The beginning of week 5 was basically an extension of Module 1, as I had a final essay for my Creativity and Business Innovation class due on Wednesday. However, I was able to squeeze in trivia on Monday night (where we didn't get last place, we actually got somewhere in the middle!) and 2 plenary lectures. The plenary lecture on Tuesday was one of my favorites so far. It was about Colonel Gaddafi and was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation with really interesting pictures. The professor speaking was really funny and gave a very interesting perspective on this issue and history in general. I learned that Gaddafi had a goat he drank milk from daily and the military was able to find him by tracking the goat. I also learned that he had plastic surgery later in life, but when he originally started ruling, was considered one of the best looking leaders in the world. Very interesting stuff! Anyways, on Wednesday evening I saw The Full Monty, which I hadn't seen before and I liked. My friend and I were both thankful for our "Varieties of English" class last module, because it helped us to understand more of the dialogue.
Thursday through Sunday I went with friends to London!! On Thursday we traveled to our hotel, dropped off our luggage, and got a little bit lost and soaked in the process of doing so. Afterwards, we went to the British Museum and returned home for the evening to plan out the rest of our long weekend.
Friday we started out with Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards. It was very crowded and we didn't see too much during the ceremony, but it was still cool, especially to see the band march in! =). The band arched up inside the gates and played some interesting song choices, including "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Sweet Caroline." We left a little early to go take pictures at the gate nearby and when we were there, the band marched out along the long street leading to Buckingham Palace and practically no one was standing along the street! That was the best place to see the band and we definitely took pictures and then chased them down the street several times to see them again and take more pictures! From there we walked through the park and to Parliament. When I went 2 years ago I was able to go in for free, which is apparently only an option when Parliament is in session. Because Parliament currently isn't in session, we weren't able to go in for free and didn't want to pay for a tour (plus there were no open spots), so we just admired the outside. We walked around Westminster Abbey and did the same thing of admiring but not going inside. (Tip: If you don't want to pay to go into a church but want to see the inside and don't mind investing a little time, go to a service, as they're free to attend.) From there, we walked to Trafalgar Square and admired the scenery and sat by the fountain for a bit. We went to the National Gallery for a couple of hours and saw lots of (probably famous) paintings.
Saturday was probably the fullest day of the trip! First, we went to the Natural History Museum and explored there for a couple of hours. There was a dinosaur exhibit among other cool things. The afternoon was reserved for the Tower of London! (Tip: If you want a cheaper ticket, ask for it without the voluntary donation. The prices listed are with the voluntary donation and I saved about GBP 1.55 by doing this!) There are free tours offered at intervals throughout the day and we weren't planning on doing one because we knew it would be crowded, but we literally walked in just as it was starting, so we decided to give it a chance. The tour guide ended up being really funny and informative, so we stayed for the whole 1 hour tour and explored for the next 2 hours until we were kicked out at closing time. We definitely could have spent more time there, but I guess that just leaves more to see for next time. We saw the crown jewels and some torture equipment, among other things. An interesting fact is that all of the Yeoman Warders (aka Beefeaters) that work there actually live in the Tower of London and are required to serve in the military for a minimum of 22 years. And the guards that work there and wear the funny, tall hats are actual soldiers in the British military and this is one of their rotations. So the soldiers that are there currently were in Afghanistan 4 months ago. Pretty crazy, huh?! Such wildly different jobs! After that I met up with AMANDA MICHAEL and it was glorious to see her!!! With her and my other friend, Jess, from the PKP program, we had dinner and then went to the Tate Modern museum, which is a modern/contemporary art museum located next to the Globe. Out of all of the museums, I think this was one of my favorites, because there are so many different mediums and different styles. For me, modern art museums really spark conversation about the meaning behind it, what art is, and what gives it value or makes it "good."
On Sunday, I went to the Science Museum in the morning and there was a really neat space exhibit. I went to Notting Hill for lunch and was going to walk around afterwards, but it was pouring down rain, so I decided to do something else. I was waiting for Amanda to finish a play at the Globe and the Tate Modern was right next to it, so I decided to go back and wait for her there, as we only got to spend a little over an hour there the night before. Afterwards, I went back to the university accommodation to get my stuff and Amanda and I met up and were going to have dinner, but because of little time and few open/available food options near her hotel, I decided to go to King's Cross and eat on the train. We made the train we wanted to and got back to King's College in Cambridge by about 9:30pm. It was definitely a really fun trip, but I was glad to be back, as I had things to catch up on and walking/standing all day for 4 straight days had left my muscles pretty sore.
