Travels to England Part 2
By Laura Sadowski
For those of you who read my last article, or have not, just as a reminder in the summer of 2009 I was chosen to be a Student Ambassador with other students from other states and towns for the organization People to People to represent the American youth in France and England. My last article was about my time spent in France and now I am writing about my time in England.
Over night I had ridden a ferry from France to England. That morning from the port we were getting on a bus to Stonehenge. The bus driver was a very nice man named Jack and everybody was so excited because his was the first British accent we actually heard in England. He dropped everyone off across the street from Stonehenge in this field type area. We were given little voice tour guide machines and went to every station learning all about Stonehenge. It’s still so interesting to me that no one knows how this structure even came to exist.
After that, we went out for an interesting brunch. I believe we went to an old house turned into a restaurant because the bus had to squeeze through the woods. And to top of driving in the woods in a huge bus it was pouring so to even get there we had to drive and walk through mud. This place was very tiny so the entire group had to sit in three different rooms. I was in the group that was the smallest so we sat by the front where the kitchen, chef, and workers were. It was only me, my friends Rachel and Lexi and the delegation leaders. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant because it was very good. If you ever in the English woods I would recommend eating there.
The next day, I met a Parliament leader so instead of a dress up in your most comfortable walking clothes day it was dress up in your nicest clothes day. We got there after he had introduced himself so I missed who he was and is part in Parliament. After that we walked and took the Tube, London’s subway system, to the London Eye. All the girls, including me, were wearing nice flats and heels and it is very hard walking on the cobblestone roads with them. We had to walk over bridges and fields to finally get to the downtown green. There was a bunch of stuff going on; street performers, magic shows, painted people on stilts, singers, break dancers, etc. When we finally got to the line we got to go in the front because we were their “special” guests. It is about a half an hour the whole way around. Like on an amusement park ride, the company has you take a picture. We all had to squish in one part if the glass so everyone got in the picture. I mean when will you ever be on the London Eye again at the ages of twelve or thirteen?
The next day, we could all sleep in because we didn’t have anything to do till about noon so we could sleep in a little bit. That was very exciting news for me because I was still making up for waking up two hours late in France. This day was very exciting because it was medieval day! We took a ferry and went to the London Tower. So much happened there. Henry the eighth built it to be sort of an entrapment for his many wives if they were going for an execution and for a safe place when London was being attacked. We didn’t get to see the execution tower because it was so big and gruesome you had to pay another ticket to get in there. We went everywhere else though. One tower I went in were where the guards stood with their guns and their practicing area. They even allowed you try on armor that the soldiers used. I also went to the dungeon. Interesting fact they have and had a system, back in the eighteen hundreds and even today, to keep the crows in the London Tower area. There is some sort of a fence somewhere that prevents them from flying away because crows represent death and it’s bad luck if one flies away from the tower.
For lunch. keeping with the theme, we went to a medieval restaurant. The restaurant was at the bottom of a castle. To get to the restaurant you walk down a bunch of spiral stairs to this really dark brick place, just like you see in the medieval movies. And there, we had a gigantic fest; huge pieces of chicken, mash potatoes, salads, jam, bread, etc., pretty much everything you have at thanksgiving but much bigger. And since they didn’t use utensils back then we had to use our hands to eat. They did provide plenty of napkins though. There was even an actor there who had this huge fat suit on and his job was just to imitate Henry the eighth, a very rude and vulgar man. Everybody took pictures of him and he told me he would make me his wife some day. I don’t know what you would have done but at that moment my twelve year old self was planning my princess wedding!
We then went to this medieval village where we learned how to fight with swords, bow n arrows, and by our hands. We again had a medieval feast but in a much smaller version and with utensils. At the end of the night they had a huge flame thrower and threw flames right across the pond fifteen times!
