Day #2: "One Day More!"...Big Ben & LES MISERABLES!

Can I just say that waking up in a different country is pretty surreal... hearing the double-decker buses buzz by, all the birds chirping in the courtyard outside my bedroom, and seeing raindrops on the windows... a girl could live like this for a very long time :) Like for two months...oh hey! Wishes do come true :D So blessed to be here. I'm constantly saying little "thank you!" prayers to Heavenly Father for having this experience.

It was my 1st Day of School! ("1st day of School..wake up!" Name that reference!! I frequently speak in movie quotes, so if you know them, answer in the comments!) As a BYU group, our classes are held in the newly renovated Hyde Park LDS Chapel. It is beautiful and with the recent Mormon.org campaign here in London, the front lobby had missionaries handing out Book of Mormons. So cool!

After our two classes, British Theatre Studies & Shakespeare (Oh! Curse my bad luck! You can ask my family, but I have an uncanny tendency of getting sick on trips...EVERY TIME. London was no excuse! I've had danged allergies, hay fever, WHATEVER crap all up in my nose for the past week! TMI much Brianna?! Yeah, I know! So trying to inconspicuously blow my nose in class was a no go...BOO! Thankful they magically went away afterwards! Random side-track...Anyways!) Siera and I went with our Theatre Professor, Tim Threlfall, to the National Theatre were People by Alan Bennett was playing (mostly to see how to use the Tube correctly because hopeful a professor would know how to, right? Haha we still got a little turned around!) and it was very British! Pretty sure Siera and I were the youngest people in the audience, but that was probably due to it being a Wednesday matinee. The lady next to us said, "What lovely young ladies! You mostly see Silver Tops here, but I am NOT one of them yet! I still have

gold hair!" That definitely went in our quote book. British accent and all :) The leading lady played
Hagrid's "girlfriend" Madame Maxime in the Harry Potter Movies...See!

We had a "Million-Dollar Shortbread" from the popular EATS. Cafe under the suggestion of Professor Threlfall and WOAH! It's like butter and frosting had a baby...dipped in chocolate! I was so wrapped up in all this that I didn't realize I was walking on the River Thames! And guess what I saw when I looked up...

Yup! That's Big Ben AND the London Eye! These are my attempts at trying to be artsy with weird angles... Big Ben looks like a lighthouse though :/ There goes my career as a photographer, geez! Well after strategically figuring out the tube and bus systems (they be cray cray.) I rounded up a bunch of our group to see the best show in West End...nay (Shakespeare's lingo already getting to me!) the best show in the world = LES MISERABLE!!! Here's our adventures getting there, live!...

West End is by far my favorite place so far! All the exciting buzz of eager theatre goers such as myself, who are full of excitement trying to buy the best ticket make the whole place even brighter. Thank the person who thought of discounted student tickets because I got to see Les Mis for the first time on the 5th row...FRONT AND CENTER!

As the final notes of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" filled the audience, I was speechless. That's a rare thing too! I always have something to say about a show- it's my major! But Les Mis is so moving and profound. Reading a review from the program I bought, its said that the reason for its insane success was do to the one thing no other show has: soul. Amen! Its perfect. Nuff said!

What a perfect way to end a perfect 2nd day in London...Les Miserable! The Perfect Musical :)