I’ve got a feeling we’re not in London anymore.

imageI still can’t  believe it’s been two weeks since we landed in London. Time flew by so quickly it all seems like a blur, but yet I remember everything just like it was yesterday. My favorite part of this trip was all the architecture and culture of the city we had swimming around as 24/7.  The  camaraderie of the group was fantastic and by far an amazing group of architecture students and non architecture students. Everyone there was ready to learn and explore the city together. I’m excited to continue our classes to develop a final project and see how everyone in the class interprets their adventures in London.

Last Day in London!

The last day in London wasn’t exactly what I had planned when I left Ohio. I was hopeful to travel to the Roman Bath, but when I got here to purchase tickets, it was just a bit out of my price range. Instead, Rachael and I decided to just stay around London. We went to Harrods and got split up and I toured through the stores, not just looking at the €700 baby dress but also, the architecture within the building. Each store areas space is redesigned for it’s purpose and style. After Harrods, I went to Hyde Park to sketch and just enjoy the rest of the lovely afternoon and people watch.

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The London Eye

The London Eye was a wonderful experience to do and witness at sunset. Being able to view the city from yet another view above the city as if we were floating above the Thames River. It was neat to be able to look down and see where we had walked the whole week around parliament and the river. After this experience Rachael, Shelby and I went to the Shard Lounge to get yet another perspective of the city from above. Ive now had on this trip three experiences of viewing the city from above including the top of St. Paul’s dome.

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Cathedral and Churches and Abbeys, oh my.

Something I’ve always loved along with the architecture design and use of space are the stain glass windows. It’s one of my favorite part of cathedrals and churches. This trip I’ve been lucky enough to pop into a handful of the religious buildings. It’s hard to pick a favorite from this trip, but it would have to be between Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. I was able to pop into Saint Martin in the Fields, and I was fortunate enough to attend a prayer service and mass at Westminster Cathedral. All very different and unique churches designed with all different mediums too.

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The beauty at Kew Gardens

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Kew Garden was a beautiful picturesque garden with not a flower out of place. The Palm House being a highlight of the pond through the front door (the north axis) and out the back doors (the south axis) creates a linear axis that cuts thorough the landscape to create the continuous view.

The buildings that are placed throughout the park look as if they are completely randomly placed, though each one is set to create and experience a specific view.

The tree canopies were an interesting experience. The bridge way doesn’t show much of a view other than right into the trees. The project is a nice thought, but if you’re afraid of heights I wouldn’t recommend.

The Flowers were a beautiful sight to see. It is something we haven’t had in Ohio yet this year.

I’ve Reached the Heights – Salisbury Cathedral

Today was a great day to travel outside of the city of London. It started out a bit chilly and foggy, but by the time we all arrived to Salisbury Cathedral the sky had mostly cleared and was comfortable weather. The gothic cathedral can be seen from the outside of the small city of Salisbury. It is located inside of the walls and the close and also beside the flood plain.  We took a tour and ventured to the top of the spire and was able to view how the vaulting, the support beams, now the spire was constructed and a gorgeous view out into the city and the rolling hills beyond the city limits. Once we climbed all the way back down, we looked around the ground floor if the cathedral. One of many features that I love about it is the beautiful, ornate stain glass windows.

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Afternoon in the Museum.

Yesterday, we were to travel to a museum of our choice during our free time in the afternoon. Rachael and I decided to go to the Natural History Museum.  We took the circle line in the tube to South Kensington stop and walked a couple blocks to the museum. While walking we caught a glimpse of what looked like giant cathedral. The ornate museum was built in a Victorian style architecture and was built in 1881 By the architect Hans Sloane.

 

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Along with the architecture that I found interesting, I enjoyed the dinosaur portion to the museum. The museum is portioned off into different wings because the museum is very linear and high ceilings for large exhibits. It was a nice surprise on both parts, the architecture and the museum content.

Leaving, on a jet plane

We’re sitting here as a group in the terminal waiting to board our plane. It’s been a fun filled evening of no sleep and preparing for the trip. The morning is still young, it’s not quite bright yet but a handful of us have our coffee/tea in hand ready for a full day of travel. There’s a lot of buzz among everyone about their free day and what to do in the evenings. So many things to think of  for our journey ahead but plenty of time to make a spur of the moment decision as well.  I personally cant wait to know everyone better to have a really great trip! 🙂

Okay, it’s about time now to board our first flight.  So I should probably stop typing. See ya real soon, London!