Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Hey! I'm in the process of uploading all of my journal entries onto here. I need to retype a lot of it, but it will be up soon!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wow, sorry
So I have not been keeping updated. I'm so sorry! My iPod was stolen, and I haven't had very much time to write.
I will have full updates soon!
-Hannah
I will have full updates soon!
-Hannah
Saturday, July 18, 2009
All castle-d out.
JULY 14TH 2009
TUESDAY
CAERWENT, CHEPSTOW, TINTERN ABBEY, MONMOUTH, RHAGFYR (AKA: I'M SICK OF CASTLES)
I have never been to so many castles in one day. Ever. It was insane.
First we went to Caerwent, which is this site of a roman city that was once there. The foundations of the buidings were still there, and it was pretty cool. I walked around on them until I found a sign telling me not to. It was cool because it was pretty much in someone's backyard. There was an old lady gardening right next door. Cool...the oldest thing in my backyard is probably my car.
We only stayed there for about 15 minutes, and then drove to Chepstow castle. This was really cool. The castle is amazing. Google it. It's huge, and it is so magnificent looking. It's falling apart and it's so old, but it still has such a power about it. I guess all castles kind of do...except for Monmouth, but I'll get to that later.
Anyway. I sat and drew Twr Mawr for about an hour. It's the biggest tower of the castle. It was really, really nice.
OKay, so NEXT I went to Tintern Abbey...which is just amazingly gorgeous. Google it. I wish I had a camera...so I could post pictures, but for now just google it. I could have stayed in that abbey all day and draw and just sit...it was beautiful. Marianne read Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth while we listened. It was so magnificent...I don't even have words for it. The stone was all dark and you could tell it used to be totally covered in ivy. I wish they hadn't gotten rid of all the ivy. I wandered around in it for a while, and sat on a big carved stone that had fallen at one point. I think there are pictures of me or something...I'll post them when I get them from Sarah/Marianne/whoever.
There is this little icecream shop in the same place as Tintern. It sells this stuff called Welsh gold....and WOW. I loved it. I don't even know what kind of icecream...just...cream? I don't know. Vanilla, or something. But it had big chunks of honeycomb in it. It was amazing. Though, the dairy made me feel weird later on...
Then we went to Monmouth. There's a castle there, and...well, it was pretty lame. I think I had just seen a huge amazing castle, and then the abbey, and then this so it seemed pretty boring. It was just a wall or two with a plaque on it. We went into this military museum right next to it though and I saw the funniest things ever. First there was an advertisement with a glass of milk and it had a huge creepy face on it. I loved it. Then I saw one of a soldier, and there was a girl in bed next to him, and it said something like "Americans are stealing your women!" Something like that. I wish I remembered.
After that we drove a while longer and went to Rhaglan Castle. This one was my favorite castle by far. It had these amazing turrets, and about 5 or 6 floors and a moat full of water. I wandered around it for quite a while, and while I was up on the tallest turret that was still in tact, it started pouring rain. It was awesome. So me and Camilla ran around in it, and the Welsh people in the gift shop were confused as to why we even wanted to, and we explained that we were from the desert, and they just laughed. It was so fun. It was quite an uncomfortable, wet ride back home, though.
That is about it...I went to bed, and it was AWESOME.
TUESDAY
CAERWENT, CHEPSTOW, TINTERN ABBEY, MONMOUTH, RHAGFYR (AKA: I'M SICK OF CASTLES)
I have never been to so many castles in one day. Ever. It was insane.
First we went to Caerwent, which is this site of a roman city that was once there. The foundations of the buidings were still there, and it was pretty cool. I walked around on them until I found a sign telling me not to. It was cool because it was pretty much in someone's backyard. There was an old lady gardening right next door. Cool...the oldest thing in my backyard is probably my car.
We only stayed there for about 15 minutes, and then drove to Chepstow castle. This was really cool. The castle is amazing. Google it. It's huge, and it is so magnificent looking. It's falling apart and it's so old, but it still has such a power about it. I guess all castles kind of do...except for Monmouth, but I'll get to that later.
Anyway. I sat and drew Twr Mawr for about an hour. It's the biggest tower of the castle. It was really, really nice.
