Looking back on our trip, it's time to think about our highlights (our "stars"), and also our remaining desires ("wishes"). We all had different things that we loved, and different outstanding desires - most of which are in the category, "if we only had more time....."
Mrs. Becker
Stars:
1. Touring the Spirit Collection at the Museum of Natural History
2. Seeing Once with Arthur Darvill, and then meeting Arthur Darvill
3. Late night walk along the South Bank
4. All conversations and jokes with students - including turfing, pleasant geese, cloudballs, dough balls, yew nork, games of telephone, "Three little birds", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and more.
Wish: I wish we had more time in Cambridge. Our guide David was so great and I wanted to learn more! I also wanted to go punting, walk across the bridge of sighs and take a million more photos (and bring my full camera battery - not just leave it at home).
Janey
Stars:
1. Westminster Abbey (see her post here)
2. Stonehenge
3. Natural History Museum
Wish: I wish we could have gone to Oxford as well, but that leaves more to see what I go back! (hopefully not too long from now because I miss it so much already)
Harleen
Stars:
1. Wicked
2. Mini "parties" we would have in my room
Wish: I wish we had more time so we could have visited France. Overall I have no regrets, I had a fabulous adventure.
Kimmi
Stars:
1. One of my favourite moments was waking up early to go to Stonehenge for the spring equinox. It was a memorable day since we literally woke up just minutes before leaving because our alarm clock wasn't working so we rushed out the door with our "take out" breakfast.I enjoyed seeing the vast countryside on the way to Stonehenge. Once we got there it was really cold and windy which just made it more memorable. The stones were really beautiful and the view was just incredible. It felt very special being there since you could only go and touch the stones 4 times a year.I loved that people were celebrating and singing because of the spring equinox. It was a very happy and joyous occasion which everyone could be a part of. The tradition of singing and dancing there really stood out to me and all the people were really open and wanted you to join in and be a part of their culture. Being at Stonehenge was a day that I will never be able to forget.
2. The London eye was nothing but beautiful. I was very excited to go on the London eye because I took so many pictures of it through the whole trip and was really curious to experience being on it. The half an hour ride went by really fast by just appreciating the breath taking views of the Big Ben, houses of parliament, Windsor castle and many other incredible buildings. I really enjoyed taking pictures with my friends with the exceptional backgrounds of London. The London eye was an unbelievable visual of central London in just thirty minutes!
Wish: I wish we were able to go to Madame Tussaud's Wax museum because I really wanted to see all the wax figures of celebrities. I also wish I could have seen more Broadway/Opera. I really enjoyed Wicked and Phantom of the Opera and wish I had time for more. However there's always next time!
Harjot
Stars:
1. Going to windsor castle
2. Bath
Wish: Go to Madame Tussaud's wax museum
Harsimran
Stars
1. Turfing
2. View from the top of the London Eye
Wish: That there had been no clouds the day we were at Stonehenge so we could have seen the sunrise.
Shelby
Stars:
I enjoyed the while trip so it's difficult for me to pin point just two. If I had to pick, I'd say that Stonehenge was one of the highlights for me. It was such a unique and once in a lifetime experience and also really fun. I also really enjoyed touring Windsor castle and Cambridge. I like the castle because you could tour inside of it and see how past monarchs lived. I like Cambridge because of the town and the university. It was so gorgeous there with magnificent architecture.
Wish: My wish would be more time there! There is so much to see, and though we did a lot, I would've liked one more day there. Hyde Park would've been nice to see as well as more time at Camden Lock Market, but there's never time for everything!! I'm just glad that we were able to accomplish what we did with the time we had.
Mr. Dewinetz
Stars:
1. Rene's Jokes
2. Unlimited Breakfast Bacon
3. Dough Balls
Wish: More impromptu sing-a-longs
Manroop
Stars:
1. Phantom of the Opera and Wicked
2. Stonehenge
Wish: I wish we would have had the opportunity to go on the Boat Tour on the Thames and to the Wax Museum.
Serena
Stars:
1. British culture in general; especially the diversity at Stonehenge and how people of many views of life came together to sing and dance into the equinox.
2. Cambridge University. That Uni is a place I wish to one day attend, and it was nice to see what I could be getting myself in to.
Wish: A wish I had would be to have more time to enjoy the everyday things whilst in London. The trip was fast paced, but then again, London is a cast environment that can't be seen in a vastness of days.
Harpreet
Stars:
1. Making new friends/strengthening old friendships on this trip through all of the experiences we had.
2. Being able to experience everything with my friends, like learning to ride the rube properly (after we almost fell the first few times) and later learning to "turf" (tube surfing), competing to see if we could manage to say in one spot balanced while the train went from station to station.
Wish: A wish I have is that we would have had more time London experiencing the city with everyone; even though we had jam packed days in the city I still wish we could have had more.
Ms. Mulji
Stars:
1. All the grew history behind the architecture
2. The drive through the countryside enrolee from Bath with the quaint villages
Wish: To have had more time to explore the area and shops by Shepherd's Bush
Qudrat
Stars:
1. The broadway show "Wicked" (it was perfect!)
2. Stonehenge (Once in a lifetime chance to be there eon an equinox!)
Wish: I wish we had more time to spend in the two science museums
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The beautiful, inspiring, peaceful, and scintillating Cambridge
If I could start my education again, I would want to go to Cambridge. Everything about Cambridge was awe-inspiring to me. From their beautiful old buildings, sense of tradition, deep rooted history in science, cobblestone streets, the winding river Cam, and of course, their small schools, one-on-one advisors, and dedication to breaking the mould of what hoop-jumping education can look like. I was all ready to sign up for my next degree - in anything - right there and then.
And I saw the apple tree. The tree grown from the one in Newton's orchard. The tree that helped Newton articulate his law of gravity. One piece of what makes him the greatest physicist to date. The tree was right there.
And the offices, and grounds, and buildings, and books, and churches, and microscopes, and instruments. The smell of old University buildings reminds me of the history they hold. Oh the people who walked those halls. Newton. Rutherford. Bohr. Hawking. I felt inspired. I just wanted to sit there and take it in.
Cambridge University is made up of 31 colleges. They don't specialize in any one thing, and you don't apply to any one degree program. You just apply to ONE of the 31 colleges. You can't apply to more than one. The biggest of them has a total of 1300 students - undergrads and grads combined. That is, the BIGGEST of the Cambridge colleges is smaller than Sullivan Heights. With old classic buildings, history and amazing professors, the possibilities are endless. We visited two of these 31 colleges - Trinity (home to Isaac Newton) and King's College. Both were beautiful and awe-inspiring. David, our amazing guide, took us through the details of the school and its history, and really brought it all to life for us.
