A London picnic

Today Ivy and I decided to have a little picnic. We went over to Harrod's to get our lunch. I decided on a chicken club sandwich and a cupcake.

The most difficult decision I made was which cupcake to buy.

And then we went over to Regent's Park and had a lovely picnic. Here are some pictures.

 This was embedded into my bread. It wasn't a sticker. They like print it onto the bread to make sure you notice its organicism

It was really nice but I woke up this morning with the most massive sore throat and I was feeling steadily worse as the day continued. We came back to the flat for a break and I only left to find some medicine. I'm not feeling too hot to be honest so I'm going to sign off.

Abbey Road tomorrow!

"WHOBILATION!! WHOBILATION!! YEAH! YEAH!"

Guys, I spent a grand total of 7 hours on a bus today. And it was totally freaking worth it.

The bus had seat belts. 

I had to wake up at 6 this morning to make sure we caught the bus on time. And it took us 3 1/2 hours to get to Cardiff. We had no idea how to get from the bus station to the Doctor Who Experience but being the seasoned travelers that we are, we got there in practically no time at all.

I don't think it would have been much fun for someone who isn't a fan of the show. Luckily, I am slightly obsessed with everything Doctor Who so I had a wonderful time. Basically it's a walk through tour in which you go on a mini adventure with the Doctor. I got to fly the TARDIS! It was fun and everything and I'm sure the tourists enjoyed it but the Doctor found me and we've been adventuring for a few years now. I just told him I had to come back to today to update my blog. We'll be off again in a few minutes. So here are a few fun pictures from my day at the Experience!

My ticket!

 Matt Smith's handprint

 SUPER creepy figure of Matt

 It's 10's suit!

 9 and 10's consul!

Idris' costume and the makeshift TARDIS

 The face of BOE!

 Scary Daleks

 K9!

Uh oh Dalek.

I'm going to be extraordinary.

We mosied around Cardiff a bit before our bus picked us up. 

Wales!

A little pub that we had dinner in

Cardiff Castle

It was a marvelous day.

And here is a seagull that will murder you

"Do you know what area of ancient I never like?"

Today had a museumy feel to it. I confess that since we don't have class this week, I have been sleeping in. It has been glorious. You know the phrase "you can sleep when you're dead?" Well yeah, I guess you can. But I LIKE sleep. And I think you should spend your life doing things you like. So I'll sleep in when I get the chance dang it. Don't judge me.

So yesterday I didn't blog and here's why: I was feeling rather yucky and only left the flat for half an hour to get some medicine. By the way, medicine is WAY more difficult to find in London.

Back to today. Like I said, today had a distinct museumy feel to it so Ivy and I decided to visit the British Museum. This place is absolutely massive and I still managed to get lost trying to find it.

The British Museum is mostly filled with exhibits of antiquity. So we're talking ancient Egypt, Syria, Greece, Rome, medieval Britain. The works. They even had an exhibit from Pompeii and Herculaneum but the line was really long and you had to pay to get it. Lame. And frankly the place was so huge that we decided we'd be better off trying to see some of the free stuff. Here goes.

Honestly, I don't remember what these are. Ancient beardy arch holders I suppose.

This is a part of the Sphinx! The Sphinx once had one of those pointy rectangular beards and this is a piece of it. Sweet!

The back of the Rosetta Stone because the front was crowded with peoples and I couldn't get a picture with it.

Here is kind of the front of the Rosetta Stone!

A statue of Ramses II

It is a mummy.

I loved this. The Lykian Monument was found in pieces but it was reconstructed and brought to the British Museum. So the exact placement of the different stones is debatable but I thought it was so beautiful!

This entire gallery was filled with treasures from the Parthenon

And finally..... a modern to ancient fist bump. Awesome.

And then we were SUPER American and got Chipotle for dinner and Pizza Hut for dessert. It's weird. Pizza Hut is like a legitimate restaurant with waiters and menus and chairs here. Amazing pazookies though. We came home and bought tickets for tomorrow's trip to CARDIFF!!! I'm going to the Doctor Who Experience!!! AHHHH!!!! 

"Spooky Mormon Hell Dream!"

So today is the beginning of travel week! That means that people in my program are headed to Ireland, Rome, Paris, and some other places. I elected to stay in London because there is plenty to do here.

After class today I came home and did my homework! Yay for responsibility! And then I went for a run. Yay for health! I'm not someone who loves running. I'd rather go to the gym but running here is so lovely when it's warm outside. Look at the beautiful Hyde Park where I ran for a little bit today and be jealous of my surroundings!

After I was done, I took a minute to stretch and look around at the beautiful Hyde Park.

So after that, Ivy and I went over to try to get lottery tickets to a show. And it so happened that the first name they called was that of a "Mr. Kelsey Costello." Turns out, it was me. So we won tickets to see The Book of Mormon. Don't judge me. I have an open mind. It was actually hilarious and I really enjoyed myself. That being said, there were definite moments that made me a bit uncomfortable. By the time I got to intermission, I was feeling very comfortable and I thought that the whole controversial nature of the show had been exaggerated. The second half taught me better. It escalated quickly. It wasn't as offensive to Mormons in particular rather than those who are offended by foul language and comedy. It got pretty raunchy at moments. That being said, I would not suggest this show to my LDS friends unless they were particularly comfortable with VERY rude humor. 

Apparently I'm married.

Then I came home to homemade brownies from my roommate Kaitlin. Thank goodness for that.

Hooray for no class on Wednesday!

"So chav"

Guys. It was WARM today. It got close to HOT. And it was a marvelous day to be a Londoner.

It was always going to be a good day as it was the first day I would see my good friend Luke Nicholls in over two years! I met Luke, an English native, at BYU when I drove him to Vegas for Thanksgiving my freshmen year. We had a mutual friend in Cameron Olsen and I offered to take him and a couple other guys home so they could spend the holiday with Cameron. We have been friends ever since. Luke Nicholls (I can't really call him just "Luke." It's weird for me. And I have to say it in his accent) came home last week from his two year mission in Athens, Greece and I was so excited to see him today!!

Over two years ago!!

And today!!

He did a wonderful job with his homecoming talk and I loved the people in his ward. Even though he said Essex was very "common," I thought it was beautiful! I was so green and lush. It was exactly what you picture the British countryside to look like.

After the three hour block his family held a "munch and mingle." Mormons are the same everywhere you go. The food is always good and the desserts take up half the table.

Greek cake!

And then the Nicholls' family graciously invited me into their home. It was absolutely perfect. His mother has such amazing taste and she even had my favorite flowers (lilies) in the house. Then they gave me a little tour of Basildon.

They call this area "BasVegas." I kid you not. The place has some restaurants and some clubs and this closed down building was completely covered with a picture of the Vegas strip. It was SO COOL! I love my hometown.

And then we went over to the sea. They call it "the sea" but it's really just the other end of the Thames. I don't think I have, in my life, seen dirtier water but just being near something that could pass for a beach made me so very happy. We walked around Southend (Safend) and visited the fishmongers. Luke Nicholls' dad taught me how to do a cockney and chav accent. We laughed really hard all day and got caught up on one another's lives. It was ridiculously perfect outside, I got sand between my toes, and I was in wonderful company so, really, I could not have asked for anything more.

He saved the crab even though it pincered... that's not a word but I don't like "pinched" and you know what I mean... him.

I took the train home and got some homework done. Travel week starts tomorrow. So hurrah for that. Also I think some homeless man put a curse on me as I was walking home. So we'll see what comes of that. I'm so thankful for today.

Now here is a scary picture of what happens at night in flat 3A.