A street performer by the Thames
Will poses with one of the St. James' Horse GuardsThursday, May 10, 2007
More Photos from Thursday's Walking Tour
A street performer by the Thames
Will poses with one of the St. James' Horse Guards
Welcome to London
I spoke too soon in the last entry--they moved the gate at Newark a fourth time. But at that gate we did finally get on the (really large) plane, and after sitting on the tarmac for an hour, something like twelfth in line to take off, we flew out only an hour behind schedule.
The flight was around six hours--more spacious seats, dinner and breakfast, and personal TVs with 9 channels of movies to choose from. We were once again all sitting fairly close together, except for Chris and Rebecca who were separated to the back of the rest of us. Here's a pic of Liz looking out at the lights of New Jersey just after take-off:
After six hours of flying and on average about 1 1/2 hours of sleep, we landed Gatwick airport and negotiated immigration, money exchange, and baggage claim. All of our baggage made it, which isn't always the case. We were pleased.
The flight was around six hours--more spacious seats, dinner and breakfast, and personal TVs with 9 channels of movies to choose from. We were once again all sitting fairly close together, except for Chris and Rebecca who were separated to the back of the rest of us. Here's a pic of Liz looking out at the lights of New Jersey just after take-off:
After six hours of flying and on average about 1 1/2 hours of sleep, we landed Gatwick airport and negotiated immigration, money exchange, and baggage claim. All of our baggage made it, which isn't always the case. We were pleased.
We were met at the airport by Mike, our tour guide, who right away took us in hand and got us on a small bus/people transport (driven by the intrepid Dave) to drive us the thirty-five miles from Gatwick to London. Driving on the expressway during morning rush hour on the left side of the road was an eye-opener for some of us, especially when we reached London itself, where the traffic got heavier, the streets got narrower, the stopped trucks got more numerous, but Dave got no slower. Having survived the drive in, we left luggage at the hotel and went on a walking tour of the central areas while our rooms were gotten ready.
Mike did the honors for the tour, and made sure everybody learned how to get on the Tube and negotiate line changes and what-not. He also walked us by the Houses of Parliament (where Big Ben is), up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, through Leicester Square to Picadilly Circus, and then over to Covent Garden. At each spot he stopped and gave a brief bit of history and tips on how to orient ourselves. We also saw No. 10 Downing Street, which was a-swarm with TV news crews awaiting Tony Blair's announcement today of the timeline for his stepping down as Prime Minister.
Then we had lunch--nine of us ate at a pub called the Essex Snake, where fish and chips were the order of the day, and Will, Robin, Kali, and Chris wandered the streets near Leicester Square and had sandwiches from a street vendor. We met back up at 2pm and came back to the hotel.
Now, after a full 24 hours of no showers, toothpaste, or much sleep, we're taking break to perform some basic hygiene and rest before we go out to dinner at Ishtar, a Mediterranean place near Baker Street.
Incidentally, clicking on any of these pictures will give you a much larger, nicer version.
Mike did the honors for the tour, and made sure everybody learned how to get on the Tube and negotiate line changes and what-not. He also walked us by the Houses of Parliament (where Big Ben is), up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, through Leicester Square to Picadilly Circus, and then over to Covent Garden. At each spot he stopped and gave a brief bit of history and tips on how to orient ourselves. We also saw No. 10 Downing Street, which was a-swarm with TV news crews awaiting Tony Blair's announcement today of the timeline for his stepping down as Prime Minister.Then we had lunch--nine of us ate at a pub called the Essex Snake, where fish and chips were the order of the day, and Will, Robin, Kali, and Chris wandered the streets near Leicester Square and had sandwiches from a street vendor. We met back up at 2pm and came back to the hotel.
Now, after a full 24 hours of no showers, toothpaste, or much sleep, we're taking break to perform some basic hygiene and rest before we go out to dinner at Ishtar, a Mediterranean place near Baker Street.
