England and Paris and all that's fairest

England is where most of the adventure took place. We went all over. We hiked the vast expanse of the Moors, explored Sherwood Forest while scouting out for Robin Hood, played on the beach and walked along the Cobb in Lyme Regis, and made so many more good memories. We visited the poet Wordsworth's home along with the Bronte Parsonage, one of Jane Austen's homes, Beatrix Potter's house, and many different Shakespeare properties, including a visit to his grave. It was very stirring to walk through these places where such incredible writers walked and lived as I contemplated the impact that they have had on the world. It was such a great experience.

The spirit was so strong in this little chapel where Shakespeare is buried. He was definitely an inspired man, and his work is definitely virtuous, lovely, and of good report.

It was in England that we visited even more castles and palaces, old monasteries, nunneries, abbeys, and cathedrals, including Westminster Abbey. For those of you that don't know, Westminster is a church where every monarch of England has been coronated since William the Conqueror. Many of them are buried here as well, along with countless other historic artists and scientists such as Handel, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and many others. It was so neat to be in a place of so much history.

Tintern Abbey, the remains of an old monestary.

We also had the opportunity to attend a couple Shakespeare plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. I must admit, because of them, I am now a big Shakespeare fan. All I've ever seen are little plays put on by high schools and little groups, but these don't even compare.

Along the lines of theatre, while we were in London I went with a group to a showing of Les Miserable. This musical is so powerful and so moving and I loved every second of it. I could have continued to sit there once it finished and watched it from the very beginning all over again and been perfectly content and happy. It was amazing. While we were there, we couldn't pass up the chance to go to the Globe Theatre either; however, I was a little disappointed to find that tickets to Romeo and Juliet playing in this historic theatre were completely sold out, so I had to just let a tour of the theatre satisfy. It was really interesting to listen to the tour guide and all the little bits of information she shared with us though. I was happy I was at least able to go look at it.

Of course we couldn't miss Stonehenge while we were there. Such a neat, mysterious place. When I die, you can bet this will be one of my questions for Heavenly Father!

The last couple days of the trip were spent in Paris. People aren't kidding when they say the French are a passionate people, and Paris really is a great city of passion; passion for art, passion for their culture, passion for their heritage, and yes, even passion for each other as we witnessed floating down the Seine River. While in Paris, I developed some passion myself. I now have a passion for stain glass. I've never been a huge fan of much stain glass, that is until I entered the Sainte Chapelle. Upon entering the old chapel covered in stain glass from wall to wall my mind far changed from its unimpressed impressions of stain glass. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and was my highlight from Paris.

Sainte Chapelle-imagine this, times about 17, completely surrounded by stain glass. It's literally breathtaking.

The Eiffel Tower at sunset. It's funny to think that when it was first erected it was thought of as the most hideous monstrosity.

The view of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Another passion I gained in Paris is for the opera. Okay so not really, more for the opera house. I didn't actually attend any operas, but I did walk through the opera house, and that was enough to change my mind. Even though I'm not a huge opera fan, I wanted to go to one just so I could go into the building again. Big, ornate, and gorgeous. Loved it.

What would Paris be without going to the Louvre, right? In addition to the Louvre we went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw some more very famous, very beautiful art. It was great.

The Opera House-I think I heard faint ringings of the Phantom of the Opera echoing from the basements (that's right, plural).

The Louvre

Although it's good to be home, I want to go back at the same time. I learned so much about so many different things. It really was a once in a lifetime experience. I loved it, and I would do it again in a second.