Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Another amazing trip outside of London


Sunday we got to take a break from using the tube and we jumped onto the bus for a trip to Stonehenge and Bath. The trip from our hotel to Stonehenge was a little over an hour. I stayed awake for the most part, enjoying the scenery but eventually gave in and took a nap. Once at Stonehenge we got the choice to stay on the bus or we could pay to go in. I decided it was worth the money so I could say that I have seen both Carhenge and Stonehenge and be in an exclusive group of people J .  we were also informed of the many different beliefs people have about stonehenge and why or how it was built and the ones I remember were aliens, a calendar because the rocks match up with the summer and winter solstice and a healing temple. Apparently there is more UFO activity in this area then any other area and it is also the largest military training area in England. We were asked to take a vote on why we thought Stonehenge was built and when the vote was taken on the bus the majority naturally chose aliens. We walked around Stonehenge for about an hour taking pictures and enjoying the sunny day and then it was back on the bus and off for bath. It took us 2 ½ hours to get from our hotel to bath and the same back so it was a lot of travel time. On the way we passed a lot of sheep and were informed that there are 32 million sheep in England and this was a main source of income. We also saw pigs that our tour guide called piggy porkers. just a little fun fact that I had to laugh at. Also crop circles are found a lot around here.
 
 
the sun was really bright so we all are a little squinty 
 
ancient burial mounds found around Stonehenge 

 
 
 
 

 On the outskirts of Bath I noticed these weird round, small, stone buildings that were located on the street corners. Turns out that these are “local lock ups” and are just like mini jails around town so you could be thrown in there to “sober up” as our tour guide explained, Safe to say I was intimidated! The thought of being thrown in some random stone dungeon on a street corner didn’t sound real fun. When we arrived we were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the area and then let out on our own for two hours before we entered the roman baths. I grabbed a slice of pizza and a coca cola (which by the way is the only pop that taste the same over here and I’m starting to really like it and I never drink it at home.)  Any way we then took off looking at different shops. I have to say my favorite one was the candy shop. They had chocolate covered strawberries and they were soooo good!!! I had 3.J
 
 after wandering around we all met up for our tour of the roman baths and were given a little information on what we were about to see. The buildings were built around the natural hot spring which rises at 46 degrees Celsius (I would tell you that in Fahrenheit but you all know my math skills!) in the morning we always watch the news and check the weather and it is also in Celsius so watching the weather is kind of pointless we mostly just look for the little rain cloud to see if we need our umbrellas. Back on the subject of the Roman Baths, they are thought to be sacred and able to fix any ailments. We were even given the chance to drink the water at the end. It was very warm and kind of tasted like copper but hey I did it!!  I have a picture on my phone of me trying it and I’m pretty sure my face says it all. Here are some pictures of the beautiful area.
the beautiful park outside bath
 
 
 
 
the sacred healing roman baths

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Aria photo bombing me in the background :)
 
 
 
tilt you head sideways its worth reading what it says! I cant figure out how to rotate it!!! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Just another day in paradise


On Saturday we were scheduled for a tour of parliament. Parliament is considered to be the palace of Westminster and was an amazing sight. The building was originally the home of kings and queens and has been the home of parliament for nearly 500 years. If any of you are wondering what parliament does, it is considered to be the law making authority in the UK and is also known as the legislature. When on our tour we entered a room that was the queen’s dressing room which was amazing for simply a place where she only goes to put on her crown and make her way into the next room. In the House of Lords the queen has a thrown and it looks like it is made of solid gold (although it’s not, we asked) but It was an amazing sight and it was interesting to see how her chair is raised slightly higher than her husband’s seat as to show that she is above all. Just a little side note we were informed that if the queen really wanted to she could execute people for no reason and get away with it “legally” because she is above the law. Not that she would ever do that but just an interesting thought.
 