Incidentally, clicking on any of these pictures will give you a much larger, nicer version.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Still in New York
We've finally gotten to the correct gate (they changed it three times), and will be boarding in about an hour. Just wanted you to see all these happy little faces waiting for the plane:
We probably won't get to post another entry until late tomorrow, after our first day in London.
Sweet dreams--we'll be flying over ocean while you sleep...
In New York
It's 4:16 EST and we're at Newark Airport in NYC. Jen, Ashley F., and Brandon met us as we were checking in, and we had breakfast and then flew out around 11am. We had lunch on the flight (can't remember the last time I was served a free meal on a domestic flight) and got to New York around 2:30 EST. Since then we've been wandering around, shopping and looking--we're here so far in advance of our flight that it isn't listed on the monitors yet. We fly out at 6:50, and will get to London early tomorrow morning. Nothing exciting to report so far, except for a smooth journey. We saw the Manhattan skyline as we landed, and also got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, which was all Liz was asking from New York.
Here's a pic from the van ride yesterday. It looks like I am now able to upload pictures, so the rest of our reports should be more fun to look at. Here's Will, riding shotgun towards Minneapolis:
More later. We wish you were here, whoever you are.
Here's a pic from the van ride yesterday. It looks like I am now able to upload pictures, so the rest of our reports should be more fun to look at. Here's Will, riding shotgun towards Minneapolis:
More later. We wish you were here, whoever you are.
On Our Way!
Well--here we are. Ten of us left from Bismarck this afternoon around 1:30--Will, Rebecca, Chris, Liz, Jaime, Meagan, Ashley M., Robin, Kali, and me (Dr. R). After nearly seven hours on the road and two pit stops in Fargo and St. Cloud, we arrived at the Holiday Inn Burnsville, just south of Minneapolis. The drive was long but smooth, alternating excited planning and digging through guidebooks with sleepy silences. Except for Will and Chris arguing about whether Spider-Man 3 was a good film (Will: No, Chris: Yes), an uneventful road trip. I've got a couple of pictures from the van, but for some reason blogger won't let me upload them right now. The Internet connection here isn't the best.
At any rate, we got checked into our rooms, and several of us went out to eat at the wonderfully named Roasted Pear across the street (Jaime went out with her sister, who lives nearby, and Chris stayed at the hotel). There actually were roasted pears on the menu--Rebecca and Liz shared a roasted pear pizza--so the adventure is already beginning.
Tomorrow morning we'll transfer to the airport to meet up with Jen, Ashley F., and Brandon and begin our second day of travel. We fly out of Minneapolis around 11 am CST, and stop over for four and a half hours at Newark Airport outside of NYC. Around 6:30pm EST, we'll fly out of Newark and land in London around 6:30 GMT on Thursday morning.
Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics tomorrow, and another brief blog entry from Newark airport. If not, we'll see you again Thursday evening, from London.
Dr. R
At any rate, we got checked into our rooms, and several of us went out to eat at the wonderfully named Roasted Pear across the street (Jaime went out with her sister, who lives nearby, and Chris stayed at the hotel). There actually were roasted pears on the menu--Rebecca and Liz shared a roasted pear pizza--so the adventure is already beginning.
Tomorrow morning we'll transfer to the airport to meet up with Jen, Ashley F., and Brandon and begin our second day of travel. We fly out of Minneapolis around 11 am CST, and stop over for four and a half hours at Newark Airport outside of NYC. Around 6:30pm EST, we'll fly out of Newark and land in London around 6:30 GMT on Thursday morning.
Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics tomorrow, and another brief blog entry from Newark airport. If not, we'll see you again Thursday evening, from London.
Dr. R
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
London Calling....
This blog will be an almost real time journal of the University of Mary's English Department trip to London, May 9th-18th, 2007. We'll be leaving from Bismarck for Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 8th, and flying out of Minneapolis on the 9th. From the 10th through the 18th, we'll be in England, mostly in London but with some side trips to Oxford, Stratford, and Canterbury.
Each night we'll tell you what went on during the day, and hopefully post photos of the day's highlights. Stay tuned, we're only a week away....
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