Whole Lotta' London Going On

Sorry for the radio silence. We've been in England for the past few days and have left the hotel early each morning, only to return quite late at night. After a long day of riding the tube and walking the city, everyone was too knackered (that's brit-speak for "tired") to write the blog. Here are some highlights from the past few days:

• After our time in Stratford upon Avon, we visited Oxford University and toured Christchurch College. This was particularly exciting for many of the students because it was used for several scenes in the Harry Potter movies. After Oxford, we hopped back on the bus to go to London, with a quick stop at the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire.
• Upon arriving in London, we saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses or Parliament, and a whole host of other amazingly famous landmarks. These were viewed from the bus, but we would see them in person over the next few days. After checking into the hotel, we hopped on the subway to get dinner at an authentic London fish and chips shop. This trip was great fun because it was the first time that many of the gang had ridden on the tube (or any other subway system, for that matter). After dinner, we enjoyed some free time to explore London's famous Piccadilly Circus. Laden with bags of souvenirs, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a long Day 2 in London.
• Day 2 in London was a 14 hour extravaganza of walking, sightseeing, food, and taking in the theatre. We left early in the morning to see Westminster Abbey (site of the recent royal wedding, as well as the final resting place of Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens). After Westminster, we took a river cruise down the Thames to the Tower of London. The Tower is still very much a living, breathing, entity that is rich with 1,000 years of history. Students toured the dungeons, the royal armory, and the vault that contains the crown jewels (although, some people say that the jewel on display are fakes). From the Tower, it was off to a traditional dinner of Bangers and Mash (sausages with mashed potatoes) before a show in London's famous West End. We saw the 39 steps, which is a recent production in which the Hitchcock movie has been re-imagined as a comedy with a tiny cast of only 4 people playing all of the parts. The show had everyone in stitches, and the hilarity was only increased by a pair of rowdy pentagenarians in our row. After the show, it was back on the tube and off to bed for our last full day of the trip.
• Today's plan is to take a Walking Tour through the London of Charles Dickens, followed by a trip to Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. After that, we will head over to the Thames and ride on the London Eye before grabbing dinner at an Italian Restaurant.
• Tomorrow: we're coming home!

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Why hello all, this is Tiffany and Liana reporting from the restaurant in our gorgeous 400-year-old, possibly haunted hotel. We just had a delightful meal and are turning in for the night soon.

Today, we visited Stratford-Upon-Avon, the lovely and charming town that was the birthplace of the Bard himself, William Shakespeare. We started off walking in the pouring rain, with only a few umbrellas, and visited the Shakespeare Center, which included the birthplace and home for many years of Shakespeare. Two amazing actresses within the house wowed us with their impromptu Shakespearean scenes from any play we could name.

After, we strolled through the town, passing the home of the founder of Harvard, and the grammar school that Shakespeare probably attended. Liana did NOT enjoy her squid. At the Holy Trinity Church, we viewed the graves of Shakespeare and many of his family members.

Then, we were let loose to explore the surrounding area in the torrential downpour that is English weather. We had a few hours to explore Statford upon Avon, eat lunch (we had Italian food), and buy souvenirs. Then it was off to Anne Hathaway's "cottage" (pictured below)

Not that Anne Hathaway; Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. As you can see in the photo, her house is surrounded by lush gardens, and is one of the finest English country homes in the nation.

Harry Potter, Castles, and Medieval Times

Sorry for the web-silence, readers. This is Erika, writing about the events of yesterday, May 25.

We started off at Lacock Abbey, with the medieval cloisters at ground level and working upwards to a Georgian mansion. The extensive library, we've learned, would be re-bound to match any redecorating colo(u)r schemes, at huge cost. Harry Potter fans will be thrilled to know that Snape's potions and Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom were filmed in the spare medieval cloister rooms. The grounds surrounding the Tudor building were wild, dotted with wet, splintering wood fences. Native grasses stretched into the distance, but really the most familiar and common ones were stinging nettles.

