Sky Above, Earth Below, Fire Within

Hello there! Another highly eventful week has flown by, and I am brimming with tales of adventure to share. However, like last week, there is not enough time in the day for me to wax eloquent about what's happened, so it will be similar to last week's post. Truly, though, England has ignited a fire within my soul..

This, my friends, is the English Channel off the Isle of Wight. Even cooler, Queen Victoria used this spot as her private bathing (read 'swimming') area. The entire royal family utilized this island as their holiday home. I had the immense pleasure of swimming in the Channel! Like many of you already read from my Facebook post, the water was pleasantly warmer than that of my native Rigby Lake. While swimming here, I felt nearly every indie dream of mine come true. It was lovely.

Osbourne House--Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's summer getaway. Nevermind the fact that my own house isn't even worth a tenth of this!

We went to the Borough Market the other day, a large and lively food market in London. What a smorgasbord of tastes and smells! In the end, I decided on a spicy lentil fajita with hummus and other goodies I can't even remember. It's been my favorite new food so far. Mmm.

On day one of our week-long excursion, we stopped in Bristol. This incredibly beautiful work of art was in the cathedral of St. Mary Redcliffe, and come to find, it is actually a modern reconstruction. Even so, I loved it. What made it more special was that it was in the ladies' chapel. 

This one is particularly special to me. You see, one of the items on my bucket list has been to walk in an old cemetery attached to a cathedral/chapel in England. Preferably in the morning. Specific, I know. Well, as you can ascertain from my picture, I did just that. It was a deeply spiritual experience for me as I weaved between graves, pondering about whose loved ones these people were and what contributions they made to the world around them. I'll always remember it.

No, I am not joking. We ran into this hilarious shop in a mall in Cardiff. Would you believe they charged £12 for a box of twinkies?! (Not that I would buy them for a reasonable price anyway.)

This isn't a joke, either. You're looking at Snowdonia National Park in Wales, probably my favorite place we visited this trip. Breathtaking, isn't it? What I wish I could show you is what it looked like at night when we were driving up to it: shades of black and grey coming together to form mountains covered in dense fog with misting rain. It was ancient and fearsome and beautiful. 

Mumford & Sons became even more relevant in my life, if that's possible. Firstly, they're a British band; and second, while riding on the bus to another site, I found serious comfort in their song 'Sigh No More.' I'd had an emotionally rough night, and this song reminded me that God loves me and that He will never lead me astray. God and England are so good to me.

The picture doesn't do justice to how cold and exhilarating this was. We rode a train to the top of Mount Snowdon and then climbed a bit to reach the summit. Mount Snowdon nearly had Idaho beat in terms of wind and cold! Nonetheless, I loved it. For a while, we were completely surrounded by fog and mist. It seemed as though we were at the mercy of Wales' elements--a thrilling experience.

Say hello to Conwy Castle, which is also in Wales. Though I've seen many castles (you have no idea how cool it feels to say that), this one was by far the most well-preserved. I clambered all around in its courtyard, hallways, turrets--everywhere. My favorite part was standing on top of one of the turrets and beholding the amazing view. There was the adorable town, the marina, some train tracks, and forests off in the distance.

A sign we stumbled upon in Chester, England. Hooligans, beware.

During our exploration of the Chester Cathedral, we discovered this small yet wonderful courtyard. Its beauty speaks for itself.

Liverpool didn't make the favorites list, but it is noteworthy enough to mention. Here is a view of one of the docks, along with a fun ferris wheel and--can you tell? A yellow submarine! After all, Liverpool is the birthplace of  the Beatles. 

I feel bad for forgetting his name, but this guy brought out my silliness.

(Mum and Dad, this one's for you.) In Preston, we went on one of the most enjoyably informative tours I've ever participated in. Mr. Peter Fagg took us to several important sites pertaining to the history of the LDS Church in England. This spot--the River Ribble--was where the first baptisms took place! How cool!

I couldn't resist sharing all of these. They're from the same place, called the Ribble River Valley. Everything was so quiet and quintessentially English. There was even some steady rainfall, which I loved.

The Lake District thrilled me to no end. Our hostel was legitimately a mere couple of yards from the shore. Imagine a place where every plant is vividly green, the air is fresh and a bit crisp, and a body of glass-green water sits under a bright sky. That is essentially where we stayed. Much to my great pleasure, I swam in Lake Windermere. My professor was the first one in, and I quickly followed suit, lest any other student be the first to experience the water. I remember the water rushing toward me as I jumped in, and the brief shock of hitting the water. Oh, the cold! I came up with a gasp that ended in an exhilarated scream. The other students emerged with squeals and shouts, too. Up until then, I hadn't experienced such an icy dip. My screams soon melted into laughter, however, and my arms numbed up enough for me to swim around. I stayed in there for a good, long while. 

Lastly, here is the Preston, England LDS temple. I really enjoyed being on holy ground and feeling the Spirit here. I will go inside someday!