What I:

Saw this week:
Les Miserables

Ate this week:
Vegetarian Wellington at The Eagle and the Child Pub in Oxford

Bought this week:
Hunter rain boots

Learned this week:
Something about the Tudors and the Stuarts and Wordsworth

Laughed about this week:
"Aw Nuts! Mom's A Ghost" SNL short

Watched this week:
Last two episodes of Modern Family

Experienced for the first time this week:
A movie premiere! Thor- The Dark World.
I love Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston forever and always.

Played this week:
The piano in primary at church today

Wrote this week:
1012 words for one class, 1100 for another, 800 to a friend

Goals for next week:
Finish presentation about the Houses of Parliament
Own the Lake District
Seance in a Scottish cemetery on Halloween
Climb Arthur's Seat
Avoid rain pouring on my head (have an umbrella)
Eat good food
Be productive on the bus
write lots of words for lots of classes
Blog once
Add pictures to this post

Paris

{I'm so close to finishing my re-cap. I have only Bayeux/Normandy to review and then it's all England time baby.}

Paris was a whirlwing. Literally, it was quite chilly most days, but lovely all the while. We stayed in a hotel in the southeast of the Seine, and got used to the metro real fast; well, not exactly. It was a little complicated.

We arrived late at night so we didn't see much of the city then, but the next morning started with a walk down the center of Paris. I was totally Tour de France geeking out the whole time.

Saint Chapelle was a mystical wonder. I had no idea what to expect, and boy these medieval windows are insane.

Next stop: Notre Dame. Well enjoyed and no pickpockets.

Story time: There we were, taking pictures Utah girl style (hand on hip, bent back, tilted head). I was looking at the pictures Drew took when this guy came up and asked me to show hime how to do it. At first I just assumed he was asking for us to talk a picture for him as he handed us his phone, but no he wanted to learn how to pose. He was quite chatty and wanted to hang out, but we kindly DECLINED. 

fake love lockdown

That night we took a bus tour around the city..

and ended up at the Eiffel Tower just as it began to sparkle like no other. It cast a spell on us- my friend got straight up smooched right at this spot. We were all giddy for the rest of the trip, as you can imagine.

The next day we ventured to Versailles bright and early. I loved it, but I was so exhausted. This day alone I walked 22,000 steps. Europe kicks your butt! and my butt is lookin good!

vital Hall of Mirrors pic

Just livin the peasant life 

We also marathoned the Louvre that night. I had to give my self periodical pep talks to make it through. It was amazing of course, and shout out to Mona Lisa. Oh yes, leaving the Louvre, all I wanted was dinner. The food court was closed, and as we trekked up the third and final elevator, I tripped and smacked my knee on the escalator step. The fiasco almost ruined my new pants, but we ended up at a McDonald's and I ate a burger that was surprisingly decent. I continued to limp.

It was also my sister-in-law's birthday, so Mona wished her well.

We had some free time the next day, so we walked to a flea market, but never made it there. We found this sandwich shop and I had the greatest baguette sandwich, the greatest sandwich, I've ever had. We still talk about it all the time. We went to Sacre Couer and took a peek around.

At the bottom of the hill, we found Fragonard (the prized perfume shop) and a carousel.

We met as a group to visit the Musee d'Orsay, and then that night we went to Shakespeare and Company and died.

 I stopped at Notre Dame for one more selfie, but check out my swag bag.

 We had to eat at the much talked about St. Regis and try the lemon chicken. The restaurant was cute and cozy and the marinara sauce was insane.

I had one more crepe (that I couldn't finish, I was over Nutella for the first time ever), and said farewell to Paris.

I can't believe I've been able to see all of these things that I've imagined my whole life. France was a real treat- and was full of treats (especially those Lion bars).

20

(optional title- I'm an Adult Now so Here's Some Lists)

Today I'm two decades old. Two whole decades!
Ten years ago, I was in the fourth grade.

 

This is the definition of my childhood birthdays: BT cake (Barbie cake topper bonus points), my dear cousin Maddie, a headband, stretchy pants, Spongebob, Polly Pockets, My Scene, American Girl, sticker books, Lion King special edition, and a cute lil face. 

This is me, as a 20 year old, showing you my sweet birthday garb whilst listening to English class.
My art history prof (shout out to Heather) dubbed me Henry VIII -makes sense.

Now doing a picture recap of the last year would be a lot of work, so I'm going to have more fun and make a list.

19 Things I Did While Being Nineteen

• Had Thanksgiving in USA for the first time in six years (and was with the grandparents)
• My niece Miss Mia was born!
• Survived my first and second semesters of college
• All my friends got mission calls
• Did the costumes for a complicated production successfully
• Went home for Christmas and saw the much anticipated Les Miserables
• Moved to Helaman Halls
• Applied and got accepted to London Study Abroad
• Visited St. George with my family
• Met new friends, one of which is my second cousin
• Went to California with said friends
• Calgary flooded to our dismay and I cleaned up some muck
• Got my first job at The Home Depot
• Almost all my family convened in Canada during July, much fun
• Ran Color Me Rad with my sister
• Moved to London 
• Visited southern England and London with my parents
• Toured Italy and France
• Made fwiends. 

