Day 2: "Real" London

This morning I woke up with a new burst of energy, feeling great!  At the end of last night, when I was sitting still, I started feeling like I was on an airplane experiencing turbulence.  I was so mentally, physically, and emotionally zonked (exhausted) that when we got back to the Centre I got ready for bed and fell asleep sometime around 8:30 or 9.  It was so bad.  I slept until about 7 in the morning and woke up feeling fit as a fiddle!


After getting ready, I had breakfast with everyone and then started my first day of school- yay!  I went to class in my slippers. :)  It seems like the classes here are going to be wonderful.  I've laughed a lot from my English professor, Nick Mason, and especially from his brother, Matt Mason, who's my History professor.  Our first day included cheese analogies if that tells you anything about how these classes will be.  They do seem like they will be hard- I have a lot of reading and writing in store for me this semester.  But I am ready for the work!  We already have our first homework assignments that I need to start working on.


We ate a quick lunch (which for me was a peanut butter and nutella sandwhich on wheat bread- apparently it's a thing to do here) and headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral.  What a beautiful and stunning place!  We took the tube out to the cathedral and as soon as I saw the large dome, I felt like I was experiencing "real" London- or maybe just the London I've expected.  There were people feeding the birds on the steps (toppins a bird!).  I wish we had brought some bread with us but alas we did not.  We will have to go back so we can do that too.  We stepped inside the nave of the cathedral (no pictures allowed) for our guided tour and it took my breath away!  It's so large and even though there's so much stonework it still feels light.  I took notes during the entire tour because the history was so interesting to me.  Some of the highlights I saw there were the Geometric Staircase (in Harry Potter 3), the tesserae ceiling in the quire, a picture of Christ knocking at the door, the American Chapel, Sir Christopher Wren's tomb in the crypt.  Sir Christopher Wren was a mathematician and an astronomer but he is best known as the architect for many major sites in London.  After the Great Fire, he was commissioned to redesign a lot of new buildings.  His main creation, which he is most famous for, is St.  Paul's Cathedral itself.  His works are amazing and beautiful and so I was surprised to see the stone slab over his grave was very plain and simple.  Our tour guide told us that Wren wanted it this way.  The plaque above his grave, that his son had created for him, says, "Reader, if you seek his monument look around you."  Isn't that inspiring?

(the steps, like the "feed the birds" woman)

What I enjoyed most about St. Paul's Cathedral were the views from the top of the cathedral.  We climbed up 528 step steps in a claustrophobic staircase to see the panoramic view from the very top!  It was gorgeous!  I could spot the London Eye, the Millennium Bridge (a.k.a. Harry Potter bridge) over the Thames River, and the Globe Theater.  Again, it felt like my "real" London.  

(Super windy up at the top!)

(Kayley and I happy to finally be seeing LONDON!)

(This is the Tower Bridge- NOT London Bridge as many people think)

A few groups started to split up after the tour and a couple of girls said they wanted to see more sights in the area instead of going shopping.  I decided to join them and we went to the Bank of England.  It sounded interesting because that's where Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins worked and we herd Gringotts on Harry Potter was modeled after.  We went to look inside the bank but apparently tourists aren't allowed inside (boo).  But they had a free museum!  We thought, why not, let's try it out.  I really could've skipped learning about inflation and how the pound's design has changed over time.  I did learn that the bank was established by William and Mary which I found interesting.  The most "exciting" part came, however, when I cracked a safe and earned a free little pin in the shape of a gold bar- woo hoo.  


We returned to the center at 5:25 for our mini devotional and London thought, which is done each weeknight before dinner.  Matt told us about when the missionaries were first called to London that the church was really suffering.  Many members of the 12 were apostatizing and the bank had failed.  It was a bad time, and yet, the call to serve came.  The timing wasn't until the next April.  Between April and the time the revelation came, Joseph was imprisoned in Liberty Jail and there was an extermination order out for the Mormons.  The men who were called wondered if they should still go on their mission.  Brigham Young encouraged them to go for two reasons: 1- It was a commandment of the Lord, 2- a lot of non-members knew about the call and thought it would never happen.  The missionaries went anyway and were hugely successfuly!  Although, that's really a story for another time. 


Our dinner was yummy again, a chicken, artichoke, and rice dish.  We also had this delicious ice cream for dessert!  A few people went to different stores after dinner.  I stayed at the Centre with a few other people to do homework.  That was four hours ago and I still haven't started my homework... Instead, I talked to the Mason's daughters about cupcakes and Justin Bieber (he's only a mile away from where we are right now... no big deal).  They are so fun to talk to!  I've also been blogging and writing in my journal.  I've had such a great time so far and I don't want to forget anything I've done.


Cheers until tomorrow.


P.S. Did you know that there is the Utah beehive and a carving of a spaceship inside St. Paul's?  It's true!  Look it up.