Vivian would be our tour guide for the day. Her light humor about the French and the history of England would make this four hour tour seem like a mere glimpse in the day. On the tour, she took us to locations all throughout the city, including Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, as well as many monuments and statues.
At Buckingham Palace, we were able to see the changing of the guard by sitting on a wall outside of the palace.
Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
At the conclusion of the tour, we jumped aboard the London Eye to get the best view of the city. The ride of the Eye took about 30 minutes to complete, but was well worth it. From the top of the huge wheel, we could see all sides of the city, allowing to get incredible pictures and plan out what we wanted to see during the rest of our trip.
The London Eye
After the tour, we made the switch to our new hotel, which was even more impressive than our first one. With an all access spa, large, nice rooms, and a huge lobby with light up walls, we will definitely be living like kings and queens for the next two days.
Park Plaza; our hotel.
The rest of the day allowed us to go off on our own tours of the city. Many students went to Westminster Abbey for a Church of England service (going to a service at the church allowed us to skip the fee attached to the tours of the Abbey).
Westminster Abbey
Dinners at pubs and local restaurants followed in the evening.
Typical dinner at an English pub - Bangers and Mash
The weekend will consist of complete free time for all students. Some students will use this time to travel other countries nearby, while others will stay in London to see more historic locations.
London has been absolutely fantastic so far! The weekend promises to be a fun and educational experience for all of us students.
Keep up to date with the blog. A post outlining many of the students' experiences during their free time over the weekend will be posted next.
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