i havent posted forever, but im going to try to get caught up. so these entries might be short. but last week i realized that time is running out and there are still some plays i havent seen. so we finally went to the phatom of the opera. it was AMAZING! i have never seen the play before, at least not that i remember. it was so good and the music is so much fun. i loved it. maybe i should watch the movie now...
we had also heard about another play called insane in the brain. it is a musical adaptation of the book one flew over the cuckoos nest. i havent read the book, but everyone said the play was fun so we decided to go. there is only one scene of dialouge and the rest is all dancing, like modern/hip-hop. it was so much fun. the dancing was amazing and although the story was kindof weird it had a really good message and we loved it a lot!
we had also heard about another play called insane in the brain. it is a musical adaptation of the book one flew over the cuckoos nest. i havent read the book, but everyone said the play was fun so we decided to go. there is only one scene of dialouge and the rest is all dancing, like modern/hip-hop. it was so much fun. the dancing was amazing and although the story was kindof weird it had a really good message and we loved it a lot!
that night we decided to hop on the 148 bus for an adventure. it takes you around hyde park down to westminster. seeing big ben at night was on my list of things to do and it is SO COOL! i really think parliament and big ben are some of my favorite things here. we had so much fun though, walking around and seeing everything at night.
last night was another adventure, planned by mike. there was a concert in brixton by a guy that mike is a fan of, his name is john vanderslice. we just went along for fun, but it ended up being a way good time! britt and i got a little lost on the way there, but were street smart and we found them. the concert was in this little tiny pub which was really fun. this old guy started talking to us and he asked us where we were from. i said utah and he said, oh the bonneville slat flats huh? and i just laughed and hes all, AHHH DONT RUN OVER THE MORMONS!!! brittney and i were laughing pretty hard. anyway, it has been a pretty fun week. its raining a little bit this morning but hopefully it clears up. and the hot water got fixed! so exciting i know. well ill call soon, love you guys!
for centuries it was the most dreaded place on earth. this is what it looks like today.
only the worst traitors to the crown were taken there, and few were ever allowed to leave. our first stop was, of course, the crown jewels! unfortunately, no pictures are allowed. i bought some postcards that i will try to send, but they dont do justice! the jewels are AMAZING! there is one diamond there that is, get this, 520 carats!!!! i know, it was crazy. the crowns are the ones that they use today. we asked the guy how much they are worth, and he said they are priceless because they can never be sold so no one knows how much someone would pay for them. but they were really cool. after that we headed back to the main entrance to jump on to one of the tours. they are led by the infamous "beefeaters", or yeoman guards as they like to be known. they look like silly guys in uniforms but they actually work very hard to get that job. they have to serve in the military for 22 years before they are even qualified. our guides name was chris and he was awesome! he was so good at storytelling. our first was the traitor's gate.
this is where the different traitors would enter after sailing up the thames. after that we walked to the bloody tower. this is the tower where the two young princes were supposedly murdered. dont know the story? let me tell you... so the two young boys were the legitimate heirs to the england throne due to their father being richard VI. but in 1483, thier uncle richard III claimed them illegitimate and had them taken to the tower. they were often seen playing on the grass until slowly their appearances stopped happening. they were never seen again, and in 1674 two young skeletons were found buried on the grounds. they were said to be that of two boys, aged 10 years old and 12 years old. the bones were taken to westminster abbey. the story goes that richard III had them suffocated so that he could claim the throne. hence the tower is now named the bloody tower. our next stop was the church on the grounds. it is here that many of the victims are buried, including catherine howard and anne boelyn. like i said, our tour guide was awesome and he made it so much fun! here is a picture of us with him. 
our last stop was this monument, which was the execution spot for six people, including three queens, catherine ho
we headed down to the tower of london tube stop and met up with our tour guide. he gave us the backdrop for the city, showing us the wall built by the romans that still remains today (in part). this wall separated the city between the rich and the poor. come the late 1800's, and the city is still split. on the poor side of the city is where jack the ripper comes into play. it was a little bit of a gruesome tour, learning about him. he murdered 5 different women, all of them just as cruel. they were all poor prostitutes who lived and worked in the city. we walked around and saw some different sites, places where the women lived, where they were found dead, etc. like i said, pretty gruesome. and the scariest part... THEY NEVER CAUGHT HIM!!! but dont worry, the guide kindly assured us that he is now beyond a doubt dead. but after the fifth murder he just disappeared, he never committed anymore crimes and was never heard from again. 
this is the "castle" where we ate lunch. it was built around 1100 so i guess it has a right to be mostly gone.
here is a gorgeous shot of the green hills.
here is one of the river and the sheep. baaaaaaa. this picture is probably my favorite.