OKay, so NEXT I went to Tintern Abbey...which is just amazingly gorgeous. Google it. I wish I had a camera...so I could post pictures, but for now just google it. I could have stayed in that abbey all day and draw and just sit...it was beautiful. Marianne read Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth while we listened. It was so magnificent...I don't even have words for it. The stone was all dark and you could tell it used to be totally covered in ivy. I wish they hadn't gotten rid of all the ivy. I wandered around in it for a while, and sat on a big carved stone that had fallen at one point. I think there are pictures of me or something...I'll post them when I get them from Sarah/Marianne/whoever.
There is this little icecream shop in the same place as Tintern. It sells this stuff called Welsh gold....and WOW. I loved it. I don't even know what kind of icecream...just...cream? I don't know. Vanilla, or something. But it had big chunks of honeycomb in it. It was amazing. Though, the dairy made me feel weird later on...
Then we went to Monmouth. There's a castle there, and...well, it was pretty lame. I think I had just seen a huge amazing castle, and then the abbey, and then this so it seemed pretty boring. It was just a wall or two with a plaque on it. We went into this military museum right next to it though and I saw the funniest things ever. First there was an advertisement with a glass of milk and it had a huge creepy face on it. I loved it. Then I saw one of a soldier, and there was a girl in bed next to him, and it said something like "Americans are stealing your women!" Something like that. I wish I remembered.
After that we drove a while longer and went to Rhaglan Castle. This one was my favorite castle by far. It had these amazing turrets, and about 5 or 6 floors and a moat full of water. I wandered around it for quite a while, and while I was up on the tallest turret that was still in tact, it started pouring rain. It was awesome. So me and Camilla ran around in it, and the Welsh people in the gift shop were confused as to why we even wanted to, and we explained that we were from the desert, and they just laughed. It was so fun. It was quite an uncomfortable, wet ride back home, though.
That is about it...I went to bed, and it was AWESOME.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 13th
JULY 13th 2009
Monday
Wow, today was long. But awesome.
We drove for an hour or...more, I don't remember, i was sleeping, to Uffington. There is a chalk horse on the side of the hill, along with what remains of a Hill Fort a bit further away. Also, at the foot of the hill with the horse on it is St. George's mound.
It was really beautiful, walking through the fields. We didn't follow a path or anything, just walked through a bunch of wheat up the hills to the hill fort. There was a little monument in the middle of the field, and while I was reading it I stuck my hand in a load of fresh bird poo. It was SICK. I got it off though, and luckily Sarah had hand sanitizer.
We got to the hill fort. It was cool I guess. I didn't realize we were there until I read a sign that pointed out that there was once a hill fort where I stood. It was...cool. Lots of cow pies everywhere, and some hills. After that was finished with we headed to the horse.
This horse is HUGE. It has been there since the Bronze age, and they have kept it up since. From the sky, it is definitely a picture of something. But we walked around it and jumped over the chalk bits, and all it really looked like was a bunch of white lines. It's white, and I think it looks more like a giant squirrel dragon, but...whatever. Google it. It's pretty sweet.
Right at the foot of that hill is St. George's mount. It's cool. Zoe, Kristy and I decided to ditch the rest at the horse and go to the mound. On the way, we found these really long wheat grasses, which we took to the top of the mound and fought with them. Kristy was the theme music, and Zoe and I fought. She won. She cut off my arms.
The rest of the group followed, and we created a huge human pyramid at Tom's request...this is after Tom did a number of other strange tricks. They were pretty impressive though. After that Camilla spotted 4 cows down the hill in the other direction from the white horse, and she decided she wanted to pet one. So I went with her, because...well, why not? I've never been near a cow before. We ran down the hill, and I twisted my ankle in a rabbit hole...but I guess was worth it, because then we climbed over the fence and I promptly stepped in a fresh cow pie...mmmm.
The cows were bigger than i thought. But much slower than sheep, that's for sure. Sheep are weird. Camilla had been wanting to pet a cow for the past few days, so we would walk up slowly and reach out to touch them. They would just freak out and run away. I managed to pet one of them before it got annoyed, but Camilla didn't end up touching one. After a while all of the cows were just....staring at us, with these CRAZY eyes. Their eyes were all pink and flies were crawling on the eyeballs! Yuck.
