Home in Disbelief

Climbed more stairs than I could count? Check.

Obtained a reasonable grasp of the Underground system? Check.

Consumed soda and candy made with actual sugar? Double Check.

Saw and experienced more breathtaking sights, beautiful museums, calming parks, intriguing foods, fulfilling hard work, and exhilarating company than I could ever have dreamed to ask for? Well, I think that one just goes without saying.

Next stop? Who knows. But if it's anything like this trip across the sea (and down memory lane) then I can't wait. My thirst for traveling has been shaken alive these past two years, and I look forward to seeing where it drives me to go.

Pic Spam!

We're on your escalators, touring your attractions.


Zombies in front of the London Eye


Taking over Regent's Park


Destructive Monkies enjoy the flames


The Amazing Climbing Fairchildren

Time never slows

Is it really Friday???

So yesterday at Dorking turned out to be a wonderfully fulfilling day. Putting up posts for a fence followed by chopping down a small grove of pine trees, the work was a little tough but very invigorating. Our hosts Graham and Ruby were really welcoming and I could really sense how much they cared about their organization and the work we were helping with. Leith Hill Tower was beautiful and I was really glad Ruby let us clamber to the top to see the amazing views of the countryside. The grounds around the tower were also amazing, filled with good climbing trees, well-placed benches, and enough views to consume an entire day. I was almost a little sad to be pulling out of the Dorking station, though it was slightly entertaining to be separated from part of the group. It felt good to know that we were still able to find our way back to the flat without guidance from Taras.

So far today has been extremely active and quite tiring. This morning a small group of us set out in search of Abbey Road, and after several wrong turns and plenty of walking we finally found it. The small studio was slightly underwhelming but it was still pretty cool to just be there and try to picture the Beatles being there. This is where the group split, and Connor and I set off, jumping on a double-decker bus (sitting in the upper seats of course) to the next tube station and headed to the Tower Bridge. The tour of the upper levels was really awesome, and we even got to go down the engine rooms and see the original equipment. For an extra 50p we also got tickets to go see the Monument (built after the London fires) so after exiting the Tower Bridge we headed down to the London Bridge so that we could once again cross the Thames. This short walk proved to be quite interesting, with random sights of an interesting boat sculpture, a hug from a man in a large fuzzy smiley-face mask, and a quick game of human-bowling (people in bowling-pin suits getting knocked down by swinging balls tether-ball style). Climbing the 311 steps of the Monument wasn't as tiring as I expected. Thank you St. Paul's for preparing me for this. From the monument we headed to Queensway, where I visited my old haunts that I had been to with my family 8 years ago. I found our hotel and our favorite Italian restaurant, where Connor and I had lunch. The garlic bread and pasta were just as good as I remember.

Then, we entered Hyde Park. Well over an hour later we stumbled out, cold, exhausted, and overwhelmed. This park may at first glance simply look like large grass fields, but it is filled with little (and large) surprises, such as the pond filled with birds (so many swans), the statue of "potential energy," the daunting and exquisitely detailed Albert Monument, the unique Princess Diana Fountain, hilarious squirrels, the odd large steel sculpture, a small river, a small set of four fountains, and so much more. As we headed back to the flat we made two more stops: a quick search for Lancaster Gate (which was sadly just a street) and a quick peak at the Marble Arches, as well as a rather large statue or a horse head.

Now, here we sit, recuperating in the flat before heading out to find some dinner. We'll head back once we find some food to eat with the group, but after having pasta for lunch I just don't feel like eating the pasta that people are planning to cook up in the kitchen any minute. After dinner it sounds like we'll be doing crepes and a well-suggested pub, but who knows. I still can't believe we're flying out tomorrow...but let's not talk about that just yet.

A pile of ashes...

Here is a short video of the bonfire we made with all the pine trees we cut down. It's amazing how quickly an entire hillside of trees burn down into a pile of ash.

More group shots.

On top of Leith Hill Tower after a hard days work.



Jumping for joy in front in front of St.Pauls



In front of Buckingham Palace

Working hard...

