London, day three

That's how the day started.

And then we packed up, moved out of the hostel, and caught the train and tube back into the city. Due to some delays, it took us a little longer than anticipated (mind you, we are hauling all of our heavy luggage around) so when we got to our friend of a friend's house, they had already left for church! Not to be deterred, we brought all of our things back to the tube, and then to the singles ward. Oh yeah. We left it in the bathrooms during the services, which was nice. Church was lovely. The building is right in the center of London, and it feels like a visitors center for a temple. I think there were a lot of visitors, because only one person came up to talk to us. But I honestly was too tired to really mind. After the sacrament was blessed (with british accents), I totally fell asleep. The next two hours of church were combined, so that everyone could watch "The work of Salvation" broadcast that came out last week. I had already seen it, so I had no qualms about falling asleep again. For the whole two hours. It was dark, and the AC was broken so it was really warm...

After church we came to our friend's house, and they were home! It is a beautiful place, five stories tall, and very very narrow. About one smallish room wide, and two rooms deep. I love it. It's decorated a bit Jane Austen-esque. Quite romantic. We were invited to dinner, which was a blast, and then went for a walk in St. James Park. Stunning.

The park leads to Buckingham Palace.

I spy a red guard. He was far away.

This is the former duck-keepers cottage.
I suppose ducks needed tending to back then.

And then we just explored around a bit:

And found this guy again!

And also this:

Westminister Abbey, in case you didn't know.

All in all, quite a perfect walk. Did I mention the sun was setting, so the lighting was perfect? It's fun to travel with Heather, because I feel like we see things similarly!




Also, a completely irrelevant but interesting side note: the manholes here are square. That's one of the first things I noticed.

And then the day ended with Skyping this lovely family of mine. :)

While posting this, I listened to Elder Holland's last conference talk, which is really great (I listened to it 4 times in a row). I love how he emphasizes staying close to God, as well as letting people into your home, because they may need it (don't be a home-hog). I was surprised with how strongly he condoned selfishness. Even though I'm studying abroad (let's be honest here, it's a pretty selfish endeavor) I think there must be ways to reach out and help others. I'll be on the lookout.