We gave up, especially after the craziest looking one started coming towards us. I know the cows wouldn't hurt us...but still.
THEN we drove to Oxford. It was pretty sweet. I had been there the last time I was in England, but didn't really do much because I was wandering around on my own. This time we went on a walk around the city, and looked in all the colleges. There was also this really awesome used bookstore that we went in. Following that, we went to a place called Eagle and Child, which...well, is exactly how it sounds. The sign in front of the store had an eagle carrying a baby in its talons. Weird. But this just happened to be the pub that J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would hang out in, along with the rest of the Inklings, or whatever. So we ate there. It was pretty good.
We were all so tired by the time we got home. I didn't care thuogh, so I walked from downtown where Tom dropped me off, to an internet cafe on Salisbury Street. It was on the way home, so why not. I got to talk to people and update my blogs a bit. It was fun! Then I went over to 26 and talked to those girls for a bit. Now i'm in bed. I finished Screwtape letters last night, so I think I'll start on my book about the plague that I bought.
Goodnight!
Monday
Wow, today was long. But awesome.
We drove for an hour or...more, I don't remember, i was sleeping, to Uffington. There is a chalk horse on the side of the hill, along with what remains of a Hill Fort a bit further away. Also, at the foot of the hill with the horse on it is St. George's mound.
It was really beautiful, walking through the fields. We didn't follow a path or anything, just walked through a bunch of wheat up the hills to the hill fort. There was a little monument in the middle of the field, and while I was reading it I stuck my hand in a load of fresh bird poo. It was SICK. I got it off though, and luckily Sarah had hand sanitizer.
We got to the hill fort. It was cool I guess. I didn't realize we were there until I read a sign that pointed out that there was once a hill fort where I stood. It was...cool. Lots of cow pies everywhere, and some hills. After that was finished with we headed to the horse.
This horse is HUGE. It has been there since the Bronze age, and they have kept it up since. From the sky, it is definitely a picture of something. But we walked around it and jumped over the chalk bits, and all it really looked like was a bunch of white lines. It's white, and I think it looks more like a giant squirrel dragon, but...whatever. Google it. It's pretty sweet.
Right at the foot of that hill is St. George's mount. It's cool. Zoe, Kristy and I decided to ditch the rest at the horse and go to the mound. On the way, we found these really long wheat grasses, which we took to the top of the mound and fought with them. Kristy was the theme music, and Zoe and I fought. She won. She cut off my arms.
The rest of the group followed, and we created a huge human pyramid at Tom's request...this is after Tom did a number of other strange tricks. They were pretty impressive though. After that Camilla spotted 4 cows down the hill in the other direction from the white horse, and she decided she wanted to pet one. So I went with her, because...well, why not? I've never been near a cow before. We ran down the hill, and I twisted my ankle in a rabbit hole...but I guess was worth it, because then we climbed over the fence and I promptly stepped in a fresh cow pie...mmmm.
The cows were bigger than i thought. But much slower than sheep, that's for sure. Sheep are weird. Camilla had been wanting to pet a cow for the past few days, so we would walk up slowly and reach out to touch them. They would just freak out and run away. I managed to pet one of them before it got annoyed, but Camilla didn't end up touching one. After a while all of the cows were just....staring at us, with these CRAZY eyes. Their eyes were all pink and flies were crawling on the eyeballs! Yuck.
We gave up, especially after the craziest looking one started coming towards us. I know the cows wouldn't hurt us...but still.
THEN we drove to Oxford. It was pretty sweet. I had been there the last time I was in England, but didn't really do much because I was wandering around on my own. This time we went on a walk around the city, and looked in all the colleges. There was also this really awesome used bookstore that we went in. Following that, we went to a place called Eagle and Child, which...well, is exactly how it sounds. The sign in front of the store had an eagle carrying a baby in its talons. Weird. But this just happened to be the pub that J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would hang out in, along with the rest of the Inklings, or whatever. So we ate there. It was pretty good.
We were all so tired by the time we got home. I didn't care thuogh, so I walked from downtown where Tom dropped me off, to an internet cafe on Salisbury Street. It was on the way home, so why not. I got to talk to people and update my blogs a bit. It was fun! Then I went over to 26 and talked to those girls for a bit. Now i'm in bed. I finished Screwtape letters last night, so I think I'll start on my book about the plague that I bought.
