St. Paul's Cathedral & Stonehenge



Tuesday September 19
"St. Paul's Cathedral"

Another place where I wish they would let you take pictures. 

St. Paul's Cathedral has been my favorite field trip with my history class so far.  Our tour guide was named Peter; He was the cutest little old man!  He loved talking with us about the cathedral and all of it's history.  Peter was so informative and didn't leave anything out.  He also informed us that he is traveling to the US in a few weeks to go to Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to see some friends.  He was so funny; Peter kept asking the girl from Maine if she had been to this small Chinese restaurant called TinTin, it was what he looked forward to every year.  Our group couldn't help but laugh because he got the biggest smile on his face when she said she had been there!!       

St. Paul's is the most beautiful church I have ever been in in my entire life.  Every statue, and carving had such gorgeous intriquite detail.  Sir Christopher Wren was the architect who designed and built the cathedral from 1675-1710.  He is buried in the Crypt of the cathedral today. My favorite part of the tour was sitting in the Quire area.  This is where the Bishop and choir sits.  The murals on the ceiling of this section were aboslutely amazing.  There were three huge circles; the first one depicted the fish in the ocean, the second one depicted the birds in the sky, and the third was of exotic animals from all over the world.  These mosaics were breathtaking; The artist who painted them was Sir William Richmond. 

Still in shock that I walked down the aisle Princess Diana walked down on her wedding day.  We were told that Prince Charles loved St. Paul's so much that he insisted that they get married there instead of Westminster Abbey.  I literally got goosebumps when walking down the aisle as did some of my friends. 

Saturday Septemeber 26
"Stonehenge and Salisbury"

Now I can say I have been to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  Stonehenge was really cool.  We were there for about 45 minutes to an hour.  There were tons of people taking pictures and the stones were blocked off by ropes.  We all wanted someone to jump over the ropes just to see what would happen to them haha!!  The reason why Stonehenge is such a popular tourist attraction is because there is really no evidence of how the stones got there. 

"Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar? How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure? "

After Stonehenge we went to the medieval town of Salisbury.  We walked around and went into the Salisbury Cathedral and learned about the Magna carta.  After that we went into a pub and I finally ordered fish&chips.  It was pretty delicious.  The rest of the time we just walked around, went into some shops and waited for our bus to come. It was a pretty relaxing day with some history and edcuation thrown in there. 

More adventures coming soon (:

Liz*



So I couldn't take pictures of my own...but I stole this off the website Quire area (my fav!)



Stonehenge

Salisbury Cathedral...Pretty arches (:

Kiss Me I'm Irish...weekend trip to Dublin

Friday September 16:
"The scene from Home Alone"

Our flight was at 6:40 am, however the airport is over an hour away so we booked a bus to pick us up at 4:15.  We get to the bus stop and the bus is not only late, but the driver says he has no more seats!!  6 girls with no coffee in their system yet at 4:30 in the morning is not a pretty sight...especially when we think we are going to miss our flight.  We freaked out for about 5 minutes and then a van cab was driving by and we chased it down.  We told him to drive as fast as he could, he laughed and then stepped on the gas.  Luckily we made it to the airport in one piece.  After checking into our flight, we looked at the security line and began to panic because it was so long.  It was moving quickly though, as we finish going through security we hear our flight being paged that it is boarding.  All 6 of us start sprinting!!  By the time we got to the gate we were panting and out of breath.  We looked like the family from Home Alone no joke. 

We were so thankful when we arrived in Dublin!  The Guinness Storehouse Factory was the first thing on our list of things to do.  It was really fun, and wicked interesting to learn about how this famous beer is brewed and how the company came to be etc.  At the end of the tour everyone ends up at the Gravity Bar.  It is on the top floor where you see an amazing view of Dublin.  You can see the whole city, it was awesome.  And of course the free pint of Guinness they give you is an added bonus (:

After the tour we went to a small pub for lunch and headed back to our hostel to get some rest.  Our hostel was really nice...very modern.  The only thing that had all of us scratching our heads was the Anime mural on our wall in our room.  We still are questioning it today. 

My friend Alena and I headed out a little earlier because we wanted to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and Dublin Castle.  Everything was in walking distance from our hostel which was so nice, and saved us money!  St. Patrick's Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous.  It was just about dusk when we headed out, so the way it looked against the changing sky was amazing.

Dublin Castle was closed off because they were shooting a movie!!  They wouldn't even let us take pictures.  It was a famous Indian actor, apparently he was a big Bollywood star.  The castle looked so pretty lit up at night.  We stood and acted like tourists for a few minutes and then headed to the pub.

Saturday September 17
Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green

Walking through the arch at Trinity College was so pretty.  We walked in and there was a wedding party coming out and taking pictures.  It was really funny for them because they walked out and all these strangers were staring at them.  They cheered and thanked the crowd.  The architecture at Trinity was so pretty the campus was very welcoming.  We headed over to St. Stephen's Green after leaving Trinity; it started to rain though so we ducked in to the National Gallery of Ireland for a few minutes to stay dry.  It ended up being free so we walked around the European Painters exhibit.  When the rain stopped we headed back out.  St. Stephen's Green was a very picturesque park, there was a statue of Oscar Wilde laid back on a rock. People wanted a picture with it but no one was brave enough to climb up the rock except for me.  They were looking at me in shock as to how I made it up there...it really wasn't that hard. 

