"Words are flowing out like endless rain"

Hi ho, Kemarie the student here,
     Since I went to the most wonderful place on earth and the outer reaches of the universe, the rest of the week hasn't been a let down, but it has been less exciting.
My less exciting adventures include the Tower of London which was super cool. There was a paid actor who dressed up as King Edward II who was the first, and only, openly gay King. He was interacting with us and asked where we were from, specifically. We had girls from California, Arizona and Utah. He asked if there were fights among us because of our alliances. The girls started to say no but I honestly proclaimed, "I hope so!" He was surprised and laughed and called me a "true viking". "You a truly Danish." Yeah, yeah, I know I am tall and blond. This is me with the Tower Bridge. Also, the crown jewels are fierce.

Me with a random dragon in the Tower of London. Cause why not?

Then we went to the Museum of London for an assignment and I found the 2012 London olympic torch. 

Also if anyone is looking for the perfect gift for me...

And I ended the week on Saturday going to the Sherlock Holmes museum.

A wax statue of one of the mysteries

Because I am Sherlock without the crazy intelligence.

Okay basically I just am really good at offending people.

Eliminating the impossible,

Kemarie

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were proud to say..."

"...they were perfectly normal, thank you very much!"

Yes, the time has come for the post to end all posts. The post that should be bowed down to. The post that lived.
Okay, heavy on the melodrama, I know. But seriously, I have had a lot of great days in my life, but none compares to this moment. That is how grand it was. This day was the culmination of my entire childhood.

The Making of Harry Potter film Studio Tour

There were 16 hysterical girls crying at the sight of this simple tan building. There was a group of 9 year old private school kids who were very confused as to why the 20 year old women were crying and jumping up and down. Excuse me children this was my childhood! This is where the books jumped off the page and leapt to the silver screen. I was 6 when the first movie came out, and my champion of a sister, Rhiannon, had read the book aloud to me and had driven with me, Brett and Brett's brother Daniel (I believe this is how it went. Forgive me if my memory is off, it was 14 years ago) to see the movie release in Salt Lake. I have waited and finally I can say I saw all of these things.

Knight to E5!

This Ford Anglia is flying!

It was decorated for Christmas

The whole group

It was smaller than I thought it would be.

So they had you sit down in this movie theater and the trio talked to you and explained the tour and what it entailed and then they disappeared into the door behind them. Then the curtain raised and the door to the great hall was right in front of us!!!! AHHHHH!!!

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy warty, Hogwarts, teach us something please

My desire is not that old man with me... unless he has money

I got sent to the Headmaster office again, because I'm a Slytherin and I don't follow rules

I would be a parselmouth

There was this cool video that would teach us how to fight with wands and it was amazing.

I went with two groups to go again

I hate this woman, but love her style

My pimped out ride

Butterbeer = mediocre, butterbeer ice cream = heaven

"Mind your 'eads"

Little Whinging Surrey

Where is Neville to run with me?!?!

Diagon Alley

 I grew up with Harry. We were friends. It has been a 14 year journey that has finally come to a head. Just like when the 8th movie came out, I have a large pit in my stomach, a feeling that this is the end. But it isn't the end, JK Rowling told me, "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

 

Always,

Kemarie

"I woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head"

So far this week has been a big one for me. I will do the more boring stuff first that you won't care about but I will want to remember one day.

Monday I had more museum visits and then stood out in the cold for TWO HOURS while our professor told us history things that he could have said in our nice, warm, expensive classroom at the centre. But no. Instead we stood in a big group in Trafalgar Square. There are only 2 sets of people in the entire universe that like large groups of american tourists, street vendors and pick pockets. As we stood there I watched one get arrested and 3 circle our group predatorily.

After that I saw 10 Downing street, where the Prime Minister lives and went to Evensong in Westminster Abbey. Westminster is incredible and their boys choir sang like angels and the High commissioner of Australia was there. No big deal.

That night I talked Becky into going with me to the Hard Rock Cafe! I have been to the Hard Rock in Paris, Rome, D.C, New York and Vegas so it was clear to me I had to go to the original. It was amazing. The building it is in is an old bank with a vault downstairs that houses incredible artifacts like, a Beatles Piano and John Lennon artifacts. The lady worker there was laughing at how excited I was about these things, but they are very important.

