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.

At the HMS Victory

Apparently, people who work in museums have this stereotype that everyone who is under the age of 19 will soon be causing significant damage and heartache.  Because several times already this trip, I’ve received notices like “YOU WILL KEEP YOUR STUDENTS UNDER CONTROL AT ALL TIMES” when we enter museums around here.  I feel like Mad Eye Moody.  CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

Sigh.  By and large, the students and adults of the ISCA program are incredibly well behaved.  Much better behaved, to be honest, than the people working at the London Eye the other day and at the Royal Naval Museum today.  Adults can drive me nuts, sometimes.  Give kids some credit, they can do amazing things if you let them have the chance.

Well, that said, this adult (yours truly) cannot operate an elevator.  I’m pushing the button, why aren’t these doors closing?  I gave up.  And tried to walk away looking non-chalant and all that.  But my students didn’t quite get the hint.  They stayed in the elevator, laughing and making a scene.  And the glare from the security guard was pretty fierce.

Commanding attention at the Naval Museum

We experienced the HMS Victory today, as well as the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.  The HMS Victory was Admiral Nelson’s ship in the Battle of Trafalgar, and is still an active vessel (well, it’s in dry dock, really, but it is on the active roster) in the British Royal Navy.  Over 200 years old, the tour showed us life on boat a sailing vessel in the 1800’s.  Amazing.   We took in the huge guns, the tiny hammocks and a true understanding of “mind your head” when walking down the stairs.

After touring the Victory, I attempted to take our group into a section of the museum where several figureheads from British vessels were on display.  They may not remember much of the figureheads, but they will remember the overzealous security guard and the elevator that just wouldn’t go up.

Arundel Castle

A short coach ride later, we found ourselves at the home of the Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.  The castle was founded in 1067 by William the Conquerer, although much of it was rebuilt in the 1870’s.  The tour of the Castle included the armory, the private chapel, the bedroom furnished for Queen Victoria and the original 11th Century Keep.

The wind today continued to howl.  These high sustained winds are unusual for England, especially in the summer.  The temperature was a bit warmer today, and the sun was out at times, but the wind kept us all huddling under jackets and cover.  As I write this (midnight local time), the winds have subsided.  Thankfully, better weather awaits us tomorrow into London, or so the forecasters say.

I’ve added another teacher’s website to our blog list.  The Woodward Academy group is also blogging, check out their blog here.

The rains left during lunch and the sun came out to make it a much more enjoyable afternoon. The winds did not, steady high winds lasted throughout the day.

On the on-campus days, the students learn about and play English sports including cricket, rugby and hockey.  I’ve put up several photos from the day, check them out by clicking on the England Photos link on the right.

Tomorrow it’s off to Portsmouth and Arundel, to visit the HMS Victory and Arundel Castle.  The weather is supposed to take a turn for the dryer and warmer, let’s hope that proves true!