Cambridge and Parliament and Falafel!

It’s a wonderful life.

So, Friday was Cambridge! Right outside Cambridge, we stopped by the U.S. WWII Military Cemetery and Memorial. It was sobering and beautiful at the same time. 3.800 American servicemen and women are buried here. My heart cried when I read the inscription around the base of our American flag: To you from failing hands we throw the torch – be yours to hold it high. I wanted to tell them, “You didn’t fail! You gave everything! You won.”

We spent the rest of the day around Cambridge. Cambridge University is made up of 31 residential colleges each with about 300-400 students. Each college has its own faculty, classrooms, and living facilities. Running through the backs of the colleges is the River Cam where you can hire a guide to take you “punting.” Punting is kind of like taking a gondola in Venice. It’s this flat bottom boat and a strong young man pushes you down the river with a punting stick! It was sooo much fun. Our guide was so funny. He would mix historical information with tales of students’ pranks and antics and we laughed the whole way.

Yesterday we got to take a tour of Parliament! I was sooo excited. Interesting facts:

The British government is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy, with the Commons being by far the most powerful branch.

The House of Commons has about 650 MPs (MP = Member of Parliament), but the Commons Hall only seats 400! There are no assigned seats. If you arrive in time for prayers in the morning, you can save a seat for the day. Prayers on Budget Day are very popular.

The Monarch is not allowed in the Commons Hall. No member of the royal family has entered the room for hundreds of years.

When the House of Commons is taking a vote, they ring a bell for 8 minutes. During that 8 minutes, each MP has to hurry to either the “Yes Hall” or the “Nay Hall.” At the end of 8 minutes, the doors are locked and no one else can enter. The only way to leave is by filing past the clerks who will take down your name for the yes or no vote. I find this pretty amusing. I can only picture an MP sprinting across the Palace of Westminster, barely making it into the hall in time, and then find out he’s locked in the wrong room. Lol!

Needless to say, I loved visiting Parliament. I’m going to try to get back to go sit in the Strangers’ Galleries sometime this week.

 

Last night for dinner, I tried something new! A friend and I walked to a little Kebabs shop and I bought a chicken kebab doner – basically a kebab on pita bread with veggies. The young man working there gave us falafel with hummus and garlic sauce “on the house.” I’m definitely going back there. Haha. Falafel is originally an Arab food. Basically a fried chickpea patty and it is soooo good! New favorite food! Yum.

Tomorrow is Les Miserables and I’m so excited! :)

"Hooray for the Bus Driver, the Bus Driver, the Bus Driver..."

This week has been filled with homework and art presentations and museums and internet troubles and trying so hard not to get sick! Sorry. Yesterday was our day trip to Dover and Canterbury!

I had stayed up late the night before working on a European Art presentation. Everyone has to do one during the semester and I volunteered to be first with Classical Greek Art. Anyway, I stayed up late thinking I would sleep on the bus. Well, we woke up early and I walked to the bus with no make-up on and carrying my pillow. I settle in to a window seat and all of a sudden the professor turns on a movie. What is this?? It’s 8 am and the professor wants us to watch a movie about the martyrdom of Thomas Beckett? Yuck. No sleep. Forgot to bring a mirror so no make-up went on either.

Well, I got slightly more enthusiastic when we arrived in Dover. We saw the white cliffs of Dover, enjoyed the beach for a little while and my friend tried to teach me to skip rocks. I think the only reason he wanted me to try was so he could laugh. Oh well.

Back in the bus and on to Canterbury! Canterbury was lovely. We were turned loose for two hours before our Cathedral reservation and Michelle and I walked through an adorable shopping center that somehow blended 21st century department stores with a 15th century atmosphere. Awesome. It was cold and rainy so we stopped at a little food stand and decided to try Gingerbread-flavored hot chocolate. Delicious! Hit the spot. We also found an amazing store called Poundland. Think Dollar Tree but slightly bigger. So cool. Canterbury was beautiful and we enjoyed just walking through a park and by the town wall. Their Cathedral is the biggest one I have seen yet, which is fitting since it holds the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

I also saw an old election sticker that I just had to tke a picture of:

Just so you know, I gave my art presentation this morning and it went lovely! Looking forward to Cambridge tomorrow and PARLIAMENT on Saturday!!

