"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go."

My Saturday morning began with Shakespeare. The program set up a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The theatre itself is not the original (a bridge was built over the first Globe), but it was recreated using all the same techniques and materials that the first was built with. Our tour guide gave us a fascinating depiction of life in the time of Shakespeare, the nature of the theatre, and how his plays were designed to be performed in spaces such as the Globe. It made me want to see a Shakespeare play there! I don't know if I'll have the time to do that (plus the only area available is standing, and I don't think I can stand for the entire duration of a Shakespeare play). We'll see.

The outside of the Globe Theatre

The inside of the Globe Theatre

After the tour, Nargis and I decided to head uptown for my first trip to Harrods. What an overwhelming place! It is definitely a must-see of London, but be prepared! I found Harrods to be overcrowded and cluttered. The layout was not at all easy to navigate, and they didn't have maps. But it's a fun place to explore - my favorite sections were the pet department, the instrument department, and of course the dessert bar and food court!

The rest of the day was filled with a little shopping and a relaxing evening of a movie and laundry at Nido.

On Sunday, Katelyn, Ann and I went back to the Harrods area for church. I was intrigued by Katelyn's description of it, so I decide to accompany them this week. It was a protestant church, and they sang the whole time. I had a hard time digesting it all after being so used to Catholic structure.

Church always makes me crave donuts. There's something about waking up early on a Sunday to go to church that seems to make one very deserving of baked goods. Good thing we passed a French patisserie on the way back! Cream-filled donut mission accomplished.

We then walked to Hyde Park, the largest park in London. It's amazing how you can walk down the busy, urban streets of downtown London into the quiet serenity of its parks and feel like you're in a whole different region. Our goal was to visit Kensington Palace, where many people of royalty have stayed over the centuries, including Princess Diana. Hyde Park is huge, however, so it took us a while to find it. It was a beautiful Sunday for a walk in the park, so we enjoyed every moment of it!

We eventually found the Palace and settled down by a beautiful garden (pic below) to wait for Nargis to join us. We found out that the palace is undergoing a huge restoration project, unfortunately, so most of it is closed for the next two years. I was really bummed - it is rumored to be gorgeous, and they have dresses on display from both Diana and other women of royalty. Cest la vie. We saved £11 though, so that was good.

At Kensington Gardens outside Kensington palace

The beautiful gardens at Kensington Palace

The rest of the day brought some more shopping, relaxing, picture sharing, and enjoying each other's company. I enjoyed a nice long video chat with my mom and then with Ryan, and I ended the day with a rejuvenating run. I can't believe I only have one weekend left in London; Before I know it, I will be back in the States in less than 2 weeks.