Chenille In
England:(LondOn & Liverpool)
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England:(LondOn & Liverpool)
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Overall I am so happy that I was able to go on this trip! It was my first time going out of the country and I am so happy that I was able to do it with a group and learn history!(I'm a psychology & history major and I enjoyed learning the history of afternoon tea!) I am thankful that I was able to go to London, Amsterdam and Belgium! While everything didn't go as planned, I still had a good time and wouldn't exchange my experience for anything else!!
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These are just some of the things that I was able to do in the free time that I had.
I saw Big ben I saw a bunch of Telephone booths I went to the tower of London and saw the crown jewels(Couldn't take pictures of the jewels) I went to Windsor Castle and explored the city There is some of the food that I ate and remembered to take a picture of through out my trip!!
Friday May 27th
On Friday we had to be ready by 8am to leave for the airport. The day before, we actually had to check out of our hostel and move to a hotel because something with the scheduling was messed up. The hotel was super nice and it was worth the move! It also had the best breakfest options on the whole trip! We decied to take the new Elizebeth line on the tube. It opened on May 24th and it was in honor of Queen Elizebeth II for being the longest raining monarch! I loved it because it was purple and that's my favorite color! We all got through security without any problems and we said bye to our professer after getting our checked bags delt with! (He was staying a bit longer) It was a little bitter sweet because our May term was finally over. The plan ride was nice but for some reason it felt longer going back. We all made it safely and now I have to write my research paper by June 26th since I was in the 370 class! Thursday May 26th
On Thursday we took a tube to Brick Lane and we were given a tour of the area. It was a predominantly East Asian community. It was very informational and we learned about their community and all the struggles they have faced while living in London. This tour really delt with the global diversity that student in 270 were taking. After getting a tour we went to an India resturant to have our farewell lunch! I forgot to take pictures of the place and food but it was super good and I would recommend! Wednesday May 25th
On wednesday we went to the oldest tea shop in london which was Twinings! When I think about it, I have never been in a tea shop. Tt was cool to see all the tea that was available. We first tried white tea, which has the most health benifits, then we tried yellow, green(Slight green/looks more yellow) than we tried olong, darjeeling and pu'erh! I genuinely liked all of them but if I had to choose I would choose the white and darjeeling and maybe the pu'erh! After tasting tea, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. We had to look for artwork and artifacts that related to our course! Finally we went to the Albert Memorial and walked around the staue to see how it relates to our course as well! Tuesday May 24th
Today we took the tube to the Museum of the London Docklands! We were able to have a museum guide whose name is Chris Elmers, he is actually one of the founders of the Museum of London Docklands. We had a tour of the Doclands that were used for the East India Company! We also learned that a staute of Robert Milligan, who was known for building the West India Docks in London. He was a merchant and happend to also be a slave owner, because of this the Black Live Matter movement had the staute taken down. Chris Elmers was able to tell use that turning the Docklands into a museum was a 20 year project and was founded in 2003! The actual docks opened in 1802! There was a lot of useful information on the tea trade! East India ships were the largest boats afloat during their time weighing over 1000 tons!! The main cargo that was imported was sugar, rum, coffee, coco, tea, mahogany and madero wine. Madero wine was the only product that didn't involve slavery labor. After the museum we had class at 1:30pm-4:30pm. We were at the museum from 9:30am-12:00pm. We had an hour for lunch. It was raning on and off all day. On our way to class it even started to hail a little bit! Monday May 23rd
Today we went on a tea and coffee walk in a part of London that is the equivalent to Wall Street in New York! We had a tour guide give us a detailed tour of what old medieveal/roman London looked like and what this area had to do with the tea trade and coffee! A lot of the building that are brick are historicaly preserved buildings from around the 1600s. A lot of the historical building are right beside more modern buildings because London was badly bombed in World War II. That is very common in London, to see older buildings next to modern buildings because when older buildings were bombed, it cost to much to rebuild with historical materials or thoes materials didn't exist anymore. We also learned about the Great Fire of London of 1666 which ended the wooden medieval era and enterd the roman stone era. Some of these buildings were tea factories and trading post! It was cool to see! Saturday May 21st
On saturday we had class from 9:30am-12:00pm. Later we went to the Shakespeare's Globe to watch a Shakespeare play at 7:30pm. It was called Henry VIII. The play was 3 hours and was a comedy. Our professor booked us tickets were we had to stand up for the whole 3 hours! I He told us that this is what they had to do back in the time of Shakespeare! He said it helps to lean on the stage because it makes the time go by faster. It was very beautiful! We had time before the play to sit on the floor. They ring a bell to let you know the play is about to begin and that you should stand up. The workers held up signs asking not to take pictures or film while the play is in progress. I personally didn't know that you can't take pictures or film the play. I understand but I just didn't know that was a thing because I bearly go to plays. At first we were standing in the middle of the crowd but then we kinda leaned on the wall. There was an intermission and we decided tp sit down again. After they rang the bell, we went to the side of the stage to lean on it. I personally didn't like the play because it's not my cup of tea and I don't really understand Shakespeare to begin with. But I am still super happy that I went because it was still a cool experience to be there and watch a show live! Friday May 20th
Today we took the tube to the Chelsea Physics Garden! This garden was a lot smaller than the one that we went to yesterday because it wasn't a private ground for the royal family. It was a physics garden which means it was for medical uses! We had a mini stand up lecture about the garden. It was opened in 1673! There was a big problem back in the day with transporting plants. In 1829 Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward came up with the wardian case. It was a case that allowed plants to be transported all over the world successfully! After our lecture we had time to look around the garden. Our professor told us to look for the wardian case, a flax plant which is used to make linen and an opium plant. when we found flax stems it's scientific name is linum usitatissimum. It’s stronger than cotton but less elastic. It was very cool because next to the flax stems, they had a pole that had different types of ropes on it. The main ones that I looked at were the cotton rope(gossypium sp) and the flax rope(linum usitatissimum) . The cotton rope felt so much softer than the flax rope! Overall I really enjoyed the cozy feel of this garden!! After this we were able to go off on our own! Some people choose to shop while me and a couple others took the tube back to our hostel. |