more field trip

After Coventry we drove about a mile to Stratford-upon-Avon, the town William Shakespeare is from. We walked around and saw the sights, the whole town felt like a fairy tale. It was sooo beautiful and nothing less than enchanted. One of my favorite stops was the house his wife, Anne Hatheway, grew up in and the gardens around it. So wonderful. There were about 40 acres of gardens. One was a woodland walk with sculptures in it. After exploring we got supper and watch the play "As You Like it" which was a great way to end the night.

Field Trip

Yesterday (Wednesday) I went on a field trip my whole group from 8 am to 1:15 on Thursday morning. ( that would be about 6pm for anyone living in Idaho;)..i think..) We first went about 2 hours outside of London to the country, to the town of Coventry. Here we saw the famous Cathedral. There was a Church built many years ago in about the 1400s. It grew into a large church and eventually a Cathedral. ( To be a Cathedral a church must have a Bishop seat.) During World War II this church was bombed because it was exactly between London and Germany. The bombers dropped fire bombs on the roof as they left London and headed home. Water lines were shattered with other bombs, which lead to the roof burning and caving in. The walls stayed but the whole area was a mess and the town was very upset. The next morning one of the preachers came and found two pieces of burnt wooden beams. He placed them in a cross at the front of the church where the alter used to be and wrote on the wall: Father Forgive. He did not add anything after that because he said it wasn't just the Germans who did something wrong it was everyone and everyone needs to be forgiven. This started strong acts of peace and reconciliation. A new church was built beside it with a huge glass wall facing the ruins. This new church and old can be toured and is full of artwork that talks about peace and unity. It was a beautiful thing to experience and see. On the wall at the end of the Sanctuary area is a tapestry with an image of Jesus the size of a tennis court. We got to sit in on a small service at noon. Later we walked around the town before we ate lunch.

Pictures from the Weekend

getting the hang of it.

I can't believe how well I am getting to understand the area in just a few days! Its getting easier and easier to find streets, tube stops, and not get hit by all the bikers and mopeds. Now that I know my way around better it is more enjoyable to relax a little and enjoy everything London has to offer. I have been the the British Museum about 5 times so far and will go back a few more in the next weeks. It is only a few blocks from our hotel and right between our school and our hotel. Our school is owned by Florida State University and is called the London center. For the 3 weeks we are here we use one room, the computer lab, and the library for our class and project.
Last Night I went with a group to the opera "Oh, Susanna." It was ok but not amazing. It was done by some graduate students in an old theater above above a Pub actually. It had a lot of character, the place that is. I was glad I went though, its just exciting experience things that only happen here and not back in the state.
This morning was amazing to say the least. We attended church at Westminster Abbey. Such an exciting thing to do! I actually sat in the choir section with a few kids and a professor I am here with. I was one row away from the mens/boys choir who sang for the service. This church was started by Henry IIIV, 500 years ago, when he broke off the Catholic church. This is also the place where Princes Diana's Funeral was held along with many wedding. All around the whole church many famous poets, musicians, and royalty are buried literally in the church. They are even some that are buried in the floor and you walk over the stones that are their grave markers. Kinda weird but kinda cool. During the service they had communion. Not knowing if I wanted to share a glass of wine with that many tourists I opted for the blessing instead. It is a neat experience to be blessed in a church started to bring Christianity to Europe 500 years ago.
After Church I went to Buckingham Palace with a bunch of girls. The flag was up because the queen was home. It was kinda windy, but fun to visit. After that we got lunch and headed to the British Museum. Tonight I just relaxed and went out to eat before homework with a group of students.
Stay tuned for pictures!!

photos from exploring the city!

First full day!

So Last night I went to bed at 8:00pm (3:00 pm OH/IN time) totally exhausted. I woke up at 7 am and it was so sunny and the street was really busy, i thought I had over slept. The bed and breakfast we are staying at has a full english breakfast in the mornings. Which is eggs, toast, stewed tomatoes, mini hot dog things, baked beans and ham that is mostly fat. There is also Cereal similar to rice krispies and special K. There is no ice and everything is about room temperature, which makes milk kinda gross! I ate toast and cereal and had some orange Juice but nothing tastes like home. I don't think anything will beat hot chocolate mixed with coffee, which they bring you your own mini pitcher when you order them. :)
After Breakfast we broke up into our groups, of Art, Theater and Music (i'm art of course:) ) and went on a city tour. From 10 am to 5 pm I was on my feet walking for all but about 40 mins. We went all over London, such a beautiful city. It is very much full of art and different cultures. I took a lot of pictures, bought a purple scarf and water bottle, and got a blister the size of a two pence coin. I have a lot of fun girls in my group who make exploring the city even more fun. We rode the tube today which is the underground train that has a guys voice saying "Mind the gap please" every time the door opens. Everything seems to be said in a nicer way with a british accent. Today I was buying a pepsi on our walk and the guy in front of me got mad because his bottle water cost 1.53 pounds not 1.23. He told the man that is was "bloody robbery!! its actually a bad thing to say but sounded like a compliment.
One of the girls and I went out for supper and compared tour stories tonight. It was fun to relax and of course sit down! ha. Its getting late so I will add more photos tomorrow. We have our first class tomorrow at 10 am.
Thanks for reading, Bre

Travel Photos

Travel went well. I'm glad its over though. Here are some pictures from the way here, with a few extra plan pics for Jake. When we got off the plane and through customs the first thing we hit was a Kripsy Kreme! ha, didn't feel like we had went anywhere.