ENGLAND {part 4: the Finale}

I bet you are all relieved that I finally brought myself to finish blogging about this trip. It's taken a month and a half almost, and you are probably tired of waiting for the next post. well, here it is. the final state of our exciting adventure. and dang, do I miss it.
we ended our trip back in my favorite city, London. Boy, was I happy to be back. I loved York, Whitby, and Edinburgh.... but I really loved London. and there was still so much more that we needed to see! since we got to our apartment at 1 in the morning, we slept in. it felt so good. unfortunately, one of us clogged the toilet (not saying who) and we were delayed in leaving to try to work out a solution. finally, we just decided to hop on the subway and head towards St. Paul's Cathedral.

now, you'd think after touring church after castle after royal palace after castle after church, we'd get sick of seeing them. wrong. St Paul's was different than the other ones. you see that big dome? well, we got to climb it and see an amazing view of London! after marching up at least 32094893 stairs (or so it seemed; probably around 500 at least. who knows. there were a lot of stairs), nobody died and we were at the top. it was a lot of walking, but hey, we were in London. and we probably wouldn't get the chance to go back and do this again. so, why not?

mom sporting yet another audio tour guide

we climbed back down those stairs and I thought I was going to pass out. the boys and I rested while Mom and Dad toured the rest of the cathedral. when we were done, our next stop was Westminster Abbey. most people might think "a famous church building with gravestones of famous dead people. sounds extremely boring." well, us Castles are either huge nerds, or this place was absolutely not boring. again, with the AP World History, we got to see the graves of a lot of people I learned about. it was very interesting, and Ms. Baker even gave me study credit for going to all these places. (what a saint.) we couldn't take pictures inside, but if we could have, we would have. it was so pretty.

hopefully, you're thinking "that's pretty cool, isn't it?" well, it is. and if you are thinking that, well guess what. Westminster Abbey is by other cool things. like........ possibly the most famous landmark in London.

 

we found a little convenience store right by the Houses of Parliament, and got crisps (because they call the french fries "chips"), sandwiches, bagels with smoked salmon (this became a personal favorite of mine), and Cadbury chocolate. we ate it in a nice park across from Big Ben, next to a statue of Winston Churchill. some girl who looked around Wesley's age or maybe older was making her mom take about 1000 pictures of her jumping in front of Big Ben. Of course, the boys decided that it would be a great idea. Justin's face is my favorite. I know you're thinking, that's a lot to see in a day! and you're right. but were we done? HECK NO! because next on our list was THE famous British Museum.

before our trip, Dad gave us an itinerary a few days earlier, and showed us pictures and websites of all the places we would visit. when we got to the British Museum, Justin immediately says, "that's the place with the talking dinosaurs!" we all laughed and were a bit confused, and finally, Dad said, "that's the museum of Natural History in New York. We will be going there this summer. This one is the one with the Egyptian--"
"Oh, I know this place! YES this place is so cool!" so I think Justin was more excited than the rest of us.

again, with the AP world history, I had learned a lot about most of the stuff in the museum, but it was really awesome to actually see it in real life, instead of just see pictures in the history text book! (in case you haven't been able to tell, I am a total history nerd. I got a 5 on the AP World Practice test, which means I pretty much aced it. The real AP test doesn't give my score until July, but I feel like I pretty much aced that thing too. Not to brag or anything. I just really love history and find it really interesting.) this was perhaps the best way to review for the AP test, which was a month away. but that test has every event, from every time period, from every region of the world, pretty much. so the visit to the British Museum was very effective. I was able to review  my world history on the trip, but actually see it. and have fun with it! so, be prepared for some really awkward, funny pictures. but we all had the best time at this place. so much easier to see all the Egyptian artifacts at the British museum than actually traveling to Egypt! (Justin randomly announced at scripture study one night, "Wesley is going to Egypt on his mission!" pretty sure the Second Coming is more likely to happen before missionaries are allowed in Egypt.)

 J's goals: to get muscles like that.

 bro fist bump. he was pretty disappointed that he couldn't actually touch it.