Say Yes to Politics at the Dinner Table!

I wish Mormons weren’t afraid of talking about politics. We’re so afraid of offending someone, we steer clear of anything that might be considered political. Health care? Taboo. It’s political. Feminism? Absolutely not. It’s controversial. Iraq War? Only if you want to be exiled from good society.

I love talking about politics. You’re thinking: Of course, she’s a political science student. Yes, that’s true. But I hate arguing. I will never raise my voice in a discussion about politics. I will never play the devil’s advocate. I will never argue for the sake of arguing. I will listen to your opinions. I will try to understand. I will try to learn about you as a person and why you think different policies are good or bad.

Politics is not religion. You can have a lively, educated debate without offending or making fun of a person’s beliefs. Have you ever tried to persuade a friend to try a new diet or exercise plan with you? You’re excited to share what you’ve found and you want them to have the benefits too – because it will be good for them! Don’t you think we can be civilized humans and talk about what we think will be good for our country without yelling about it?

I’m tired of people trying to “save” me from an educated political conversation. Tonight I had a lively after-dinner political discussion with a few friends in the BYU London Centre. We were enjoying ourselves. I was learning about feminism and socialized medicine and liberal fiscal policy and capitalism. When I saw people leaving, I almost stopped. I could tell they were uncomfortable, even disgusted, with the political conversation. But I felt like it wasn’t inappropriate. It wasn’t offensive. It was a very open debate. So we continued. A couple times, people even came in and, thinking they were doing everyone a favor, would say something like, “Ok, is this really important?” or “Oh let’s all talk about something else. How do you like my new shoes?” We’d then explain that this was not an argument and we were enjoying ourselves

If you’re going to make a campaign speech, maybe the dinner table isn’t the best place to do it. If all you want is to proclaim your opinion in a loud voice, then find a barn. But if you’re going to be courteous and open and accepting of other views, in other words, acting like a civilized person, then why not? Seriously, why not?

Zebras in Liverpool

Yesterday morning, we went to the Beatles Museum. You couldn't really skip that when you're in Liverpool... On our way out of the museum we saw the funniest street sign! I think at least half of us had to stop and take pictures:

What the heck does that mean???

We all thought it was some sort of joke since it was outside the Beatles Museum. I didn't find out until today what it means: A Zebra Crossing is a black and white striped pedestrian crossing, and when it's "humped" that means there is a speed bump with it! Imagine that! England has humped zebra crossings!!

Way Up North

Friday 21 January 2011

Yesterday we took off on our three day trip around the north of England. To be honest, when I first saw the schedule of our trip north, my first thought was, “We’re not going to Pemberley??” Then I remembered that Pemberley is not a real place. It was simply a figment of Jane Austen’s imagination. Sad day.

First stop yesterday was… I think… The ruins of Fountains Abbey. It feels like so long ago. The ruins were gorgeous. I sincerely wished my friend Jill had been there to take pictures! I think mine just did not do justice. This is when I really regret not taking a photography class…

In the bus yesterday, we were forced by our professors to endure the film Wuthering Heights. Yes, Grandma, I have finally watched the whole thing. And it was terrible. Surely, there must be someone in this world who appreciates this sort of cruel, twisted, haunting story. But I am not one of them. Also, today’s bus ride included a documentary on the lives of the Bronte sisters. From this film’s point of view, they apparently lived incredibly depressing lives and the only reason they wrote was as a last resort to make money. I’m so glad I didn’t sign up for the literature class.

We arrived in York last night about 4:30pm. I say night because it is pitch black here by 5. York is actually pretty small. The Roman city walls are still intact with a circumference of about 3 miles and the city barely goes beyond the walls. We walked through an ancient street called “The Shambles,” but apparently the night life is kind of sad there because everything but the department stores were closed by 6!

This morning we walked up on the city walls and took a tour of Minster Cathedral in York. These are pictures of the city walls and me sitting in the Minster Chapter House in the seat where King Edward would sit when he met with his Parliament in York.

We then hopped on the bus and spent the afternoon turning ourselves into ice cubes in Preston. Oh, while turning into ice cubes we did see tons of cool history sites of the LDS Church. We saw the square where the first missionaries in England preached, their first apartment, and the river where the first baptisms in England were performed. That same public square was the first place President Gordon B. Hinckley preached on his mission. We were also able to see the Preston Temple and the Missionary Training Center, among other things.

