christmas so I'll get to see her then.

A British man I met in Bath.  I love that he has a cane and is dressed nicely.
 He looks like a typical British man.  I got to talk to him about Mormons.
 He'd never really heard of them before.    

Just another day in paradise

Big empty bags that will soon be filled with clothes.
                
         

One of Amy's aunts ( I've never met her before) gave us both a gift bag.
It was filled with British chocolate and goods.  It was very generous!

A moment on the lips forever on the hips.

Lauren, me, and Amy.  We have so much fun together! 

        We’re back in Hull  All of Amy’s family is coming up for the weekend to see her.   I’ll be reunited with some of the families we’ve stayed with while being here.  I’ve grown to love and really care for these people.  They’ve treated me so well and I’ll be sad to leave them.  There are 28 people staying in the house.  I love having little kids running around with British accents.  It's adorable!  

       It's  a tradition of the family I’m staying with to go to the Next sale (Next is a nice clothing store.)  Eight of us woke up at 3:55 to get ready for the big event.  We put on our war paint and laid out our plan of attack to get the best deals: ) Our mission was to command and conquer and that we did.   I’ve never been at an early morning sale before and I loved it.  After shopping for a while I finally had to go in line to prevent me from finding more things I loved.  It was worth the lack of sleep. Being a girl is so much fun!   

Highlight:    Having a man say I had the whitest and straightest teeth he’s ever seen.  He kept talking about it.  I’m not sure it’s saying much from Britain where most people have bad teeth.  Nonetheless, it made my day.  Thanks dad for getting me braces!

Lowlight:

-Trying how to figure out how I’m going to get all my stuff home to America next week.  I didn’t anticipate buying so many clothes and souvenirs.  I need a Marry Poppins bag to save me.

-Dropping a necklace I just bought and breaking it.   I was so excited to give to my sister.  I guess being klutzy comes with a price. 

To be or not to be

Here lies William Shakespeare 

        We're in Stratford-Upon-Avon.  This town should sound familiar because it's the birthplace of William Shakespeare.  We walked around to where he grew up and we also saw where he was buried.  It was weird to be by his grave and think, "William Shakespeare's body is under that stone." I had Shakespeare quotes stuck in my head all day.  Unfortunately, I don't know many so I had the same lines going through my head.
      Walking through the town reminded my of Disneyland. I know that sounds weird but it did.  The thatched roofs and  wood panels reminded me of the little towns in Disneyland that mimic places.  But this was the real thing.


Highlight:
-Having my first Big Mac in a decade.  I didn't feel bad eating at  McDonald's because we've done really well at eating and experiencing the food here.
-We met some girls from Holland and we gave them a pass-a-long card.  They've never heard of Mormons and were really excited about it and asking up questions.

William Shakespeare's humble abode 

Lowlight: I still haven't learned my lesson with the weather here.  Yesterday I carried around a jacket and umbrella  and didn't use them once.  Today I didn't want to bother with it again, and of course it rained.  I feel like it only rains when I don't bring my umbrella.

Nice horsey 

Bath

A bath in Bath.  I laughed for several minutes about this one.  

          British cultures has more differences than I thought it would.  British people are more reserved and don't really talk to strangers.  While running and walking around I say "hi" to people.  They either are caught off guard or don't respond.  Today I smiled and said hi to an older man.  He then stopped and talked to me for over ten minutes.  He was a typical British man.  He was dressed in a suit and was very proper.  I even got to talk to him about the church a little.  It was fun hearing different stories about his life.  I guess I'll try to keep say hi to people.   I love meeting new people.  Everyone has a different life with great stories to tell.
       We took a two and a half hours walking tour around Bath.  Our tour guide was an older British woman in her 70's.  She was very energetic and hard to keep up with.  Who knew an old, little woman could walk so fast.  I enjoyed hearing about the history and behind the scene stories.  Not only am I have fun on this trip, but I'm also learning.  She would point out all the places from Jane Austin novels. I knew all the places she was talking about and the scenes.  I might know Jane Austin a little too well.