The top photo is after we took down all the little pine trees on this hillside. The below photo is the before. We cut down a bunch of trees - we have now restored habitats in England and Trinidad - pretty cool.

Here are a few photos of the students putting in fence posts - we put in 40 in about an hour. Needless to say the volunteer coordinator had to scramble to find us more work to do - so we chopped down a hillsides worth of pine trees.





Burning all the trees we cut down.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Despite what you all may be thinking, we did not spend our day hopping from pub to pub in celebration of St. Patrick's Day! No, instead we headed off early this morning to the town of Dorking (go ahead and laugh at the name, we did). Today was our community service day, and we helped out at Leith Hill, a beautiful area owned by the National Trust. Leith Hill operates similar to how a national park would in the US, there are over 800 acres of land with hiking trails, camping and picnicking areas and of course Leith Tower, which offers a brilliant view of the surrounding countryside. We took the train into Dorking and upon arrival were met by a van that took us over to the hill. There we met Rose, who works for the National Trust and she was our guide/supervisor for the day. We started by putting in fence posts, which was really an interesting process. A few people ran ahead and laid out the posts, followed by a team of people aligning the posts and others using a metal rammer thing to force the posts in. It went really quickly with 11 of us and we were done by late morning. Then we had a tea and biscuit break! Even in the wilderness the Brits have to have their tea. Rose was nice enough to bring tea for all of us and a bagful of delicious shortbread cookies and these awesome marshmallow and chocolate things! They were so good! Rose also brought along her dog, a German Shepherd named Rex. He was so adorable and very playful, his favorite thing to do was to grab our hands (luckily we had work gloves on) and just tug on us until we either pushed him away or Rose called him off. But basically the whole day he followed us around and kept going after our hands. He really was cute and clearly liked all the attention. So after the tea/play with Rex break we headed over to another piece of land to cut down small trees to stop them from encroaching on the land. We broke for lunch for a bit and then burned the trees in a brush pile. The trees were on a pretty steep hill so after a few times of lugging trees down the hill and climbing all the way back up we finally figured out it would be more efficient if two people worked together. So we had people meeting in the middle of hill, one person collected the trees at the top and the other person threw them into the pile. Our legs definitely thanked us for figuring that one out.
After all the work was done we toured the Leith Hill Tower, and despite the cloud cover the view was still spectacular! There was beautiful green countryside everywhere you looked. On a clear day you are supposed to be able to see the ocean from the tower but we had no such luck today. The grounds around the tower were very pretty as well, with lots of good climbing trees! We took a pretty epic group photo of all of us in a tree, that will hopefully get posted later! We left the hill around 4 and were back to the train station before 5. It was really a great way to spend the day, it was nice to get to see some of the countryside and get away from the city and touristy attractions for a day. Tomorrow is already Friday, I cant believe how fast this week had gone by! Its our free day tomorrow, so a few of us are hitting the Natural History Museum and then who knows! Stayed tuned for the details!
-Amy

On the move

As has been outlined by Amy before (I think...) yesterday was a blur of quick visits. After a semi-late start to the morning we set out towards Westminster Abby for a real tour. Adrian and Dorian joined us and acted as a wonderful tour guide-duo, with Adrian filling our brains with fun little facts about all the royals and more buried in the Abby, and Dorian paving a path for us through the crowds with his imposing stroller.

After the Abby we took over a small deli for lunch, with the thirteen of us using up all but one of the small tables available for dining. I still think Adrian took full advantage of having ten nannies around so that he could eat peacefully while we all kept an eye on little Dorian. But lunch was quick, and we soon set off down the street to the Churchill War Bunkers. It was really quite unreal to be underground and see the tiny rooms where so many people lived and worked, always under the threat of being bombed. The Churchill Museum that was in the middle of the tour was ridiculously amazing, with endless displays and tons of little electronics that we could play with. Stepping out into the sun afterward was refreshing, but the experience was worth it.

