We traveled to Windsor Castle today, one of the residences of the Queen.  The castle’s state apartments are a site to behold.  The castle tour was preceded or followed by (depending on which coach you were on) a calm boat trip on the Thames aboard a 100-year old steam boat.

The evening ended with a barbeque and dance, and we all have early morning wakeup calls so that we can make our flights home.

This is where the bittersweetness comes into play.  We are all ready and anxious to come home–to family, to friends, to our own beds.  But we’ve made some incredible new friends, and have some unforgettable memories.  And I don’t think we want to leave those behind either.  I guess that’s a good sign that this has been a trip worth taking.

Tradition calls for me to take my group to an English pub for a good pub meal, so we found ourselves at a small place near Covent Garden.  Alas, another school group beat me there, so it was full.  Fate, I think.  Because we then went down the street to another place, one that I took my group to several years ago.  After we settled in, coming in just behind us was another group, the students from Woodward Academy.

One of the greatest things about this trip is the people that you get to meet from other schools.  We have truly enjoyed meeting several new friends, and, for me personally, I’ve met some excellent new friends from Woodward.  It was a delightful coincidence to have them join us at dinner.

After dinner, we ventured to the coaches for a short ride to Victoria Palace to see Billy Elliot.  An excellent show, the young man who played Billy was absolutely incredible.  His dancing was amazing, and the rest of the cast did a darn fine job too.

We arrived back at Charterhouse at about midnight, so today we’re sleeping in a bit and relaxing with our last on campus day.  Tomorrow, our last trip–it’s off to Windsor Castle and a boat ride on the River Thames.

British Museum

Back to London today, a special treat awaited us.  The local Member of Parliament (MP), Jeremy Hunt, was able to secure for us an inside tour of the Houses of Parliament.  Our tour started in the Westminster Hall, the oldest remaining part of the Palace.  Dating to the 11th Century, there are plaques on the floor noting the important people who have lied in state in the hall, as well as a few who had been executed in the hall (including William Wallace). We then toured the House of Commons and learned about the procedures and traditions of the British Parliament.  Unfortunately, the Lords were sitting in session so we could not enter the House of Lords.

Then it was off to the British Museum, home of 6,000,000 or so items of history.  From the Elgin Marbles to the Rosetta Stone, to thousands of vases, masks and sculptures from all eras of history.  The Great Hall of the Museum is visually stunning, and the artifacts inspiring.

Get out the credit cards, Covent Garden was our last stop of the day.  Filled with street performers, markets and all the trendy shops, everyone enjoyed seeking out treasures to take home.

The evening ended with the annual student vs. staff soccer game, which the students pulled off the win 5-4 in penalty kicks.  A great time was had by all!

Tomorrow it is back to London, where each group will have it’s own afternoon.  We’ll meet up in the evening to attend the musical Billy Elliot.

Thumbs up for Blenheim Palace

Another long coach ride yesterday, this time towards Blenheim Palace.  A gift of Queen Anne to the first Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace is situated on 2100 acres of land, breathtakingly beautiful and massive.  The birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, the palace’s ceilings are decorated in 24 karat gold leaf and the walls in famous tapestries and paintings.  Incredible grandeur and amazing opulence, nothing was spared in the building of this monster of an estate.

Keble College Dining Hall

Back to Earth, a little, we journeyed a few miles to Oxford, home of the 38 colleges that make up Oxford University.  Our tour guide mixed jokes and one-liners into a fun walking tour that took us inside Keble (pronounced KEE-bul) College–seeing the quadrangle, the dining hall and the chapel.  We ventured to the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera, then spent some timing shopping for our Oxford sweatshirts.

A fun day, but after two days of 2-hour coach rides and long walking tours, we’re ready for an on-campus day today.  Wednesday and Thursday it’s off to London for the final times.

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Yep.  I shouldn’t have said anything about traffic.  We paid for it today, apparently everyone was coming home from holiday and decided to jam up the M25.  The electronic road signs noted, “M25 Congestion, Junctions 2 though 30.”  Bascially the entire thing.

Anyway, I wish that I could say that today was a thrilling adventure.  It was a good day, the weather beautiful and the sights interesting.  But we spent a long time on the coach, then a short walk through Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon (along with hordes of other people), a little shopping around town, then back on the coach to Warwick Castle. Warwick is a real castle, but it’s been taken over by an entertainment company, and things are now a bit contrived (a bit?  Nah, a lot).  Straight from modern tourism–pay to park, pay to get in, and pay more for the “interesting” exhibits.  No thanks.  I even got asked today, “Why do we come here?”

The show at Warwick Castle

Don’t get the wrong impression, we had a good day–the students enjoyed the touring and the town, but it was a lot of coach ride and waiting in the queue for not a lot of return.