Sadly, compared to the day before we did not have the greatest sleeping day. At four in the morning we had to wake up because we had a two hour drive to see the British Baths. I can’t even describe to you how pretty this place was. It sounds weird for a place where people to take baths to be beautiful but it was. There was mosaics everywhere, gold, silver, anything you would think of. All the baths are naturally heated and hasn’t been washed since people actually used. So, if you were thinking about going in, just to let you know you would definitely get an infection. We met some actresses being the woman in baths who would wash people and then it started to rain.
As we were leaving, we had to cross a busy street and my friends foot got rain over. If you are ever in England remember to look to the left as well as the right. My friend was off to the hospital and we were off to the mountains to go to a camp. I was in the group that got to climb a telephone pole, walk a tightrope, and then come back down. I felt so proud of myself and couldn’t believe I was up that high! Everyone was cheering for me and I was the only girl who did it!
The next day was our second to last day. We went to the British museum and there was a plethora of things to see. The Rosetta Stone, a tomb of a real mummy, and a whole thing on Egypt. We were in there for pretty much all day since there was so much to see.
We then went to a restaurant which I’m sorry to say was disgusting! They served traditional English food and there’s a reason England isn’t know for its food. It was like an old shooting pub so there were real animal heads on the wall which smelled and had flies in there mouths and eyes it made everyone sick! Try eating your dinner with a dead deer's head in your face!
On our way home they surprised us that tomorrow, on our last day, at night we would be going to see a show on the west end, London’s version of Broadway, “Wicked”! I was so excited I’ve always wanted to see that show!
We woke up all sad that morning and it wasn’t a good feeling. It was our last day of an incredible trip. We took a tour of the city of London, we got out at where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married and I took five pictures illegally because I was not aware you couldn’t take pictures in that particular church. We stopped outside somewhere parts of Harry Potter were filmed and then we had lunch at a real pub. Right from there we went to the West End to see Wicked. The show was amazing!
And then the last day was finally here! Everyone was so sad because we were like a little family! It was the greatest experience of my life!
For those of you who read my last article, or have not, just as a reminder in the summer of 2009 I was chosen to be a Student Ambassador with other students from other states and towns for the organization People to People to represent the American youth in France and England. My last article was about my time spent in France and now I am writing about my time in England.
Over night I had ridden a ferry from France to England. That morning from the port we were getting on a bus to Stonehenge. The bus driver was a very nice man named Jack and everybody was so excited because his was the first British accent we actually heard in England. He dropped everyone off across the street from Stonehenge in this field type area. We were given little voice tour guide machines and went to every station learning all about Stonehenge. It’s still so interesting to me that no one knows how this structure even came to exist.
After that, we went out for an interesting brunch. I believe we went to an old house turned into a restaurant because the bus had to squeeze through the woods. And to top of driving in the woods in a huge bus it was pouring so to even get there we had to drive and walk through mud. This place was very tiny so the entire group had to sit in three different rooms. I was in the group that was the smallest so we sat by the front where the kitchen, chef, and workers were. It was only me, my friends Rachel and Lexi and the delegation leaders. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant because it was very good. If you ever in the English woods I would recommend eating there.
The next day, I met a Parliament leader so instead of a dress up in your most comfortable walking clothes day it was dress up in your nicest clothes day. We got there after he had introduced himself so I missed who he was and is part in Parliament. After that we walked and took the Tube, London’s subway system, to the London Eye. All the girls, including me, were wearing nice flats and heels and it is very hard walking on the cobblestone roads with them. We had to walk over bridges and fields to finally get to the downtown green. There was a bunch of stuff going on; street performers, magic shows, painted people on stilts, singers, break dancers, etc. When we finally got to the line we got to go in the front because we were their “special” guests. It is about a half an hour the whole way around. Like on an amusement park ride, the company has you take a picture. We all had to squish in one part if the glass so everyone got in the picture. I mean when will you ever be on the London Eye again at the ages of twelve or thirteen?