After our tour and a quick lunch, we sought after a bus station to take us west out to the famous Cavendish Laboratory, that I talked about in my post here. We had tickets to attend a lecture on modern Physics, but due to the long walks, trying to figure out the bus system, and the struggle for 17 people to eat lunch in under 30 minutes, we missed it and had to settle for wandering through the building and checking out the general Physics demonstrations in the building at the Cambridge Science Festival. This didn't turn out to be too bad though - because upstairs there were cabinets and displays full of items that you would normally find in a museum. Tons of artifacts from the early days of Chemistry, the original electron microscope (cut in half so you could see the inside) and much more. I wandered through the Physics labs and wondered what it must have been like to get a Physics education HERE. Honestly, I felt intimidated. And inspired.
Following our time at Cavendish, we took a 30 minute stroll through the country along the back paths towards another of Cambridge's MANY buildings - the Sir Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematics. Here we had tickets for a lecture by Professor Ian Stewart on the Mathematical Patterns that caused animal markings (such as leopard's spots or zebra's stripes). Biology and Physics - perfect for me, right? WRONG. You see - as much as I was excited and wanted to set a good example - I had been up since 6am (and it was not 3:45pm) and already logged 12 km of walking, and then was placed in a room that was SUPER hot. So instead of really "hearing" him, I was just focused on staying awake. And I wasn't doing a very good job. Then again, neither were many of the students. So as much as we were hoping for an amazing, jaw-dropping, one-of-a-kind, Cambridge lecture, this experience fell a little flat.
But all in all, Cambridge was amazing. I wish that we would have had more time there, more time with our guide David, who was outstanding, more time to see more of the colleges, the Wren library, and more of the history of this great place. But there is always next time.
And I saw the apple tree. The tree grown from the one in Newton's orchard. The tree that helped Newton articulate his law of gravity. One piece of what makes him the greatest physicist to date. The tree was right there.
And the offices, and grounds, and buildings, and books, and churches, and microscopes, and instruments. The smell of old University buildings reminds me of the history they hold. Oh the people who walked those halls. Newton. Rutherford. Bohr. Hawking. I felt inspired. I just wanted to sit there and take it in.
Cambridge University is made up of 31 colleges. They don't specialize in any one thing, and you don't apply to any one degree program. You just apply to ONE of the 31 colleges. You can't apply to more than one. The biggest of them has a total of 1300 students - undergrads and grads combined. That is, the BIGGEST of the Cambridge colleges is smaller than Sullivan Heights. With old classic buildings, history and amazing professors, the possibilities are endless. We visited two of these 31 colleges - Trinity (home to Isaac Newton) and King's College. Both were beautiful and awe-inspiring. David, our amazing guide, took us through the details of the school and its history, and really brought it all to life for us.
After our tour and a quick lunch, we sought after a bus station to take us west out to the famous Cavendish Laboratory, that I talked about in my post here. We had tickets to attend a lecture on modern Physics, but due to the long walks, trying to figure out the bus system, and the struggle for 17 people to eat lunch in under 30 minutes, we missed it and had to settle for wandering through the building and checking out the general Physics demonstrations in the building at the Cambridge Science Festival. This didn't turn out to be too bad though - because upstairs there were cabinets and displays full of items that you would normally find in a museum. Tons of artifacts from the early days of Chemistry, the original electron microscope (cut in half so you could see the inside) and much more. I wandered through the Physics labs and wondered what it must have been like to get a Physics education HERE. Honestly, I felt intimidated. And inspired.
Following our time at Cavendish, we took a 30 minute stroll through the country along the back paths towards another of Cambridge's MANY buildings - the Sir Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematics. Here we had tickets for a lecture by Professor Ian Stewart on the Mathematical Patterns that caused animal markings (such as leopard's spots or zebra's stripes). Biology and Physics - perfect for me, right? WRONG. You see - as much as I was excited and wanted to set a good example - I had been up since 6am (and it was not 3:45pm) and already logged 12 km of walking, and then was placed in a room that was SUPER hot. So instead of really "hearing" him, I was just focused on staying awake. And I wasn't doing a very good job. Then again, neither were many of the students. So as much as we were hoping for an amazing, jaw-dropping, one-of-a-kind, Cambridge lecture, this experience fell a little flat.
But all in all, Cambridge was amazing. I wish that we would have had more time there, more time with our guide David, who was outstanding, more time to see more of the colleges, the Wren library, and more of the history of this great place. But there is always next time.
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| On the train at Kings Cross, ready to go to Cambridge |
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| Trinity College, including Newton's apple tree, and our group |
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| Kings College, Trinity college Chapel, and the Cambridge Senate Buildings |
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| Kings College Chapel |
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| Cavendish Lab |
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| Sir Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematics |
Museum of Natural History
I love the Museum of Natural History. The first time I went to one it was in NYC. I couldn't understand why scientists could possibly want to go to a museum with "history" in the title (sorry historians!) - but then I entered in. And I saw the natural world organized and unfolding. I saw wonders I could only dream or read of, and everything started to make more sense.
Not all of our group was as equally enthused about London's Museum of Natural History. I can only assume one part because the name of the museum doesn't inspire awe in scientists, as I had already learned, and another part pure exhaustion. So when given the option between sleeping in, and leaving at 9:30 for the museum, only 6 students were willing to get out of bed. Lucky for me I got to spend my day with those awesome 6. And we had fun. We explored, we engaged, we ran from room to room, power-walking through the museum hoping to catch a small glimpse of everything before we had to leave to meet the other group for the London Eye and dinner. And so Janey, Shelby, Harpreet, Harleen, Qudrat and Harsimran joined myself and Mr. Becker on our journey through time. We saw volcanoes, experienced an earthquake, walked next to and under giant fossils of dinosaurs, whales, giant crocodiles and bugs. We saw jewels, and moon rocks and 500 million year old fossils - one of the first. And this was cool. Supercool. But not nearly as cool as the Spirit Collection.
