Warning: lots of mistakes. Just super tired and don't want to fix them.

I had my best night of sleep last night. That bed was a cloud. It was actually quiet and dark in this room and that was new for us compared to our loud Belgian friends. We woke up this morning at about 7 and I got ready for the day to leave at 7:45. A few of us went to a coffee shop to get breakfast and coffee for the day. We met up with our group at 8:30. We were riding the tube to Buckingham Palace. We walked as a group to the tube and did our thing in the underground world. We emerged into a perfect movie scene of a green park. There was just lots of grass and trees and it was gorgeous. We arrived at the Palace and the front is beautiful. The flowers and the fountain and the manicured grass. They had "stay off the grass" signs and I was so giddy because of Princess Diaries. My fave part: when they yell at her to get off the grass. We waited to get our tickets for awhile and then went inside. There are no pictures allowed which I was so bummed about because it is stinking gorgeous and everything deserves to be captured and remembered forever and it kills me that I only have my memory to envision the beauty because my memory stinks. We had to go through security and then we received hand held audio tours which was nice. It made everyone be quiet because they were listening and not gabbing. We entered into a great hall and it all began. We saw a white boarding room, a green boarding room, a music room, a ball room, a dining room, a portrait room, a throne room, the royal collection of art and statues, the gifts given to the queen, a tribute to Princess Diana, the courtyard, and the gardens. John Nash is the architect that designed most of the grandeur in the palace. He must be my favorite because I loved all the details. My favorite part were the ceilings. The pattern and gold and detail and symbols. Each ceiling was different and yet all were complicated and similar in a way. He used a lot of gold plating in the palace. The color scheme is gold, cream, and red. Lots of red. Lots of gold. It was breathtaking though. I mean there are really no words to describe the amount of detail, time, thought, hand cramps, sketches, carving, painting, and the list goes on and on that went into this palace. The small details were vast. Everywhere was something to look at. Usually this amount of detail and decoration looks gaudy and unappealing. Not this. nope. Perfect. Regal. Valuable. Unique. Ornate. Intricate. You guys just need to go for yourselves. If I had pictures I could help you understand the feeling the whole time I looked at a new piece. I just have so much appreciation for those artists and craftsman who spent the time working on the smallest of details. Hand crafting the chandeliers. Sewing the couches and tapestries. The artwork. You could see the brush strokes made by the original artists on most of them. If that doesn't cause a feeling of appreciation for their talent and their patience and their imagination to create such pieces. The marble statues. So smooth and realistic. They showed emotion and life. They took a rock, and turned it into a story. The ability to envision the final product, to choose what to place in the palace, and to incorporate meaning into symbols used throughout the palace just leaves me standing in humility. I love that there were people in this world who had the ability to create things that would stand through centuries and still incite the same feelings and appreciation today as they did then. I love that I was able to experience the Buckingham Palace. It was just something I will never forget. After the tour, I went to the gift shop and found some good gifts for fam. We were supposed to meet at the front at 11 and it was like 10:55 when I was checking out. I thought I was good but then found out it was a 7 minute walk out. Okay, I can speed walk that up to 5 minutes. Well I did, but then we were at the very back of the palace grounds. We had to walk all the way around. It was like a 20 minute walk. I was freaking out because they said if you don't show up at 11 you will be left because we had an appointment at the globe theatre. Well thankfully they didn't leave us. It took awhile to get us all gathered and off back to the tube to go towards our next tour. We thought we were going to be late so we were like fast walking the whole time and it was a long walk after we got off the tube. We walked through some residential area and a market place. The market was so cute. It had food of all kinds and desserts and trinkets. The food looked delectable in every way. I wanted to stay and get food or come back but we just didn't have the time. I noticed on the walk that London has beautiful flowers everywhere. There are flower hanging baskets on like every lamp post. Mostly all apartments have flowers in their windows and on arches above their doors. They really know how to grow plants here. We finally made it to the riverfront where the Shakespeare Globe Theatre is. We arrived a little early so we sat and took a short break. I also got to see the bridge from the 7th Harry Potter movie, part I, that the dementors destroyed in the very beginning of the movie. That was exciting. Our tour began at about 12:15 and we were able to go inside the globe theatre and just hear about its history and the plays and the ins and outs of the theatre. It was pretty interesting but our tour guide was a bit raunchy. That probably works for most groups but poor guy just didn't have the right group for his humor. We gave him some awkward laughs to make him feel a little better. But overall, it was just awk. After the tour, Hannah, Abby, Annah, and I went to find lunch. We were coming back to the theatre to watch King Lear at 2 so we had about an hour. On the way to lunch we walked through this festival with music and balloons and lots of partying. It was fun to be amidst it all. We found a place called Nando's. We got chicken pitas and chips (fries). The chips were so warm and large and thick and crunchy on the outside but melted on the inside. The perfect chips. We then hurried back to the theatre because we were going to be late. Well for the globe, the audience usually stood. So what did we do? We stood, for 2.5 hours. It was quite a test. I didn't think I was going to make it, but then the second half of the play all of the fighting and dying picked up so it became interesting. I actually enjoyed it because these actors have amazing talent. They have soooooooooo many lines and I don't know how they remember them all. Also, the creativity used since they didn't have many props or set design was impressive. The actor who played King Lear was Kevin McNally who plays Gibbs in Pirates of the Caribbean. So that was like super duper cool. A lot of the other actors and actresses have also been in a lot of movies and shows too. To see them act up close and the expression and feeling they use on stage was so new and fun! After the play we headed back to the flats to chill for a little and then go to dinner. On the way we found a good souvenir shopped and spent too much money of course. We had planned to go to the London Eye and go up in it so we wanted to eat near it. We chose a fish and chips place called fishcotheque. It was really tasty. A good experience for sure. Then we walked to the London Eye but it had closed 30 minutes previously. We were bummed but we can go tomorrow too. We then just walked around and found another festival but it was pretty much a bust. We took the tube home and while on the tube we met a little boy named Cleon. He was adorable. It was his birthday and he turned 9 today. He was with his mom and he gave us some candy. It was the sweetest thing. It was his birthday and he was giving us candy! His mom says he is a gentleman and she hopes he finds a deserving girl one day. I hope Cleon does too Cleon's mom. His mom was asking us about where we were from and such and she noticed Claire's accent. It is very southern. The most southern I think I have ever heard. Well she asked Claire if she was from South Carolina. She said no, I'm from Alabama. And then Cleon's mom said the funniest thing: (in a British accent) oh, are you from the dirty south? oh man I busted out laughing so hard. That was great. She wasn't insulting her either, she was genuinely curious. Hilarious. She asked Claire if she was a southern belle too. Best tube ride ever. We made it home, finally! I was exhausted. We planned some more free travel and possibly made some serious advancements so that's good. Now I am going to bed because its 2:30 am. I'm gonna be dead.

Tomorrow is worship and the British Museum.

Fun fact: People here love to party. They are out on the streets hooping and hollering all the time. They take any opportunity to celebrate and get very drunk. There are bars and clubs for miles here. It is an atmosphere I am definitely not used to. Seems very English though. Also, bikes will run you over. Definitely almost got hit by one. I was in the road, but come on man.

Shoutout:Everyone on officer's retreat that I got to say hi to when FaceTiming Ben!! Loved seeing y'all! Also, Brian Tuttle. Congrats on your baptism!