Goodnight!
JULY 12th
JULY 12TH 2009
Yesterday I got to talk to my parents, and to Joseph! It was great.
Today is Sunday. We went to church at the Cardiff ward (we got to drive instead of walk!) and it was really nice! I got to sketch a lot. We had welsh class second hour instead of sunday school where we read some of the Book of Mormon in welsh. I am getting better at this language...
After that we headed to Castell Cerreg Cennen. I didn't realize the beauty of the surroundings until I got out of the van. Wow. It was absolutely stunning. Once I find a good way to upload pictures I will post some. I was just...blown away. We hiked up this hill to get to the castle, which was mostly broken and falling apart. But that's why it was so cool! I couldn't stop looking around me at everything...there were hills as far as I could see, the sky was grayish blue and everything was green and fresh looking.
Once we got to the castle I climbed around a bit, and then climbed up on one of the walls that was mostly torn apart. I got to sit on it and look out. It literally brought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful! It made me feel so peaceful. I wish I had more pictures...my camera has been dead a few days now. Some other girls got pictures though, and I will get them from them. It was just fantastic. I noticed a cliff that was jutting out a little bit away from the castle. So me and Maryann ran up to the tip of it, which was covered in green and sat and just looked. I wrote in my journal, and picked some flowers to press.
Also, there is a cave underneath the castle. There are stairs leading down into it, and Tom provided us with a couple of flashlights. So Maryann and I went into it. It was so slippery and wet! I almost fell a few times, but grabbed the railing just in time. We didn't really have to hunch over except at one point, at the end. There is a little pool of water at the very end of the cave, and you could barely see it. Then we headed back. It was really pretty...
My legs still hurt from London...but I couldn't be happier. I'm engaged, and I am in Wales, and I get to sit on top of castle walls and sketch the countryside. I don't care if my legs catch on fire at this point.
Yesterday I got to talk to my parents, and to Joseph! It was great.
Today is Sunday. We went to church at the Cardiff ward (we got to drive instead of walk!) and it was really nice! I got to sketch a lot. We had welsh class second hour instead of sunday school where we read some of the Book of Mormon in welsh. I am getting better at this language...
After that we headed to Castell Cerreg Cennen. I didn't realize the beauty of the surroundings until I got out of the van. Wow. It was absolutely stunning. Once I find a good way to upload pictures I will post some. I was just...blown away. We hiked up this hill to get to the castle, which was mostly broken and falling apart. But that's why it was so cool! I couldn't stop looking around me at everything...there were hills as far as I could see, the sky was grayish blue and everything was green and fresh looking.
Once we got to the castle I climbed around a bit, and then climbed up on one of the walls that was mostly torn apart. I got to sit on it and look out. It literally brought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful! It made me feel so peaceful. I wish I had more pictures...my camera has been dead a few days now. Some other girls got pictures though, and I will get them from them. It was just fantastic. I noticed a cliff that was jutting out a little bit away from the castle. So me and Maryann ran up to the tip of it, which was covered in green and sat and just looked. I wrote in my journal, and picked some flowers to press.
Also, there is a cave underneath the castle. There are stairs leading down into it, and Tom provided us with a couple of flashlights. So Maryann and I went into it. It was so slippery and wet! I almost fell a few times, but grabbed the railing just in time. We didn't really have to hunch over except at one point, at the end. There is a little pool of water at the very end of the cave, and you could barely see it. Then we headed back. It was really pretty...
My legs still hurt from London...but I couldn't be happier. I'm engaged, and I am in Wales, and I get to sit on top of castle walls and sketch the countryside. I don't care if my legs catch on fire at this point.
Monday, July 13, 2009
JULY 10th and 11th
10th JULY 2009
FREE DAY
Friday
Okay, so...first of all, I ahve to say that sleeping in until 1 PM can be so wonderful. Last night after we got back from London it ended up being around 3 AM. I was so tired, so Tom just told us to sleep all day.
After I woke up we just went down to Queen Street and shopped a bit. Then we headed off to a party for a guy in the Cardiff Ward celebrating his engagement. Turns out it's next week...not this week. So instead we went to McDonalds, all dressed up. It was hilarous, and very, very American.