When I was researching the museum online, I came across a free tour they offered of what they called the "Spirit Collection." I didn't know much about it, except that it contained specimens from Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. As a biologist, I couldn't pass up the chance, and the rest of the group were interested in going as well. We went to the front dead right away to ask about the tour, and we managed to get the only 8 tickets left for the day. In addition, the tour was only done in groups of 8, so we managed to get a 'private' tour out of the deal. After lunch we made way over to the far corner of the museum to meet our guide. He then proceeded to take us on a 30 minute behind the scenes tour. The BEST part of the museum that I didn't know existed. They have 7 floors, making up the majority of the museum, with rooms on end, filled with lockers and cabinets, filled with jars, filled with various plants and animals species. Almost 80 MILLION specimens. The sheer number was enough to blow my mind. We only went through a couple rooms on 1 floor of the building. We couldn't open up the lockers, which were organized by phyla (I can only imagine how awesome this would be for a Bio 11 class when learning about taxonomy!), but could look at a sample of the jars they had placed out for the tours to see. We then went into a larger room with huge tanks with steel lids and mini-cranes handing from the ceiling to remove these heavy heavy lids. These containers held much larger organisms - elephants, gorillas etc. I wanted to see inside desperately, but respected this part of the museum as a working research facility. They have a giant squid in full view as well as pieces of a colossal squid, and around the corner we could see large jars full of monkeys, armadillos, turtles, sharks, and more. Scientists can sign these out like books for research and take them out of the jars and investigate them in the neighbouring room that looks like a morgue. I wanted to spend days listening and learning and watching. And I wanted to open and look inside every cupboard on all 7 floors, if only I was allowed. And I wasn't the only one geeking out. This by far was the highlight of the day, and one of my highlights of the trip.
After our time at the Museum of Natural History we ran next door to the Science Museum. Home to more recent scientific treasures such as the Apollo 10 command module, unused lunar excursion model, and the highlight for me, the original DNA model developed by Crick and Watson. We had less than 1 hour to explore this museum, which was a shame. It didn't help that there was very few elevators and the museum was poorly laid out. There was 5 floors, but most elevators didn't connect more than 3 of them. It was also skinny and narrow, which meant running back and forth from one end to another to find stairs - except those didn't go up all 5 stories as well. As a group we were getting frustrated that our limited time was being eaten up by poor museum planning. And we almost missed the DNA model - we were lucky to find it on the way out the door. We were so busy soaking in the science, that we were rushing to meet the other group at the Eye. We sat on the tube with sore feet recalling all the cool things we had seen and lamenting the fact we just didn't have more time. So on behalf of me and my science nerd partners-in-crime - it was an outstanding day!
Not all of our group was as equally enthused about London's Museum of Natural History. I can only assume one part because the name of the museum doesn't inspire awe in scientists, as I had already learned, and another part pure exhaustion. So when given the option between sleeping in, and leaving at 9:30 for the museum, only 6 students were willing to get out of bed. Lucky for me I got to spend my day with those awesome 6. And we had fun. We explored, we engaged, we ran from room to room, power-walking through the museum hoping to catch a small glimpse of everything before we had to leave to meet the other group for the London Eye and dinner. And so Janey, Shelby, Harpreet, Harleen, Qudrat and Harsimran joined myself and Mr. Becker on our journey through time. We saw volcanoes, experienced an earthquake, walked next to and under giant fossils of dinosaurs, whales, giant crocodiles and bugs. We saw jewels, and moon rocks and 500 million year old fossils - one of the first. And this was cool. Supercool. But not nearly as cool as the Spirit Collection.
When I was researching the museum online, I came across a free tour they offered of what they called the "Spirit Collection." I didn't know much about it, except that it contained specimens from Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. As a biologist, I couldn't pass up the chance, and the rest of the group were interested in going as well. We went to the front dead right away to ask about the tour, and we managed to get the only 8 tickets left for the day. In addition, the tour was only done in groups of 8, so we managed to get a 'private' tour out of the deal. After lunch we made way over to the far corner of the museum to meet our guide. He then proceeded to take us on a 30 minute behind the scenes tour. The BEST part of the museum that I didn't know existed. They have 7 floors, making up the majority of the museum, with rooms on end, filled with lockers and cabinets, filled with jars, filled with various plants and animals species. Almost 80 MILLION specimens. The sheer number was enough to blow my mind. We only went through a couple rooms on 1 floor of the building. We couldn't open up the lockers, which were organized by phyla (I can only imagine how awesome this would be for a Bio 11 class when learning about taxonomy!), but could look at a sample of the jars they had placed out for the tours to see. We then went into a larger room with huge tanks with steel lids and mini-cranes handing from the ceiling to remove these heavy heavy lids. These containers held much larger organisms - elephants, gorillas etc. I wanted to see inside desperately, but respected this part of the museum as a working research facility. They have a giant squid in full view as well as pieces of a colossal squid, and around the corner we could see large jars full of monkeys, armadillos, turtles, sharks, and more. Scientists can sign these out like books for research and take them out of the jars and investigate them in the neighbouring room that looks like a morgue. I wanted to spend days listening and learning and watching. And I wanted to open and look inside every cupboard on all 7 floors, if only I was allowed. And I wasn't the only one geeking out. This by far was the highlight of the day, and one of my highlights of the trip.
After our time at the Museum of Natural History we ran next door to the Science Museum. Home to more recent scientific treasures such as the Apollo 10 command module, unused lunar excursion model, and the highlight for me, the original DNA model developed by Crick and Watson. We had less than 1 hour to explore this museum, which was a shame. It didn't help that there was very few elevators and the museum was poorly laid out. There was 5 floors, but most elevators didn't connect more than 3 of them. It was also skinny and narrow, which meant running back and forth from one end to another to find stairs - except those didn't go up all 5 stories as well. As a group we were getting frustrated that our limited time was being eaten up by poor museum planning. And we almost missed the DNA model - we were lucky to find it on the way out the door. We were so busy soaking in the science, that we were rushing to meet the other group at the Eye. We sat on the tube with sore feet recalling all the cool things we had seen and lamenting the fact we just didn't have more time. So on behalf of me and my science nerd partners-in-crime - it was an outstanding day!
Monday, April 14, 2014
Windsor & St. Paul's
One of the great things about travel blogging is that is allows you to preserve all your memories as they happen. It's amazing how quickly the little details can fade after 2 weeks back at home. However, we were so busy there it was hard to keep up!!!
I posted already about Serena, Celina, Harpreet and Simran's day trip to Stratford to spend time with Shakespeare. Well, while they were out in the country, the remaining 14 of us headed to the Queen's house - Windsor Castle. We took the train from Paddington Station to Slough, where we changed over to a smaller train that went directly to Windsor and parked itself an the foot of the hill next to the Castle.