Another interesting thing that was mentioned on this tour was the fact that Obama was one of the speakers at parliament and he is one of only three people who have been given the privilege to speak in Westminster Hall and that is considered to be a great honor here. We were also informed that a poll was given in London after his re election in the U.S to see what his approval rate was and he had a 95% approval rate in the UK which I was informed is very close to the same approval rating that the queen has, Crazy right? Unfortunately we were unable to take any pictures of parliament after we exited Westminster Hall but hopefully this gives you a little insight to the beauty that building holds

 

 

After touring Parliament Laura, Chelsea, Jonathan and I took off for Camden Town. Camden Town seemed like a whole different world from the areas we had been in. It was a very punk rock kind of area with tons and tons of shops and food venders and really really cheap trinkets and tourist shops. It’s safe to say I bought friends and family some things. Also this area reminded me a lot of when I went to Mexico because everyone was willing to deal for the price. I found a hoodie I really liked but they wanted almost 40 pounds and by the time that I walked out the door he was offering me the hoodie for 10 pounds. It was a rather fun time.

 

 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

playing catch up. and our trip outside London

Hello,

I seem to falling behind on this whole blogging thing so ill start where I left off I suppose with pictures from Thursday and then move on with all this new information! :)

this is the main gate into Buckingham Palace where we impatiently waited to be let in. :) we stood here while everyone else were escorted to the sides of the gates behind railings. I forgot to mention also that while we were here the Queen was in residence which we were told is rare because she is almost always in Windsor and so they even had some special events that only happen when she is in residence that we got to see.


a more distant view of the Palace. 


here is a much better view of the gates where we stood. the black railings on the side is where everyone else had to stand. we stood at the door one the left hand side. and it was pretty cool because on the right hand side of this picture is the balcony where William and Kate stood on their wedding day. I imagined it to be a lot bigger but it was still pretty. when we were inside the gates we had an officer tell us that he has never even been inside the gates and we also had one of the guards ask us "how we got so lucky" 



I posted this one to try and show you what we saw on the inside. this obviously was not me taking this since I was strictly forbidden but it gives you an idea.


just one more  view of the Palace 

here is a picture of the security that is outside of Number 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives. we passed right through :) 




Constable Phil, Dr. Nobiling, Dr. Snare and wife Karen and Constable Richard 

another look of the security at the entrance. also while I am still on Thursdays activities I should include the Constable Richard gave us some pretty cool gifts at our meeting in New Scotland Yard. we were given 999 pins that were handed out at the Olympics (999 being their 911) and also the police officers that worked the Olympics were given certificates of appreciation and since they had some left over they printed our names on them and we got our own copies. 



Ok, now that you have been caught up on Thursdays activities ill move on. yesterday we went to Oxford, Stratford and Warwick Castle. we however took the bus since it was a long travel which was nice because I was able to catch a few zzz's on the way. When we arrived in Oxford we met up with our tour guides and split up into two groups to explore the town. We were informed that there are 38 colleges in Oxford and are what i consider to be little sub colleges of Oxford University. each college has different campus locations all over the city and the college is considered where you stay but you still "graduate" as an Oxford University Grad. it was kind of confusing but interesting how it all worked. 


here is a look at Christ Church, founded by Henry the 8th. This is one of the many colleges and is one of the most prestigious at that. it was at this very point that we learned why.  out of 26 Prime Ministers 13 went to Christ Church and on a completely different note, the real Alice in Wonderland lived here and her father was the Dean of the school. Also some of Harry Potter was filmed here. Lewis Carroll wrote the Alice in wonderland book and he begged to take pictures of Alice and Her Siblings. a lot of this building was considered to be his inspiration and after walking through I could totally understand. the white rabbit is believed to be dean Liddell (Alice's father) and this because he was constantly running late and had to go all the way around the building to get to different meetings

 also Christ Church is set 5 past 9 because Oxford is five minutes west of Greenwich. five past nine Greenwich time is really nine o' clock Oxford time. time wasn't standardized in Britain until the coming of the railway and Christ Church thought change was a bad thing so they kept this tradition and still today the clock tower rings 101 times at 5 past the hour which represents the original number of undergraduates at the college. and it used to be that when the bell rang it gave the students who were out on the town enough time ( 5 minutes) to run as fast as they could back inside the gates before they slammed closed at I believe 9 pm (which the clock read as 9:05) this is why the white rabbit was always doomed to be late because not only was he a white rabbit he was a Christ Church white rabbit and since Christ Church is 5 past the hour he will always be running late. 