11th JULY 2009
CARDIFF BAY, ASSEMBLY, FOOD FEST
Saturday
Today we went to the food festival they were having in Roald Dahl Place down by Cardiff Bay. It was phenomenal. Honestly, the first and only thing I thought of when I got there was "Ethan would LOVE THIS." You really would, Ethan. It was like a schmorgasbord of your favorite things. There were so many meaty things, and these amazing ice creams, and delicious fruit tarts. I loved it. Except for the meat.
After that we went to the Cardiff Assembly. it's a completely green building. It's beautiful, and they have a circular room where they debate Tuesdays and wednesdays. I guess they just received the power to do so from England only a few years ago. The lady who was giving us a tour was awesome. She was this cute little welsh lady who spoke the language. At the end, we sang her a song in Welsh. She loved it.
There's more! I'll update later!
FREE DAY
Friday
Okay, so...first of all, I ahve to say that sleeping in until 1 PM can be so wonderful. Last night after we got back from London it ended up being around 3 AM. I was so tired, so Tom just told us to sleep all day.
After I woke up we just went down to Queen Street and shopped a bit. Then we headed off to a party for a guy in the Cardiff Ward celebrating his engagement. Turns out it's next week...not this week. So instead we went to McDonalds, all dressed up. It was hilarous, and very, very American.
11th JULY 2009
CARDIFF BAY, ASSEMBLY, FOOD FEST
Saturday
Today we went to the food festival they were having in Roald Dahl Place down by Cardiff Bay. It was phenomenal. Honestly, the first and only thing I thought of when I got there was "Ethan would LOVE THIS." You really would, Ethan. It was like a schmorgasbord of your favorite things. There were so many meaty things, and these amazing ice creams, and delicious fruit tarts. I loved it. Except for the meat.
After that we went to the Cardiff Assembly. it's a completely green building. It's beautiful, and they have a circular room where they debate Tuesdays and wednesdays. I guess they just received the power to do so from England only a few years ago. The lady who was giving us a tour was awesome. She was this cute little welsh lady who spoke the language. At the end, we sang her a song in Welsh. She loved it.
There's more! I'll update later!
London Trip!
THURSDAY JULY 9 2009
Midnight
On a train back to Cardiff
So today we went on a day trip to London. IT ROCKED. We took a train from Cathay's station down the street from our house to Paddington station in London. It was about 2 hours, but i slept the whole time, since we woke up in the wee hours of the morning.
We got there, and the first thing we did was go to the National Portrait Gallery. It was lovely! We didn't stay too long, because Sarah and I wwanted to run over to St. Martin's for a choir performance. We got there only to find out that they didn't have it at that time...or day...So instead we decided to go to Camden Market. Instead of actually going there we ended up wandering around near trafalgar square and eventually deciding to go to the Tate modern and St. Pauls area. We got off at Mansion House, and I was surprised to find that I remember how to get places there. Awesome.
We discovered that the exhibits at the Tate were much too expensive, so we wandered around the building it is in. It was once an old warehouse and they fixed it up and turned it into a modern art museum. It's beautiful. We walked back towards St. Pauls on the Millenium bridge, and noticed a path and stairway that led down to the banks of the Thames. We went down there, and the walls next to us were covered in bright green moss. It was an awesome color. We walked over to the shore, and noticed a bunch of little pieces of old bowls and plates. I picked up about 20 shards. they were all worn smooth on the edges from being in the Thames. I don't know why, but I had to pick them up! I can't just LEAVE saomething like that there! Maybe I take after my parents and someday I'lll come home with a truckful of doors, window frames, and columns. Hehehe. Anyway, so I collected a bunch of stuff and then we started seeing strange looking rocks. Come to find out that they are BONES. It was creepy. I picked a few up and put them in my bag so i could look at them later. I don't know WHAT i was thinking. But a lot of them looked strangely human, but we decided it couldn't be. The ribs were HUGE.
After that we decided to go to Portobello Road. On the way there we realized how ravenously hungry we were, so we stopped at this little place owned by a spanish family. We had the best soup ever, and we ate it across the street in Hyde Park, where we saw a little girl walking about 6 huge dogs. Then we left to find Portobello Road. We found it, after having to wander and get lost a bunch. It's a really cool street, i like it. The market wasn't out because it wasn't saturday, but it was still really great.