We walked up the hill to check in and go through security. It's amazing really that they let people into the building. I went through way more security to visit the Statue of Liberty and National Archives that I did visiting the Queen's house. And she was there. She was IN THE BUILDING. But they just let us inside - wandering around historic rooms, past creepy doll houses and halls filled with expensive China. Ancient tables and long royal banquet halls with the crests of many knights hanging from the ceiling. The tour through Windsor was done via an included audio guide - allowing students and teachers to go as fast (or slow) as they'd like. The Queen's guards marched up the down the street from time to time, or stood post without averting their gaze. Though at one point, a second guard came out to visit the first, took a selfie of the two of them together, and then continued on his merry way. That was pretty outstanding. St. George's Chapel was beautiful and historical, though interesting to observe the marriage of church and state in this way all throughout England (a constant battle in many countries). The stone walls of the property were beautiful, but mostly I loved the perfectly manicured laws. I wanted a cup of tea, a good novel and to set myself up in a chair next to the purple and yellow flowers and let the day pass away. The beautiful blue skies only made this seem more and more appealing. I was left wondering if the Queen ever really gets to spend time out on these beautifully manicured lawns. I mean, there were hundreds of people wandering through her house and property. When does she just get to go for a stroll?
After our time in Windsor we had some lunch before taking the train back to Paddington Station (yes, home of Paddington bear). We then headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. This was where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were wed back in 1981, and of course is a beautiful piece of architecture designed by Christopher Wren. They were preparing to practice an installation of a new Bishop, so things were slowly quieting down and the students were allowed to sit and watch. But first we climbed the dome. It was just under 300 stairs to the Whispering Gallery, a thin walk way with stone benches around the base of the dome. This was as far as I got - I wasn't willing to embrace the claustrophobia that came with the next 250 steps to the very top. But the rest of the group did - climbing the narrow passage ways until they reached the fresh air and beautiful views (you should see the panorama below in full size - outstanding photo by Mr. Becker). Such a wonderful view of the city! We stayed at St. Paul's until 4pm, when they were closing. This was a great time to head home and think about dinner. The plan was to hit a chippy for English Fish & Chips. And after the 10-15 minute walk to the one we scouted out we found it was closed (I blame the website....?) So we wandered back towards the mall and compromised on a place called Bill's - that had a little something for everyone. After dinner, Janey, Shelby and I ran off to see Once (see post here) and the rest of the group enjoyed a mellow (and well earned) night in. As I have come to learn, this meant a lot of face timing, parties in Harleen and Simran's room, and playing MarioKart. London life is good.
I posted already about Serena, Celina, Harpreet and Simran's day trip to Stratford to spend time with Shakespeare. Well, while they were out in the country, the remaining 14 of us headed to the Queen's house - Windsor Castle. We took the train from Paddington Station to Slough, where we changed over to a smaller train that went directly to Windsor and parked itself an the foot of the hill next to the Castle.
We walked up the hill to check in and go through security. It's amazing really that they let people into the building. I went through way more security to visit the Statue of Liberty and National Archives that I did visiting the Queen's house. And she was there. She was IN THE BUILDING. But they just let us inside - wandering around historic rooms, past creepy doll houses and halls filled with expensive China. Ancient tables and long royal banquet halls with the crests of many knights hanging from the ceiling. The tour through Windsor was done via an included audio guide - allowing students and teachers to go as fast (or slow) as they'd like. The Queen's guards marched up the down the street from time to time, or stood post without averting their gaze. Though at one point, a second guard came out to visit the first, took a selfie of the two of them together, and then continued on his merry way. That was pretty outstanding. St. George's Chapel was beautiful and historical, though interesting to observe the marriage of church and state in this way all throughout England (a constant battle in many countries). The stone walls of the property were beautiful, but mostly I loved the perfectly manicured laws. I wanted a cup of tea, a good novel and to set myself up in a chair next to the purple and yellow flowers and let the day pass away. The beautiful blue skies only made this seem more and more appealing. I was left wondering if the Queen ever really gets to spend time out on these beautifully manicured lawns. I mean, there were hundreds of people wandering through her house and property. When does she just get to go for a stroll?
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| Windsor Castle |
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| More Windsor Castle |
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| View of St. George's Chapel (left) and some of the Castle Buildings (right). Main castle at the end of the road here. |
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| St. George's Chapel |
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| Group in front of the Castle, Me and the Guard, a group of marching guards, and Mr. Dewinetz reading about football on the train to Windsor. |
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| Our group in Paddington Station with the Paddington Bear Statue. |
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| St. Paul's Cathedral. Shelby and Janey at the top, and the group doing "the Garr" on the front steps. |
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| Panorama from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. Download and view full size here |
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Beauty of a Night Stroll: Big Ben, Bohemian Rhapsody and Our Walk on the South Bank
A perfect Sunday. Start my day at the Museum of Natural History, follow it up with a ride on the London Eye, enjoy Sunday roast (and Janey's birthday) at a wonderful restaurant, enjoy a scrumptious dessert, and then take a walk through a graffiti laden tunnel towards the Thames, walk along the South bank, listen to a beautiful rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, photograph the lights, feel the energy of the city and listen to the ringing of Big Ben. So much goodness. Let me break this down a little for you.
We started our day off at the Museum of Natural History (more details on that to come). We had been broken into two groups that day, so the two groups met up in front of the London Eye, just in time for our ride (details here). Because it was Sunday, and in honour of Janey's Birthday, we had reservations at a lovely neighbourhood restaurant around the bend from the Eye to enjoy Sunday Roast. We also enjoyed (for the first time this trip) a lovely dessert - complete with birthday candle for Janey. Following our dinner we were headed back home for an early night in (which is well deserved after such a busy first 7 days). Since the group was headed back with the other chaperones, I wanted to take advantage of the great weather and location, and head back over to the pier to photograph Big Ben and the London Eye, all lit up. So many European cities, complete with their iconic landmarks, have the most extraordinary vibe at night, and night strolling is one of my favourite things to do.
I continued along with the group back towards the Tube station - through a dedicated graffiti tunnel. My instincts were to assume this was a sketchy tunnel, but at second glance it was actually a tunnel of art. Not gang related graffiti tagging, but masterpieces, creative expressions, the occasional political or social statement. Overall - a really cool shortcut on the way home. Right around the corner from the Eye and the Tube I bid the group farewell as they headed back home. At this juncture a small group decided heard of my plan and decided they wanted to join me on my stroll. And so myself, Mr. Becker, Mr. Dewinetz, Janey, Shelby, Serena and Celina headed towards the Thames.
