Second Day In London

It was another great day in London with perfect weather and some great tours of historical sites.  Here are some group photos and reflections on the day:

Amber H.:

Today was yet another really exciting and jam packed day. In the morning, we woke up and ate a good breakfast, and then we headed straight for a 3 hour sightseeing tour of the city of London. We went all around the city, and stopped at many beautiful buildings and cathedrals. The tour guide explained all of the history of the sites in depth and I really thought that the history she explained was extremely interesting. Our final stop of the tour was Buckingham Palace, where we also saw the changing of the guard. I thought it was really cool to see where the queen lives and how breathtaking the architecture was. Later, we stopped at the Tower of London for lunch and got tickets to go on a guided tour. The tour guide was really entertaining and the whole group really enjoyed it. After the tour, I went to see the Crown Jewels (also at the Tower of London), which was basically all the jewels that were used during coronation. Finally, after a long day of traveling, we finally had dim sum for dinner (which was delicious) and had some free time in Piccadilly Circus to shop for souvenirs. Overall, I thought our second day in London was both tiring and exciting, and I can't wait to see what France and Italy bring us next.

Josh S.:

Yesterday I went to the Churchill War Rooms which was pretty fun and had great visualizations. Today we walked around Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and went around Piccadilly Circus and the scenery was pretty cool. Definitely having a fun time so far!  

Max W.:

Hydration is key. Today was a fabulous day in London. Me being the political nerd I am had a interesting talk with out guide about Scottish independence and the Greek debt crisis. But I will assume that is not your cup of tea. What I will continue to talk about is all the stuff we saw. We started off bright and early at 09:00 am to head to central London. Traffic is abysmal however, they charge £11 just to enter city limits so you get a lot of taxis and everything else looks like a millionaires car. We then arrived at the normal tourist stops, London bridge, which I mad mistakes yesterday on. Then we went out to St. Paul's cathedral which, might I add, looks a lot like congress, just less Ted Cruzy. We then went to Westminster and on to Buckingham Palace where the queen was away, not sure why, looks like a nice place to reside. We then went to the Tower of London where my head remains intact and I learned two major things about Britain . 1) they like executing people. 2) they really, really, dislike the French. Then we went on to Piccadilly Circus where I was disappointed by the lack of clowns and lions, but I did get my newspaper. Then we took the tube to the hotel and now I sit in the lobby. Sorry mom if I'm not returning texts, we are busy. I will try to make contact later. Onward to Paris. Time to learn a little French .

Josh B.:

Today was our second and last full day in London. As it was yesterday, our schedule was jam packed from when we woke up. As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed out to the coach bus to go on a tour. On the tour, we learned about some of the incredible history of England's architecture and culture. For example, many of the buildings have been given nicknames based on what they look like. These include such fine names as the pickle, the bullet, the walkie talkie, etc. We stopped off at St. Paul's Cathedral, and were able to see some of the memorial celebration of the Battle of Waterloo because today was its anniversary. We then walked to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard (yes, their hats are that poofy in person). After the Palace, we took the tube to get lunch. I had fish and chips, which was very good. Then we went to the Tower of London, where we went on a guided tour and saw where many famous people were imprisoned and executed. We also saw where some English royalty lived (and died). The crown jewel of the tower though, was the crown jewels. We saw crowns, scepters, and many shiny things. After the tower, we got back on the tube and went to Piccadilly Circus. We walked to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, which was again, very good. We spent our final moments out in England back at Piccadilly Circus souvenir shopping. Another amazing day in Europe, and a great last day in England.

Arrival in London, Part 2

We are back up and running with wifi!  Here are some additional reflections on our first day in London:

Ana P.:

As much as I would love to make this first blog post amazing and full of wit I have been awake for about 30 hours and cannot manage much. However I would like to say thank you so much. To all of our parents who gave us the gift of adventure of travel and of fun. Without your help through this hard year academically we would never have been able to be in a hotel in London complaining about jet lag. I have never been so happy to complain about jet lag in my life. Anyway, our adventure took off from JFK airport in New York and landed 6 sleepless hours later in London. Since that step onto foreign soil we have not stopped to breathe in the fish and chip scented air, running around becoming the cultured people our dear parents pay for us to be. Thank you to our lovely chaperones who have the bravery and audacity to be taking us on this adventure. Even when we complain and groan at the walking, we love every second of it. We can tell this trip is already much too short. 

Elena N.:

Today was our very first day in the wonderful continent of Europe. We arrived in Heathrow weary but excited, ready to take on London. First off, we rode back to our hotel, accompanied by our lovely guide for the next 9 days, Emilia. She told us the history of England while we peeked our first glances out the window of our bus at the legendary city. We then checked into our hotel and immediately rode the Metra to a corner of the city, where we ate lunch and explored a little on our own. From there, we walked over to Trafalgar Square, and then split into two groups; some went to the Churchill War Rooms and some went to Westminster Abbey. I went to the Abbey, and it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. It had insanely tall ceilings, intricate stained glass and gold plated altars devoted to those, mostly of royal status, who had been buried there. From there, we went on a boat cruise of the River Thames, which showcased some of London's most standout architecture. Finally, all exhausted and incredibly jet-lagged, we took the. Metra to our hotel. I can't wait to explore more of London tomorrow!

Signing off, 

-Eleina 

Katherine D.:

Today was a great start to our Europe Summer trip!  We had a relaxing flight over from JFK in New York and arrived in London around 8:15 am.  We dove right in to fun activities such as experiencing local shops at Victoria Gardens.  

Some of us went to Westminster Abbey, while others went to Churchhill of War Rooms.  I went to Westminster Abbey and I was in awe of how beautiful the church was.  Every tiny detail in that church is beautifully crafted.  It's intricate details and beautiful stained glass really makes Westminster Abbey unlike any other church.  The church provided an audio tour that spoke of the famous people who were buried at the Church, such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Shakespeare, and Queen Elizabeth.  We then saw Big Ben and that was really interesting.  It is a tall and beautiful structure that really stands apart from any other building in London.  After seeing Big Ben, we ate at a really good Bistro place in Soho.  After that we went on a river cruise on the Thames River.  It was a very relaxing ride.  I had learned about the Thames River this past school year, so I thought it was cool that I got to actually be on the river I had learned about.  After the relaxing ride, we trekked back to The Tube in order to get back to our hotel.  Riding the tube during rush hour was a very interesting experience for all of us, but in the end it was very worth it because it allowed us to see all of these amazing sites!