Author: Cori Medley

London: Looking Back

It still doesn’t feel like we’ve been to London, stayed for over a week, and came home. People will ask me how London was and I have to remind myself that we actually did go. The trip absolutely flew by but it was such a great experience. I made so many new friends that I never would have met, or become close with, otherwise. Having so many different people in different majors was awesome because it gave me a completely different perspective of London when I was just looking at the architecture.

But I loved the city so much. London was so inclusive in merging the older architecture and the modern buildings which was amazing to see since so many other cities just divide into the “old” portion and the “new”. I also thought it was amazing to see the differences in culture. We may speak the same language (or a version of it) but there are so many unique cultural differences that I never would have thought of. It was so cool being able to talk to people who lived in the UK about the differences between our cultures.

I never would have thought I would have gotten the opportunity to study abroad in my second year of college but it was an absolutely amazing experience. London is a city I will never forget and one I can’t wait to visit again.

London: Take 2 & 3

Days two and three in London were just as beautiful as the first. Our walking tour, thought extremely long and somewhat exhausting, really provided a great overview of the city and showed the multitude of characters of buildings. And I absolutely loved our tour guide. He was adorable and told the best stories that further explain the history behind the architecture. The Tower of London was one of my favorite sites to see. I didn’t realize just how extensive the walls were outside of the keep.

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I also loved Tate and the Millennium Bridge. I know from class(es) that Tate was large but I never expected it to be that massive. Especially with the current exhibition, the space seems overly large. I’m also a huge fan of Tate’s book store and will definitely be going back there for our museum of choice. Millennium Bridge was something I was really excited to see. I’m a (huge) Harry Potter fan so it was nice to be able to see the bridge in context.

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This picture seems like a very accurate description of the trip so far (ft. Millennium Bridge).

The British Museum was another site I was really excited to visit. I’ve always loved history, I grew up watching the History Channel with my mom, so visiting the museum was extremely enjoyable for me.

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An attempted sketch at the statue of King Ramsesses II. It was so funny to watch all of the little kids come running up to see what I was drawing then look amazed when they saw what it was. It made me feel a bit like a renowned artist.

First Day Impressions

My first day in London was absolutely incredible. I thought I knew what I was going to see in the city but there was so much I never expected. I loved that the architects blended the new buildings right in with the old. In a lot of cities, such as Rome, there is the old section and the new section, but not here.

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(I know this is from today but I thought it really illustrated my point.)

I also really enjoyed seeing the projects from The Building Centre. Almost every project I saw I want to incorporate into my studio projects in some way.

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(Said project I want to incorporate into a studio project.)

St. Paul’s was also incredibly beautiful. It was much larger than I originally thought it was. It was a sublime moment when you first turned the corner and caught a glimpse of the dome. Then from multiple alleyways you could see a great view of the dome and see just how large the building was.

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The view from the top of St. Paul’s was absolutely breathtaking.  Once you made it past the whispering gallery and, finally, made it to the top there was such a rewarding view of the London skyline. It felt like you were on top of the world. (But then you were falling down from the worst stair stepper leg day ever.)

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(Panorama from the top of St. Paul’s.)

Introduction

Hello! My name is Cori Medley. I am a second year majoring in Architecture and minoring in Engineering Sciences. My hometown is Bethesda, Ohio but since it is such a small town I usually just say I am from Ohio, West Virginia. I am most excited to see the Tower of London and Stonehenge as well as going to King’s Cross Station and maybe doing a Jack the Ripper tour (one of my mom’s conditions for sending me to London). Below is a picture of my best friend and me at the incredible Pompeii. Well, we tried…

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