Bath Abbey

Highlight:  After being her four weeks I just discover how amazing the cheese is.  I've had different dishes with cheese and I thought it was incredible.  I now realize it's because of the cheese.  Today I bought cheese and ate it just by its self.  Delicious!

Lowlight:  I don't have much self-control with my credit card over here.  Today we were just about to leave Bath and I was so proud because I only spent 3 pounds.  Then right as we were leaving I saw a store with cute clothes.  I couldn't resist going in.  I spent way too much.  Tomorrows goal:  resist going into clothing stores.  I'm 95% sure I can do it.

Angels are climbing up the ladder from Jacob's dream in the scriptures.  

Bath

Famous Royal Crescent building 

      


















   I loved staying in Penzance.  It was nice being by the beach and having some warmers days.  There were so many gorgeous areas there and I loved the feel of the towns.  Today we headed to Bath.  Most people haven't heard of this city unless you're a Jane Austin fan.  She mentions Bath in most of her books.
        We're staying at a Bed and Breakfast and the residents are a very sweet couple.  We told them we were from Utah and they asked if we were Mormons.  They had a couple from Utah last week that were Mormons.  They thought it was interesting they didn't drink tea or coffee.  They asked us if we drank water.  Oh the things people say.  We've had several opportunities to talk about the church with others.  We've been brave enough to hand out a Book of Mormon and some passalong cards.  It's like a mini-mission.
     We spent the day exploring around the town.  It's pretty small so we tried not to explore too much so we'd have something to do tomorrow.

Highlight: Having Mike (the man we're staying with at the B&B) drive me into town to get a new adaptor because I somehow lost our from Penzance to Bath.  It was very nice of him.  I was just about to get my running clothes on to find a store.

Lowlight:
             -Swallowing two bugs while running on the coastline.

        -Having a drunk guy at the pub mad at us because we're Americans.  He kept saying we're                            stealing all the oil.  I guess it's kind of true though.

Cars here are really small or maybe I'm big.  Maybe a little bit of both?

          

Royal Crescent building...again

Geograpy Lesson

    
I figured when I say a name of a city it probably doesn't mean much.  I created a map with arrows to show all the places we've been and we are going.  When I would tell people we were going all over England, I meant we were going ALL over England.   Right now we're in Penzance.  The southwestern corner.  Hopefully this helps.  Where is the world is Ashlee Ann Allen? (say to the tune of, Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?) Hahahaha, I'm so funny :)

I wore my sailor strip shirt because we were going to the beach.  Ahoy sailors!  

Minack Theate

Horsy in the green field.  My camera doesn't do the green justice.  

            We took a bus to the Minack Theatre.  This is a theater that’s located right on the coast.  We weren’t able to go to a play so we just looked around.  It’d be hard to go to a play here because the beauty around me would be distracting.  We then went to Land’s End.  I ate a Cornish pasty here.  It's basically a pastry with meat that they're famous for.  It was good but I'm getting a little tired of eating greasy food.  I had a side of peas that tasted like heaven.
         We then took a double-decker bus and sat on the top.  It was nice because there was no roof so we could see everything. I only got one bug in my eye while up there.   I love staring at green fields for miles and miles. I just want to run around twirling singing, "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music." We've been here over three weeks, but everyday I sit and think how lucky I am.  

Highlight:  Running along the coastline.  I love the runners high.  So much cheaper and healthier than the other high.  

Lowlight:  Having it rain and I didn’t have a jacket or umbrella.  Even if it’s a sunny morning you can’t trust it here.  

Penzance

        We took a seven hour train ride to Penzance yesterday.  It's on the southwestern cost of England.  This is a popular traveling spot for British people to go to the beach.   Unfortunately it's not as warm as California beaches, but I love it here.  We have a gorgeous view of the ocean.  The town has cute shops and place to eat.  This morning we went to St. Ives and then to St. Michaels mount.  This was a castle on a small island.  It was a gorgeous sunny and I'm proud to say it my first tan since being here.  I might not come back to a Utah all pasty white.

