Day 9-Student Perspectives

We thankfully got to sleep in today but only till 8. Then we made our way by foot to the Tower of London. We wandered around the tower grounds for about 2 hours. There was a lot of military apparel and artifacts in the tower. I later found out that it was the training place for soldiers during the wars. Something that I found interesting was that they kept weird animals in the tower. Some animals they kept in the tower included a polar bear, monkeys, a snake, and a spotted leopard. They did not know how to take care of them and their specific diets they needed so many of the animals did not make it past 5 or 6 years. We also saw the crown jewels in the tower, including the biggest diamond in the world. They were beautiful and so majestic. You could spend an hour looking at each crown and you still would not see every detail in them. It amazes me how that much detail could be put into one crown given the tools they had back then. After we finished walking around the tower we headed to a boardwalk and took some artsy pictures in front of some tiles on a dock. Next we caught a double decker bus and went around looking for cool shops and ended up at Westfield in Stratford. Westfield is a huge 4 story mall. 5 hours later, we had covered all 4 floors and had lunch. They had every store you could imagine and every designer you could think of. We ended up purchasing form Primark and Cos. Needless to say we were fashionable when we left! After walking around and spending the majority of our remaining pounds we caught the tube underground and headed back to the hotel. The tube system is not that difficult once you figure out where you are and where you need to go. We got the hang of it after the first day and were pros by the end of our last day in London. At the hotel the four of us chilled out after we finished packing and laughed till our stomachs hurt. The trip would not have been the same without them; Ashley, Sarah, and Mia made this trip amazing and memorable. 

It was an amazing trip! Looking back on all the adventures and things we did, I would have to say that my favorite part was walking around and exploring the cities on our own. We found some amazing restaurants and shops that typically tourists would not have found. If I had a chance to go back to the United Kingdom I would jump at that chance. It is a beautiful island with some down to earth people. I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to go to do so, you will not regret it.

-Holly Moody

Day 10

After a few early mornings, we were able to sleep in a little on Saturday which was great. The only thing planned as a group was to tour the Tower of London.  This was basically a castle right on the river Thames with two additional outside walls surrounding it.  I was surprised how massive the grounds were.  It was like a little city was inside of the walls.  I thought it was interesting that it is still being used as a governmental building as well as an historical site because of its age.  This is the place where the crown jewels are kept and there is a whole lot of them.  I never knew that they were able to keep and recover the valuables for the Kings and Queens that ruled over 500 years ago.  The jewels are also guarded by the British guards with the black fuzzy hats like at Buckingham Palace.  I think they still kinda look funny wearing those things but I know its a high honor to be a guard in their country. 

After we finished the Tower of London tour, a group of us rode the tube over to the Shard.  This is the tallest building in London and looks like shards of glass.  Tori and I then walked across the Tower Bridge to get on a bus tour to see more of the city.  This was a double decker bus that we were able to hop on and off at different stops throughout the city.  After our tour, we met back with about eight other students at the hotel to go eat supper.  By this time on the trip, I was ready to have some American food.  Everybody else was feeling the same way, so we went to McDonalds.  The food taste the same, but there is no free refills like there is back in the States.  We rode the tube to the Soho district and hung out for a while after supper before we came back to the hotel.  We didn't stay out that late because everyone was really tired. 

-Tyler Whitley

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