shantown leaves londontown

Once upon a time, Londontown = Shantown's town.

I really can't imagine my move to London without Shannon. She introduced me to all of the people who became my closest friends in London. With a city that attracts a very transient group of people, I can recognize how generous she was to me, a random acquaintance from BYU days.

But the land of fast food and year-round sunshine was calling Shannon's name, so in August 2011 she flew away to become an all-star of the UCLA MBA program.

We weren't going to let her take off without some fantastic London memories to send her with. And if I do say so myself, August was a GREAT month.

Monument

Shan & I climbed 311 winding steps to the top of the Monument to the Great Fire of 1666. If the column were to be laid along the ground, it would exactly reach the point where the fire started at a bakery on Pudding Lane.

Swings

Generally, going for an evening stroll along the Southbank is one of my favourite things to do in London. But the Southbank became that much better when Mon, Shan, Caroline, and I came across a little temporary funfair! I'll admit that I started to feel queasy by the end of our swings ride, but spinning around with bird's eye views of Big Ben and the London Eye was worth it.

Glass elevator by St Paul's

Whenever I go up the glass elevator at the mall just across from St Paul's, it gives me the chills! If you are in London, it is the best 30 seconds you can spend, just going up that elevator to the rooftop deck. These are horrendous iphone pictures, but just trust me on this one.

Rooftop dinners at Abbey Road

Roof access means everything in London, and there was simply no better way to say goodbye to Shannon than to have a Sunday picnic at Abbey Road.

Shannon, you are missed!

poole

What was originally supposed to be a weekend trip to the Lake District turned into a last-minute zip down to Poole. Thank goodness Charlotte & Loren were up for having 10 people crashing at their place on 24-hour notice!

As it turns out, Poole is kind of a big deal -- it has the second largest natural harbour in the world (Sydney = #1). It was incredibly windy, but I could tell that Poole is the kind of place I could get used to.

We sailed (and nearly tipped) little Omegas, built sandcastles and human pyramids, had a massive BBQ, and opted for a group nap on the trampoline in the sun after church.

SUMMER RULES! And so does Poole. :)

crisped in croatia

In the midst of a grey-as-grey English winter, my sun-worshipping heart is aching for my summer vacation to Croatia.

Ultimately, Monica and I opted for a 'choose-your-own-adventure' style of traveling -- we rented a car and hit the coast, driving until we found a place we liked. I don't even know the names of the towns we stayed in -- we'd just rock up anywhere there was a 'sobe' sign, negotiate the room rate, and chill out for the evening. It was fantastic.

6 months later, here's what I remember:

• Plitvice National Park was gorgeous
• I ate my weight in apricots
• We got rejected from not one, but TWO restaurants on Vis Island
• Nightly sunset swims were epic
• Monica had a hysterical conversation with a Russian (his opening line: "I am Russian!")
• We avoided civilization at all costs ("bristle, bristle")
• The best part of Trogir was finding a passion fruit smoothie

Turns out, the sun in Croatia is extra 'burny' -- we spent the last day cowering beneath the shade of umbrellas but unwilling to spend time anywhere but the beach. And so we left Croatia, thoroughly crisped, and very much content. Woot! Croatia!