Highlight:  Watching the men's Wimbledon final in the hotel lobby with lots of people and have Federer win!

Lowlight:   Walking on cobblestone streets with luggage.  It was a bumpy ride.

St. Michaels Mount 

LoNdOn Day #4

                                                                  Globe Theater where the magic happens

      Yesterday we went to London for the last time.  While in London we saw changing of the guards, walked in Hyde Park, and went to the Globe Theatre.  We saw Taming of the Shrew there.  A funny incident happened at the play.  During one of the scenes the actor ripped off his clothes and he only had something covering his front side.  Amy and I blushed and were in shock.  I felt like an immature girl because we couldn't stop giggling.  I know it's inappropriate, but I still thought it was funny.  Who knew Shakespeare could be so scandalous?   We then went to Moka, an Indian buffet.  I love Indian food and I was in heaven.
  I have to admit I'm a little exhausted.  We usually wake up at 6:30 and we are gone all day having fun.  In Paris we were gone at least 17 hours each day.  Today's been a wonderful, relaxing day.  It's been our first day where we can enjoy ourselves and it was much needed.  We woke up early to see the Olympic torch again.  We've spent the rest of the day just relaxing.  I watched Federer beat Djokovic in the men's semifinals.  This made my whole day.  It's fun watching Wimbledon in England.  It's a huge deal over here.  All the newspapers having long articles about the matches and all the pubs are showing tennis.  Hopefully Federer can win the championship on Sunday!

Highlight:  Getting to Skype Whitney for over an hour.  It's nice to see and talk her.  I do miss all my family and friends.  I love all you guys!

Lowlight:  Getting bird poop on my new Paris umbrella.  This umbrella is adorable.  It has red and black Eiffel Towers all over.  So cute!

Paris! Paris! Paris!

                                  

       I was honestly a little anxious going to Paris.  I’ve been looking forward for this moment for 8 years and when something gets so build up you’re usually disappointed.  My friends also kept telling me Paris is dirty and the people are mean and I wouldn’t like it.  Luckily, they were wrong.  I loved, LOVED, loooooooooooved Paris!
           After being built up for eights years it was even better than I imagined.  Every street looked like an architecture masterpiece.   The food was incredible.  I’ve never eaten so slow in my life because I wanted it to never end. I kept saying these sentences in my head while I was in Paris.  "I can't believe I'm looking at the Eiffel Tower."  "I am so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy"  "I'm in Paris"  "I can't believe this""  "I'm eating a crepe in Paris."  "I can't believe I'm staring at the (insert all the famous buildings in Paris) right now"  " I'm a very lucky girl"
      I was worried about getting around Paris with the metro but we were fine.  It was just us two girls in a huge city but we were fine.  I kept getting all of Beyonce independent women songs stuck in my head.  Who needs a man??  I was so proud I figured it all out and never got lost.          

 Eiffel Tower:

        I will never forget the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower.  We were outside the Louvre and I turned around and unexpectedly saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance.   I gasped and my jaw dropped and I stood frozen.  It was an overwhelming moment.  It was then I realized I made my dream come true.  I’m in Paris!  After all these years of wanting to come it had finally come true.  It made me realize you can do anything if you want it enough.  We went to the Eiffel Tower several times while we were there.  I loved laying on the lawn and just staring at the tower.   We climbed the 690 to the second floor of the tower at night.  We then took the elevator to the very top. It was gorgeous lit up at night.  It was amazing.  The view of Paris from the tower at night was breathtaking.  It was miles and miles of beautiful buildings.  I LOVE the Eiffel Tower. 