We left the bunkers and headed through scenic St. James' Park, where soon we could begin to see glimpses of a strangely large building, peeking through the trees in the distance. Then all it took was rounding one more corner and there it was: Buckingham Palace. After a quick ten minutes of pictures and gawking-a-plenty, we were off again, down the street and through the Admiralty Arches to Trafalgar Square. What a site to see the square without the massive crowds of drunk people and cheezy green outfits. Again we took a quick ten minutes to clamber all over the large lions, taking pictures everything from people riding on the back, and one of me with my head in a lion's mouth. After such pleasantries were exchanged with the large felines, we set off again, this time towards Piccadilly Circus. Though this collision of streets bore a slight resemblance to Time's Square, we were mostly overwhelmed by the construction everywhere the eye could see. Hooray visiting a country that will soon be hosting the Olympics?

We attempted and eventually gave up trying to buy potential theater tickets, and just headed back to the flat where we split up into smaller groups and wandered the streets of our lovely home-neighborhood to find dinner. My group went a couple blocks down and found a cute little Italian restaurant, before heading back to the amazing crepe place for another experience of, well, amazing crepes.

Today we have hesitant plans of "Museum Day" starting with the Tate, then the British Museum, and perhaps a Jack the Ripper tour tonight. We'll soon find out, sprinting out the door now!

Giant Pelicans

The ones that Amy didn't get a picture of.

-Sam

3 Days Gone Already!

Its day 3 in London and already we've hit many of the major sights to see. With the Tower of London, St.Paul's Cathedral, The London Eye, and Parliament under our belts (to name a few) we ventured over to Westminster Abbey to begin the day. On Sunday we attended an organ concert at the Abbey but today we went into the belly of the beast and got to see the tombs of the many famous Britons buried there. Besides the many Kings and Queens buried there, you'll also find the likes of Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens laid to rest there. It was quite spectacular (and a little creepy) to be able to walk along and look down and see the tombstones of all these famous people!

Outside the abbey was a spectacular garden! (Proof for all the folks back home that spring has come a lot earlier in London!)



Next we headed over to the Winston Churchill Museum and War Rooms. For all the history buffs our there it's a fascinating look into war time Britain and well worth the money if you're ever in London. You get to explore the actual bunker that was used by Churchill and his cabinet during WWII, with everything set up just as it was back then.



Upon exiting the War Rooms into the gift shop, this piece of British propaganda was on a poster and is now officially my new motto!

After debating whether or not to buy said awesome poster, the gang made its way over to...wait for it...Buckingham Palace!! The palace to end all palaces! To get there we strolled through the beautiful St.James Park, and laid eyes upon the largest and scariest pelicans I have ever seen. I regret not having any pictures of them but let me assure you they were large enough that now I really question what they put in the water in London...On a more pleasant note, there were some adorable baby ducklings also out enjoying the day!





But, now back to Buckingham Palace. What is there to say really? It was big, it was grand, it was palace-like, and there were lots of bobbies roaming around! We watched the guards stomp around for a bit and took lots of pictures! It would have been cool to see the changing of the guard but it was happening this morning at 11:30, and so far mornings have not been our strong point!



So to make this long-winded blog a bit shorter, we roamed around the city a bit more, hitting Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus (the "times square of London", which is not nearly as impressive as it sounds). Then we all went our own ways for dinner, enjoying a variety of food including Indian, Italian and Greek. For dessert, a few of us enjoyed delicious crepes from an itty bitty crepe stand and now I will never be able to eat crepes in the US again. They were that good!



Going to bed now so I can be ready for another busy day in London! Tomorrow we plan on hitting some museums and doing the Jack the Ripper walking tour! Bye for now.
-Amy

Group shots

1. Us in the London Eye Pod # 24
2.Us in front of Tower Bridge
3. Us behind St. Paul's
4. Us in front of St. Paul's

Saw some really amazing stuff today from the views on top of St. Paul's Cathedral to the world's largest clear diamond. London at night is best seen from the London Eye - Fact!

Giving in to Tourism

Today was a day of big-shots - St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the London Eye (plus new-fangled 4-D experience!), and a pub.