Seriously all we did was wander around. It was awesome. There was no hurry, no tourist things that we had to see, since we had both been there. We went to Oxford circus and Picadilly circus and ate bread at a french restaruant. THEN we went back across the river to the Globe. We ended up running because we thought we were late. I am SO out of shape. Turns out the show started at 7:30 not 7...but yeah, my legs have never hurt that bad. Ever. It was so worth it though.
It was nice to be back in London. I have been missing it for four years and now that I went back, it doesn't seem real. It didn't seem real the entire time. It was crazy. It's a beautiful city. The Thames runs throguh it, and the buldings around it are from EVERY time period. You have super old, and these new modern looking ones, and it just looks so eclectic and unique. I love it.
But the globe was great. We were groundlings, so my legs got even worse by standing in one spot for three hours. But the play was fabulous. It was a Midsummer's night dream. The whole cast was just marvellous.
Anyway...then I got on this train and...wow...i'm so tired. Goodnight.
Midnight
On a train back to Cardiff
So today we went on a day trip to London. IT ROCKED. We took a train from Cathay's station down the street from our house to Paddington station in London. It was about 2 hours, but i slept the whole time, since we woke up in the wee hours of the morning.
We got there, and the first thing we did was go to the National Portrait Gallery. It was lovely! We didn't stay too long, because Sarah and I wwanted to run over to St. Martin's for a choir performance. We got there only to find out that they didn't have it at that time...or day...So instead we decided to go to Camden Market. Instead of actually going there we ended up wandering around near trafalgar square and eventually deciding to go to the Tate modern and St. Pauls area. We got off at Mansion House, and I was surprised to find that I remember how to get places there. Awesome.
We discovered that the exhibits at the Tate were much too expensive, so we wandered around the building it is in. It was once an old warehouse and they fixed it up and turned it into a modern art museum. It's beautiful. We walked back towards St. Pauls on the Millenium bridge, and noticed a path and stairway that led down to the banks of the Thames. We went down there, and the walls next to us were covered in bright green moss. It was an awesome color. We walked over to the shore, and noticed a bunch of little pieces of old bowls and plates. I picked up about 20 shards. they were all worn smooth on the edges from being in the Thames. I don't know why, but I had to pick them up! I can't just LEAVE saomething like that there! Maybe I take after my parents and someday I'lll come home with a truckful of doors, window frames, and columns. Hehehe. Anyway, so I collected a bunch of stuff and then we started seeing strange looking rocks. Come to find out that they are BONES. It was creepy. I picked a few up and put them in my bag so i could look at them later. I don't know WHAT i was thinking. But a lot of them looked strangely human, but we decided it couldn't be. The ribs were HUGE.
After that we decided to go to Portobello Road. On the way there we realized how ravenously hungry we were, so we stopped at this little place owned by a spanish family. We had the best soup ever, and we ate it across the street in Hyde Park, where we saw a little girl walking about 6 huge dogs. Then we left to find Portobello Road. We found it, after having to wander and get lost a bunch. It's a really cool street, i like it. The market wasn't out because it wasn't saturday, but it was still really great.
Seriously all we did was wander around. It was awesome. There was no hurry, no tourist things that we had to see, since we had both been there. We went to Oxford circus and Picadilly circus and ate bread at a french restaruant. THEN we went back across the river to the Globe. We ended up running because we thought we were late. I am SO out of shape. Turns out the show started at 7:30 not 7...but yeah, my legs have never hurt that bad. Ever. It was so worth it though.
It was nice to be back in London. I have been missing it for four years and now that I went back, it doesn't seem real. It didn't seem real the entire time. It was crazy. It's a beautiful city. The Thames runs throguh it, and the buldings around it are from EVERY time period. You have super old, and these new modern looking ones, and it just looks so eclectic and unique. I love it.
But the globe was great. We were groundlings, so my legs got even worse by standing in one spot for three hours. But the play was fabulous. It was a Midsummer's night dream. The whole cast was just marvellous.
Anyway...then I got on this train and...wow...i'm so tired. Goodnight.
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