Louvre:

         We spent five hours at the Louvre and it was exhausting!  The Louvre is massive and filled with priceless artwork.   I would stand in front of painting and sculptures and constantly say, “  I can’t believe I’m standing in front of ______________right now, it’s right in front of me..”  I was shocked at the size of some of the paintings.  They were almost as large as a screen in a movie theatre. Some of my favorite art pieces in the Louvre were:  Winged Victory of Samothrace, Cupid’s Kiss,  The Coronation of Napoleon,  and the Impressionist paintings.  I loved all the artwork there.  The Louvre is a beautiful building. 

Palace of Versailles:

            I cannot even describe how big this place was.  Every room was ridiculously elaborate.  Every room had large paintings, painted ceilings, and sculptures all over.   I loved the golden fence and roofing on the palace.  Very beautiful.

Notre Dame: 

        Ever section on the outside of the cathedral was sculpted.  If you look at just one small area it would take forever to make.  I can’t believe the detail on Notre Dame.   We climbed the bell tower of Notre Dame.  I was disappointed Quasimode wasn’t there :) 

Food:

        The food in Paris was amazing.  I loved the pastry shops.  I would stand in the bakery way too long because I couldn’t decide what to order because everything looked amazing.  To solve this problem I would buy 3 pastries at a time and not feel an ounce of guilt.  They were incredible!  I  had creped with nutella several times. The gelato here was unbelievable.  I’ve NEVER tasted anything so creamy.  My favorite thing I ate here was lasagna.  I have no idea how they made it so much better than anything I’ve ever had.  It was delicious! 

Highlights:

·      Eating a banana nutella crepe outside a café by the Seine River.

·      Listening to a man play the accordion and singing in French on the train

·      Finally being able to use the 3 French words I know.

·      Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night while I was climbing it. 

·      Going on a midnight stroll to the Notre Dame and seeing it lit up.

*  Eating at a Chinese restaurant at one in the morning.  The food was amazing!

·      Staring outside my hotel window at the view.  I love the narrow streets with buildings in Paris

·      Gifts shop.  I left like an alcoholic in a bar.  I had a hard time controlling myself in the gift shops, but I got lots of good things.

Lowlights:

·       My feet KILL.  We walk at least 10 miles each day and my feet are in a lot of pain.  I think I’m finally going to have to give in and be the typical tourist and wearing running shoes. 

·      Paying 4 Euros for water on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower because I was thirsty.  That’s like $6. 

• Having to say goodbye to Paris.  

Notre Dame at night

Palace of Versailles 

France 

Arc de Triumph

                    

Louvre Museum.  So massive!  

Basilica de Sacure 

View from Bells of Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower light show 

England

I’ve been surprised how different our culture is from Englands.  I thought we were more similar than we really are.  We both speak English but I was surprised how many words are different. I put some of the words down below.  Another difference is most people here are really reserved.  We’ll be on a crowded tube but it’s silent because no one talks with each other.  People don’t make eye contact and smile to say hi.    It’s interesting how much you’re influenced by your culture.  It makes me wonder how different I’d be if I grew up here.

One thing I do love is their fashion.  Everyone here is very fashionable.  Even when I try to get ready I still feel very frumpy next to all the trendy people.  People are much bolder with their fashion here.  I’ve seen lots of printed legging as pants, black nylons under shorts, and bright unnatural colored hair.  The men are also very trendy.  It makes me want to switch up my fashion and try something a little different.  It’s always good to have a change to switch things up a bit.  I won’t be wearing leopard leggings anytime soon though :) 

Tomorrow we head for PARIS!!!!!!!!  I can't believe it's finally here.  I won't have internet, but I'll update the blog when I get back.  Pray we won't be "Taken"

                    British Dictionary:

Rubbish- trash                        Bobbies-cops                                   

Fizzy- carbonation            Tea-dinner

Loo-toilet                        Whoops a daisy- oops

Motorway-Freeway     Crisps-chips

Chips-fries                        Plasters- band-aid

Pants-underwear            Trainers-running shoes

Brilliant-wonderful         Cuddly toy- stuffed animal

Lift-elevator                        Hoover-vacuum

Biscuits- cookies