Walking along side Jubilee park, the blue lights of the London Eye lit up the ominous cloud filled nights sky. While I utilized the various posts, benches and rails to stabilize my camera, nothing is really a substitute for a good tripod and remote. But even without the perfect photo, every moment of the walk was a welcome breath of fresh air. The girls hopped up on the posts to post in front of the night Eye, and many photos were snapped as we drew closer to the river.
Along the bank of the Thames there were various platforms carved out or elevated to allow local artists to showcase their talents. When coming across an abandoned platform, the 4 girls who had joined my decided to lip-sync and act/interpret the lyrics to the great Queen hit - "Bohemian Rhapsody." There is something awesome that happens when something so random, spontaneous, humorous, and authentic like this happens - you never forget it. Also - you instantly hit record on your camera so that you can share this gem with one and all:
Following the musical interlude and a few hundred photo attempts, we crossed over the Westminster Bridge towards Big Ben. It was nearing 9:00 pm, and so we decided to wait the extra few minutes to hear the bell chime before heading home. In our attempt to take photos in front of the Palace of Westminster, we were photobombed by a couple of mimes who were quickly looking for a hand out - this is something that commonly happens to tourist. I'm sure many are pressured to hand over a pound or two, but we had no problem shaking out head and quickly walking away. Confidence is key in situations like that.
As 9:00 pm came, Big Ben echoed loudly (and in tune and good time) - a moment well worth waiting for. A rewarding walk, and a wonderful treat at the end of a wonderful day.
And I wasn't the only one who loved it. "I liked walking by the Thames at night and hearing Big Ben ring. It was nice to see how everything was out up and how different things are at night compared to during the daytime. And yes, we did have some fun there and on the way back too :D" - Shelby
We started our day off at the Museum of Natural History (more details on that to come). We had been broken into two groups that day, so the two groups met up in front of the London Eye, just in time for our ride (details here). Because it was Sunday, and in honour of Janey's Birthday, we had reservations at a lovely neighbourhood restaurant around the bend from the Eye to enjoy Sunday Roast. We also enjoyed (for the first time this trip) a lovely dessert - complete with birthday candle for Janey. Following our dinner we were headed back home for an early night in (which is well deserved after such a busy first 7 days). Since the group was headed back with the other chaperones, I wanted to take advantage of the great weather and location, and head back over to the pier to photograph Big Ben and the London Eye, all lit up. So many European cities, complete with their iconic landmarks, have the most extraordinary vibe at night, and night strolling is one of my favourite things to do.
I continued along with the group back towards the Tube station - through a dedicated graffiti tunnel. My instincts were to assume this was a sketchy tunnel, but at second glance it was actually a tunnel of art. Not gang related graffiti tagging, but masterpieces, creative expressions, the occasional political or social statement. Overall - a really cool shortcut on the way home. Right around the corner from the Eye and the Tube I bid the group farewell as they headed back home. At this juncture a small group decided heard of my plan and decided they wanted to join me on my stroll. And so myself, Mr. Becker, Mr. Dewinetz, Janey, Shelby, Serena and Celina headed towards the Thames.
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| The authorized graffiti tunnel |
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| More of the authorized graffiti tunnel |
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| Janey, Shelby, Serena and Celina on the posts, with London Eye in the background. |
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| Best Caption I could get of the London eye, with group in the foreground walking towards it. Needed more time and a tripod. But the view was incredible either way. |
Following the musical interlude and a few hundred photo attempts, we crossed over the Westminster Bridge towards Big Ben. It was nearing 9:00 pm, and so we decided to wait the extra few minutes to hear the bell chime before heading home. In our attempt to take photos in front of the Palace of Westminster, we were photobombed by a couple of mimes who were quickly looking for a hand out - this is something that commonly happens to tourist. I'm sure many are pressured to hand over a pound or two, but we had no problem shaking out head and quickly walking away. Confidence is key in situations like that.
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| Palace of Westminster and Bell Tower |
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| Bell Tower, Group with the mimes, and Mr. Becker and I in front of the tower, 5 minutes before 9. |
And I wasn't the only one who loved it. "I liked walking by the Thames at night and hearing Big Ben ring. It was nice to see how everything was out up and how different things are at night compared to during the daytime. And yes, we did have some fun there and on the way back too :D" - Shelby
London Eye - a welcome pause in a busy city
I'm going to be honest here - going into this trip I thought the London Eye was one of those over-rated, over-priced tourist attractions that we kind of "had" to do - for no other reason that it was on the list of things everyone "should" do. As a tourist destination it gets more visitors that the Taj Mahal and Pyramids of Giza combined. But I wasn't sure why. It's just a giant ferris wheel, right?
So I bought the tickets, put a date on the calendar, prepared for the long line and added it to the itinerary. We showed up, picked up, lined up, and less than 15 minutes later were in our own private glass capsule, slowly moving upwards to the east, with a beautiful view of the bridges, buildings, gardens, and of course, the Thames. And it was awesome. It was photos and selfies, pictures on every side, from every angle, and every configuration of students possible. It was 26 minutes of pure joy, wonderful views, and a celebration of all the friendships that had been made and/or strengthened in the last week. The sun was shining and the capsule was warm. It was a break from the cool London wind. There was room to sit and rest your feet, though most didn't, because the place to be was up against the glass. We rounded the top and started to set on the west, watching the Palaces of Westminster becoming increasingly clearer. And it was wonderful. Every moment of it. It was a moment of pause in an otherwise busy week - one needed and enjoyed by all.
So I bought the tickets, put a date on the calendar, prepared for the long line and added it to the itinerary. We showed up, picked up, lined up, and less than 15 minutes later were in our own private glass capsule, slowly moving upwards to the east, with a beautiful view of the bridges, buildings, gardens, and of course, the Thames. And it was awesome. It was photos and selfies, pictures on every side, from every angle, and every configuration of students possible. It was 26 minutes of pure joy, wonderful views, and a celebration of all the friendships that had been made and/or strengthened in the last week. The sun was shining and the capsule was warm. It was a break from the cool London wind. There was room to sit and rest your feet, though most didn't, because the place to be was up against the glass. We rounded the top and started to set on the west, watching the Palaces of Westminster becoming increasingly clearer. And it was wonderful. Every moment of it. It was a moment of pause in an otherwise busy week - one needed and enjoyed by all.