More bus time and we arrived in Liverpool. Holly and I went to a fabulous Italian restaurant called Pesto. All I wanted was protein, vegetables, and a chocolate dessert. I got asparagus in balsamic vinegar with slices of parmesan cheese, baked chicken in a tomato and herb sauce, and Holly and I shared some sort of chocolate fudge cake with fresh cream. They called it Cioccolato Divino. Can you say DIVINE?!? Ahhhh… I love food. That dinner just made my whole day better.

European restaurants are very different from American. I wouldn’t say the food is better, because it all depends what you’re craving. But it is very different – in a wonderful way. Europeans take much longer on their evening meals. Holly and I were at the restaurant for almost an hour and a half, even though we were trying to be quick. They also eat later. The other day a group of us went out to dinner in London and when we got to the restaurant at 6pm it was practically empty. I was worried that it wouldn’t be any good since no one was there, but about 7pm people started arriving and at 7.30 it was packed. We then sat around for a while waiting for our check before realizing that you have to ask for it. Here, they think it’s rude to bring you your check because it’s like pushing you out the door.

Drivers Beware: Elderly People on the Loose

Today I was doing one of our assigned London "walks" with a couple friends around Notting Hill. As we were passing a retirement home, we just saw the funniest street sign and had to stop to take pictures:

Ah, the English entertain us.

While we were up on Notting Hill I just saw the cutest little street. It wasn't really unique, but it was just a picturesque example of the London I'm growing to love! (don't worry Mom, I'm not moving here ;) )

Wicked Flood

(This was supposed to go up yesterday but I was tired of dealing with the internet – sorry!)

Tuesday 18 Jan 2011

This morning for our civilization class it was back to the British Museum! This time we were studying Mesopotamia and I came across several clay tablets from the oldest surviving library. Assyrian King Ashurbanipal brought together a huge library of clay tablets written in cuneiform, one of the earliest forms of writing, during his reign from 668-631 BC. If there was a legend not already written, his scribes wrote it. He also may have thrown his name onto a few tablets here and there just for good measure…

Anyway, there is a tablet from the first “epic” of world literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh. On the eleventh tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, there is a story about a man named Ut-napishti who builds a huge boat and puts his family and animals inside after the gods warn him they are planning to destroy the world by flood. Um, does this story sound familiar to anyone?? This part of the oldest Epic in the world isn’t just a story. It’s part of our history. It was translated back in 1872, so I guess lots of other people already know about it, but I hadn’t and I thought it was awesome!

In the evening, the whole BYU group went to go see Wicked!! What does this have to do with our studies? Ummm…. Oh, I’ve got it. You can be friends with people who are different than you and there can be a place where many cultures live happily together – just like London.

Warning: Don’t read this if you don’t want to know the ending.

Btw, Wicked was AMAZING! Elphaba’s voice and acting had me awestruck. The last song in the first act, Defying Gravity, gave me chills. The lighting and special effects were awesome. Basically, I loved it. However, I was almost disappointed at the ending. I know this is morbid, but I was a little disappointed when it turned out that Elphaba and Fierrot were still alive. I just thought it would have been a perfectly tragic ending…

Thank Heavens for the Women of this Church

When we came to London, our stake leaders kept telling us that we, as Brigham Young University students, would be teaching through both our words and our examples in the various church wards we were assigned to. We were told that we had a vast amount of gospel education that many of these members have not had because they are so much newer to the church. This all may be true. But I cannot imagine they will learn more from me than I will from them.

This was my first Sunday as a member of the Stratford ward and I already love it. My ward is very small, about two thirds African and the others English, Indian, Filipino, or Asian. It is so far removed from any American Church experience I have had. I loved the African sisters the minute I stepped into Relief Society. The RS President’s welcome was greeted with a cheerful chorus of “Good Morning!”s. The lesson today was on fasting. To be honest, I have always struggled with my testimony of fasting. It just has not been one of my strong points. I do it, but my heart has never been all there. Today I was put in my place while hearing the abundance of testimonies these humble sisters gave of their experiences with and testimonies of fasting. What could they learn from me? An upstart 19 year old girl who hopped across the ocean on an adventure? What do I know about real hardship? I’ve never been a wife or mother. I have never had to support a family. I’ve never paid my tithing not knowing how the groceries would be bought. And yet, we five girls from BYU were met with warmth, respect, and open arms from sisters who are looking forward to serving with us.