Atop St. Paul's Cathedral

Our day started at the Museum of London, with displays on London from 3000 BC until today.  The museum has redecorated the entire post Great Fire (1666) displays, which is nice.  Our crew enjoyed the early times displays (50 AD and earlier).

A short walk later found us at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren‘s masterpiece, which was finished in 1711.  While Canterbury yesterday was stunning, St. Paul’s screams grandeur–rounded ceilings, gold plating, ample light.  We journeyed up the multitude of steps to the top of the tower for the amazing views of London.

In front of Tower Bridge

Our day’s adventures concluded at the Tower of London, near Tower Bridge.  Awed by the Crown Jewels and King Henry VIII’s massive suit of armor, a full day and a nice nap on the coach ride home.

Two weeks down, one to go!  We’re looking forward to an on-campus day tomorrow (so no blog post), and then an awesome last week discovering England.

In the gardens of Leeds Castle

Our adventures took us to Leeds Castle and Canterbury in the southeast.  Leeds Castle has evolved over 900 years and is situated on the water in a the beautiful countryside.  After touring the castle interior, we found the maze and tried to find the way to the center.  Eventually, all were successful.  The exit of the maze is through the grotto, a colorful and eerie tunnel underneath the maze.

Canterbury Cathedral

Then it was off to Canterbury and the Canterbury Cathedral, the home of the Church of England and the site of Archbishop Thomas Beckett’s vicious murder in 1170.  Since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims–several stories of which were told in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

The Cathedral is breathtaking, with huge vaulted ceilings throughout and impeccable stained glass windows, some dating back to the 12th century.

Palace of Westminster

We happened to be standing next to Westminster Palace (the Houses of Parliament) at 11:00, so we got to hear Big Ben chime 11 times (Big Ben is not the name of tower, as many people think, it’s just the nickname for the bell).  Today was a day full of walking–a guided tour along the Thames from the London Eye, around Westminster Palace, into Westminster Abbey, then to St. James Park for our sack lunch.

With Zain in Churchill's War Rooms

A surprise for the gang, fellow student Zain joined us at the park for the remainder of the afternoon.  We all went into the Churchill War Rooms, where we got to see the underground bunker and working area from World War II.  A great interactive table displays dates and events from throughout history, if you find the right dates, the table reacts (like bombs falling or poppies appearing).

The walking continued up to Trafalgar Square (dedicated in honour of Admiral Nelson), Leicester Square (where many major motion pictures have their London premieres), and into Piccadilly Circus (a smaller Times Square).  Some shopping was enjoyed before we reboarded the coaches to return to Charterhouse.

Tomorrow is an on-campus day and then it’s off to on Thursday to Leeds Castle and Canterbury.

Roman Baths and Bath Abbey

All this water, and not a drop to drink.  It’s a bit green, anyway.  And old.  Today our visit was to the city of Bath, stopping first at the Roman Baths built at the site of the hot spring discovered over 2000 years ago.

Main Bath

One-hundred-fifteen degree water, and the incredible engineering of the Romans impress, but once through the tour, everyone enjoyed the shops, pasties, and street performers just as much. The sun was shining and the streets were hopping.

“One of the most impressive things I’ve seen on the trip,” said Ben.

Across the Salisbury Plains to the ancient Stonehenge, our day concluded with an audio guided tour around the rocks.  We sure wish we could have touched them, but they keep you on the paths far away these days.

Stonehenge

Still, something to say that you’ve seen it, and been there.  The plains of Salisbury are quite beautiful, and the weather was about perfect.

Did I mention the pasties?  Yum.

Tomorrow, a very busy day.  A guided tour of Westminster, including Westminster Abbey, then it’s Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.  Plus a surprise.  We’re gonna make it a great day.

At the Globe

Shakespeare, a dabbling of modern art, and a trip the Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace filled the day on Saturday.  We ventured into the square mile that is the City of London, near St. Paul’s Cathedral, to walk across the Millennium Bridge (you know, the bridge they blew up in the Harry Potter movie) and tour Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  A nice guided tour and an opportunity to see what the view from the perspective of the groundling as well as from the first and second tier of seats.  We didn’t have to stand through a play this time, thankfully.

The weather has taken a turn for the better, and it was pleasant to sit outside the Tate Modern and have lunch on the grass.  A quick trip into the Tate Modern to see the great entry hall (the building is an old power station, and the enormous turbine room is the grand entrance into the modern art museum) as well as a some modern art.

The entire ISCA group at Hampton Court

Then something new for me, we ventured to King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, where the students had significant free time to explore such things as the King’s apartment, Queen Mary II’s apartment, the kitchens, and then the glorious gardens, including a maze.  The palace is home to “the vine”–a grape vine planted in 1768.

Today was an on-campus day, where the students learned about cricket, fives and squash, among other things.  Tomorrow it’s off to Bath and Stonehenge.