 "what is the Rosetta Stone anyways? and why are you making me take a picture with it?" 

 walk like an Egyptian

 Mom: "Miriam, pose like a Greek Statue!"

me: "Is this good?"

Mom: "Not like that! Just kidding. do whatever you want."

 Justin kept on asking every 5 seconds, "can we see the Easter Island heads?" 

 we all had really bad allergies on this trip. Mom happened to catch us all coughing (minus J)

 this wasn't much better.

if we could've taken 100 more pictures, we would have. my iPhone had limited storage, and as much as I wanted to take a picture of every statue we saw, I didn't. you guys are probably relieved that you don't have to suffer through any more pictures! or, you're sad because you wanted more. either one works.
after a few hours of exploring history, we all got really hungry. the subway station by our apartment was connected to a miniature shopping mall, and there were a lot of restaurants there. we decided to go back to Nando's, because we loved it so much the first time. It tasted even better the second time because we weren't jet lagged, we didn't have headaches, and we had just had the best day.

sadly, our adventure had to come to an end, and we needed to get back to America. everyone was either happy because they missed us, or they were upset because they wanted us to stay longer. but the time came, and we spent all of Saturday morning packing up our apartment, making sure we didn't leave any evidence of us behind. (except for Wesley's umbrella. That kid has a history of coming back with less things than he came with. He also has a history of losing umbrellas. Several are floating around all over Japan, and one is somewhere in London. We hope that people pick them up and find them to be of great use.) after we were sure that we had everything (Wes is a very good liar), we marched out of our apartment, luggage in tow, and hopped on a subway to the Heathrow Airport. now, I don't know what it is with Castles and airports, but we are either super hyper, or super grumpy and tired. This time, Justin was dancing and singing some song he made up about America. after what seemed like forever, our plane finally took off. I made the really bad choice of watching Forrest Gump on the plane. I had never seen it before, and Dad said it was good. and it was. It was one of the best movies I had ever seen. But I could not stop crying. by the end of the movie, I was shaking and trying to control myself. but I don't think I have cried that much since I saw Les Mis a year ago.
after 10 long hours, we finally landed in Seattle, went through customs, grudgingly sat through a 2 hour layover, and enjoyed free wifi and cell phone service for the first time in a week! we were all too tired to function, and I think I actually slept on the ride from Seattle to Salt Lake! this time, we did not see any of my friends at the airport, but that was a good thing. we were all so tired, and looked like we got beat up. we waited an hour to take the frontrunner train back to Orem, and drove on the right side of the road back to our house in Provo. the first thing I did was eat 3 bowls of cereal. I missed traveling all over the UK, but it felt good to be in my own bed.
well, no more England posts! It was definitely my favorite trip. this summer, be prepared for our New York trip!

PS. to anyone who is signed up for AP World History next year or is considering taking the class, DO IT. it was my favorite class I have ever taken. it's fun, you learn a lot, and you watch hilarious video clips. the test is really hard, but if you study for it, then you've got it! the best way to prepare for this test? go to England.

(not really) ENGLAND {part 3: Scotland}

does anyone even read this anymore? or am I just updating this blog so I can look back on it later? who knows. wow. finals, AP testing, work, tennis.... I am a busy girl. my grandparents visited from Arizona last week and told me they check my blog every Sunday and were asking where the rest of the pictures were. Well, finally, I have time. so....here's Edinburgh, Scotland!
we woke up at 4:30 AM to drive from Whitby to York to board our train to Edinburgh. Holy crap. we were all tired. we slept the whole train ride, pretty much. when we finally got there, we were pretty tired and confused. it was colder than England was, and Justin and I were both really pissed (literally, pissed) that you had to pay to use the bathrooms at the train station. but once we got past that, we were good. we walked outside the train station, and the first thing we saw was a man in a kilt, playing the bagpipes. That's exactly how I pictured Scotland: bagpipers in kilts. so really, it's just how you imagine it. except it's cold.
We took a double decker bus to the Royal Britannia, the royal yacht that the royal family enjoyed sailing on. When we lived in Japan, we took similar tours on docked boats in Yokohama, and we really enjoyed it. so, we were doing the same thing, except we were not on a warship. we were on a royal boat in Scotland!

 as you can tell from my outfit, it was cold here!

