So, I apologize for not posting anything since
I have arrived, I have had some logistics issues which may continue, so I may
not be posting periodically, Though, I currently plan to post on occasional
days, multiple days to keep the blogs organized and easier to read lengths. So
let us start out with the trip out. It snowed. It snowed in sections Nebraska,
and it snowed at Denver International Airport, and they had to deice the plain
before we left. Yes, it is May, and it did not feel like it,
until we got into London. Before I go there, let me just say the British
Airlines flight was awesome, complete with 2 meals, free drinks, and movies.
The only issue, it was hard to sleep, but why sleep when you have movies to
watch. Anyway, we arrived in London, we were greeted by some of the awesome staff
members of the ISA (International Study Abroad). They are the group that Dr. Nobiling
has been working with to set up a lot of our visits, also to help us get
acclimated and get around London. An example of that was they gave us all
oyster cards to use as 2 week passes on the underground (their subway system).
Anyway,
the people of the ISA drove us to go see Windsor Castle, which is nearly a millennium
in age, and is the oldest royal residential castle in Europe if not the world. This
is since this is the Queen’s main residence outside of Buckingham Palace. No,
the trip/tour did not include meeting the queen, but it did include a step back
into history of the castle. We saw restorations and original paintings of
various royalty. We also saw the set up and the design of rooms, some meant to
intimidate (a lot of guns and swords), and some meant to honor, including
shields for the knights of the Order of the Garter. Before we went into the
castle, we also looked at St George’s Cathedral. It is not a large place, but
still unbelievable in so many ways. After that we finally found our way to the
hotel and had dinner.
After that Dr. Nobiling took us out to use our
Oyster cards, and figure out the Underground so we knew what we were doing when
we actually would travel. So we got off at the Tower Hill station. We got off
and walked for a bit, and only Nobiling knew why. We stopped and she pointed
out a wall, that was built by the Romans, also nearly a millennia ago. That was
pretty cool, but we were tired, and she wanted us to continue walking. Then we
came across a building I recognized, the Tower of London. It was so late, we could not go in it, but I
did not care, I was staring at the freaking Tower of London! Little did I know
we were not done, nor did I know what was right around the corner, The Tower
Bridge. From there we had a beautiful view
of the river Thames and a new attraction in town, the tallest building in
Europe, the Shard. Great way to finish the night, and at that point we all got
some well needed sleep.
Oh for the
record, YOU CANNOT GET AWAY FROM PIGEONS! They are over here to! Where can I go
to get away from these things?
Very cool Josh
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