This afternoon, after the ward “Munch and Mingle,” I got to watch as the Bishop introduced three of the BYU girls to the Primary President to serve in the primary with her. The gratitude she received them with humbled me. One at a time, she would grasp both their hands and say “Thank you for coming. God Bless you.” All they’re doing is helping teach the children for two hours each week. But to her, it meant the world.

A few years ago, I remember hearing a young elder missionary mention that he regretted that the women of the church somewhat lagged behind those who had served missions on an understanding of the atonement. I remember being furious. The women of this church have faith, courage, love, and hope. They have faith in the atonement of Christ because of their life experiences. They know how it feels to lose a child. As they care for their families, loved ones, and those in need, they understand the love of Christ. When they turn to God with trembling hands, they know he can take away their pains. It is the Spirit that teaches the gospel of Christ. It is that tender Spirit that the women in this church invite in such abundance. Today I heard the testimony of an elderly African woman sitting in the back row of Relief Society and I know that she understood the atonement just as well as any young missionary.

Today I was called as a Relief Society Teacher and Pianist. I can only pray to serve and love them to the best of my ability. I can only pray that I will teach them half as much as they will teach me.

Please Don't Touch

I’m exhausted and just crawled into bed but I’ll just tell you real quick…

Today was a bus day! First stop was Church #6 – Salisbury Cathedral. We had an awesome tour guide who told us that cathedrals actually used to be very colorful. Most of the color has now either been whitewashed or faded. Also, I was very excited to find out that this cathedral houses one of thirteen original copies of the Magna Carta, out of only four existing today. We got to see it - from behind ropes. I wanted to buy a poster of it at the shop, but I figured I couldn’t really get it home.

Second stop – Stonehenge! That was really cool. For some reason (silly, I know) I thought we would be able to get up close to the stones and I was pretty disappointed to see the field roped off.

Third stop – Bath. We saw the Bath Assembly Rooms, which are mentioned in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, and the Roman Baths. Whoever is in charge of the Roman baths must have talked to whoever is in charge of Stonehenge, because we didn’t get to touch the water from the hot springs either. Lame.

Human Progress and Civilization Study: The Girls' Bathroom

Today I finally started classes with History of World Civilizations and History of England. The Civ class is basically a museums class. Prof. Dursteler lectures about a period in time for about an hour and a half, we go to a museum, he points out a couple objects, and then we’re turned loose for an hour to explore the museum and write a “Museum Report.” I think this is my favorite class so far.

The History of England is a 2 and a half hour lecture in the afternoon and goes along with all of the field trips we’ll be taking. These two classes progress along roughly the same timeline.

So in Civ today, we talked about the very beginnings of human progress, when an agricultural revolution turned hunters and gatherers to farmers starting around 12,000 B.C. In honor of human progress, I thought I would tell you about a little bit of progress I’ve made.

Beside our dorm room of 8 girls, we have a little toilet room and a shower room with two showers and two sinks. The shower doors are glass. This creates a bit of a problem. We attempted to drape towels over the doors for a bit of privacy, but they were rarely long enough. A couple days ago I had an ingenious idea. I had brought with me an old, lightweight Build-a-Bear beach towel and I just so happened to have a bit of Christmas packaging tape in my suitcase. I finally put two and two together. The glass door is now adorned with a Build-a-Bear beach towel and long strips of red and green polka dot packing tape. I think this sort of high-style bathroom is perfect for such a stately Victorian townhouse don’t you?

We’re currently on the search for another beach towel. ;)

My Bucket List:: Cathedrals and Churches and Chapels, Oh my!

While I’m in London, I have a goal to see as many churches and cathedrals as possible – at least 10. Today I got to add churches #4 and #5 to my list.

A friend and I were doing an assigned “walk” through St. James and Westminster. On Jermyn road, we found St James’ Church at Piccadilly. It was a lovely Anglican Church which has had much remodeling done since damage in the World War II bombings. I was dismayed to see people rushing through the hall of the church as a shortcut between two streets. The chapel area was lit with candles and people reverently whispered in the aisles. There was a beautiful prayer tree where people hang prayer requests and light candles. I paused by it for a moment to read the requests and write my own for a friend. 