John Lennon's final draft of Imagine with hand written changes

           

Me in the vault with famous people guitars

Excitement obviously

Me and Becky (Becky and me? I don't know if I have to use correct grammar when captioning a picture in which I appear on the left and therefore should be identified first)

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was recorded on that beautiful instrument!

Dorky me with our delicious burgers.

On Tuesday afternoon, I ran through Hyde Park. Alone. Because I live in London and I am an adult and I can do things like that. After last week when the forty of us trekked around the continent in a oblivious herd, it was refreshing to do something by myself. And to say my running place is Hyde park isn't too shabby either. The rest of the day I spent recuperating from the exhaustion of being around human kind constantly.  

Wednesday after classes, I went to a place I can only describe as a gift to womankind. Primark has the fashion of an H and M, is twice the size and less expensive. SCORE!! Because I have no self control, I bought a Friends t-shirt and Harry Potter sweats. 

Times this by 4 floors and you get the idea

Then I went to the most stunning play. A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is based of a book and is about the inner workings of a boy's head with Asperger's and how him and his family struggle to deal with the situations it causes. The stage was incredible and the acting superb and the directing flawless. And because my friend Madi qued up in the morning I got a ticket for only 15 quid (that is the slag word for pounds, peasants). Did I mention they were also in the middle of the front row. I could see the spit flying out of their mouths as they enunciated. It was perfect. If you ever get to London (or Broadway, it premiered there last year and won the Tony for Best Play) I suggest you go see it. So touching,

https://youtu.be/O704ld5WQnk 

Tune in tomorrow for my favorite post so far, about a boy wizard and his film studio. (I could have added it to this post because it was today, but it deserves it's own post)

Lonely Hearts Club groupie,

Kemarie

The Long and Winding ... Post?

This post is extremely long and action packed. It may result in feelings of jealousy or wistfulness. 

Other side effects include but are not limited to:

The desire to correct grammar

The painful knowledge that I don't care that you are correcting my grammar

The agonizing emptying of your wallet as you book a flight to Europe

The need for corrective eye surgery because of excessive/drastic eye rolls over my clever quips you don't appreciate because you don't have my intellectual reflexes (my reflexes can be seen below)

Hello people of earth. Okay lets be real here, hello people of Utah. Fine, hello family from various parts of Utah. I haven't written for a while for a good reason. I didn't take my computer with me cause all we were allowed to bring was one backpack and haul it around all day everyday. I honestly didn't want to put in that extra work carrying something as I ate my way from bakery to bakery.

 

So where was I you ask? Patience people I will get there! First I will tell you about my Saturday and Sunday in London (the 16th and 17th) cause there were some pretty spectacular things that went down.

So first off I went to a museum... voluntarily. Like not one that was required. This place is making me loose it. But there were some pretty great stuff in it. 

Like Monks doing sand art.

This relic of international importance. If you can't see it, see the picture below for further zooming.

There it is! Napoleon Bonaparte's toothbrush preserved for the generations. I kept thinking, "That is a long time to use the same toothbrush."

Then I moved on to something that I have been dying to do since I was 12...

I went to Hogwarts!!!

Okay, the barrier recognized that I am *gulp* non magical and it didn't let me through. But it was still special all the same. No one else in the que (that's how they say standing in line here on the Isles) got through either so I felt a little better.

After that crushing disappointment, I went into the shop and found something special. Most of you know (if you don't please exit this blog immediately and commence unfriending me on Facebook. Thank you.) Alan Rickman, who portrayed Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, passed away about a week and a half ago. I visited Platform 9 3/4 a few days after and found a beautiful tribute to this incredible actor.

So that was an phenomenal day. Then on Sunday something cool happened.
 I was at a random British ward with 40 BYU girls and I heard a man's voice call my name. I don't know any men here, or so I thought. Turns out I do. Jed freaking Murri!!! A kid I went to high school with! We almost hugged (which is weird cause I never would have hugged him otherwise) but then we remembered he wasn't supposed to do that and laughed and exchanged a hearty handshake. He is doing great. He said, "I'm so excited to see you I'm shaking." So funny.

