By Chris Laska and David Laurence
The day began very early, especially for people who wanted to wake up and get breakfast, as we had to leave the hotel at 8:30 a.m. to go to Twickenham. When I heard the multiple alarms going off in our room, we quickly got up and ate breakfast. As soon as everyone was ready to go in the lobby, we walked to the metro station just up the road and headed to Twickenham Stadium, the home of English Rugby.
Before our tour of Twickenham, we had some free time to explore the shop, which had all sorts of fantastic rugby merchandise. Most people in our group got something as a little souvenir. Chris bought a white rubber wristband and a metal wallet, while David bought an England Rugby shirt and a scarf that had both England’s and Ireland’s crest on it. After perusing the shop for about 20 minutes, we gathered as a group by the exit, met our tour guide, and headed to see the rest of the stadium. During the tour, we learned a lot about Twickenham’s history. In 1907, a committee created by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was looking for the home of English Rugby, and the committee hired William Williams to find land for the stadium. He later found where Twickenham stands, a 10.25-acre plot owned by the Man family. Williams and the Rugby Football Union paid 5,572 Pounds (840,030.00 Pounds or 1,057,493 USD today) for the plot of land. They then spent the next two years building the stadium. The first game was played in 1909, Harlequins vs. Richmond; a year later, the first international game took place in 1910, England Vs. Whales.
While we learned a lot about the stadium’s history, we also learned a ton of facts about the stadium. The first thing we were told when the tour began is that when a rugby game is played at Twickenham everyone views it as a social occasion; when you are there, you are there for more than rugby. The stadium has four bars that are open 2 hours before the game and two hours after the game. Fun fact – Twickenham is home to the largest bar inside a stadium and is the largest stadium strictly dedicated to rugby. While also having four bars, the stadium has 26 hospitality suites and 152 hospitality boxes. Another great part of the tour was visiting England’s locker room, in which each locker had names of famous rugby players at each position on a plaque, including Johnny Wilkinson, an England fly-half who kicked a drop goal to win the Rugby World Cup Final for England in the match’s final seconds in 2003, which we later found out in the World Rugby Museum. The last fact we wanted to share with everyone that we learned on the tour was that during the events, there is one and only one police officer in the stadium and he is up in the control room. We were told this is due to the community rugby and Twickenham have created. It is really common for people to make lifelong friends with the strangers they sit by at rugby games due to their love of the sport.
After the stadium tour, we had time to explore the adjacent World Rugby Museum, in which we learned about the history of the game of rugby, rugby fundamentals such as how to play in a scrum (the museum had a practice scrum sled), and the state of the game today.
After that, we went into town for lunch and to find a bar that was made famous on the Ted Lasso TV show, which is about an American football coach who was hired to coach an English soccer club. After lunch and the bar, we took the subway into the center of London to go on a guided walking tour of some famous landmarks of London.
We began our walking tour in Leicester Square, which was surrounded by a lot of movie theaters and shops. From there, we walked to Trafalgar Square, which is a massive square in the dead center of London. The square is named after the Battle of Trafalgar, which was a naval battle in the Napoleonic wars in which the Admiral Lord Nelson defeated the French navy while also giving his life in the process. There is a massive statue of him in the square to commemorate him and the battle. From there, we walked past the Cenotaph, a memorial to British soldiers who died in WWI, and made our way to a street corner with an amazing view of Big Ben and the British Parliament building. Our next stop was in front of Westminster Abbey, which is a massive cathedral that has hosted every English monarch’s coronation since William the Conqueror in 1066, and has also been used for royal weddings, state funerals, and the final resting place for several English monarchs and other people with great contributions to British society, such as the scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, and the author, Sir Charles Dickens. Our second to last stop was Buckingham Palace, which is the official residence of the King of England and has been for every monarch since Queen Victoria. Finally, we walked down the Mall, a road connecting Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, and on the way, a large number of royal horse guards passed us in formation on their way to a rehearsal for an important annual military demonstration celebrating the King’s birthday, which is called Trouping the Colour.
After the tour, we had a bunch of free time. So I (Chris), decided to text my aunt who lives in Mill Hill which is a suburb of London. My aunt responded sent me her address and I took the tube to Mill Hill East Station where my cousin, Sinead, picked me up. After a quick five minute drive I arrived at my cousin’s house where I was greeted by one of the cutest dogs I have ever met. After a quick catch up, my aunt Susan, uncle Hugh, cousin Michael, and I headed to their favorite local Irish pub. I had some amazing chicken wings and a barbeque burger. After about an hour of eating and talking about our families they dropped me back off at Mill Hill East. Except there was one little problem, my internet was not working so I had to ask an attendant how to get back to the hotel. After writing down the directions I was on my way and after a 40 minute tube ride I was back at the hotel and ready to pass out.
After the tour, while Chris went to visit family in London, I (David) continued with part of the group to the area near the London Eye, which is a huge Ferris wheel on the River Thames. We didn’t go up in the Eye, but we got dinner near it. We found this Mexican cantina and ordered dinner there. After dinner, myself and four others walked back across the river and towards His Majesty’s Theater, which was near Trafalgar Square. We went there to watch Phantom of the Opera, one of the greatest and most famous musicals of all time. It is the second longest-running show in West End History (West End is London’s theater district), and was the longest-running show in Broadway history as well, but only the West End Production is currently still performing. To say that this show was amazing is a massive understatement. Our seats were obstructed, but it didn’t matter. We were still able to see the chandelier rise at the beginning of the show, which gave all of us chills. All of the actors were amazing singers, too. I have many of years of experience with vocal performance so I am often very critical of someone’s performance, but I was blown away by what I heard. The blend of musical and operatic voices was amazing. On top of the voices, the orchestra was insanely powerful. I could feel the music in my chest. The organ alone made the music worth the price of admission. After the show, we bought souvenirs and made our way past Piccadilly Circus and back to the hotel, where we spent time talking with everyone on the trip about our experiences in London for the day. All in all, it was a fantastic day in the British capital.