[Picture to be added here when internet permits]

I think my favorite part of the walk was our detour to see Westminster Cathedral. This is the largest Roman Catholic Church in London and has stunning architecture and décor. There were many parishioners coming in to pray and worship. The most fantastic feature of the Westminster Cathedral is its approximately 300 foot tall campanile tower. For a small fee, they let us take an elevator to the top. The view of London was breathtaking. I never realized how large this city is. It stretched on for miles with no end in sight. For a tourist on a budget, the campanile tower is far better than the London Eye.

[Picture to be added here when internet permits]

With these two churches added, here is my list so far:

1. St. John’s Chapel in the Tower of London. Small, beautiful simplicity in white stone.

2. Westminster Abbey. Huge, regal. Church of England. A few too many headstones and memorials for my taste.

3. Hyde Park Chapel. Latter-Day Saint. Large, beautiful organ filling the back of the chapel. Possibly the most well-known LDS church in England.

4. St. James Church at Piccadilly. Lovely Anglican Church with a reverent tone. Old church, with a bit of a forgotten feel in a ritzy part of town.

5. Westminster Cathedral. Gorgeous. I believe the largest Roman Catholic Church in London. Beautiful stone and tile work. Campanile tower has a breathtaking view of the city.
6. Salisbury Cathedral. Once the tallest spire in England. Houses one of four original Magna Carta copies existing today and the oldest working medieval clock. (added 12 Jan)
7. Bath Abbey. Built almost on top of the Roman Bath Ruins. (added 12 Jan)

The LDS Church in London

 Note to readers: I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A.K.A. the Mormon Church. If you are unfamiliar with the LDS church, it will help you to know that an LDS "ward" is similar to a Catholic parish and an LDS "stake" is similar to a Catholic diocese. A "calling" is a position in your ward that the Bishop (head of your ward) asks to you assume.  

     So today, we were split up in two groups, about 20 students for each London stake. Half of the group went to South London (the Wadsworth stake) and the other half of us went to the Hyde stake. I was assigned to Hyde- which is good because that means I can get there just on the tube (subway) rather than having to switch from tube to train to tram. The Wadsworth kids got their ward assignments right away and got callings as soon as they got there. But the Hyde stake presidency wanted to meet with us today before we went out so we had to go to the Hyde Park ward all together to get our assignments.
      I was assigned to Stratford ward- which the 2nd counselor in the stake presidency described as "very ethnically diverse." It starts at 9:30 am and it will take us an hour and 15 minutes to get there. We'll also have to pay for a tube extension because it is outside of the travel card that the Centre buys for us. It shouldn't be too bad- about 3 pounds, or $4.50 each Sunday.
      I'm sad that I don't get to meet my ward until next Sunday. Also, they're having ward conference next Sunday which means we might not get our callings until two Sundays from now. I am so impatient. I really want a calling to work on. I talked to four Wadsworth students who are back and they were assigned to Young Men's, Young Single Adult Sunday School teacher, Primary teacher for ages 4-7, and one girl is the Sacrament, Primary, and Ward Choir Pianist!! Crazy. I hope the north stake needs BYU students as much as the south stake does. I want to be useful.
     About the ward we attended today: The Hyde Park Ward is the most central London ward- which means it is about one third American, one third English, and one third everything else, with the whole ward representing about 70 nationalities! Someone told me that their chapel cost about as much as some temples (with location contributing alot of the cost). The Hyde Park Chapel kind of serves as a Church Visitor's Center. The organ is huge and beautiful- they hold lunchtime concerts there every Thursday. In the foyer there is a large mural with descriptions of the plan of salvation and a plaque commemorating the beginning of missionary service in Great Britain. When entering sacrament meeting, everyone gets a name badge- black ink if you're a member of the ward and red if you're a visitor. The 2nd counselor in the stake presidency told us that it's kind of stressful to have such a well-known ward because General Authorities and public affairs people always want to visit. We'll be having our religion class there on Thursdays so I will add better pics later!

Digestives and the Parks

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but my internet was not cooperating- internet in Europe is rather sketchy.