After a long day of sightseeing we went to the Porterhouse Brewing Co. Pub.  The food and beer were so delicious.  Everyone is preparing for Arthur's Day on September 22.  It is Arthur Guinness's Birthday so there is a celebration in about every pub in Ireland.  There were signs everywhere, banners, coasters, and billboards promoting this event.  People said that it is almost as big as St. Patrick's Day. 

Overall my trip to Ireland was a success and I will definitely go back!!  My goal is to make it there at some point in my life on St. Patrick's Day. 

More adventures coming soon (:

Liz

Free Guinness...I'll take it

View of Dublin the from the Gravity Bar

Trinity College

St. Partick's Cathedral

Oscar Wilde and myself

  

Tower of London and Changing of the Guards

Tuesday September 6th:

"Tower of London"

This week my Social History of London class took a field trip to the Tower of London.  I knew it as the place that holds the Crown Jewels.  However there is so much more that went on there.  It was built in the 1800s as a fortress by William the Conqueror.  Since then it has been used as a palace, and a prison.  Walking in the entrance was fabulous because there was an amazing view of the Tower Bridge.  Our professor gave us a little history lesson and then she "let us loose."  Caitlin and I exlplored the armory buildings and the torture chambers first.  There were so many suits of armor lining the walls; they had some pretty short knights and kings back then. 

The torture chamber was also pretty cool.  We went into what was called "The Bloody Tower."  I would not want to have been a prisoner in the 1800's.  They had this device that literally folded up your entire body into a pretzel.  It was so complex and would have been so incredibly painful.  Finally we were on to what I was dying to see...THE CROWN JEWELS.

Luckily it was not that crowded, so we were able to go right in with no wait.  There were several guards making sure no one was taking pictures (unfortunately).  We stepped onto a slow moving sidewalk...you get about 15 seconds to look at each crown.  The amount of diamonds and jems in these crowns and tiaras was mind boggling.  SO MUCH BLING!!  My favorite was the Imperial State Crown; It is made up of 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies.  They were absolutely gorgeous head pieces, I am so glad that I was able to see them. 

The Tube ride home from the Tower of London was also pretty eventful.  It is supposed to be on average a 15 minute ride.  However there was a signal problem, so we were on the tube for about an hour. Of course it was rush hour so the train was super crowded.  Luckily we got seats.  The conductor kept coming on the intercom and making announcements.  Everyone was chatting so no one could really hear what he was saying.  Apparently one lady really needed to hear the announcements, "Shut up!! they are making an announcement and I would like to hear what he is saying!!"  There were a bunch of college aged boys at the other end of the train car and they just started laughing at her and siging quite loudly.  The lady was not pleased at all; It was quite hysterical though.  After the boys stopped singing it went silent.  A final announcement was made that the problem was fixed; one of the singing boys then said "Did everyone hear that?!"  The car uproared in laughter.  Overall the hour went by fast with all of the commotion.

Saturday September 10th:

"Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guards"

The Changing of the Guards is a ceremony that happens everyday at 11:30am.  It is a highly attended event, especially on a Saturday.  There is tons of police on horses patrolling the area, telling people to move, and giving advice to the crowd.  The police officer that was in front of us told us to "Beware of pickpockets and thieves."  He told us in three different languages.  The ceremony began with the royal palace gaurds marching in behind the royal palace guard band.  It lasted about a half an hour; however the best part was when the band played "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie.  My friends and I were so excited to hear this song.  A lot of people in the crowd began to sing along with the band; everyone cheered when they finished playing.  It was very entertaining and fun to watch!  I was patiently waiting for Prince William and Kate to come out and greet us, but they must have been busy. 

More adventures coming soon (:

Liz*

Me in front of the Tower Bridge

King Edward became king at 9 years old....his armor is so little!!

Torture machine that folds you up

Oldest section of the Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

Royal palace gaurds band

Love their hats!!

Me in front of Buckingham Palace

Drama in Picadilly, The Museum of London & Windsor Castle

Thursday September 1st:
"O'Neals Evacuation!"

The weekend had officially begun for all of us since we don't have Friday classes.  Everyone here at Regent's had talked about heading to O'Neals (in Picadilly Circus) that night.  It is a big Regen'ts hangout, kind of like going to Sinni's in Dudley (but so much better).  We had been there for about an hour or two, we got there early so we wouldn't have to pay the cover charge.  At around 11 security guards were everywhere telling us all to "evacuate for safety." All of us were so confused, the pub wasn't closing yet "What is going on?" we all thought. As we walked out the doors we saw police cars, an ambulance and a huge crowd of people.  We were informed that someone was stabbed and killed inside of O'Neals.  It was now considered a crime scene.  It was kind of scary, but we were just glad that we all made it out together safely.   

