arthur, austen, and a lot of alliteration

We are back from our weekend in Cornwall. As Mari pointed out however, it was really a week away, since we got back on Friday and weren't even gone for the weekend. We spent two nights at a beautiful beach resort in Falmouth, and although the weather was overcast the entire time, loved seeing a new side of the country.

amazing coastal village: We stopped in the small village of Polperro (PolPerro, with lots of alliteration on the P's and O's if you want to be proper like our director) when we first got to Cornwall. The smell of the sea, and the fishing supplies piled up throughout the tiny cobblestone streets that snaked through the town, made me almost feel like I could spend my life walking up and down the hills and be a fisherman.

arthur: We spent one morning at Tintagel, (TinTagel...you getting the idea?) the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Dr. Crisler explained that the time period and location don't really add up to give validity to the story, but the dramatic cliffs and epic sea caves certainly make for a proper setting for a story as legendary as that of Arthur and Merlin.

authentic cornish everything: We had our fill of cornish pasties, cornish clotted cream, cornish breakfasts, and all kinds of other cornish foods at the delicious restaraunt at the hotel. We were very spoiled to have stayed at such a nice resort.

austen: On the way home we stopped at the home of Jane Austen. The girls loved it. I liked it. The town it was in was one of my favorites we've seen. All the homes had awesome thatched roofs. It was easy to see how someone that spent much time there could start fantasizing about romance and write six of the most read romantic novels of all times.

a lot of driving: We spent a lot of time on the bus, but luckily found a box set of all the Harry Potter movies for only 20 pounds. We each put in a pound and watched Harry Potter on the bus as the English countryside rolled by. What more could you ask for?

a weekend away

We are off to cornwall for the weekend. Hope you are all enjoying your weekends as much as we will be! If your weekend includes anything like driving through the english country side, staying at a hotel on the beach, visiting picture perfect towns, and eating cornish pasties (not to be confused with the other kind of pasties) I'm sure your weekend will be just as swell as ours.

stonehenge

Do you recognize this pile of rocks?

We had the unique opportunity of jumping over the ropes that generally hold tourists back from the famous stones and got to walk through the stonehenge. Approaching stonehenge on

the little country road that leads to it was a remarkably underwhelming experience. From a distance, it really did just look like a pile of rocks. But being in the cirlce, considering how the form would have been erected with simple tools and the fact that to this day no one is quite sure why it was made, was an extremely inspiring experience.

As you can see, I was moved.

t-mobile

If any of you have seen the T-mobile sound of music dance in the train station, then you will realize how cool the following experience is. If you haven't, go to youtube now, look for the video, then come back.

We found out that T-mobile was going to be filming a followup to the trainstation dance in Trafalgar square, so we made the trek over to be a part of it. When we got there, we found out that instead of being part of a random dance, we would be part of the worlds largest Karaokee party. All 13,000 people in the crowd were given microphones, and we all sang along to the songs playing as the words rolled by on the huge screen. Half way through, during one of the songs, they filmed on this really cool looking gril in the crowd. They turned on her mic, and we realized it was none other than PINK! I'm not a pink fan by any means, but it was a rush to realize we were only about 40 feet away from her. It was an awesome day. Pictures from the party are all over the train stations on posters now.

Search "tmobile sing" on youtube to see the commercials that are playing here on shows like "Britians got talent." Look for us in the crowd!

pub life

Laura, Brit, Me, Caitlin, Kim

At 24 years old I figured it was about time I break into the good life, the after hours life, the life where paying money for lots of stiff drinks seems reasonable, the life where a valid ID proving my age is necessary to enter certain buildings....yes, I made my break into pub life. With five of the most innocent looking girls around we made our way to Punch and Judy Pub in Covent Garden for some late night entertainment. We tried to sneak past the bouncer but he caught us. Unfortunately Caitlin didn't have her ID, so she had to work her magic for the guard to let her in. Luckily the drinking age is 18 in England so we all made the cut off.
I didn't know how great pub life would really be. Something about the musty smell of a 200 year old pub, and the aroma of British fare wafting through really set the mood. I loved it.

Don't worry. I didn't partake of anything more potent than a piece of hot fudge cake.

london's sweet treats.

Candy Cakes. My favorite of the bakeries.

The INCREDIBLE cupcakes

Cupcakes from Candy Cakes

This lady owned the store and fit into it perfectly

Brittany and Lauren outside the candy shop

Caitlin and I outside the Primrose Bakery

Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

Anyone who knows me at all knows that it is my dream to own a bakery. I love baking, I love decorating and I love all things cute. Before coming to London I dreamed of visiting Big Ben, eating fish and chips and visiting the local pubs. While I have done all of these things and they have definitely lived up to and surpassed my expectations, my favorite thing has been visiting all the quaint and picture perfect candy and cupcake shops that are scattered throughout the city. They are perfect. I now dream of not only owning a bakery but owning one in London. Maybe someday....but for now I'll just eat my heart out.