Saturday is our staff’s day off so we were left alone for food today. A couple of my roommies and I left the Centre about 9:30 am in search of a Belgian waffle stand. We were unlucky in that regard, but did find a grocery store (Marks & Spencer) where I spotted a package of cookies called Digestives. I remembered my old roomie Rosemary saying how much she loved them in Romania, so I thought I’d better try. Just so you know, they are wonderful! Wheatmeal biscuit covered in milk chocolate. Delicious.

For breakfast, we found a little chain bakery called Greggs where I bought a sausage roll and a “Yum-Yum” (iced pastry).

In the afternoon we did our first assigned “walk” for our one credit “London Walks” Class. It took us two hours to go through St. James Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. In between Green and Hyde is the Duke of Wellington Arch celebrating his victory over Wellington:

In Kensington Gardens is the Peter Pan statue which author J.M. Barrie reportedly had erected overnight to make schoolchildren believe that fairies had brought it!

Tower of London and Westminster Abbey

Today we spent two and a half hours touring Her Majesty’s Palace and Fortress, the Tower of London. I had always thought the Tower of London was just that – a Tower. Little beknownst to me, it is a whole castle!

 We saw the crown jewels, the execution site, the royal armoury, the room where the two "little princes" were (most likely) murdered, and the many towers where prisoners were kept. Also, below is a picture of St. John’s Chapel from inside the fortress.

After that, we saw Westminster Abbey – where William and Kate will be getting married in April!

After the abbey, we split up and my group went to look at Trafalgar square, Leicester Square, and the TKTS office.

Also, I started figuring out the tube today! It really isn’t hard and it’s so exciting to have constant transportation at my fingertips!

In London!

Hello world!

This is my second day in London and I feel so amazing! It felt so good to get out and about on our own today. The girls on my flight got in to the London Centre at about 11am yesterday and I actually felt pretty good. I highly recommend taking melatonin to help you sleep on planes- I slept for almost 5 hours! So, I wasn’t very energetic, but I really felt pretty good. Very little jet lag. Yesterday I spent a couple hours unpacking and getting settled in and then the three professors took us on a walk around Kensington Gardens/ Hyde park just to get out and keep ourselves awake. We saw the Prince Albert Memorial at the South of Kensington Gardens. It is HUGE! Very regal looking and nothing like what we have in the US. But, then again, we don’t have any royals in the US.

We also saw the outside of Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria grew up and where Princess Diana lived.

We didn’t get to stay out very long yesterday because it get dark so early and we weren’t at all familiar with the area yet. It starts getting dark about 4pm and is completely pitch black by 5. It didn’t even start getting light until 8am today. Crazy.

The Centre is tall, old, cramped, and beautiful. So, basically, it’s European. I lucked out and got put in the room with 8 girls instead of 14, much thanks to my writing an early-to-bed, early-to rise schedule on the room survey. Our room shares one bathroom with two showers and two sinks. It’s tiny and mornings are very interesting. Also, we’re only allowed to have food (including wrapped gum and candy) in the servery because of a rat problem. But, you know, that’s ok! I’m in London!

Today we had our Centre Orientation from 10 am to about noon. In the afternoon, I ran errands with a couple roommates- Shelbi and Michelle. We picked up internet cards (because the centre internet is terrible), tube passes, laundry detergent, a laundry bag, notebooks, and a few other odds and ends. It felt so good to be out on the streets of London! It was a beautiful day, too, if you dressed right. It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and with a constant drizzle, but I had rainboots, a coat, gloves, a hat, and an umbrella so I was good to go. We also stopped at a little bakery where I bought Italian “grissini” for 60 pence. It was about 18 inches long and a cross between a breadstick, pretzel, and biscotti, with lots of herbs I didn’t recognize. Pretty good!

After we dropped our things at the Centre, Shelbi and I went over to the Serpentine Gallery, a small art exhibit in Kensington Gardens which he had to visit for our European Fine Arts Class. We then hurried back home to make it before dark. We are allowed to be out after dark, but you have to be in groups of three, rather than two in daylight, and it was easier to find our way back in daylight anyway.

Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, Saturday will be the changing of the Guard and “The Woman in Black” and then Sunday we’ll find out where we are each assigned to go to church! Can’t wait!