At this point of the post we have officially made it to Monday of last week. We woke up 4 am to get on an Easyjet plane to Amsterdam. Yep, you heard that right, 4 in the morning.

Amsterdam was cool. Dirty and scary and had terrible public transport, but cool.

It was kinda pretty... if you like picturesque views and such.

Van Gogh (pronounced hgohg.. basically loogie sound, o sound, loogie sound) This picture was to prove to my mom that I am actually doing what my professors ask and getting some culture.

Cool big letters like they used to have at California Adventures in Disneyland. Please pay close attention to the remnants of a Stroop Waffle in my left hand. Those little delights are our day's manna from Heaven.

I've been to the Hard Rock Cafe in every place I've been... except this one. But I did snap this picture so I get partial points. Ask any math student... we live for partial points.

Amsterdam's Royal Palace turned City Hall turned Palace turned museum. Soon to be turned into Kemarie's primary residence.

Note this next section is for me to gloat to all the people who thought my idea was crazy!

So the Dutch were forward thinkers, waaaaay before everyone else they were giving the power to the middle class and giving people votes and such. The best part was women decided they were independent and could do things without men. So they set up what I have told everyone I am going to set up for the last 5 years!!! It is a convent without the vows. Basically it is a bunch of single women in their own apartments living in a community. It's called a Begijnhof. No I don't know how to pronounce it, Dutch escapes me. But it is pretty and perfect. I plan to start a Mormon version of this.

Don't mind the crazy hair I have, instead focus on this marvelous little hamlet of women! 

The last note I want to make is completely contrary to my non-convent, convent idea but, I feel inclined to share it anyway. Amster-dayum! Dutch men are attractive. And tall. And blond. And beautiful. And tall. And beautiful. Did I mention tall and beautiful?

Next we went to Paris, where I have been before so I will try to keep this one shorter even though we were in Amsterdam only 2 days and Paris 4.

Top of the Arc de Triomphe

I was unimpressed with the Mona Lisa last time... no more impressed this time.

The Lourve was once a palace and I feel really good about living there.

Ditto with Versailles

Seriously, if I had been alive in the 18th century I would have been a royal and would have lived in Versailles and would have been beheaded. But it would have been worth it.

So my professors Greg and Martha had visitors from their home ward come to tour with us. Thy had 3 kids ages 9, 8 and 6. I met the kids on the platform in the train station and by the end of the train ride I had been told: I was their favorite college student, they wanted me to babysit them, I was tall and beautiful, and I was the most fun to be around. You better believe I ditched the college students to hang with these flattering children. They were cute and we had a fun time walking like royalty, skipping while holding hands, and dancing in the hall of mirrors like we were in the 18th century. They even fought about who got to hold my hands. Every girl in the program asked me if they were my nephews and niece because they loved me so much. Nope! I am just excellent with kids. At this point I would like to give a shout out to my real nieces and nephews who trained me to be the cool aunt to all kids. Here's to Shy, Reed, Gage, Max, Stockton, Beckam, Oaklee, and Kate. And a bigger shout out to the women who brought them into this world and had patience with me as I taught their kids bad habits. Dede, Rhi, and Linds, you guys are the real MVP's.

Kaylee, Austin and Dade my adopted niece and nephews.

Because

 

the lighting of the tower

was stellar.

See mom, I haven't lost my flexibility... it was freezing outside too. So take that!

Oh yeah, it sparkles every hour, on the hour, for 5 minutes.

It's funny, I didn't think London would ever feel like home. But leaving for a week, coming back was such a relief. The streets of London feel safer than either of the other cities we went to and the BYU Centre is a glorious building... with more than just a backpacks worth of clothes. It feels like my home now (as my second home. As much of a home as any of my apartments)

I love London so much but really,

J'amie Paris

I am the walrus,

Kemarie

P.S. If you haven't gotten that my post titles are all refrences to Beatles songs, step up your music game. Listen to the good stuff.