1. I love it! The history, the architecture, the accent, the parks, the literature, the double decker buses, the monuments, the museums, the taxis, all things Queen Victoria, the "tube"...I could go on, but I'll refrain. What I didn't love so much--the pollution, the cold (granted, it is March--what did I expect? At least it didn't rain--we were lucky), the food (though we did much better this time thanks to our hotel, Maoz and Chipotle), and the craziness of the city at night (probably no worse than other large cities, but I'm not a fan).
2. My cousin Hyrum is on a mission in London. I haven't seen him in years. Of course we didn't go looking for him, but we randomly ran into him at church on Sunday. The only ward we had time to go to (because of distance and because we had to go to the airport soon afterward) was a singles' ward right next to the Victoria and Albert Museum. When I walked into the church building he was standing right there! I couldn't believe it, so I checked his name tag to make sure. He didn't recognize me at all--I think I scared him a bit until he figured out who I was. He went to shake my hand and I said "no, I'm your cousin--I'm allowed to give you a hug," so I did. There was an audible gasp from the other 3 missionaries in the foyer, and I'm pretty sure he turned bright red. :) Scandalous, I know. Poor missionaries--and at a singles' ward! The horror.
3. I'm grateful to be married to Carlos and not Henry VIII. I don't think I like the idea of having my head cut off with an ax because I haven't produced an "heir." Here is the Tower of London where it all went down...
4. There is WAY too much to do in and around London. I think I could spend at least a month straight touring things and never get tired of it.
5. Windsor Castle is too amazing to only be used during some weekends and parts of the summer. I really think the Queen should let Carlos and I take care of it for a while. After all, isn't Buckingham enough for her?
6. I would LOVE to have an English accent--but if I did, I don't think I would appreciate it as much as I would like. So, I've decided that Carlos needs an English accent--because then I could better appreciate it everyday, and it would add to his rich cultural background--a Brazilian-American named Carlos with Italian/Slovak/Hungarian Jewish roots. I just think an English accent would be the cherry on top. Here he is in front of St. Paul's Cathedral...
7. We saw "Love Never Dies" (the sequel to "Phantom") when we were there. The music was amazing, but the story totally ruined "Phantom of the Opera" for me. Sad day. Carlos liked it--so, I guess we'll give it a mixed review.
8. I left my large coat at home when I went in January, foolishly thinking I wouldn't need it anymore. Well, London is quite cold in March so I ended up wearing Carlos' large winter coat the whole time. I look absolutely ridiculous in almost all of our photos, but at least I was warm. :) The view of the Thames from St. Paul's...
9. "Swan Lake" by the Royal Ballet: Amazing! I've hardly been able to control my impulse to dance around everywhere since seeing it. By far the best ballet, and best ballet company I've ever seen. Carlos' favorite part was at the end when the prince leaps to his death. Unfortunately, he did it with a little too much gusto, so the crowd erupted in laughter at a very dramatic part. A view of St. James' Park...
11. The Churchill Museum/War Rooms is absolutely fascinating. I'm sad we didn't have more time to explore--but that seemed to be a central theme of our trip--there's never enough time! And we were going "break neck speed" the entire time to try to fit everything in.
When we got on our flight to leave London we both were sad to leave, but that just means we'll have to go back again! Someday, I hope!