As I'm sure many others will be describing this day, I'll try to keep my ramblings brief. St. Paul's was amazing, especially the long climb to the very top. The Whispering Gallery was spooky but majestic and rendered interesting views of inside the Cathedral that couldn't be properly seen from floor level. Leaving the Cathedral and looking back up at the dome from the ground made it all the more breath-taking, simply knowing that I really had clambered that far up.

The Tower was an interesting combination of fuzzy memories from my childhood trip colliding with my now clear-minded experiences. Some highlights include the huge gold punch bowl (which is literally called the Grand Punch Bowl) used for the coronation "after-party," and the world's tallest suit of armour on display, standing at a daunting 8ft 6in, with an equally large sword to match. The funniest experience there goes to a couple of men who walked by me and Taras as we were walking towards the Tower. One was calmly explaining to the other that "After this we'll go to some of the bigger sites" which left the two of us laughing, wondering if maybe we had accidentally gone to the wrong tower...Sadly the exhibition for the Tower Bridge closed just as we arrived, so there was no walking through the amazing upper-level (which is now on my to-do list for Friday) but it was still kind of cool just being on that bridge that I have seen in so many movies.

The London Eye was equally as awesome, and the whole time I was mentally sticking my tongue out to my family who had opted out of this awesome experience when we visited so long ago. I'm especially glad we went at night, London is truly beautiful at night when fully lit up. Too bad my cheapie digital camera wasn't able to truly capture that view. Oh well.

So I tried to keep the blabbering down, but today was truly eventful and believe me when I say I left a lot out. Just look at Taras' pictures and you'll understand. Next stop: sleep.

Off To A Great Start

This morning dawned bright and gorgeous and full of excellent potential. The sun was shining, as you can see above in the lovely backyard of our hosts, breakfast was made by the lovely Katie and Emily:



And everyone was much improved after a good night's sleep and no longer imitating the walking dead.
That alone made today's excursions much more exuberant and memorable, though the sun in the morning did help. First we were off to St. Paul's Cathedral, which gave the best views and low-impact cardio workout in London.



And the place had a wonderful serene atmosphere, as most old churches do, that you can appreciate no matter what your religion. My favorite part was the three galleries on the upper floors which were essentially huge rings around the outside of the central dome on varying levels.

The Whispering gallery was the first and the lowest (only up 257 steps), looking down on the central worship area, and is named because you can hear someone whisper from clear across the open space in the middle. The second was the Stone Gallery (another 119 steps), and was a balcony circling the base of the dome. The view was spectacular, and there was plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the wonderful breeze. The third was the Golden Gallery, 152 more steps up several tiny spiral staircases, to reach this small, amazing, HIGH circular balcony where the view was SPECTACULAR. Unless you don't like heights. Sean. Anyway, it was the best view in London, hands down.




Next was the Tower of London where there were the Crown Jewels, a spectacular armor display, and ridiculous amounts of sheer history. It was also where my camera died.... But that just meant I could photobomb everyone else's pictures! :D

After we got our fill of the Tower, off to the Tower Bridge, more walking, lots of hot chocolate, and the obligatory London Eye ride which kept reminding me of that Doctor Who episode and the skyline shots from Sherlock (BBC). Despite the cold, it was an amazing night, and the city looks so surreal at night with Big Ben and Parliament all lit. In the face of the cold, the dark, and the barking dogs, we headed back to the Home Base to recoup before heading to the Flask.

Checked off "Having a pint in a British pub" from my London to do list, and now it's time to crash for real.

Oh, and Happy Pi day!

-Sam

Slow start this morning...

As you probably read in Jess's post we had a long and full day yesterday. This morning we are having a bit of a slow start but are planning on going to the Tower of London and St.Pauls. To add a bit of the visual here are a few photos from yesterday:
1. Donut cart in Camdentown.
2. At Regent's Park
3. A short recording of the Organ concert at Westminster Abbey (it's all black because cameras aren't allowed, so I just recorded the sound).

