Today was our first full day in London!
After an early rise (at least for me!) and breakfast, the group met up with our tour guide Philippa and a colleague of hers to begin our Beatles specific tour of London.
When many people hear that we are studying the British Invasion and the Beatles, the exclaim, “But why are you in London?? You should be in Liverpool, that’s where all of the Beatles stuff is!” However, many people forget that the Beatles came to London after leaving Liverpool, and did a lot of work here.
We got to see many sites important to the Beatles, such as the street where they filmed their “Hard Days Night” video, homes where they lived at various points, the site of their Apple store, and many more.
But fear not, we are going to Liverpool after our time in London is up 😉
Setting of the Hard Days Night video
First selfie in London – during our Beatles walking tour
After our walking tour of London we stopped for lunch and then hopped on a double-decker bus to the British Museum, London’s main history museum. While here, we got to see many cool artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, mummies, Assyrian winged lions (or Lamassu) from Mesopotamia, and sculptures from the Parthenon.
Inside the British Museum
Lamassu – British Museum
After exploring the British Museum, we explored London for an hour, shopping at Oxford Circus and further mastering the London Underground, or the Tube.
We then met back up at the hotel, and as a group, we headed out to our first group dinner together in London. We went to an amazing Indian Restaurant. While I can’t remember it’s name, I can tell you that it was fantastic! I had always heard that the Indian food in London was very good, and it did not disappoint, especially for my first experience with Indian Food! For those interested, I had the Chicken Tikka Masala, a very popular (and sweet!) Indian dish. And of course, I can’t forget the Naan bread 🙂
After out group dinner, we ended up at the Britannia, a quaint pub near our hotel. This was the first pub I went to in London, and I had a great time hanging out with the group and our Professor, Tim.
Overall, my first full day in London was amazing, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!