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| Getting Ready to Board the Eye |
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| Entering the Capsule, and the photo session starts immediately. |
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| Here's our group! Love these guys! Couldn't have asked for a better group to explore London with. |
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| Group sitting on the rails, with London behind them. On the bottom you have Ms. Garr (left) and Ms. Mulji (right) and the views from the capsule in between. |
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| The view of the Palace of Westminster (top), group selfies (bottom left) and group getting ready for the "official" picture (right). |
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| Few last photos before exiting the capsule - include a rare one of me (I prefer to be behind the camera. |
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Royal Observatory
As a physics teacher, the first two units of measurement we learn are time, and distance. And while we teach these ideas now as if they have always been, the measurement of time as we know it, and length has we have come to accept it, had to start somewhere. And one of the places instrumental in that was the Royal Observatory.
Our last morning in London we woke up at a reasonable hour, enjoyed our routine hearty breakfast (unlimited access to Bacon, Sausage, Hashbrowns, Beans, Eggs, Mushrooms, Croissants, Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit Salad, Muffins, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Bread, Cheese, Ham and Orange Juice) before heading far across London, and the Thames, to Greenwich - home of the Royal Observatory (and Cutty Sark, and Maritime Museum - though we didn't visit those places). The directions I was given told us that we needed to get out of the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) station at Cutty Sark (across from a giant old boat) and then walk through the park and up the hill. This translated into "get out at a station with construction. Walk up 100 stairs, through a Naval College, cut through the Queen's house next to the Maritime Museum, and then walk to the top of a VERY STEEP HILL." Check. So a good mornings aerobic activity (not that the 100 km we'd walked in the 9 days previous could be called lazy). It was a drizzling, cool morning, but we made it to a rather unassuming brick building at the top of the hill. There are many things awesome about this place that made it worth the climb and effort.
1. It's the home of the Prime Meridian. Yes there is an arbitrary place that divides the east and west hemisphere, and this is it. France also fought for the right, as did a few other places, but London won. And all measurements of longitude East and West are measured from this point. And so we could enter the Meridian Courtyard, and stand on the Prime Meridian. How often can you say that? We stood with one foot in the east and one foot in the west and took our photos. Yup. It was pretty cool.
2. It's home of time. With a 24 hour magnetic clock ticking to the half second, and ball that drops each day at one in tradition for sailors setting their watches as they sailed down the Thames. The Royal Observatory existed in a time where there was a need for more accurate navigation. And in the 1800's there was no universally recognized time. So eventually there was a world wide meeting and a giant vote and 1884 it was decided that all world time would be measured relative to Greenwich. And to this day, our time zones are +/- Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - the time at the Royal Observatory.
3. Cool astronomy stuff happened here. They have a SIDEREAL CLOCK. One of 2 working sidereal clocks in the world. It may be possible that I was the only one who cared about this. In short - as the world we measure days/years in one astronomical way, but there is more than 1 "correct" option - and this is the less accepted (and known) version to those outside of astronomy and physics. But if you are curious, check here.
4. Christopher Wren, architect who built St. Paul's Cathedral, Kensington Palace, and many other famous British Buildings, also built the Royal Observatory, including the octagon room. The king at the time heard that Louis XIV of France was building an observatory, and insisted that Britain have one too. He only have £500 to spend, and Wren said he was up to the task and completed it for only £520. From that point on the Astronomer Royal was appointed by the King/Queen and lived here in what is now known as the Flamsteed House - After Flamsteed, the first astronomer Royal.
5. Astronomy Stuff. Space is cool. There is a telescope, and historical telescopes and various ancient and modern space devices. They do a lot of research there and have great school programs, but unfortunately we couldn't study Cosmic Radiation this day because we weren't a UK school. So we had to settle for enjoying the view, a brief walk through the courtyard and houses, and a momentary stop on the Prime Meridian. So no complaints here!
Our last morning in London we woke up at a reasonable hour, enjoyed our routine hearty breakfast (unlimited access to Bacon, Sausage, Hashbrowns, Beans, Eggs, Mushrooms, Croissants, Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit Salad, Muffins, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Bread, Cheese, Ham and Orange Juice) before heading far across London, and the Thames, to Greenwich - home of the Royal Observatory (and Cutty Sark, and Maritime Museum - though we didn't visit those places). The directions I was given told us that we needed to get out of the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) station at Cutty Sark (across from a giant old boat) and then walk through the park and up the hill. This translated into "get out at a station with construction. Walk up 100 stairs, through a Naval College, cut through the Queen's house next to the Maritime Museum, and then walk to the top of a VERY STEEP HILL." Check. So a good mornings aerobic activity (not that the 100 km we'd walked in the 9 days previous could be called lazy). It was a drizzling, cool morning, but we made it to a rather unassuming brick building at the top of the hill. There are many things awesome about this place that made it worth the climb and effort.
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| Meridian House, housing many astronomical relics (top), entrance to the Royal Observatory (bottom left) and walking through (and up) Greenwich Park (bottom right). |
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| Our group straddling the Prime Meridian int he Courtyard (top) and individually Qudrat, Mr. Becker, myself and Celina & Serena (bottom) |
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| Harjot & Rene (top left), Kiran & Harpreet (bottom left), and Suesha, Simran and Harleen (right), on either sides of the Prime Meridian. |
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| The 24 hour magnetic clock outside the Observatory. Also, a place that the British could go back in the 1600's to measure items. They placed them between the two brass pegs to get a definite Yard, foot, or 6 inch measurement. |
4. Christopher Wren, architect who built St. Paul's Cathedral, Kensington Palace, and many other famous British Buildings, also built the Royal Observatory, including the octagon room. The king at the time heard that Louis XIV of France was building an observatory, and insisted that Britain have one too. He only have £500 to spend, and Wren said he was up to the task and completed it for only £520. From that point on the Astronomer Royal was appointed by the King/Queen and lived here in what is now known as the Flamsteed House - After Flamsteed, the first astronomer Royal.
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| Top - Tombstone of Halley, second Astronomer Royal (and discoverer of Halley's Comet), Sidereal Clock, and ancient measuring devices. Bottom, the octagon room. |
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| view of the Queen's house, Maritime Museum and Naval College from the top of the hill, and London beyond (left); the Prime Meridian (right) complete with distances to various cities from this line (measured in degrees). |
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Once the Musical
"When I was in University, I use to manage a video store. I developed a passion for random independent movies, and one day happened upon an Irish gem called "Once" - a movie with some of the most hauntingly beautiful music I had ever heard. Then in 2012 the decided to develop this into a Broadway musical. The unpredictable love story between a "Guy" and "Girl" (as the characters have no names) is one that is also about music. A musical based around actor musicisn, the orchestra is replaced with actors who also play on stage, on chairs off to the left and right. There is nothing on stage I have ever seen that is remotely close, or as mesmerizing as this story, this music, and this experience, as what is found in "Once".