The next day, we could all sleep in because we didn’t have anything to do till about noon so we could sleep in a little bit. That was very exciting news for me because I was still making up for waking up two hours late in France. This day was very exciting because it was medieval day! We took a ferry and went to the London Tower. So much happened there. Henry the eighth built it to be sort of an entrapment for his many wives if they were going for an execution and for a safe place when London was being attacked. We didn’t get to see the execution tower because it was so big and gruesome you had to pay another ticket to get in there. We went everywhere else though. One tower I went in were where the guards stood with their guns and their practicing area. They even allowed you try on armor that the soldiers used. I also went to the dungeon. Interesting fact they have and had a system, back in the eighteen hundreds and even today, to keep the crows in the London Tower area. There is some sort of a fence somewhere that prevents them from flying away because crows represent death and it’s bad luck if one flies away from the tower.
For lunch. keeping with the theme, we went to a medieval restaurant. The restaurant was at the bottom of a castle. To get to the restaurant you walk down a bunch of spiral stairs to this really dark brick place, just like you see in the medieval movies. And there, we had a gigantic fest; huge pieces of chicken, mash potatoes, salads, jam, bread, etc., pretty much everything you have at thanksgiving but much bigger. And since they didn’t use utensils back then we had to use our hands to eat. They did provide plenty of napkins though. There was even an actor there who had this huge fat suit on and his job was just to imitate Henry the eighth, a very rude and vulgar man. Everybody took pictures of him and he told me he would make me his wife some day. I don’t know what you would have done but at that moment my twelve year old self was planning my princess wedding!
We then went to this medieval village where we learned how to fight with swords, bow n arrows, and by our hands. We again had a medieval feast but in a much smaller version and with utensils. At the end of the night they had a huge flame thrower and threw flames right across the pond fifteen times!
Sadly, compared to the day before we did not have the greatest sleeping day. At four in the morning we had to wake up because we had a two hour drive to see the British Baths. I can’t even describe to you how pretty this place was. It sounds weird for a place where people to take baths to be beautiful but it was. There was mosaics everywhere, gold, silver, anything you would think of. All the baths are naturally heated and hasn’t been washed since people actually used. So, if you were thinking about going in, just to let you know you would definitely get an infection. We met some actresses being the woman in baths who would wash people and then it started to rain.
As we were leaving, we had to cross a busy street and my friends foot got rain over. If you are ever in England remember to look to the left as well as the right. My friend was off to the hospital and we were off to the mountains to go to a camp. I was in the group that got to climb a telephone pole, walk a tightrope, and then come back down. I felt so proud of myself and couldn’t believe I was up that high! Everyone was cheering for me and I was the only girl who did it!
The next day was our second to last day. We went to the British museum and there was a plethora of things to see. The Rosetta Stone, a tomb of a real mummy, and a whole thing on Egypt. We were in there for pretty much all day since there was so much to see.
We then went to a restaurant which I’m sorry to say was disgusting! They served traditional English food and there’s a reason England isn’t know for its food. It was like an old shooting pub so there were real animal heads on the wall which smelled and had flies in there mouths and eyes it made everyone sick! Try eating your dinner with a dead deer's head in your face!
On our way home they surprised us that tomorrow, on our last day, at night we would be going to see a show on the west end, London’s version of Broadway, “Wicked”! I was so excited I’ve always wanted to see that show!
We woke up all sad that morning and it wasn’t a good feeling. It was our last day of an incredible trip. We took a tour of the city of London, we got out at where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married and I took five pictures illegally because I was not aware you couldn’t take pictures in that particular church. We stopped outside somewhere parts of Harry Potter were filmed and then we had lunch at a real pub. Right from there we went to the West End to see Wicked. The show was amazing!
And then the last day was finally here! Everyone was so sad because we were like a little family! It was the greatest experience of my life!