 Wes really enjoyed his audio tour guide

there are probably a bajillion more pictures on this boat, but I'm just picking a few of my favs. after we finished our lovely tour, we were all hungry. I guess Dad was missing Japan, because he picked out this ramen place. a real Japanese ramen place, not just Top Ramen. that is probably one of the things I miss most about Japan. I love real Japanese ramen, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland, of all places.

next, the Castle clan made their way to Edinburgh Castle! This place was awesome. It was on a hill, away from the rest of the city. we got to see where Prisoners of War were kept inside,

 J firing the cannon

 J in Jail

 Wes is mentally stable, I promise you. He is excited to see these hammocks. a bit too excited.

if we hadn't seen enough castles already, we went to Holy Roodhouse, Queen Elizabeth's summer palace. we took a tour of the inside, and got more swag audio guides. I love touring these places so much and learning about the historical significance. I also love seeing everything, instead of just looking at pictures or reading about it.

 

after a fun day of touring boats and castles, it was time to head back to England! we ate dinner at Subway, and boarded a 5 hour long train to Kings Cross! We didn't get reserved seats, so it was a struggle to find any close together! Wes and I sat by a gentleman from Doncaster. after the first stop, Justin managed to find a seat across from us, and Mom and Dad sat behind us. the boys and I probably really annoyed the guy from Doncaster by playing several games of Uno to pass the time. J won everytime, except I won once. I felt pretty good about myself. Wesley felt like we were ganging up on him. finally, we got tired of Uno and fell asleep. or at least tried to.
we finally got to London at 11:30 PM. and boy, were we tired! there was an announcement at Kings Cross saying "there is an emergency, please leave the station immediately. well, the fastest way to get out of there was to get on the subway! so that's what we did. there were so many drunk people on there. it was....interesting. we got off the subway at Earls Court and waited for Dad to get the key to our other apartment we were staying at, right by the Chelsea stadium. we watched many drunk people throw things at each other, yell crazy things, and puke on the platforms. sometimes, late at night, my ADD kicks in strong and I get real hyperactive. Wesley was happy to join me. Justin was half awake. Mom got impatient. Finally, Dad returns with a key, so we think we're just going to get on the train, and voila, be at our apartment. NOT THAT SIMPLE! the subway line branched. we had to make sure we were on the train heading towards Wimbledon instead of the other place. well, 3 trains and 30 minutes later, we find a train to Wimbledon. we didn't go all the way there, to my dismay. I plan on returning to London someday to watch Wimbledon. unfortunately, none of my family has that passion about tennis and they would get sick of watching it. I love watching tennis almost as much as I love playing it, which is a lot. anyways, we got off right by the Chelsea stadium, walked to our apartment, and by then, it was 1 in the morning. after unpacking and finding the free wifi, we crashed and went to bed, and slept really late.
part 4: London (again) will be coming soon! and by soon, I mean soon. school is almost done! so I will have time! dang. blogging about this trip makes me think of how much I miss it. those were good times.
this summer, to look forward to on the blog:

• youth conference in Salt Lake
• Philadelphia
• New York
• Another Girls Camp
• Summer Tennis
• Tournaments, tournaments, and more tournaments
• Bear Lake

but I gotta finish England first.
until next time,

ENGLAND {part 2: york and whitby}

well. it's almost been like...1 month since we went to England. and boy have I been slacking. I've been so busy with homework, school, work, piano, and friends. Dad finally let me start driving his car to school and I have been taking my friends everywhere. it is soooo fun, and I have been waiting my whole life to be able to do that, and we have had a blast everytime! once a week, my reallllly good friend Kate (who I saw at the airport in the last post ) and I have our special lunch dates, and they are really my favorite part of the week. Today, my saint of a mother left Einstein Bagels and some cookies at my house, and pretty much everything was gone after we went back to school! anywayssssss.... back to England.

