Your cake there is warm within

So this post is all about Tuesday, June 7.  It's probably my most British day of this entire trip, and it was freaking epic!

Okay, so the day started off pretty normal.  Breakfast and getting ready and stuff.  We didn't have anything as a group until 12:30, so the morning was free.  Most of my friends either scattered right after breakfast, resigned themselves to a morning of homework, or fell asleep (you'd be surprised by the number of people in this last category).  As it appeared that no one was going anywhere spectacular, I decided that I'd head off to the Tate Modern and get my art homework done.  Several people had gone the day before, but I was busy doing other stuff and between dinner duty and everything hand't had the time.  So I dressed myself up in my black skirt and my very European looking coat, fixed my hair, and headed off to the St. Paul's Tube stop.  I was dressed up for later in the day, so I wouldn't have to deal with it.

Because everything opens at 10:00 in Europe (seriously, and it closes at 5:00), I took my time getting to the Tate.  I took a bunch of pictures in front of St. Paul's of myself, because I realized that I didn't have a really awesome one.

You can almost believe that I didn't take the picture of myself.  I'm getting better at it, aren't I?

Anyway, then it was across Millennial Bridge to the Tate Modern, getting to the museum a scant four minutes after it had opened for the day.  I spent nearly two hours at the museum wandering through the galleries filled with Modern art.  It's not really my sort of thing, but it was neat and thought-provoking enough.  I probably did more thinking in this museum than in the others both because of the nature of the pieces and the fact that I was alone.

Interesting observation.  As I took the Tube and walked to the Tate at 10:00 there were only business people about.  Men in suits (and blue collared shirts, because that's the thing to do) and women in their straight black skirts with their hair pinned up and their nice collared blouses and coats.  Nobody was taking any pictures.  If I hadn't had my camera out, I would've blended right in.  When I left the museum the streets were absolutely thronged (seriously 50 times more people) with student groups and packs of American teenagers and so forth.  And then all walked slowly and were very difficult to get around, while the business people were much more courteous and easy to work with.  So earlier in the morning London can be a very different place.

Anyway, I rushed back to the Center, arriving barely in time to run into everyone who was going out the door so that we could attend tea in the Kensington Garden Palace.  That's right.  Tea time in a palace.  Heck yes.

Yeah, that's me pouring more hot water into my tea.  Herbal of course, and caffeine free.  This was a BYU sponsored and planned event.

 The tea wasn't actually that bad.  You know, after you'd added two or three lumps of sugar and gotten over the fact that it was going to taste like flavored water no matter what.  It was so totally fancy and British though.  I mean, we had a miniature orange tree in the middle of our table.  And they gave us these little towers with treats on them.  Cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts sliced off of course) and tarts and chocolate muffins and the most AMAZING scone I've ever had in my life.  You open your scone (still perfectly warm) and spread jam on it and then put clotted cream on top and then you take a bite and go straight to heaven.  No dying required.  And no, I'm not being melodramatic.  I'm dead serious.  I think that scone is probably the most delicious thing that I've had in my life (although that Cookie Cup Explosion from the Slug and Lettuce is a serious contender.  Hmm.  I might have to get back to you on that actually.)

Now, if that wasn't enough to make my day perfect (and it was) we followed it up by playing our very own game of cricket!  That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I, Laura, have now played cricket in Kensington Gardens after a delightful tea at Kensington Palace.  We obviously ran back to the Center and changed out of our skirts first, but it was really fun.  Mostly because Sydnie and I were both tired and making full use of our considerable wit and knowledge of movies to entertain ourselves.  Yes, that was partially sarcastic.  Throwing curses at each other using sticks we found on the ground isn't particularly witty, but it was sure fun.

And guess what?  I was actually able to hit the cricket ball!  Ironically Lorraine was pitching while I was up to bat.  And no, I'm not sure if in cricket you speak of someone being up to bat.  I grew up in America, give me a break!  It was really fun though.  I haven't played something in a big group like that for a couple of years it feels like, and it was a beautiful day with lovely trees, and we were playing freaking cricket!  We're going to go watch a match on Thursday, so this was sort of preparation.  A bunch of Americans who know essentially nothing about cricket mucking about in the park . . . so awesome.

Well, after our amazing cricket match we headed back to the Center, got distracted by YouTube (Sydnie and I had to listen to all of the many songs we had been singing in the park) until it was time for me to do dinner crew and dinner.  But after dinner we had tickets to go see Mousetrap.

Actually, Sydnie, Amy and I were about five minutes late to the play.  Very complicated reasons, the primary one being that we forgot to map out the time in our heads (Half an hour for the Tube, and then ten minutes on either end for walking to your actual destination is the usual way that I do it).  We also had a bit of difficulty in knowing where precisely the theater was, but we made it and they let us in, which we were so grateful for!

Mousetrap!  Esme, the director's daughter, made the picture. 

Mousetrap is the oldest continually running play.  It's been on for something like 59 years, and this was the 24,386th performance.  There was a marker on the wall that keeps count.  It' s a bit of a murder mystery (think like the movie Clue) with an ending that the audience is always asked not to reveal.  It was pretty amazing, and it definitely kept you on edge and caught up.  Totally fun and amazing.

And thus ended a most epic and British day.  Blending in with business people, attending an art museum, tea in Kensington, cricket in the park, and a play in West End.  So legit.