London= a tired camera!
Trip Start
Jan 07, 2010
1
2
10
Trip End
May 01, 2010
London, England, United Kingdom
Sunday, January 17, 2010
It was a very busy, amazing, overwhelming, sight-filled, crazy, fun weekend… and now my feet are sore! Here's an overview of my London weekend:
FRIDAY (Jan. 15)
This was a school trip, so we took a total of three coaches and left at exactly 8 a.m. We arrived at the hotel a little after noon, then a tour guide joined our coach and we headed out to see the sights. It was funny to see the surprised look on the tour guide’s face (who was an Aaron Eckhart look-a-like!) when he realized that almost every camera flashed when he pointed out a location featured in the Harry Potter movies! I don’t think he expected such excitement! (Maybe that is what the English do when they come and see Spiderman locations in New York?)
After taking many photos on our tour, we arrived back at the hotel, dropped our bags in our room, and headed out to the hit the city!
We walked through Picadilly Circus (London’s Time Square) and searched for cheap theatre tickets, but no such luck. So we marched onward to Parliament and Big Ben. On our way there we stopped at The National Gallery, where I got to see two of my favorite paintings: van Gogh’s "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers" and Monet’s “The Water-Lily Pond”!
After warming up a bit in the gallery we continued on, navigating our way through the busy Friday afternoon/early evening hustle and bustle of people, taxis and double-decker buses. We eventually came to our destination and took some pictures of the amazing sight: Big Ben and Parliament lit up, along with the rest of the city. The fascinating sights continued as we headed back to the hotel, walking along the lit up riverside of the Thames. I felt so fortunate to have this opportunity!
We eventually returned to the hotel, haha… yes, after an hour and a half, at least! We had some directional problems, but I wasn’t complaining! We got to see more and more of the sight-filled London with every road we crossed and every corner we turned! We found a place to eat called Cagley’s, a small restaurant hidden in an alleyway, where they actually had room for a group of eight! We then went out to a pub/club called The Rocket where we socialized, danced and people watched until we headed back to rest our feet, and our eyes!
SATURDAY (Jan. 16)
We woke up to a rainy, rainy London and decided to make good use of the tube (the subway system in London) and our umbrellas! (And my big, touristy, but smart, raincoat!)
We first stopped in Westminster Abbey. Wow. What awe-inspiring architecture! It’s truly mind-boggling to look at all the intricate details and think about how much time different architects, sculptors and painters put in to create such a beautiful masterpiece. And the history within! We did the audio tour, which was the best audio tour I’ve ever listened to! (It was actually humorous to look at hundreds of people walking around holding what looked like a cell phone to their ear in an ancient building!)
After walking out of the Abbey, much smarter and more cultured, we took the tube to the London Tower, where we had a quick tour from a humorous beefeater who loved to listen to himself talk! After the tour, we headed to… you guessed it… the crown jewels! Oy! I have never seen such shiny, magnificent rocks! So much color and sparkle! We then saw Henry IIIV’s armor before we left. Not as shiny, nor as pretty.
Harrod’s, the world’s largest department store, was next. I have never felt so poor than I did then! So many designer labels, on so many floors! One price tag on a child’s coat said 900 pounds, about $1700! I can’t imagine every spending that much money on any piece of clothing! After some window-shopping on the street, we headed back to the hotel to get dressed up and go out to eat at a place called The London Pub and then hung out at The Rocket, again, where they had the NFL playoffs on- score! What a day!
SUNDAY (Jan. 17)
The whole group from the school left the hotel at 10 a.m. and headed to Hampton Palace where the royals use to live. It’s a very impressive place with its luxurious tapestries (made with gold and silver), painted walls, stained glass mirrors and paintings. We took a break from the indoors to soak up the sun (who knew it existed over here?!) and explore the grounds. We successfully made it through a hedge maze-without cutting through or hurdling the 7-foot hedges! (It was much more difficult than the one in Harry Potter: the Goblet of Fire.) My favorite part of the whole place was the garden. It was so serene with the fountains and trees and pathways. Very royal.
We boarded the coaches in the afternoon and began the three-hour drive back to the manor. And here I am! Just revved up for my British Studies lecture at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow!
Hope all is well with everyone! Keep in touch!
Miss you!
Jessi Lyn Van Natta