here is another view of the above area "the quadrangle" as I was told it is called because of the four sides. 


while traveling through here we learned some more history which I couldn't help but find fascinating. Prince Leopold attended Christ Church and it was rumored that him and Alice had fallen for each other but since in that day in age it was forbidden for royalty to see commoners they both went on to marry other people but it is said that Prince Leopold was still very much in love with Alice as she was with him and he named his daughter after her. she also named her son after him. inside the building there is also a private door that has curtains to cover it that was put in just for Dean Liddell so he could get places faster. Alice and her siblings however were not even allowed to use this door and this is thought to be the inspiration for the "wonderland" since it was forbidden. I took a picture of the door which looks a lot like the small doors in the Alice in Wonderland movies but ill have to upload it later. 

Edith Liddell was Alice's sister and died at age 21 and is buried with her father at Christ church. 

here is a picture that any harry potter fans should recognize. it is the inspiration for the dinner hall in all of the movies. the film companies could not actually film there since the students used that area so they made a replica for the movie. 

also while taking the tube all over London I happened upon platform 9 and 3/4. I took a picture of that as well.
here is the staircases in Christ Church which was also in the movie Harry potter. 


just a better look at what we saw


after we left here we took off for Stratford. where we had the option to visit Shakespeare's birthplace. I however opted out of this and explored the town. (most of it looking for a bathroom) and then grabbed a quick bite to eat before getting back on the bus and taking off for our last stop at Warwick castle. here is a look at Shakespeare's home from the outside. 





finally we ended at Warwick castle. we got to take off on our own and explore. we had about 2 hours and I thought that would be plenty but I was wrong I missed out on quite a few things I wanted to see. I did however put my big girl pants on and go into the towers. I wasn't going to do it because Dr. Nobiling had warned us they if you are afraid of heights it can be a little sketchy, and sketchy it was ha ha. to get up there you have to climb a million stairs (as it feels) and mind you the stair case is winding and only enough room for one person at a time and it is a one way thing. once you start there is no going back. I had to keep repeating to myself "you can do this, your only in London once" and i'm happy that I did. once I caught my breath after exiting the stairs I was amazed with the views. 


here are some pictures of the view of the castle as well as some other shots from there. I took lots of pictures of how high up I was and the views ( as you can probably see for yourself) and I will post most of them when I get home Probably. 


here is an idea of how high up I was. and keep in mind it was just out in the open easily could of just fallen right off. 


if you are wondering what this is, don;t you fret I will tell you :) this was an amazing show we got to watch called Flight of the Eagles. we got to see a Bald eagle, an Owl and the largest eagle in the world fly around at any command and it was incredible how well trained they were. 

on the final note once we left Warwick castle Laura invited me to go to dinner with her Cousin who lives here in London. She was Very nice and took us to an amazing restaurant that felt just like we were at home. I had a pulled pork sandwich and it may have been the best one I ever had :) we also did some exploring and during that I tried something called "snog" which is supposed to be like yogurt if you ever get the chance to try it, dont. ha ha it tasted like sour cream but I should of known when they said organic with no sugar or fats I was in trouble.

I have so many more pictures and so much more I could say but im going to leave it at this because Laura and Chelsea and i have been sitting here doing these blogs for the last 3 hours and frankly im tired of typing... sooo we are going to go get some ice cream and call it a night. i will post what I did today tomorrow and try to post tomorrows happenings then too. until then TTYL!!!