LONDON WEEKEND

Thursday evening the students of Harlaxton loaded onto the buses and drove to London. We departed right after dinner, and got to the hotels just in time to enjoy the hotel's steamy showers.

Friday morning was an early start for my friends and me. We left the hotel and adventured around the heart of the city (we totally didn't get lost or anything) and eventually made our way onto an iconic doubledecker red bus for a tour of the city. Our tour guide was a very lively older man who knew way too much about the city. We learned so much and got a great taste of the city's history. After the bus tour there was a boat tour down the Thames, which was also very exciting, and offered a completely different view of the city!

There were lions all over the city. Everywhere.

There were also dragons everywhere.

So much history in the streets.

I wasn't kidding about the lions.

Annnnnnnd, Abraham Lincoln. In London.

Kari, Kelsie (my roommate) and me outside of Westminster!

That afternoon we got tickets to explore Westminster Abbey, and WOW. Sadly, you can't take pictures inside, but it was an amazing experience. It was simply stunning. So much history in one place! There were so many dead kings and queens, as well as so much live history. I was standing where the queen's coronation happened, I was walking Kate Middleton was married! It was a really amazing experience.

The really cool part was how much I actually understood about the history! In the British Studies class we've learned so much about the kings and their successors, as well as the battles and bishops their stories. Walking through Westminster allowed me to visualize the history I'd been learning about, and it was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world!

Saturday morning we did the most tourist-y thing we could possibly do in London; we went on the London Eye. The London Eye is a HUGE Ferris wheel right next to the Thames River. The pods can hold about 20 people and still be spacious enough for you to walk around inside and take pictures from all sides.

The tickets were probably overpriced, but it was such a spectacular view!
















After lunch, we saw Macbeth performed at the Globe Theater! That's right, a Shakespeare production performed in Shakespeare's theater!

 

The Globe was set up just like it was in Shakespeare's time, thatched roof and all. Harlaxton provided the Shakespeare students with "groundling" tickets, which meant we were standing in the center of the theater right in front of the stage. Yes, it was tiring to stand for a 3 hour production, but honestly, I didn't even notice how bad my feet ached until after the performance was finished. True to England's nature, it started to spit rain that afternoon, and there isn't a roof over the groundling section of the theater, so we were rained on during the latter half of the play. However, Macbeth is a dark play, and the rain seemed to have been perfectly planned to help set the mood (I had my raincoat with me and wasn't bothered at all). 

After Macbeth, I allowed myself a little fangirl indulgence. I went to King's Cross station.

 

King's Cross station is the train station that Harry Potter goes to at the beginning of the books. He goes through Platform 9 3/4's and rides the Hogwart's Express from London to Hogwarts. I took the Tube for the first time just so I could reach the train station. And of course I wasn't the only one there strictly for the Harry Potter experience. I guess King's Cross is used to people coming to get a glimpse of Platform 9 3/4's because they had a whole gift shop set up next to it. It was really fun to explore, but most of the merchandise was Harry Potter items that you could easily find online. However, I did break down and purchase a Hogwarts Express ticket, just because I can brag about having the ticket from King's Cross. 

Sunday we all loaded back up on the bus and rode out to Hampton Court Palace where we explored for the afternoon. 

 Hampton Court Palace was owned by Henry the Eighth, and it was huge! We had three hours to spend there, and we didn't even come close to exploring the whole place. Everything about it was extravagant and very excessive. My favorite parts were the gardens and the ghost stories, because of course these old palaces had massive gardens and an abundance of old folklore about their deceased tenants.

A velvet toilet??? Really Henry? Really?

Sorry for such a long post! (and a late post, I was exhausted and yesterday my computer decided it was a great time to start updating, so I just put it off until today.) I just had a lot I needed to recover from this weekend! I'm completely exhausted, but in a good way. It's great to be back at Harlaxton. I need a little time to recover before the next trip.

Also, today I received a letter in the mail from all of you <3 I'm having a great time in England, but I am definitely missing everyone back home. Your letter came at a perfect time. I really needed it. Thank you all so much! I love you!

xoxo Annie