Day 3, we woke up at 5:30 in London to get ready for our next stage of the trip: York and Whitby. Most people haven't heard of either of those places, but let me tell you, they are the prettiest places I have ever gone. you know in the movie Pride and Prejudice, the beautiful green English countryside? it almost looks unreal, doesn't it? well, that's actually what England looks like. It is gorgeous. We were to meet our Castle cousins in York, and then go to their house in Whitby and spend 2 days there. Uncle Chris is in the Air Force, and what a lovely (windy) little (cold) place to be assigned!
We boarded our train at Kings Cross Station early that morning so we could board the train to Hogwarts!

(we wish.)

we somehow ended up in York instead. and it was super cold and rainy. but we were excited to see our cousins who we hadn't seen for about 3 years. and boy, have they grown up! Alyssa is 2 years younger than me, Alec is in between Wesley and Justin, and Hayden is a year younger than J. We went to the York Castle Museum (hahahahahahahahahahahaha get it, the Castles went to the Castle museum. I'm going to use that stupid little joke a lot in these posts, so be prepared). afterwards, we went to some viking museum and Wes chose a silly little Viking flute as his souvenir. he entertained and annoyed everyone around him by playing the same 7 notes every chance he could. Me, J, our cousins, their parents, and our parents were probably really close to breaking that thing!

 Alyssa and I. I'm 2 years older and much shorter.

 Hayden, Wes, J, and Alec

 We climbed a lot of stairs at this tower.

 we tried. we really tried.

 the Castle "women": me, Mom, Alyssa, and Rochelle

sometime in the middle of the day, the sun came out. then, we went to the York Minister and BAM it started pouring again. afterward, we got tortured and went to the York Dungeon and watched some really scary shows about the Plague, King Henry VIII, and Mom got put on trial for "dancing naked" (the actual dancing didn't occur, but the trial did. it's hard to explain.) finally, we were on our way to Whitby and stay with our cousins. the boys immediately ran to the backyard to play some soccer, and Alyssa let me take her comfy bed while she slept on the beanbag. what a saint.

next morning I woke up with some pretty nasty allergies. my lips were chapped and swollen, I was coughing up a storm, and my eyes dried up so bad I could barely see. this day was the boys favorite, and one of my hardest. we went to the Captain Cook museum in Whitby and walked by the harbor. we ran into some missionaries there, too! it was so exciting to see our missionaries in the teeny town of Whitby, England!

next, we went to Castle Howard. This was everyone's favorite thing because it had a super cool playground. and I had a really cool experience there. (too bad Rochelle took all the pictures and we don't have them.) so, there was a beautiful grand piano in one of the rooms there, and the lady who works there saw me eyeing it, and asked if I knew how to play. I said "yes" and she gave me permission to play! so, I played a grand piano in Castle Howard in England, and a lot of tourists that I didn't even know were watching. one old man asked me if it was the First Arabesque by Debussy, and indeed it was. I was so proud that I played it well enough for someone to recognize it! for the rest of the trip, I was not feeling very well at all and I had to just live through it. on our way back to Chris and Rochelle's, we stopped at one of the train stations that was featured in Harry Potter!

day 5 in England (day 3 of this post), we just chilled in Whitby again. Mom's camera died, so we didn't get a lot of pictures, and I really wasn't feeling good that day. but I was determined to have a good time on the last day with my cousins. we went to Whitby Abbey (where the boys played Fugitive together) and took a walk around town. we went to the beach and all the boys jumped into the North Sea with their clothes on. I didn't even get close. then, we had Fish and Chips for dinner. It was not exactly what I expected. They gave me a whole fish that I couldn't even finish. It wasn't my favorite thing, but we were in England, and what's a trip to England without fish n' chips?
we went to bed way early that night to prepare ourselves for getting up at 4:40 to drive to york, and catch the train to Edinburgh, Scotland! which, deserves a separate post. so, stay tuned for part 3. could come tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. we'll see.