Here's the link to my pictures from this long weekend, plus some other punting pictures from Cambridge, which will be discussed in the Week 6 post: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2247232058863.128614.1190024172&l=0656da4a0a&type=1
Thursday through Sunday I went with friends to London!! On Thursday we traveled to our hotel, dropped off our luggage, and got a little bit lost and soaked in the process of doing so. Afterwards, we went to the British Museum and returned home for the evening to plan out the rest of our long weekend.
Friday we started out with Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards. It was very crowded and we didn't see too much during the ceremony, but it was still cool, especially to see the band march in! =). The band arched up inside the gates and played some interesting song choices, including "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Sweet Caroline." We left a little early to go take pictures at the gate nearby and when we were there, the band marched out along the long street leading to Buckingham Palace and practically no one was standing along the street! That was the best place to see the band and we definitely took pictures and then chased them down the street several times to see them again and take more pictures! From there we walked through the park and to Parliament. When I went 2 years ago I was able to go in for free, which is apparently only an option when Parliament is in session. Because Parliament currently isn't in session, we weren't able to go in for free and didn't want to pay for a tour (plus there were no open spots), so we just admired the outside. We walked around Westminster Abbey and did the same thing of admiring but not going inside. (Tip: If you don't want to pay to go into a church but want to see the inside and don't mind investing a little time, go to a service, as they're free to attend.) From there, we walked to Trafalgar Square and admired the scenery and sat by the fountain for a bit. We went to the National Gallery for a couple of hours and saw lots of (probably famous) paintings.
Saturday was probably the fullest day of the trip! First, we went to the Natural History Museum and explored there for a couple of hours. There was a dinosaur exhibit among other cool things. The afternoon was reserved for the Tower of London! (Tip: If you want a cheaper ticket, ask for it without the voluntary donation. The prices listed are with the voluntary donation and I saved about GBP 1.55 by doing this!) There are free tours offered at intervals throughout the day and we weren't planning on doing one because we knew it would be crowded, but we literally walked in just as it was starting, so we decided to give it a chance. The tour guide ended up being really funny and informative, so we stayed for the whole 1 hour tour and explored for the next 2 hours until we were kicked out at closing time. We definitely could have spent more time there, but I guess that just leaves more to see for next time. We saw the crown jewels and some torture equipment, among other things. An interesting fact is that all of the Yeoman Warders (aka Beefeaters) that work there actually live in the Tower of London and are required to serve in the military for a minimum of 22 years. And the guards that work there and wear the funny, tall hats are actual soldiers in the British military and this is one of their rotations. So the soldiers that are there currently were in Afghanistan 4 months ago. Pretty crazy, huh?! Such wildly different jobs! After that I met up with AMANDA MICHAEL and it was glorious to see her!!! With her and my other friend, Jess, from the PKP program, we had dinner and then went to the Tate Modern museum, which is a modern/contemporary art museum located next to the Globe. Out of all of the museums, I think this was one of my favorites, because there are so many different mediums and different styles. For me, modern art museums really spark conversation about the meaning behind it, what art is, and what gives it value or makes it "good."
On Sunday, I went to the Science Museum in the morning and there was a really neat space exhibit. I went to Notting Hill for lunch and was going to walk around afterwards, but it was pouring down rain, so I decided to do something else. I was waiting for Amanda to finish a play at the Globe and the Tate Modern was right next to it, so I decided to go back and wait for her there, as we only got to spend a little over an hour there the night before. Afterwards, I went back to the university accommodation to get my stuff and Amanda and I met up and were going to have dinner, but because of little time and few open/available food options near her hotel, I decided to go to King's Cross and eat on the train. We made the train we wanted to and got back to King's College in Cambridge by about 9:30pm. It was definitely a really fun trip, but I was glad to be back, as I had things to catch up on and walking/standing all day for 4 straight days had left my muscles pretty sore.
Here's the link to my pictures from this long weekend, plus some other punting pictures from Cambridge, which will be discussed in the Week 6 post: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2247232058863.128614.1190024172&l=0656da4a0a&type=1
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