I first saw Once in 2012 on the stage in NYC. I was blown away. But when I arrived in London, and was riding up the, very long, escalators in the tube stations, past dozens of posters advertising shows on the west end, I saw two words. Arthur Darvill. ARTHUR DARVILL. For those less geeky than myself, Arthur played a beloved character on Doctor Who known as "Rory." He had taken the role of "Guy" in the Broadway production late last year, following his time traveling with the Doctor, and now had come home to England and was committed to 8 more weeks with the show. I could not miss this.
And so I decided to take my one night "off" to go and see this show, and sure enough, two of my students were eager to join me - and I couldn't refuse! I am all about igniting a love of Broadway, and nothing made me happier than to be able to share my favourite show with my students! So Janey, Shelby and I made our way to the Phoenix Theatre to live the Broadway life. I once again spent 2 hours mesmerized by the music and the beautiful vocals of Arthur Darvill, who brought such passion and emotion to the character, and following the show, we went around back to the stage door, and managed to catch him before he left. We were able to tell him how much we loved him in this production, and, though he was exhausted from his day of work, he indulged us in a few photos before heading out for the night. What a super nice guy!! All this made for a PERFECT evening out! So glad that we seized the opportunity. It was one we will never forget!" - Mrs. Becker
"Once was an amazing show that wasn't a cliche musical. It was a love story, but it had it's own unique story line and ending to it. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it (not to mention Arthur Darvill was in it too). " - Shelby
"On the evening of Monday March 24th, Mrs. Becker, Shelby, and I (Janey) left dinner early and set off on the tube to go to a broadway musical called "Once" starring Arthur Darvill. Darvill is well-known from the TV show "Doctor Who." I have never watched this show but plan to in the near future, as everyone who has seen it says it's amazing. Arthur Darvill and his fellow cast members performed incredibly; creating beautiful music with instruments ranging from the ukulele to the violin, and of course the guitar and piano (all while telling a story about love). The musical was so great that I want to see it again! After the show, we were lucky enough to get a picture with Arthur. He evidently has so much talent with singing and playing the guitar. Shelby was "fangirling" like crazy! I am definitely going to download the songs from this play. I now have a new found love of broadway musicals!" - Janey
If you are curious about the music of Once (or talent of Arthur), check out the following:
I first saw Once in 2012 on the stage in NYC. I was blown away. But when I arrived in London, and was riding up the, very long, escalators in the tube stations, past dozens of posters advertising shows on the west end, I saw two words. Arthur Darvill. ARTHUR DARVILL. For those less geeky than myself, Arthur played a beloved character on Doctor Who known as "Rory." He had taken the role of "Guy" in the Broadway production late last year, following his time traveling with the Doctor, and now had come home to England and was committed to 8 more weeks with the show. I could not miss this.
And so I decided to take my one night "off" to go and see this show, and sure enough, two of my students were eager to join me - and I couldn't refuse! I am all about igniting a love of Broadway, and nothing made me happier than to be able to share my favourite show with my students! So Janey, Shelby and I made our way to the Phoenix Theatre to live the Broadway life. I once again spent 2 hours mesmerized by the music and the beautiful vocals of Arthur Darvill, who brought such passion and emotion to the character, and following the show, we went around back to the stage door, and managed to catch him before he left. We were able to tell him how much we loved him in this production, and, though he was exhausted from his day of work, he indulged us in a few photos before heading out for the night. What a super nice guy!! All this made for a PERFECT evening out! So glad that we seized the opportunity. It was one we will never forget!" - Mrs. Becker
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| Janey, Shelby and I with Arthur Darvill (top) and a few of the stage pre-show (while they all "jam" with Irish tunes) - before I was asked to put my camera away (and didn't have a chance to perfect my shot) |
"On the evening of Monday March 24th, Mrs. Becker, Shelby, and I (Janey) left dinner early and set off on the tube to go to a broadway musical called "Once" starring Arthur Darvill. Darvill is well-known from the TV show "Doctor Who." I have never watched this show but plan to in the near future, as everyone who has seen it says it's amazing. Arthur Darvill and his fellow cast members performed incredibly; creating beautiful music with instruments ranging from the ukulele to the violin, and of course the guitar and piano (all while telling a story about love). The musical was so great that I want to see it again! After the show, we were lucky enough to get a picture with Arthur. He evidently has so much talent with singing and playing the guitar. Shelby was "fangirling" like crazy! I am definitely going to download the songs from this play. I now have a new found love of broadway musicals!" - Janey
If you are curious about the music of Once (or talent of Arthur), check out the following:
The British Museum, by Mr. Dewinetz
Mrs. Becker has asked me to do a blog post for the day at the British Museum, to quote her, “that's up your alley”. And I am going to take that as a compliment.
This was my second time to the museum. The first time there I spent around 6 hours and took a record number of pictures. This time I had only 3 hours and was clueless as to how to use it best. In her previous evening dispatch to us Mrs. Becker had recommended we check out the Rick Steve’s app and his audio tour of the British Museum. This seemed like a good place to start. The audio tour itself lasts around an hour, not including travel time and my mind was boggled as to how they would do it. The museum is a temple to British Imperialism, numbering over 8 million works! I couldn't quite see how it was possible to rush through it in that amount of time. After looking at the map of the audio tour, I realized that they weren’t expecting to cover the museum, they were simply covering Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Mesopotamia. These 3 collections amount to 1/3rd of the main floor but feature many of the big ticket items people come to the museum to see. Some of the treasures include the rosetta stone, mummies, and the famous Elgin Marbles. I followed along with the tour and had to struggle with my innate desire to see everything. While I did follow along with the tour, and was learning a lot, I did still sneak off to see other things, such as a mummified goldfish!
EventualIy I run into Mrs. Becker who has abandoned the tour and is busy taking pictures instead and is (with not luck) looking for a particular Japanese woodblock print. I put on the tour guide hat and take her to the hard-to-find fifth floor Japanese exhibition. On our way up to the fifth floor I wonder why is it that no one talks on the elevator? So I ask that to the people on the elevator and end up making new friends from Greece and Ireland. I resume the audio tour and finish it off. It is at this point it is made clear why the tour is only an hour, we have barely scratched the surface on the museum. However, I did get a chance to educate Mrs. Becker on a few points of Japanese culture (and geography....) No such luck finding the Japanese print though.