Friday September 2nd:
"Museum of London"

My roommate and I are taking a class called the Social History of London.  It is really interesting because we are learning all about the making of London.  We had no idea that London was originally a Roman colony called Londinium...did you know that? The best part is that we get to go on field trips to sights around the city for free!  We are going to the Tower of London on Tuesday.  Our professor Lady Sophie Laws is awesome, she gave us a bunch of free musesums to go to on our down time.  Caitlin and I decided to go to the first one on the list...Museum of London.  There were a lot of cool ancient artifacts such as clothing, and jewels that made it through the Great London Fire in 1666.  There was a short film that we decided to watch, we sat next to this family with two little boys who were no older than 5 and 6.  The 5 year old was fascinated by The Great London Fire, and he kept repeating the narrators words; It was so funny.  Caitlin and I came to the conclusion that it was only funny because he had the cutest litte accent!!  If we were in America we probably would just want him to be quiet.  There was a really interesting exhibit on London street photogpraphy.  That was my favorite part of the museum, the pictures ranged over 200 years.

Saturday September 3rd:
"Windsor Castle"

Woke up early to catch the train to Windsor with Andrea and Arielle.  This is Andrea's 6th time in London, and her second time studying at Regent's.  She knows the tube and bus system really well, so she planned the trip to Windsor Castle.  I was like a child on Christmas morning on the train ride there.  I was going to see where the Queen lives!!  Walking up the hill to the Castle was like something out of a fairytale that you read about in books, and see in movies.  It was HUGE, well that's an understatement.  We had some time to kill before we took the Great Kitchen tour so we walked around and took everything in.  Like typical tourists we went up to the guard, you know the ones who are not supposed to talk and keep a straight face.  Well our guard was not so typical...we asked a couple behind us to take our picture with him and they kindly said "Yes of course if you will take one of us too."  So they took our picture, and then when it was time for us to take theirs, they went up and did a funny pose with the guard. As we are leaving the guy turns around and says "Tag ya on Facebook mate!"  The guard cracked a smile and we all burst out laughing because it's basically against the rules for him to do that.  It was hilarious!!   

We headed up to St. Georges Chapel where several royals are buried.  It was such a peaceful place, the architecture and the detail in the chapel was gorgeous.  The Choir room was the best part for me, the stained glass windows and the high ceilings were breath taking.  The detail carved into the woodowork is truly amazing, considering it was done centuries ago.  After leaving the chapel, it was time for us to go on the Great Kitchen tour. 

Our tour guide's name was Jackie and you could totally tell she was one of those people who loves her job.  She was so enthusiastic about the castle it was quite comical.  We started the tour in the  special guest entrance of the castle.  The room where President Obama first entered the castle is where we stood.  It was room with swords and weapons all over the walls, and there was armor in glass cases everywhere.  Jackie said it is meant to give off an intimidating vibe when you first walk in; it lets people know not pull any funny buisness because all the weapons can still be used today.  There was this one sword that caught my eye because it was all diamonds.  It was the prettiest weapon I'd ever seen.  We walked downstairs and went into this big open room that had been used for several of the royal children's 21st birthday parties.  The Wine Cooler in the basement holds over 5,000 bottles of wine and alcohol.  I tried to have my 21st birthday there but they were booked.

Finally we made it to the Great Kitchen.  It is the oldest functioning kitchen in Europe; it has been used since the 1300's.  Although all the equipment was modern, the walls and the decorative copper pots and pan lining them were all orignal.  There was a giant wisk that could wisk 200 eggs at one time!!  Imagine the size of that cake.  Jackie informed us that the head chef at Windsor Castle, Matthew likes a calm kitchen.  While they are preparing meals for state dinners of 160 guests, he is calm with his staff of 20 chefs.  He never raises his voice and he checks every single dish before it is sent upstairs to the people who will be eating it.  Our tour with Jackie ended, and we were off to my favorite part of the castle...Queen Mary's Dollhouse.

Every girl has a dollhouse growing up, as did I.  This is the dollhouse girls can only dream of.  First of all it is the largest in the world, given to Queen Mary by King George V.  It was absolutely amazing; the furniture, the room setup, the props.  You could spend hours just looking at all of the things that were in it.  It was opened up so we could see all the rooms in the house, but it has the ability to close.  The house can come down over the rooms; that way it just looks like a normal house (castle).  It was honestly spectacular.  They would not let us take pictures unfortunately.  However here's the kink so you can see it on the website.  I did not want to leave this exhibit at all.  http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/queenmarysdollshouse/home.html

We walked around the rest of the castle and saw the typical things that a castle has such as a ball room, a drawing room, bedrooms etc.  Oh and Chandeliers are the equivalent to ceiling fans.  They are in almost every room.

 It was so amazing to literally walk around a piece of history all day long.  If you are ever booking a trip to Windsor make sure you call ahead to see if the castle is open.  As you all know it is still in use and is often closed to the public when Her Magesty the Queen is on the grounds.  We were told that she is typically there Thursday-Monday for the weekends.  But this month she is in Scotland so I didn't get to see her...yet.


More adventures coming soon!!!

Liz (: 

Love the street signs here!

The guard that craked a smile

Windsor Castle visitor entrance

Even the lanterns have crowns on them!

Windsor Castle