Pictures always seem the best way to remind me what to write, so here goes:
After our adventurous North trip, we continued to explore London, including heading to Greenwich, where the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian are.
We got to Greenwich via river ferry, and I had fun snapping pictures of the city from the Thames.
Standing on the Prime Meridian
A few days later, we took a day trip out to Dover Castle. I wish we had a lot more time there. It was beautiful, but we didn't see much, as we spent quite a long time debating whether we wanted to pay to go into the World War II war tunnels. We didn't end up going, so we just wandered the grounds.
The White Cliffs of Dover
That same day, we also went to Canterbury Cathedral
The spot where Thomas a Beckett was murdered, making Canterbury a popular destination for pilgrims, which inspired the famous Canterbury Tales.
Back in London, we went to visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. It was pouring down rain and the theatre is open air, so that was fun, but it was so interesting to see the recreation of perhaps the most famous theatre in the world.
We also spent a day indulging in one of our other literary favorites: Sherlock Holmes!
We had lunch at Speedy's Cafe, which is featured in BBC's Sherlock. The black door is the door to 221 in the show, the home of the consulting detective and his army doctor blogger and best friend.
We stopped by the actual Baker Street for the Sherlock Holmes Museum
"Sherlocking" in a deerstalker at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. These ladies across the room were laughing at me, it was a little embarrassing.
We also had the opportunity as a group to go to the London temple. It was so wonderful to go, even across the world!
Our final day trip took us outside England again, this time to Blenheim Palace. Honestly, this one wasn't really all that interesting to me; it just seemed like another fancy house.
And then, Oxford! I was so excited to get there. I loved the atmosphere of that town. There's so much literary history there, and everything just seemed so...smart. I loved it.
Plus, Harry Potter filming sites, including this one, where they filmed the hospital wing in several of the movies and the dance lesson in Goblet of Fire
The Hogwarts staircase leading to the Great Hall!
In my continued effort to eat in every famous literary/television place, we ate lunch at The Eagle and the Child, the pub where the Inklings literary group met. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were members, and the first drafts of Narnia and Lord of the Rings were discussed in this pub.
Back in London (again) we hiked all the way up to the top of St Paul's Cathedral and had a great view of the city beneath us.
And at St Paul's, I met up with a special someone: my mom! She came to spend about a week with me in England after the program ended. It was a very busy week. We started by hitting as many of the museums as we could in about a day and a half. We got quite a few in: the British Museum, the National Gallery, the RAF Museum, and more. It was quite the day.
The National Gallery
\
There were so many different planes at the RAF Museum; well worth the trip out there!
We also went and saw Wicked. It was my first time seeing it, and I loved it! I've wanted to see the show since I first listened to the soundtrack years ago. The music sounds so different when sung with a British accent though!
We took a day trip out to Cardiff, Wales, to stop by the Doctor Who Experience. I, if you haven't heard yet, love that show. Mom has never seen it. She was a little confused.
The Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS from the 50th Anniversary special! You weren't supposed to touch the exhibits...I might have touched the handle.
Cardiff was a really beautiful place, and I can't wait to go back and explore more!
We went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. My third time, and I still love every bit of it!
My houses (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff) are the ones represented in the shop window for Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley. It's a great thing.
We went to Stratford-upon-Avon and took a quick tour of all things Shakespeare, including his birthplace
This clever poster lists every prop you would need to perform all of Shakespeare's plays; surprisingly, not that many!
My favorite barn owl at the Mary Arden Farm; still convinced I should have just taken it home.
We went back to Oxford and wandered around a bit.
And we ended the trip by visiting Windsor Castle. The flag on top of the tower means that the Queen was in residence there when we stopped by!
Eight weeks ago, I sat in a Tube Carriage in Heathrow, waiting to beginning this great adventure. Fifteen years of dreaming became a reality. I wasn't prepared for how much I would fall in love with that country. I wasn't prepared for the friends I would make or the experiences I would have. It seems like so long ago we were dragging our suitcases through the streets of South Kensington, gaping at everything we saw. England has become a second home to me, and I left a large part of my heart there. I am counting the days until I get to go back and experience it all again.
No comments:
Post a Comment