That's my year in a nutshell. 

I found this list via facebook last week, and since we're on a list roll let's see how I'm doing at this adult thing:

20 Things I Should Be Able to Do Now That I'm 20

• Make a great breakfast
• I can make a scramble, pancakes, waffles, cereal- but I should expand my reportoire. 
• Argue Kindly
• When I argue at all (I'm scared of it) it's probably kind? I'm not sure. But I'm sure that if I'm arguing I'm trying to prove that I'm right.
• Hold a Conversation with Someone of Any Age 
• I own this.
• Parallel Park
• I also owned this when I took my driving test, but my skills have since fallen into disrepair.
• Defend Your Media Choices
• I'm usually embarrased by my lack of copious amounts of cool music, but I have a certain taste. I can defend all my Broadway albums. 
• Limit Your Online Life
• Oh.. gotta work on this. 
• Approach a Stranger
• Yeah, I can say this is a victory of mine. I used to be painfully shy as a kid, and now you would never know. 
• Stand Up For Yourself
• Most of the time, I'm laid back enough not to make a move when I would have need to defend myself, but I can be feisty if I want to.
• Say "I Was Wrong"
• It's always hard to apologize,  but I can say it.
• Brew a Great Cup of Coffee or Tea
• Nada on the coffee, (I did play a Barista in 12th grade) but I can make a yummy cup of tea.
• Tip Generously
• Exempting the Italian restaurant last week who's service was severely lacking, I can make it rain when it comes to tips. 
• Maintain a Mentor
• Many of my friends at home are strong married women with children, and they do act as my mentors. I also love my counselor/therapist.
• Bite Your Tongue
• "Understand when you should go to bat for what you’re thinking and when you can let it go." Working in it!
• Stay Well Rested
• Also working on this, but I do pretty well.
• Respond to Criticisms
• Still painful, but can be helpful.
• Write a Cover Letter
• I wrote a successful resume, so we'll call it good for now.
• Be Alone
• Own. This. 
• Recommend a Book, Movie, or Album
• Check, check, check
• Prioritize the Important over the Urgent
• I work on this daily.
• Hold on to a Good Friend
• I developed this trait after I moved, but I can't say I've been perfect in any way. I have dear friends that I've grown farther apart from, but I do my best and I understand that drifting apart from certain friends is part of life. I love making and keeping friends, they are the best. 

Well, well, well. Hello adulthood, hello twenties! Maybe I'll love you as much as I love the twenties- the 1920's. I think I'm gonna rock this.

Love,

the older and wiser,

Megan

P.S. Much thanks to my roommates here! Andi just gave me a shout- out during her presentation. OH warm fuzzies.  Decorations, candy, balloons, all around wonderfulness. Tonight we are heading to Covent Garden to eat at Bill's and be marvelous and such. Oh the life.

Bathing in Bath's Beauty

Not only was Bath beautiful this past weekend, but Stonehenge and Salisbury. They were great even the second time around. We got to Stonehenge early in the morning, and it was much less crowded then when I was there last time which is always much more enjoyable.

windy indie lyfe

{We got to Salisbury to tour the Cathedral around 11. We divided into groups and given tour guides.}
This place will never cease to amaze. It was overcast and gothically gorgeous.

There's Paul our guide in the upper right of the baptismal font.

This is how they test the water level underneath the foundation of the Cathedral, which was built 1000 years ago on a flood plain.

Some Tibetan monks were there by the Magna Carta mediating while creating this amazing and intricate artwork out of grains of sand. 

 Next stop of the day was Stourhead Gardens... oh la la.

The ice cream truck which contained the best honey comb ice cream was closed. 

We all took this picture and they are all gorgeous.

We were sure to recreate this scene. AND BONUS! It down poured for the 20 minutes that we were up at the Temple of Apollo and I had my Lizzie Bennet on. 

Classy face....

and sensible shoes. Woe is me. 

So after that dream we made our way to Bath. We stayed overnight and spent our Saturday in the city. Friday night we trekked from our hostel into town for dinner. We made it (after climbing a mountainous hill) to Sally Lunn's where I had their famous buns. The restaurant was the oldest in Bath, as in the Romans had an eating site on the same location.

 

I tried a treacle tart with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and it was divine.

our hostel

 On Saturday we went to the Jane Austen Center which was jolly good fun.

(thanks for da photo Jayne :)

We also made it to the Fashion Museum which was a total DREAM.

and finished the day off with the Roman Baths (old, cool and touristy), dinner, and light shopping at Jack Wills. The bus ride home was complete with a viewing of Harry Potter,

  and a random hot air balloon.

Now classes are over for the day and I'm off to see The Phantom of the Operrra. Oh London, you.

Love,
MM