Erin O'Malley & Ian Hebert at Flume Gorge, New HampshireVanessa Jamieson at Kent Falls, CTClick here to submit your own photos and travel stories... |
Laura Sadowski Travels to EuropePart One: FranceBy Laura Sadowski (11/1/11)
In the summer of 2009 I went to France and England with an organization called “People to People.” It wasn’t a very huge culture shock, but it was different--and amazing! In France, we visited the Notre Dame and I could see the Gothic sculptures of the angels and devils just outside the door were beautiful. Inside, there were beautiful glass windows and graves of priests that were inspired by what they looked like, so you saw the heads on the top of the casket, and there was a fantastic choir singing. We then went to Versailles. I felt so bad for the tour guide; everyone was falling asleep on him because of the six hour time difference. Versailles is where Marie Antoinette was captured and held hostage. First, we saw the garden, which was huge--it was four football fields long and it was still kept well. Then we went inside a gold gate to get in, real gold! What really was so pretty was the hall of mirrors--all mirrors, gold, and diamonds. The next day we went to Disneyland France! Isn’t that always the way; wherever you go, you always have to go to Disney. That was so much fun and they even had a Planet Hollywood across the street where we ate lunch. The next day, we went to the Eiffel Tower. But we had to be warned about the pickpockets because that’s how some people make their money in Europe. They steal stuff out of your pockets and you don’t even feel it and since the police get so many cases, they really can’t do anything about it. The Eiffel Tower, as you would imagine, was packed. We had to go through so much security, not to mention all the stairs you have to walk up, even more than we walk up in school! But we couldn’t walk all the way because they had an elevator you had to use. It was amazing being at the top--not unlike being on the top floor of the empire state building. We had a different perspective on everything. Paris wasn't just a city; it was a beautiful place with amazing buildings, waterways, and more. After we got off, there was a crepe stand outside so I got one for the first time. It was so delicious I can’t even describe it! The next morning we went to the Louvre. We had no idea where we were in the beginning because they dropped us off in a garage and as we started we walking it looked like we were underground or in a train station. We came to a stop when we saw a little abstract glass triangle. I believe it was in one of the Da Vinci Code movies. We all took pictures in front of it. It was amazing seeing all the famous art that was there! We saw the sculpture of the Nike goddess, they even had sort of a tomb from Egypt in its own room, and of course, there was the Mona Lisa. It’s actually really small! An interesting fact: if you looked at every piece of art in the Louvre for a minute each it would take you forty years. By the time we were done with what we could see it was twelve thirty. We went to a little cafe for lunch. There, they brought us food that would usually think of when thinking of France, escargot and frog legs. The escargot was really nasty--it was all green in a little snail shell and it did not taste pleasant either. But, the frog legs tasted like chicken. The streets in France are very small and very steep. So we couldn’t take the bus and we had to walk. We climbed a lot of stairs until we were on top of a hill with a beautiful view of all of France! When we went in a church we had to be very respectful and be quiet and no hats at all. We then went in to the market and we found the most delicious crepes! I can’t even tell you how rich and creamy the chocolate was in the sort of flattened pancake. The next day we had a special day about World War II. We went to Normandy, France. It just so happens I can never go there again because every time I go there something about the air, or the elevation, makes my nose bleed, and that day was the day I was wearing my white pants. So we had to make a stop at a huge rest station just so I could clean up and people could go get food. I felt so embarrassed. We went to the World War Two Museum and there were so many cool things like plans of attack, letters, clothes, there was even a real bomb you could go inside. After that, we went to the memorial for D-Day and some people collected sand. Out of nowhere it started to pour, which was sort of symbolic. We were off heading to the cemetery so we could look at it and take part in a special ceremony. It was so nerve racking that everyone had to go to the bathroom. The ceremony was beautiful. We stood and sang both the French and American National Anthem. It was just so spiritual and a moment I will never forget. Then, we went to an actual war site where people fought. We went to where they slept and it was disgusting, but it was bomb proof so it was safe. We got to go into the ditches where bombs hit and where shot from. It was so deep into the ground, and it was so tiny and big at the same time because they had to hold all their ammunition and really not be noticed at all. Then we went to one of the places where they practiced shooting and there were bullets still in the grass. That night we got on a ferry which was an overnight ferry so four of us had to room in this tiny little room. There were two bunk beds and they rocked the whole time. Luckily, I was on the bottom bunk so I didn’t really have to worry about falling off and really hurting myself. Check back soon to read about my trip to England... |
