Scotland - Highlands and Loch Ness (photos & video)

We did an all-day bus tour of the Scottish Highlands. Our bus driver was Scottish, of course, and had a really good sense of humour. He was fun to listen to, which was good because our tour was about 12 hours long! The Highlands were really impressive. I thought Ireland was green, but I think Scotland has one up on them. I'm used to big, rocky mountains from the time I spent in Utah, but it was really cool to see how high up the green went on these. We also visited Urquhart Castle and did a little boat cruise on Loch Ness. It did get pretty rainy, but that was just part of the experience.

Scotland - City of Edinburgh & Edinburgh Castle (photos & video)

Brittany and I were able to squeeze in a tour to Scotland a couple weeks ago. It's a beautiful country, and I was surprised to find it even more green than Ireland. Go figure! We took a train up to Edinburgh, where they gave us a guided tour of the city. A couple days later, we also took a tour of Edinburgh Castle. I really liked the setting up on the hill, and our tour guide was pretty entertaining. (Probably one of the best accents I've heard over here, too.) The tour company organized for us to stay at a cozy, little bed & breakfast, and our hosts were very thoughtful and welcoming.

The highlight of the trip was getting to visit my friends from high school, along with their little son. Tom and Chandra were high school sweethearts and have now been married for five years. Their son Rory (about a year and half) is pretty adorable. I think Brittany's a little jealous that Chandra has a little model for spur-of-the-moment photo ops! We had a great time with them, though, and both wished we had more time to spend with them. We were kicking ourselves afterward that we didn't get a picture with them, but we'll have to settle for staying in touch on Facebook.

Ireland - Day 3 (photos & video)

Puppies! Our last day in Ireland was really fun--horseback riding through Kilarney National Park and cruising the Dingle Peninsula. Possibly the best part for all of us, though, was the puppies. I'm a little sad we didn't get a picture or a video, but there was actually a little runt from the litter than sprinted up to greet us as soon as we drove up. He would seriously fit in the palm of your hand. I think the hardest part of the trip was coming to grips with the fact that we couldn't take any of them home with us. We were also sad for Jason in his fruitless quest to find berries in Dingle. The coastline on the peninsula was very impressive, though. Very glad we were able to fit that in.

Ireland - Day 2 (photos & videos)

Our first night, we stayed in a 2-bedroom lodge at Blarney Golf Resort. It was really cool! We basically had a nice, big house to ourselves for cheaper than two hotel rooms would have been. We kicked off the morning at Blarney Castle so we could all kiss the Blarney Stone.

Ireland - Day 1 (photos & videos)

One of the highlights of our time over here in UK was a trip we took earlier this month with Jason & Krista to Ireland. We found cheap flights for a long weekend, and drove a car all over the southern half of the country. It was incredible! The landscapes were breathtaking, there were animals everywhere, and the people had an infectious sense of humour (yes, I used a 'u') that always made you smile. I was expecting everything to be green, but my jaw still dropped a few times seeing the cliffs, valleys, and so on. It was also fun to see so much wildlife and farm animals--a nice change of pace after living in one of the biggest cities in the world for six months.

Tower of London and Kew Palace and Gardens (photos & video)

Although Brittany and I had visited the Tower of London a year and a half ago, our membership to the Royal Palaces allowed us to back with Jason and Krista for free. We visited the torture room, enjoyed a tour with a Yeoman Warder (aka beefeater), and saw the Crown Jewels. Afterward, we headed out to the Thames to get a few pictures with the famous Tower Bridge--not to be confused with the more mundane London Bridge. We also made a brief stop in Westminster for a photo op.

Dover Castle and the White Cliffs (photos & video)

We then drove to southeastern corner of England to visit Dover. Brittany and I had been there before, but it was pretty disappointing. This time we got romp around Dover Castle and hike along the White Cliffs. I love castles like this that were designed as fortresses--not some frilly little palace. There was also a Roman lighthouse that was about 2,000 years old. The cliffs were pretty awesome. They drop hundreds of feet straight down to the water. The white cliffs made of chalk can be seen across the English Channel from France on a clear day, but it was never clear enough for us to see France. Our cell phones, for some reason, had no trouble "seeing across." We kept getting messages that we were roaming in France once we got down by the cliffs. We ended getting locked into the park because we cheated a bit with how far we walked out. After jamming to some blues on the radio, a ranger (or the British equivalent) let us out. By the way, if you hear the phrase, "Give me a boost!" scattered throughout our videos with Jason and Krista, you can ignore it. Just one of those dumb things that sticks.

Windsor Castle and Jane Austen's House (photos & videos)

Brittany's brother Jason and his wife Krista came to visit us in June. We didn't go easy on them, either. The very first day after they arrived, we rented a car and hit the road. It was my first driving on the "wrong" side of the road, so it may have been a blessing to have five months off first, getting accustomed to the reverse flow of traffic. I think I did okay, but they upgraded us to a big Volvo, rather than the compact we reserved. It was nice having the extra leg room, but they were some roads where it felt like the car was spilling over line on both sides.

Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey, plus Houses of Parliament and Brittany's Birthday (photos & videos)

Between Easter, the Royal Wedding, and the Bank Holidays, I had two consecutive 4-day weekends. That's why we decided to do our trip to Spain and Portugal in April. To conclude this wonderful season of being untethered to my laptop or Blackberry, we visited Hampton Court Palace and Westminster Abbey. Hampton Court Palace was one of Henry VIII's primary residences, about 12 miles southwest of London. A lot of the videos I took of the interior were even drier than usual, so I trimmed a lot of it out. It was a really interesting palace, though. I think one of my favorite things was the plethora of chimneys. It was like THIS scene from Mary Poppins.

Roehampton University, Shakespeare's Globe, and Arsenal Football (photos)

I have finished my semester at Roehampton University. It has definitely been a different University experience than I am used to, but still a good one! I will miss some friends that I made, taking the tube and bus down to school (even if sometimes it was miserable), and just hanging around the beautiful campus. Sorry if this post is boring to most of you, but I just want to remember my university experience!

Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Dover (Round 1) (photos & videos)

The day after the Royal Wedding, Brittany and I went on a bus tour through southeastern England. We first stopped at Leeds Castle. I hadn't really done my research on English geography because I was assuming Leeds Castle was in the city of Leeds. Leeds, though, is actually up north, about halfway up to the heart of Scotland. The origin of the name Leeds Castle is still debated by historians. Anyway, it was lived in until just a few decades ago, so it's still in pretty good shape. The interior was fancy and all, but the most impressive thing about it was actually the setting. The moat/lake really made the castle "pop." The gardens were nice, plus they had an aviary and a hedge maze.

The Royal Wedding (photos & videos)

In case you've been living under a rock for the last six months, Prince William married Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011. We were there! It took a lot of persuading on Brittany's part to convince me that it would be worth it to camp out for a good view of the procession. She was right. I was wrong. Yes, it was miserable before and after, but it was pretty cool to experience it. Plus, Brittany got an amazing photo of William and Kate in their horse-drawn carriage, basically waving right at us. If you want to see all the lead up, watch the first video in the playlist below. If you want to cut right to the Royal Family, skip to Part 2.

Porto, Portugal (photos & videos)

After we finished in Spain, we flew to Porto, Portugal to visit Brittany's uncle Chuck and aunt Liz. President and Sister Walton have been serving in the Portugal Porto Mission for the last two years, and are now headed to Angola to lead the missionaries in that part of the Mozambique Mission. It was so fun to spend time with them and see how much the missionaries in Porto love them! I had to split the video into two sections, so the playlist below includes both parts. (I'm experimenting now with Jump Breaks, so you'll need to click Read More to see the content of the post. I'm just trying to make the blog a little more readable, as we'll probably be having several epic posts this week.

Madrid, Spain (photos)

After Barcelona, Sam and I flew to Madrid! We stayed in this hotel that was right around the corner from the palace. Sam provided a little more information about our three days there in THIS post, which also includes a video.

Barcelona, Spain (photos)

Barcelona definitely had some interesting architecture, though it is not quite my taste. Sam loved it though! This will definitely be a picture heavy post. Sorry, I'm not in the mood for writing much at the moment. Check out Sam's previous post about our trip to Barcelona HERE. He posted the video and wrote more info about the city.

Sherlock Holmes Museum, Abbey Road, Buckingham Palace, Dad's Birthday, and the London Eye (photos)

My parents returned to London after traveling around the UK for a little while longer. After a few days hanging out with them again, Jeremy and Maria flew in from California! It was so nice to get to hang out with everyone together for a few days--a great blessing to share this incredible experience with those we love! Here is a link to the video Sam posted about these places a few months ago.

Berrington Hall, Lambs, and Croft Castle (photos)

After our whirlwind road trip of seeing family history sites and castles, we concluded our trip in Leominster. We visited an old manor called Berrington Hall. It is a beautiful old home, and the National Trust had restored it to its former glory. It was fascinating to see how this manor ran. Our tour guide was dressed as the head laundry maid as she explained her duties with us and took us around the exterior of the house and the servants quarters. HERE is a link to Sam's earlier blog post that includes videos for these places, too.

I believe this post marks the completion of our Wales/Midlands trip with my parents. It was so fun to get to travel with them!! Sam and I both had an amazing time with them. By the way, this trip happened in February... So I still have major catching up to do! My goal before we leave for our cruises (less than 2 weeks!) is to do a post a day so that we will be able to get a lot closer to catching up before we don't have really internet access for a month!

Tales From Wales (and England): Benbow Pond, Castle Frome, and Bishop's Frome (photos)

Sam and I had the incredible opportunity to go with my parents to see Benbow Pond. Ever since my mom told me about visiting Benbow Pond (probably about 10 years ago), I have wanted to go there. It did not disappoint. For those of you who have not heard about Benbow Pond and the church history there, I will give you a quick rundown. I actually got to teach a lesson about Wilford Woodruff's experience there when I taught Relief Society in Monta Vista Ward. Wilford Woodruff was an apostle and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. At Benbow Pond, he baptized about 600 members of a Protestant group called the United Brethren.

Two of my ancestors on my mother's side were actually baptized here by Wilford Woodruff. He stayed in that area for about 8 months and brought about 2,000 people into the gospel. To read more about this story, refer to the Teachings of The Presidents of The Church: Wilford Woodruff manual. The lesson is HERE, and it is a really wonderful read.

I felt such an amazing spirit at Benbow Pond, and I am so grateful that I had the experience to go there. I feel so blessed to have such incredible ancestors who paved the way for me.