At this point Mrs. Becker is exhausted, and decides to take a break on a bench in the great hall. I leave my camera bag and jacket with her and set off to see as much as I can in my remaining hour. One of the most controversial aspects of the museum is their possession of Elgin’s marbles. The marbles are parts of the Parthenon and other parts of the Acropolis, taken by Lord Elgin when he was a British ambassador to the Otttoman Empire, which at the time was occupying what is now Greece. While in this position he used his influence to get permission to remove portions of the frieze, metopes, and pedimental sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as of sculptured slabs from the Athenian temple of Nike Apteros. This is part of the reason that I made reference to the museum as a temple to British Imperialism. It is worth remembering that Canada was once part of the British Empire, and is still part of the British Commonwealth. I run into some of the students and take them to see the stuff that was taken from Canada and all the amazing First Nations art from the west coast as well as the Canadian north and plains. These museum artefacts taken from Canada also allow us to feel empathy for what that Greeks feel about what has happened to their heritage. It was pointed out that this museum would make a great place to take a field trip for Social Studies 8 or 9 or 10 and its true, to bad for the flight.
This was my second time to the museum. The first time there I spent around 6 hours and took a record number of pictures. This time I had only 3 hours and was clueless as to how to use it best. In her previous evening dispatch to us Mrs. Becker had recommended we check out the Rick Steve’s app and his audio tour of the British Museum. This seemed like a good place to start. The audio tour itself lasts around an hour, not including travel time and my mind was boggled as to how they would do it. The museum is a temple to British Imperialism, numbering over 8 million works! I couldn't quite see how it was possible to rush through it in that amount of time. After looking at the map of the audio tour, I realized that they weren’t expecting to cover the museum, they were simply covering Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Mesopotamia. These 3 collections amount to 1/3rd of the main floor but feature many of the big ticket items people come to the museum to see. Some of the treasures include the rosetta stone, mummies, and the famous Elgin Marbles. I followed along with the tour and had to struggle with my innate desire to see everything. While I did follow along with the tour, and was learning a lot, I did still sneak off to see other things, such as a mummified goldfish!
EventualIy I run into Mrs. Becker who has abandoned the tour and is busy taking pictures instead and is (with not luck) looking for a particular Japanese woodblock print. I put on the tour guide hat and take her to the hard-to-find fifth floor Japanese exhibition. On our way up to the fifth floor I wonder why is it that no one talks on the elevator? So I ask that to the people on the elevator and end up making new friends from Greece and Ireland. I resume the audio tour and finish it off. It is at this point it is made clear why the tour is only an hour, we have barely scratched the surface on the museum. However, I did get a chance to educate Mrs. Becker on a few points of Japanese culture (and geography....) No such luck finding the Japanese print though.
At this point Mrs. Becker is exhausted, and decides to take a break on a bench in the great hall. I leave my camera bag and jacket with her and set off to see as much as I can in my remaining hour. One of the most controversial aspects of the museum is their possession of Elgin’s marbles. The marbles are parts of the Parthenon and other parts of the Acropolis, taken by Lord Elgin when he was a British ambassador to the Otttoman Empire, which at the time was occupying what is now Greece. While in this position he used his influence to get permission to remove portions of the frieze, metopes, and pedimental sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as of sculptured slabs from the Athenian temple of Nike Apteros. This is part of the reason that I made reference to the museum as a temple to British Imperialism. It is worth remembering that Canada was once part of the British Empire, and is still part of the British Commonwealth. I run into some of the students and take them to see the stuff that was taken from Canada and all the amazing First Nations art from the west coast as well as the Canadian north and plains. These museum artefacts taken from Canada also allow us to feel empathy for what that Greeks feel about what has happened to their heritage. It was pointed out that this museum would make a great place to take a field trip for Social Studies 8 or 9 or 10 and its true, to bad for the flight.
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| Great Hall, part of our group, and Harleen & Simran with the Rosetta Stone |
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| Stone Ramses, Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphics |
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| Moai from Easter Island, Parts of the Parthenon and Acropolis, and Cleopatra |
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| Vancouver Totem, Entrance to Mesopotamia, Statue from Greece |
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| More of the Parthenon and group outside the museum |
Friday, March 28, 2014
Platform Nine and Three Quarters
Before 1997 Kings Cross would have been considered just another train station. A hub of transportation from London to Oxford or Cambridge or Liverpool. A way to get from one city to another. And then came JK Rowling, and suddenly Kings Cross was still a train station - but also home to a little bit of magic by way of Platform 9 3/4.
Not that long ago it was just a hidden sign on a wall, but now it comes with it's own store, and an hour long line up to have your photo taken with the famous cart, half jammed into the wall, complete with books and a mini-version of Hedwig. You can choose your own scarf as per your house (I'm Ravenclaw....so blue for me) and have your photo taken, scarf flowing in the wind. The people from the shop charge £10 for a print, but you can also take your own - for free! Then again, given how many souvenirs our group bought, I think we earned a free photo!
Not only did we have photos taken, but we went into the shop to pick up various knick knacks of the Harry Potter variety - the most significant being a handful of wands. I'd say we all picked our favourites, but everyone knows that the wand picks the wizard.
Not that long ago it was just a hidden sign on a wall, but now it comes with it's own store, and an hour long line up to have your photo taken with the famous cart, half jammed into the wall, complete with books and a mini-version of Hedwig. You can choose your own scarf as per your house (I'm Ravenclaw....so blue for me) and have your photo taken, scarf flowing in the wind. The people from the shop charge £10 for a print, but you can also take your own - for free! Then again, given how many souvenirs our group bought, I think we earned a free photo!
Not only did we have photos taken, but we went into the shop to pick up various knick knacks of the Harry Potter variety - the most significant being a handful of wands. I'd say we all picked our favourites, but everyone knows that the wand picks the wizard.
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| Wands and souvenirs (top and centre left), the line for photos (bottom left), and Shelby and Janey wait for the wand to choose the wizard. |
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| Kings Cross Station |
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| Celina (Gryffindor) and Serena (Slytherin) |
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| Rene and Suesha (Gryffindor) |
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| Shelby (Gryffindor) and Janey (Ravenclaw) |
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| Simran and Harpreet (Gryffindor) |
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| Group (top left and bottom), and Me (top right, Ravenclaw) |
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