Triathlon

Okay, so I am a big slacker with blogging...guess I really haven't had anything really exciting to blog about until now! I'm just winding down the school year so I have been major busy and still have 12 days left to get through! However, last weekend I did a triathlon at Daybreak! It was one of my goals for the new year, so I did it! It was super hard, but I am so glad I did it! I did a 750 meter swim in the lake (a bit shocking to me because I usually don't swim in lakes!), a 14 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. I sort of died on the run part, but at least I finished, right?! My dad and friend Sally were there cheering me on! I am so grateful for their support! Here are some pictures they took:

Possibly another one soon, you ask? Hmmm...maybe, just maybe! :)

Europe: Part 6- The Finale!

Our last stop...LONDON! We rode the Eurostar train from Paris to London. It was FAST! It only took us a few hours and then we were there! We arrived sometime in the afternoon, got settled into our hotel, said good-bye to our lovely travel hostess, Hanni, and got to explore a little bit on our own for the evening. We decided to ride the "tube" (the underground trains) to the river Thames and go on a river cruise, taking in all the sights along the river. We sat on the top of the boat so we could get some good pictures. Since it was quickly getting dark though, I think we almost froze to death! But, we did enjoy the sights as we did so! We saw the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, and many other things!

The next day, we went on a morning bus ride through the city to get oriented to it. We also took a tour through St. Paul's Cathedral (which was BEAUTIFUL...my favorite cathedral we visited in Europe) and walked a short way to Buckingham Palace (where the Queen lives). In the afternoon, we were free to do as we wished. The tour was scheduled to end the very next morning, but we decided to stay an extra three nights to see more! We ended up getting tickets to see WICKED, taking a tour through Westminster Abbey (where a LOT of royal people are entombed and where Will and Kate were married) and the Tower of London (the sight of many infamous beheadings and whatnot, the crown jewels, and a museum with ancient armour/weapons). We also went to Hyde Park (a HUGE park), Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana lived), Harrod's (an expensive, huge, department store) and a day-long tour to Warwick Castle, Stratford (where William Shakespeare was born), the Cotswalds (English countryside), and Oxford University (the sight of where the Great Hall is in the Harry Potter movies). Our last day, we went shopping on Oxford Street and at night we took a quick spin on the London Eye for the finale! Despite all we saw, I still feel like I could have seen and done more! London is definately a place I want to go back to! Here are some photo highlights: