The Kolbecks Do Europe - Germany

I finally got around to organizing the endless pictures and videos from our Europe trip and I loved reliving some incredible moments.



Here is a montage that I put together for the first half while we were in Germany. It's a bit long so make sure you have 20 minutes or so free to watch and make sure your sound is up! Enjoy!!

What Virtue Are You?

We were out of town this weekend so today's virtue post is not quite ready. Oddly enough, I came across this quiz about virtues that I thought I'd share with you. Not sure how accurate it is, which is why I'd love to hear how you do!

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_virtue_are_you

The results show your breakdown of the various virtues based on your responses. Those virtues include: Courage, Diligence, Discretion, Flexibility, Generosity, Honor, Humility, and Patience. (Refer to my last post to understand why I scored low on Patience!)

I scored highest on Honor, which came with this description: You show respect for all life and have great respect for your elders. You uphold principles and morals and live by the code. You stand up for what's right no matter what the consequences. You uphold truth and integrity and always keep your word.

I am a rule follower so I think this is pretty spot on. Take the quiz and comment below with your results and why you do (or do not) agree with them!!

Patience is a Virtue

Has anyone ever told you “patience is a virtue”? Have you ever stopped to think about what that really means?

I think I’m pretty patient most of the time, but when it comes to driving, I turn into a totally different person. I used to sit in the infamous LA traffic every single morning and every single evening. It would take me at least an hour to get wherever I was going (no further than 30 miles!) and sometimes two hours. I can understand the frustration in these situations. You just want to get there already! But these days I work from home so my “commute” consists of getting out of bed and turning on the computer. I might get in the car once a day, usually not even that often. So how is that I still turn into a seething ball of aggravation when I get on the road?!

I might be going just a few minutes down the road to the grocery store, get stuck behind a sloooow driver and find myself angrily grumbling about the dangers of driving below the speed limit. What?!?

Or maybe I’m entering the freeway and the lane is merging but the car in front of me hasn’t figured that out yet. “That guy’s clueless!”

How about when you’re behind someone who is brake happy even when there’s no reason to slow down or stop?! I’ve been known to speed up and get myself far away from that type.

And one of my pet peeves…leaving your signal on for decades and not going anywhere. “Hellooooo change lanes already!”

These are all pretty ridiculous (and quite irrational) reactions to very minimal situations. So what gives?

Patience, by definition, is tolerance and acceptance of delay, difficulty and mistakes…here’s the kicker…WITHOUT becoming agitated or upset. It is the quiet hope and trust that things will turn out right.

Think about it: eventually, we will all make it to our destination. And it’s ok that not everyone is as good a driver as me. (I kid.) Now let’s be clear, there’s a wide gap between maniacal road rage and “Sunday driving” and I think we should all aim to be somewhere in between so as to minimize irritation for all.  And now I’m not just talking about on the road…

Our world has become saturated with this idea of “instant gratification”. We want to be rewarded right now and when that doesn’t happen, “road rage” sets in. We are plagued by selfishness and mistrust so we look out for ourselves. And when someone gets in the way of our selfish desires, “road rage” sets in.

Wouldn’t it be nice to slow things down, feel less stressed, exercise better decision making, and develop some empathy and compassion? Yes? Ok, time for us all to practice PATIENCE!! Easier said than done of course, so now I understand why “Patience is a virtue”.

So here’s what I’m going to do next time I get on the road and feel impatience begin to boil inside:

•            Take deep slow breaths and count to 10. This will slow your heart rate and relax your body.
•      Give yourself a pep talk. Remind yourself that everything will be ok and that being impatient won’t speed things along. Do something to distract you from the cause of your impatience. Read the Bible verses below.
•      Settle into the moment. Accept the things you can’t change (we hear this all the time).
•      Think big picture. Will this matter to me later today? Tomorrow? Next month? Next year? Hint: Probably not!
•      Stop demanding perfection of yourself. Oftentimes, we are putting the pressure on ourselves and it’s not necessary.
•      Actively practice patience. (This is the hardest one!) Put yourself into situations that require you to be patient. The next time you go to the grocery store, get in the longest line. Instead of going to the ATM at the bank, go inside.

Bible Verses on Patience: 

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:25

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

“And endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Romans 5:4

“A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.” Proverbs 15:18

Leading A Virtuous Life

This blog originally started so that I had a fun and simple way to share my life and my adventures with my family and friends…especially if they don’t have Facebook! But it has quickly grown to be a creative outlet for me since I really enjoy writing, as well as a way to reflect on and share various thoughts and topics without being too invasive. I’m sure there aren’t too many followers but simply being able to put my thoughts on paper, look back on how my life has evolved, and hoping maybe I touched a few lives in the process is good enough for me.

Lately I've found myself reflecting on what’s truly important in life and wondering how people define and find happiness in theirs. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling “deep” and “mooshy” today or maybe because I really want to know and to help myself and others achieve that healthy, happy, balanced lifestyle…but I'm excited to say that I've come up with something new to share with you all! A study of virtues!

My goal is to use my life and my surroundings to connect to and contemplate one virtue per week. It will be a challenge not only for me but a call to action for anyone else looking to embody goodness and happiness in their everyday life. Look out for more on Monday!

Do Like the Cavemen Did

Paleo has become a PASSION of mine! And I want to share it with YOU! Eating paleo made me a believer of the impact of food on your body. Never before had I truly understood and appreciated how GREAT you can look and feel if you fuel your body correctly. When I first started eating paleo, I lost 5 POUNDS IN 10 DAYS!! I wasn’t starving, in fact, I was completely satisfied! And I felt great about building a new and better nutrition habit.

After a two week European vacation, it’s been a bit difficult to get back on track. SO…I will be holding a FREE 7 Day Paleo Challenge to get myself back on track AND to bring you with me! For those of you who are curious about how you can benefit from eating Paleo, I urge you to give this a try. You WON’T be sorry!!!  Please comment below or message me directly if you want to join!! Grocery list and meal plan is provided so it’s super easy to follow!!

Want to Win a FREE 3-Day Refresh?!?

Want a chance to win a FREE 3-Day Refresh Kit (a $70 value!!)?!?? Comment below with "I wanna win!" and I'll send you the details!!

I just finished MY 3-Day Refresh yesterday and am THRILLED with the results!! I lost 3 pounds and 1.5 inches in JUST 3 DAYS!! What a great way to rid myself of those extra vacation pounds. ;)

This program is a great way to quickly detox and jump start your nutrition while helping you curb cravings, flatten your belly and feel lighter! You can do ANYTHING for 3 days, right?!

Time to Detox!!

After a two week vacation full of schnitzel, beer, pasta, wine and gelato, and a wedding-filled weekend, it is time for me to get back on track!! 

Looking forward to ridding my body of all these toxins and getting back to my beloved #paleo. 


#3dayrefresh #cleanitup

Vacation pics and videos coming soon!!!

I Want YOU!!!

Most of you may not know that I became a Beachbody coach last month. It has been amazing to learn about and practice good health and fitness, better myself and help others do the same. Not to mention, working with some awesome people and making money along the way!

I want everyone to know about the opportunity to embark on this life changing opportunity and am hoping to find some more people who might be interested in joining me! A fellow coach and teammate Kelly will be hosting a 3 day Coaching 101 group starting July 21st, where you can learn the details and get all of your questions answered. Please comment below or send me a personal message if you are interested!!

Join My FREE 7 Day Clean Eating Challenge

Are you looking for a way to kick-start a more healthy and active lifestyle?? If so, join me in a FREE 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge!!

This is similar to the challenge that opened my eyes to the physical and mental benefits of healthy living several months ago! I have made the decision to stay focused on my personal health, fitness and well-being and I love it! At the same time, I want to share everything that I'm learning on this journey with YOU.

In this Facebook group, you'll get a grocery shopping list, complete meal plan and lots of tips completely FREE! Oh and endless support and motivation from others like myself working to eat clean just like you! Challenge begins on June 23rd. Comment below or send me a private message if you want in!

Fruit & Veggie Friday - Kale!

Let's just call this #FruitandVeggieFriday. I've been trying to incorporate kale into my diet as much as possible but just a few months ago, I had no idea what it was! 

Kale has soooo many benefits and can be prepared in a ton of different ways. I put it in my NutriBullet for a green drink, bake it to make "chips", add it to my eggs, and add it to my salads. Any other suggestions on how to cook with kale??

A New Adventure

No posts in May?! Apparently I've been busy! So today I thought I'd fill you in on a recent development in my life and let you know how you can get involved in a super duper way!! 

Since my ankle surgery in September, I have gotten increasingly out of shape. And for someone who has been a competitive athlete her entire life, that has been a hard pill to swallow. I'm not as young as I used to be. My body works a bit differently (and more slowly) than it used to. I don't have mandatory practices and conditioning sessions to attend anymore. Accountability and motivation have been a challenge. Sound familiar to anyone?!?

Given that summer is right around the corner and we will be vacationing in Europe, I decided I needed a little jump-start into a new and improved version of myself. Over the last month I have lost 6 pounds with just a few simple diet and exercise tweaks and the help of a really great support and accountability system found through a network of other people like myself trying to get into shape! Because I've enjoyed my experience so much, I have decided to join as a health and fitness coach which essentially means I can bring others along on my health and wellness journey to help them accomplish their goals at the same time as I pursue mine. Sounds cool, right?! 

Now it’s time for me to take my workout routine the next level…I’ll be starting the INSANITY workout program this week!

Ok - here's where you come in. Positive support and accountability is so important to achieving any kind of goal...especially when it comes to fitness. I am looking for people who want to join me in this insane journey! I'm not gonna lie...the title Insanity is a little intimidating to me. BUT if I have others doing it with me, it can't be that bad, right?? What do you think?? Are you ready to take the challenge??

Now there are other ways you can get involved. If Insanity sounds like too much, there are TONS of workout programs out there. Literally something for everyone! And I am here to help YOU! If you like the idea of a home based workout program, there is a seriously ridiculous summer sale going on RIGHT NOW. 

I’m talking 30, 40, 50% off workout programs such as P90X, Insanity, Hip Hop Abs, Slim in Six… Summer is coming! Start getting ready now!! This sale is through Monday and only while supplies last. Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about any of these workouts!!

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/BrittanyKolbeck

Gift Wrap Organization Ideas

I have a ton of gift wrapping supplies...and I like it that way. It means I don't really have to spend much time and money actually purchasing supplies and can instead, put together color coordinated, pretty packages. John has bugging me since pretty much November 18, 2012 to get my gift wrap out of his game room. It's been in long, shallow boxes but not all of them can fit together in a closet or under a bed.

I finally decided that the disorganized mess needed to be fixed! If you search Pinterest, there are a ton of extravagant, creative ways to store and organize gift wrap. While an entire gift wrapping wall or room sounds fantastic, I simply do not have the room or the time to put something like that together. So I went with a strategy focused on space available and simplicity of design.I ended up spending a bit more money on this project than I intended but I think the finished product is clean, simple and nice looking.

Here is the before storage. You can see everything's crammed into a bunch of boxes with no real rhyme or reason. And kept on the floor of my office and the game room.

Here is the space in the office closet that I chose for my storage station.

I purchased one skinny white laundry basket and two three-drawer storage carts from Walmart. $7 or $8 for the laundry basket and $20 each for the drawers. I wanted the skinny laundry basket for my rolls of wrapping paper. This way I didn't run into issues with some being too long to fit into the storage box and I can easily see the patterns I have. I've never seen a laundry basket this skinny but it was perfect for this project!

I would suggest categorizing your drawers ahead of time and then start sorting things based on those drawers. I knew I needed drawers for boxes, bags, tissue paper and then other miscellaneous items (tags, tape, scissors, etc). Another tip is to store the heavier items in the bottom drawers so the containers don't get top-heavy and fall over. I loaded the bottom drawer with boxes (both flat folded gift boxes and boxes of various sizes).

 As I organized, I realized I had way more bags than I thought so I sorted them into small, medium, large and extra large. The extra large bags did not fit into the drawers so I sandwiched them between the wrapping paper basket and the drawers.  Then I created one drawer for the large bags and a second for the small/medium bags.

Tall, skinny wine bottle bags on the right

Christmas bags on the right

Tissue paper was my biggest challenge. Again, I had way more of it than I'd thought. Don't tell anyone I said this, but I think I'm a bit of a packrat. I started by laying out the tissue paper by color and threw away the pieces that were ripped or balled up to the point of no return. It actually felt good to purge some of this stuff! Then I folded each color into a square and stacked into the next drawer. Solid colors on the left and patterned papers on the right.

Lexi decided to help organize the tissue paper all over the house

The top drawer consists of lots of ribbons and bows so that I can easily select one that goes along with the color and style of the package I create.

Here's the finished product! And of course one with Lexi posing. Can't wait to wrap my next gift!

Down with the old man, up with the new

It's the Monday after Easter and while I don't actually have an office to go to, I am still reluctant to "go" to work today. I hope everyone had a great Easter! It was bittersweet for me this year since it was the first time not celebrating with my family in North County.  But at the same time, I was able to attend an amazing church service and start some fun new traditions right here in San Dimas with the Kolbeck family.

We attended the CCV church service as we did last year. Because of the influx of people during the holiday, the services are held at Azusa Pacific University so they really make it a neat event. I volunteered during Saturday's service and couldn't wait to attend on Sunday. 

Each year they set up baptism pools and give everyone in the audience (that's hundreds of people!) a chance to give their life to Jesus, start fresh or simply recommit. John and I decided to take the plunge! Pat also wanted to make the commitment so together at the end of the service we approached the pools. The first person we came across was none other than Pastor Dane Johnson...the pastor who married us! We asked if he could also baptize us. It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad we were able to do it together as a married couple. I haven't been able to get Kenny Chesney's song "Baptism" out of my head since! God is good!

After church we headed to the Kolbeck's for some swimming, puppy playtime and family fun. Since we are all adults, we came up with our own egg hunt. We'd each filled five eggs ahead of time with anything we wanted, had a friend hide the eggs and off we went! It was so fun to be a bit competitive with each other and then see what goodies we each received. The treats ranged from chocolates and jelly beans to Chapstick and nail polish to bottles of wine. There was even a "golden" egg with $100!! 

As for John and I...the Easter bunny made a quick stop at our house too. Along with some other things, he left these adorable mason jar candle holders! I have them on our entry table for a rustic, springtime feel but hope to use them on our patio table soon.

What an Amazing Day

Congratulations on making it through another week! Today I'm hoping we can all stop and take a minute to reflect on what this Friday means...Good Friday.

Today is when we, as Christians, commemorate Jesus' death on the cross. Sometimes I wonder how we can call it Good Friday. How can such a brutal, hate-filled death be considered good?! But the fact is that this entire day happened for US. Jesus laid down His life for you and for me. Wow, what an act of love.

I've been listening to my Hillsong Pandora station all morning and the song "Jesus Paid It All" came on. How perfect for today. The lyrics say:
"Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow."

Take a minute out of your Easter preparations, candy eating, and egg coloring, and let that sink in. This is the essence of Good Friday. And hopefully that brings a smile to your face.

Ready for Summer!

The warm Southern California weather has arrived! It has consistently been 80 degrees or warmer here which means it's time to go outside and get some sun. I love to sit outside with a good book and a glass of iced tea. Or BBQ tri-tip and eat dinner on the patio. Or enjoy a glass of wine around the firepit. You get the idea...

We were perusing Target (affectionately pronounced Tar-jay) yesterday and came across some great lawn and garden finds! I, of course, wanted to buy one of everything but we exercised some self-control and decided we'd look for some bargains on those items we really want.

I'd love a couple chaise lounge patio chairs like this one so that I can more comfortably read AND tan at the same time.

http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-nicollet-sling-patio-chaise-lounge-tan/-/A-14667220#prodSlot=medium_1_8 

Or a few of these cool lanterns for the patio table.

http://www.target.com/p/threshold-tall-rattan-solar-lantern-medium/-/A-14749768#prodSlot=medium_1_11http://www.target.com/p/threshold-tall-rattan-solar-lantern-medium/-/A-14749768#prodSlot=medium_1_11

But we settled on a couple tiki torches, which turned out to be a great little facelift! TWO torches for $7!! You can't beat it. We also got some citronella fuel and were on our merry way! Now if we could only keep the mosquitoes away so John will stay outside with me...

South Africa Recap - February 2014

YouTube Link: http://youtu.be/nPCa0HHT_zs

This video is much longer than the one from London. But that's because we were there for several more days and had many more adventures!! I've incorporated several different videos taken on my GoPro, iPhone and regular camera. They really help bring the entire experience to life. Hope you enjoy!

Music inspired by my experiences in South Africa:
1. Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) by Shakira - was the 2010 World Cup theme song
2. God Bless Africa by The Robben Island Singers
3. Circle of Life by Elton John - classic from The Lion King
4. Mama Africa by Akon - a more recent record
5. Africa by Toto - I had this song in my head the entire trip!
6. Hakuna Matata - just for fun :)

Highlights from London - February 2014

I am no video editor but I had a blast using Microsoft MovieMaker to put together this recap of our time in London. I am working on the South Africa version now!! Let me know what you think!

Lessons from London - Part 2

A little bit more about our London adventures...

Outside Westminster Abbey

After our tour of the Abbey, we decided to visit Piccadilly Circus, which is kind of like London's Times Square. Here there are lots of theaters but our sights were set on the shopping. We had gotten a tip that Lillywhites is a great place to buy sports souvenirs and we were not disappointed. The store was huge...we only visited three of the four of five, maybe even six floors. And we picked up just a few things on the way. :)

Lesson 6: The Exchange Rate will trick you!! Today 1 British Pound is the equivalent of $1.66. Which means when we got excited about a shirt that was on sale for 10.99 Pounds, that really meant $18. And when your grand total comes to 100 Pounds, that really means you spent $166. Your money does not go very far in London so beware!!

Some of our shopping bags

After all of that shopping we thought we deserved a break. So we stopped at a British pub. There are tons of them everywhere and they are so cute! Actually, everything in London was exactly like you see in the movies. A lot of the pubs we saw had fun creative names (The Queen's Head, Sherlock Holmes, Ship and Shovell) and had the bar portion on the bottom floor and a more formal dining area on the second floor. Separated by tiny, steep staircases.

Lesson 7: Get up and order your food at the bar. Not sure if this is the case for every single place in London or Europe but it was the case at a few of the places we tried. Especially at The Comedy Pub where there was one man working the entire bar and restaurant area. They won't greet you at the door, seat you or send servers to take your order so it's best to get up and order as soon as you're ready.

This one was The Comedy Pub where we had a pint of Carling, fish and chips and meat pie.

The London Eye is a giant ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. It also happened to be right next to our hotel and part of the view outside our window. It was huge and moved VERY slowly. Apparently so slowly that it does not even stop for you to get off...you just kind of hop out as it moves towards the ground! This was another recommendation but it was not something we ended up having time for. I think it would have given a magnificent view of the entire city.

Here's the London Eye from right underneath

London Eye straight back, Hotel is the building on the right

One of my favorite moments was enjoying complimentary wine and cheese in the Library at our hotel on Friday evening. Our view of Big Ben was incredible. It was so nice to just slow down for a second and enjoy our surroundings and the fact that we got to spend time in such a great city.

Our next adventure was to conquer Harrod's, a very upscale department store located in the Knightsbridge area of London. We got there with only an hour and a half to shop until it closed (see Lesson 5) but we got a taste of the shopping experience. The building itself is old and beautiful and has SEVEN floors. We just scraped the surface of all there is to discover here.

Lesson 8: You could (and probably should) spend an entire day at Harrod's. You have your standard men's wear, women's wear, luxury goods, etc but also a perfumery, personal shopping, an accessories section, gift wrapping service, wine spirits and cigars, toy kingdom, technology, furniture, and so on. We spent most of our time in the Food Hall buying gifts.

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early to pack up and see a few more sights. We walked through St. James Park...

...to Buckingham Palace. We wanted to see the Changing of the Guards, which takes place every other day during this time of year. Even an hour before the ceremony, the area was crammed with people.

Lesson 9: Allow lots of time to get a good spot if you are really interested in Changing of the Guards. Otherwise, it's fun to be in the area but maybe a bit overrated. There is much pomp and circumstance surrounding this very old tradition. They still make a big deal out of this ceremony so it's fun to experience.

The Tower of London was our final stop before we were off to the airport for our next adventure. This is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames. It's known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress and is home to the Crown Jewels....which were breathtaking. It's illegal to take pictures so you'll just have to imagine them.

From the outside

With London Bridge in the background

After our visit to the Tower, we headed back to the hotel, hopped in a cab for Heathrow. We checked our bags, thought we had plenty of time for dinner and beer and ended up having to run through the airport to get on our flight! What a hilarious time!

Lesson 10: Put London on your bucket list. It's an incredible place full of world history and lots of activities. I am already planning to go back someday and spend a longer period of time there.

I'm sure there are plenty of details that I've left out so I hope I get to share my stories, pictures and videos with you soon. Also, I've been working on loading my GoPro videos to my YouTube channel. You can check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrh4FvTHZKFdIShDC4HkR6RtJcMonr4Zg. I will also start a South Africa playlist once I get home (the internet here is slow and it takes at least two hours to upload one video). Cheers!

British Slang

Thought I'd write down some of the catchiest English terms we've come across. And to add to the fun, check out The Best of British Slang.

• Brilliant - describes something cool or impressive
• Cheerio - A police officer said this to us as a goodbye after giving advice and instructions about local sites
• Cheers - seemed to be a way to say hello, goodbye or thank you
• Mate - friend or buddy; everyone at the pub is all of a sudden your good mate!
• Mind the gap - instead of warning to "watch your step" when entering and exiting the Tube
• Nibbles - referred to appetizers in the hotel lounge; headed to wine and nibbles
• Toilet - a more crass term for the bathroom or restroom
• Way Out - exit

Lessons from London - Part 1

This is the first free moment I've had since we left LAX at 5pm on Wednesday evening!! But cheers from London! This city is more amazing than I could have imagined. I've heard great things about London but it's just something you have to experience to truly understand. I only wish we had more time to spend here.

Here's what we've been up to...

Flying into Heathrow

Accenture's in London too!

We are staying at the Marriott London County Hall which I would highly recommend! It is right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the city. We even have a view of the London Eye and Big Ben from our room. You can hear the clock tower ring every 15 minutes.

We landed at Heathrow around 11am but spent some time collecting our bags and going through Customs. Instead of taking a cab, we chose to take the Underground or the Tube from the airport. Price difference was more than 50 pounds which is about $80!

Lesson 1: Invest in an Oyster Card. This is what you will use for the Underground and the city bus for your entire trip. We loaded 15 pounds on the card which got us from the airport and all around the city. It saves you time and money since you don't have to stop and pay every time you get on and off. We ran out tonight so will have to reload in order to get back to the airport tomorrow.The public transportation here is really quick and really easy. It can get pretty crowded during rush hour so you have to be ready to battle the crowds.

Once we got situated at our hotel we freshened up and headed out for High Tea. We walked about a mile (across the Thames River and through Trafalgar Square!) to The Rose Lounge at the Sofitel Hotel. It was very quaint and so delicious! Something I will always remember!

Lesson 2: If you plan to pay using a debit or credit card, always ask the restaurants what their service fee is. Apparently it is different for every place and is in addition to any fees your bank may charge. We ended up putting a few things on the charge card but then found a Barclays ATM and took out cash. Since Barclays is a partner of Bank of America, the service fee was just 3% (instead of the possible 10-15% at the individual restaurants).

Rose and Lichi Champagne Cocktails to Begin

An assortment of sandwiches, scones and jams.

And of course dessert to top it all off.

It was very relaxing to sit at tea for a couple hours after such a long trip AND we were still getting the English experience. We walked back to our hotel and pretty much crashed.

Lesson 3: Don't sit down after such a long trip unless you are ready for bed! We ended up going to sleep around 9 or 10. I could hardly think straight and I fell asleep so easily. The night felt like a series of naps though and I didn't feel as refreshed in the morning as I would have liked. Hopefully tonight's sleep helps!

We got up around 8 this morning and headed to breakfast at the hotel. This traditional English breakfast was included with our stay and was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had! That's saying a lot considering I am a huge breakfast person. There were eggs, bacon, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, and lots of freshly baked breads and croissants. This might sound like your regular old continental breakfast but, believe me, it was not. What made it even more special is the way everything was presented...in cute, quaint, English jars and pots.

Lesson 4: Croissants and breads are much better when they are freshly baked! I say this because I've had a croissant in America but never freshly baked. And never with soft butter or black currant preserves. I picked the croissant thinking I'd have a little taste and before I knew it, the entire thing was gone.

Hot options. I added cheese into the mix!

Our own coffee pot.

Croissant!!!

Le Creuset

Panorama of the entire setup

We had a busy day planned and thought we'd gotten up and around early. Breakfast was so yummy and so relaxing that I think we spent more time there than planned.

Lesson 5: Everything takes more time than you think. Plan accordingly. In my case, since we only had a few days, this means come back to London soon!

First on our list today was the Westminster Abbey. Now I had heard the Abbey is a must-see and is the location of weddings, funerals and coronations for British Royalty. But I had no idea how incredible it would really be. I was in awe the entire time. It cost 18 pounds for a 1 hour self paced audio tour. The building itself was enormous and absolutely stunning. Just a few of the incredible sights included the burial places of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and George Frederic Handel; the Quire area where this infamous picture of Will and Kate was taken; the tombs of Henry III, Edward I, Eleanor of Castile, etc. etc. Each of them with their own amazing story and role in British and World History.

Submitted a prayer request, lit a candle and snuck a picture

It's after 11pm now and I'm exhausted so the rest of our day (and lessons) will have to wait. Tomorrow we are getting an even earlier start to get some more sightseeing in before we leave for Johannesburg at 6:30pm. Cheers!!