HAPPY AUTUMN!

Chatsworth.....Mrs. Darcy!!!!

1st Picture of Hillary in front of Beatrix Potter's House

2nd Picture of McKenzie and Laura on our boat ride around the lake

3rd-5th Pictures from the Bronte parish-cemetery, house and town 

1st and 2nd: Outside our hostel it was beautiful! 

3rd is from the 5 mile morning hike we took

4th and 5th is of Dove Cottage where Wordsworth Wrote his famous poetry and the surrounding town

These are pictures from Preston.  First is of the home of the first missionaries in England.  Second is of the Preston temple.  Third is of the Preston seal and last is a picture of the River Ribble where the first members of the church in England were baptized.

LIVERPOOL!!!!!



I   I love Museums!

These are pictures of Quarry Mill.  We weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside, but they still work the mill.  Not that they produce cotton for sale but that the machines work and you can see what life at the mill was like in the early 1800s. They had their own little community with stores and a physician. 

I Wandered Lonely on Strawberry Fields

So I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to start this blog, but my creative cap seems to be in the wash at the moment so I am just going to start!

This week was our trip up to the north of England to Liverpool, Preston, and to the Lake District. We had class on Monday and the Tuesday we headed out. So here is a run down of the week:

Monday: 

Was consisted of classes discussing what we were going to be seeing and the importance of it to the Church and to the classes that we are taking.  Then we went out shopping and I just happened to buy some really cute clothes that you are all going to be jealous of!

Tuesday:

Was an early start.  We had to be on the coach at seven and we headed up to the North to visit some textile mills.  The one we stopped at was the Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire.  It is a mill that specializes in cotton and the manufacturing of cotton material.  It was quite an interesting tour.  We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, so I'll try to describe it too you.  If anyone has seen the movie North and South it shows exactly what these mills were like. They were run by a waterwheel for power.  There were machines that separated the cotton from the seed, then spun the cotton into thread, and then looms that created the material.  It was amazing.  Many of the students in the group had grandparents that worked in these mills.  After the tour of the mill, we headed to the Lady Lever Museum to see some art.  I got bored so me and MacKenzie found some dress ups in the gift shop and entertained ourselves until it was time to go.  After the museum it was off the hostel in Liverpool.  We got there late so that night we just walked around the docks and hung out in the hostel after it started to rain.

Wednesday:

There were a few hours in the morning that we had some free time to explore Liverpool.  The hostel was too far away from many of the Beatles' sites to walk to, so we just got to go to the shop and stand outside the museum.  We then met up at the Liverpool docks with the faculty.  There is a statue at the docks that was donated by the church to the Maritime Museum.  It was quite a spiritual experience.  Many of the students had ancestor emigrate from theses docks to America.  I don't know if I have any but we could feel the spirit of the place and of those who sacrificed so much to go to Zions as we sang "Come, Come, Ye Saints".  The song was written by William Clayton, who was one of the many saints who sailed across the Atlantic to join the Saints in Zion. What a place! I also was able to reflect on a past trip to some of the Church history sites in the east and midwest.  The sacrifice both of these groups endured has been quite a testimony to me and has helped me deal with many of the sacrifices I have had to endure in my life. 

After the docks and a tour through the Maritime Museum (had an emigration exhibit) we headed to Preston. After a quick stop to the temple grounds for some pictures, we headed to the town of Preston.  We had a foot tour through town by a church historian and professional guide.  We stopped at many of the sites, where the early missionaries slept, taught, converted and baptised the first saints in Britain.  

The tour ended and we took off the the Lake District in Ambleside.  We got there late so we walked around and took a chilly dip in the lake! Quite a jam packed day!

Thursday:

 We started out the day with an early morning 4 mile hike through the gorgeous countryside.  I took pictures but they don't even come close to doing it justice.  It is quite an amazingly beautiful place.  The day was really cold but the mist just added to the mystique of the plac! The hike ended at Dove Cottage.  Dove Cottage is where the romantic William Wordsworth wrote the poetry the made him famous: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and other such poems! After a session of poetry reading in British accents and homemade gingerbread, we headed to Hill Top.  Which was the lovely cottage of Beatrix Potter and little Peter Rabbit.  The rest of the day was filled with a boat ride on the lake, cold weather and playing the guitar with tattooed hostel workers!

Friday: 

We headed out of Ambleside to Haworth.  Haworth was the home of the Bronte family.  The Bronte sisters were the authors of some famous British Women literature.  Jane Eyre and Withering Heights were some of their more famous works.  After a short tour of Haworth we got back on the coach and drove to Chatsworth.  Wow is house was freakin' amazing.  It sits on 70,000 acres of  land and has over 700 million pounds worth of art on the walls!  It rivaled King Louis XIV's Versaille in amazingness.  It is also the interior of Mr Darcy's house in the new Pride and Prejudice, along with the hall of statues and the statue of Mr. Darcy's torso.    

After all the pictures of swooning girls around the bust, we headed home.

Saturday:

Spent the day in the park and talking with crazies like a guy we named Albert

Sunday:

Was my first experience since being in London to visit Preacher's Corner.  Where I was Cornered by three Bible Bashing  Muslims for over two hours.  I found out two things from this experience: 1-I don't know the Bible very well and 2-Bible Bashers make things up.  But I did get two Muslims to commit to read the Book of Mormon if  I would read the Koran! 

Well that just about wraps up my week.  Hope you all enjoyed this super long blog-this is why i was so frustrated yesterday! 

Have a super Monday

love ya

em

  

I hate computers! I spent an hour typing my blog and now it is gone so i will do it tomorrow...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Birthday bashes and Oxford Cookies

Well you are now reading the post of a legal adult now...and I'm not sure how i feel about it all.  Just to let you know my birthday was a smashing hit....there were two other girls that had a birthday the same day! What are the odds 3 out of 42 having the same birthday?  But I had a super day even though I had to share it.  After getting lost for most of the afternoon trying to find the British Library, we ended up going to a really good chocolate shop and then to the musical Hairspray to celebrate! It was great! And the greatness continued the rest of the week.  Wednesday we had a day trip to Blenheim Palace where Winston Churchill was born and home to the Duke of Marlborough today-it is massive! Then we went to Oxford University.  Just to let you know if you are not the Harry Potter fanatic as some are-the Chirst Church college at Oxford is where they filmed the great hall in the first movie! We also visited the Magdalin College where people like C.S. Lewis graduated from and got ideas for his Chronicles of Narnia from.  We also had the opportunity to go the Anglican Evensong-it is the ending daily service.  It was interesting and a one time thing for sure.  I'm glad I went but once is enough for me!

Friday we took a tour of the Tower of London and went to a Shakespeare play at the Globe-Marry Wives of Windsor.  It rained while we were there and it was freezing but the play was a laugh despite the weather.  Then that night a lot of the girls went the YSA dance at the stake center-British people cannot dance....think of the scene from Hitch and you've got British dancing:) Anyways...yesterday I finally did find the British Library.  There is a treasure room there that have old historical artifacts.  Like Illuminaries, a Guttenburg bible, the Magna Carta, handwritten copies of books by Jane Austin, Emily Bronte, and the guy who wrote Alice in Wonderland.  Handwritten lyrics from John Lenon and the crew.  It was awesome!  That night a few of us headed to the stake center to watch conference, and who should be there but our good friend Thomas and his girlfriend. 

Well I hope everyone's week was as awesome as mine and next week will be just as great! And I want to give a special shout out to Jeff and Tat!!!

Night all

love em 

Oh just to let you all know next week is a week trip to the north so i will be away for the week!