Things I've Learned in England...

Continue to check this list, as it will grow as new thoughts come to mind.

1. Henry VIII not only killed his wives but destroyed every beautiful church in England.
2. If you're prepared for rain it will be dry.  If you aren't prepared for rain there will be a torrential downpour. 
3. Don't mistake "To Let" for "Toilet."
4. You might have to flush the toilet more than once.
5. Blood pudding (black pudding) literally has pig's blood in it.
6. Pudding= Dessert, so when you order pudding expect a moist cake, not jello pudding.
7. Dogs are trained and well-behaved.  Pigeons are not.
8. You might think smoking is a dying habit, but everyone in England smokes.  They also love to blow the smoke in you face as you walk by so your forced to breathe it in.
9. You drive and walk on the left side.  When you walk on the right, especially on spiral staircases, you will run into someone or just disrupt the order of things.  When you're finally used to walking on the left someone will always be walking on their right so you're constantly wondering which side you should actually stick to.
10. Waiters rarely come to take your order.  You have to go to the cash register or bar if you want to eat.
11. There are no free refills, except on tap water which is usually not iced.
12. Everyone carries an umbrella even if it's not raining.  You would be smart to follow this example.
13. If the umbrella says London on it you're probably amongst fellow tourists.
14. Souvenir umbrellas last 2 London rains.  That's the last time I buy a touristy "I <3 London" umbrella.
15. Bede's World is not a theme park, but a museum dedicated to Bede.  Most people can't say Bede's World unless it's sung to the tune of Wayne's World.
16. Having a bell on your bike is not only cool, but very useful because it tells pedestrians to GET OUT OF THE WAY!

Stay tuned...

Classic, and less blurry than the first one I took.

Outside the Spaniard after eating a delicious lunch there.
John Keats ate here... no biggie.

Chatsworth, or Pemberly in the Kira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice.

Outside York Minster
Notice the boots... I prepared for rain and it didn't rain.

Playing hopscotch at a museum in York.  Again, boots and no rain.

At the ruins of a church that King Henry VIII probably destroyed.

Sitting on Hadrian's Wall, the remains of the edge of the Roman Empire.
Behind us is ancient Scotland... which is still England now, but it used to be Scotland.

Beautiful English countryside.  I never want to leave this place.

Beatrix Potter's doorway

The beautiful lake district with my beautiful friend Natatlie.

Outside the Beatles museum on the docks of Liverpool.

THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR!!
This was the coolest tour I have ever been on.  I saw Penny Lane,
Strawberry Fields, houses of all the Beatles, and more.

The Cavern, the pub where the Beatles got their start and ultimately became famous.
This pub was so much fun... live music and an awesome crowd!

Stonehenge, and on a beautiful, sunny day.  Guess what shoes I was wearing?
You guessed it... my boots.

Just a little something about this lizard...

Today I was talking to some friends when I recognized, not for the first time, that I don't have a lot of secrets.  I am a keeper of other people's secrets, but I don't have a lot of my own.  If you know me, you pretty much know all of me.  There are some people who know me better than others, but if you were to ask I'm not afraid to talk about my life story.  In fact, you probably won't even have to ask because I probably will tell you before you're even ready.  However, no matter how many people I have told my life story to, there will always be those few who know a little more about me than anyone else.  These people include, but are not limited to my family, Jadyn, Jayk, Melany, Amber, Joni, Billy, and a few more.  Not only do they know a little bit more than everyone else, but they are understanding and are the people I first seek out when I have a problem (and there are times when they will hear the same problem over and over again as I try to figure myself out.  Sorry about that guys).

I was contemplating if this "no secret" trait is a good or a bad quality about myself.  I've decided that it's good, but it does make me more vulnerable and apt to being hurt.  Overall, though, I think it's worth it because I become closer to more individuals as I self consciously open up to them.  I already feel really close to a lot of people on this London program, partly because I've already told them about my recent struggles.  Whether they feel closer to me or not is a completely different matter.  I like to assume that they do... hahaha.  But I want to give special thanks to Nikki, Sarah, Andrew, and Ben who have to hear my issues all the time.  Apparently I talk about them more about my issues than I realize, which is pretty funny.

Anyway, for reading that blog post I am rewarding you with a few pictures from my journey thus far.  They aren't super recent, but it's better than nothing...

Westminster Bridge

Big Ben... in the palm of my hand.  I don't care how unoriginal it is.

Portobello Road, one of my most favorite places.  Of course, I sang the song...

A cool old Bible from Portobello Road.

Nikki's singing in the rain pose.

Cool houses near Portobello road (see blog post on how much I love color).

Classic...

Buckingham Palace

The guard, which you can't even get close to so I don't know
what all those movies are even about...

Les Miserables

A view from the tube...

a few from the bus...

And a view from the top of St. Paul's.