Warwick Castle, on the other hand, reminded one forcibly of Legoland, even down to the same striping on the enterprising little food stalls. The trebuchet launched an impressive fireball, although it was more slinger than catapult. The castle itself had little exhibits burrowing off the keep, interesting and well-done exhibits with wax statues and voice-overs, and every one a gift shop. The dungeon cost 7.80 pounds ($11), but the oubliette was free, so medieval torture was on full and horrifying display. Other exhibits included 'Kingmaker', about preparing for battle under the Earl of Warwick, complete with horsey smells; 'Secrets and Scandals', about Lady Daisy of Warwick who had five children, three of them with her husband, and slept with the Prince of Wales, various dukes, and a captain in the Navy, admittedly not at the same time. There was even a PG sex scene in the exhibit, closed four-poster drapes and cooing sounds. Wandering the grounds were peacocks and peahens, and there was a birds of prey conservatory. Now we are stationed in Banbury, in a four-hundred-year-old hotel. Stay tuned for Stratford.

quick update

Today we saw the greatest of all English henges: stonehenge.

This is pretty much the actual size of Stonehenge.

We also saw the 2,000 year old Roman Baths in the aptly-named city of Bath (pronounced bah-rth). While in bath, we checked out the amazing Georgian architecture, and also saw the Fashion Museum. We will do a more proper update tomorrow. Here is some info about today's places, as well as those on the docket for tomorrow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Castle

pop quiz

What time does the sun set in England? I'm not sure. When I fell asleep at 10 PM, the sun was still up...

We just enjoyed a nice English breakfast of poached eggs, blood pudding, hash browns, beans on toast, and the like. Everyone seems to have slept well and we are off to Bath for the day. We'll post a recap and more photos when we return.

more details of day 1

Who knew England was so far away? After what seemed like forever on the flight, I checked the animated map to find that we were over Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fortunately, most of our students were able to get some sleep and the rest were sufficiently entertained by the huge number of in-flight movies that were available on demand. We arrived at 10 AM England time (which is 2 AM Sage Hill time), and immediately dove into our first day of sightseeing. On the agenda:

• Jane Austen's House in Chawton
• Winchester Cathedral
• Winchester Castle

The Jane Austen house is quite charming and looks just like this:

This is where the magic happened. Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and all the rest somewhere in there. The house is filled with interesting artifacts, period outfits (costumes?) and donkey carts. There was also a 19th century pianoforte that "may have been owned and/or played by Jane Austen." Whether or not that actually happened, it was actually played (possibly to the dismay of the matron running the joint) by Cash. In the back of the house is a lovely garden where the students stretched out, relaxed, and took the air for an hour or so before heading on to Winchester.

Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in England. It was built in the 11th century, so that makes it both gigantic *and* old. You can read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Cathedral

It's a truly amazing structure that is the final resting place of Jane Austen, two Kings and one Queen of England, and a bishop whose statue was later beheaded (more about that later). I'm not sure what Orange County looked like in 1080 CE, but it certainly wasn't as monumental as this:

One of the really interesting parts of the cathedral was the stained glass West Wall (the giant stained glass in the picture above). Here's what it looks like on the inside:

In the English Civil War (1660s), the parliamentarians blew up the wall and destroyed anything related to the monarchy (including beheading several of the statues). After the war, the West Wall was rebuilt using the shards of stained glass from the original.

Here is some old school graffiti:

Fun fact: if the date is to be believed, this was scratched into the stone 193 years before the first use of the word "vandalize" in the English language... We're not sure about the authenticity of this one, though. Mr. Paulsen was seen carving the message ("GO REDSOX 1502").

After the cathedral, we hit up Winchester Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Castle), or at least what is left of it. Remember the revolution and the destruction? The parliamentarians did not take too kindly to the castle, so they pretty much destroyed it. Today, one can see the ruins of the original walls and the surprisingly in-tact great hall. Although the castle was originally built in the 1100s, the great hall is a much later addition and was not built until 1225, so it's only almost 800 years old. Inside of the castle was a reproduction of King Arthur's round table, which also dated to the 13th century. It's huge. It is 16 feet in diameter and weighs 2700 lbs (193 stone).

After the castle, we were all pretty beat, so we headed back to the hotel. The hotel is great but we're here for two nights, so we'll put off writing about that for now. It's dinner time, and then bed. Stay tuned...

The Eagle Has Landed

We made it safely and have already had a full day of castles, cathedrals, and British literature. More to come shortly, but we wanted to make sure to get word out that everything is off to a fantastic start and all are having a great time.

Gearing Up

Greetings all,

We're only 6 days out, and all champing at the bit to head off to merry old(e) England! We will be updating this page with firsthand accounts of the students' adventures (and plenty of photos, as well). In the meantime, here are the last few announcements:

• Students must be at the airport no later than 12:55 on the day of departure.
• Student baggage will be limited to 1 checked bag and 1 carryon