Sluggish but still excited

So as Taras said before, we made it through customs relatively easily, and after setting up a homestead in Taras' sister's home (we owe her so much or letting us invade for these seven days) we were out the door. Today was far more eventful than I ever could have predicted, we just kept going! It started with a leisurely stroll through Camden Town, checking out the endless alleys filled with food vendors and antique shops and local artists, I could have stayed there for weeks. But alas, the boys of the group couldn't stomach the massive amounts of shopping like we girls could, so after some time we changed course and headed towards Regent's Park. Even though the day started out with some light rain, by the time we got to the park the rain had stopped and the sun was almost shining through the thin cloud-cover. As a group we dominated the entirety of the Broad Walk through the park, strolling easily as we took in the scenery of grass, trees, old buildings, and many many soccer (oops, futball) players peppering the fields. It was around this time that my body from the waist down was really beginning to scream, but I ignored it, pushing onward because damned if I was going to let jet-lag bring me down while in London.
After strolling through the beautiful Queen's Park we left Regent's Park, and this is where my memory gets fuzzy. There was a lot of walking, a lot of quick decisions and changing-of-minds, and there was a good portion of time where I honestly had no clue where we were going or why, and I was simply concentrating entirely on hobbling along with the group, doing everything in my power to keep my aching body in motion. At some point we ended up at Trafalgar Square (where an early St. Patrick's Day celebration was in full swing, very confusing), got food and admired Big Ben ad the Thames for a bit, then went to Westminster Abby for an organ recital. This recital, while very beautiful and enjoyable simply due to its location, was very successful in putting us all to sleep. Oops.
So now here we are, trying to stay awake as late as possible, but even as I type people are dropping like flies. Soon I will be joining them. Today had its hardships to be sure, but I'm really looking forward to gaining better consciousness and really diving into this trip after having just a taste of what's to come. But, for now, I will simply concentrate on getting some much needed rest. Good. Night.

We made it...

We are sitting in my sister's living room enjoying some breakfast and trying our best to stay awake. The flight was uneventful, long line for customs and then a long subway ride got us here. Once we muster up some energy we'll head out and start taking in London. Stay tuned.

A few days to go...

Look at this happy bunch - do they seem excited or what? Sam unfortunately couldn't be in the photo because she was busy working hard to be able to pay for admission to the Doctor Who museum. I'm sure she'll make an appearance at some point. In the photo: (back row)Jess, Ben, Emily, Katie, Amy & Jack; (front row) Taras, Sean, Connor and Andy (Floody).

More to come - stay tuned.

Big Ben Awaits!

So, one very fast year later and we're back on the trail. Though this time instead of hopping Southbound we're skipping our way East to beautiful London. What will we be greeted with? Tourists from around the world, souvenirs with the words "I Heart London" stamped on everything from mugs to t-shirts to fanny-packs, amazing Indian food (so I'm told...), castles and cathedrals as far as the eye can see, and last but not least, rain. I think it's going to be quite the adventure. :D

Going into this trip I can't help but feel excited on a slightly different level than usual, simply because I've actually been there before! Yes, my head is spinning with fuzzy memories from when I was twelve and my family took a two-week vacation to London and surrounding areas. Dragged down by jet-lag, time difference, and homework received ahead of time from my teachers (because I'm a good student like that) I spent a large portion of that trip wandering around slightly bleary-eyed, trying to figure out why there were castles everywhere and why that phone booth smelled so horrible...But now is my chance! I have a small personal goal of really experiencing everything possible this time, setting these memories into stone so that I may never lose them. On Friday, our planned "free day" I have hesitant hopes of traveling back to the hotel where I stayed with my family eight long years ago, and retracing my steps that I have long since forgotten. It could be an interesting ride...

Until then, I am joining the rest of this campus in the mad week-before-spring-break rush of quizzes, exams, and homework...oh my. I haven't even started packing yet, and only yesterday stumbled upon the thought of "Wait, by this time next week I'll be in London...woah." The time has come, and I don't think any of us could have known that it would arrive this fast.