Westminster Abbey | London '16 Culture & City

Reflections of days 6 and 7

March 24 2016

Day six of the trip was great in an architectural sense. We saw many old buildings on our morning walk to Covent Garden and Sir John Jones. I really enjoyed going into Middle Temple hall and seeing the the architectural decor of the wood on the ceiling. Temple church was also very cool. I enjoyed that we could go all the way up to the top and see downward into the middle. I also was thoroughly thrilled that Temple church was the center hub or all the knights of the era. Day six was also the day of the museum of choice day and Logan, Cori and I decided to go back to Tate Modern since we felt like we didn’t have enough time to see what it had to offer the first time. I even got to use my BUCKid and get a student discount at the gift shop. That evening was also a fun time for Cori, Trace, Rachel, Logan and I. We found what we think to believe is the only free-refill soda fountain in all of London! We ate at Nando’s not too far from our hotel. Day seven was a great experience because of the office tours. I went with Troy to SOM and I am so glad I did. I loved it. Dinner on day seven at Wagamama I really enjoyed as well. Logan and I tried their fried squid as an appetizer and I got some coconut curry as my main dish.

Stained-glass windows at Temple Church

Walking across Millennium Bridge!

Soda fountain at Nando’s

Daily Stats

Westminster Abbey Facade

Logan and my appetizers at Wagamama

Coconut curry from Wagamama

Day Seven

March 18 2016March 19, 2016

no pictures allowed inside, but the outside is a sight to see as well

This morning began with a visit to Westminster Abbey, which was, as with nearly everything else in London, beautiful. Our tour guide was very witty, and taught us a lot about the space. My favorite part was the space devoted to distinguished scientist such as Newton and Darwin.

a funny caption found at the transportation museum

During my free time following this, I made my first tube trip alone. It was a bit nerve wracking, but I made it exactly where I needed to be! I spent my time visiting the transportation museum, which was easily the most incredible museum I’ve ever been to. First off, the place was filled with even MORE British children. The museum really catered to people of all ages. Secondly, I learned more than I ever imagined. Following free time, half of our group met up to tour the firm Allies and Morrison. I loved the many models scattered throughout the firm.

something I never would have imagined I’d like

We then met back up for a group dinner at Wagamama. Being an extremely picky eater, I was really nervous about this. However, I really enjoyed the meal, and found something I really liked. Afterwards, we explored Chinatown for dessert! It’s been hard going without my fallback- chicken fingers and fries- but I’ve managed, and been forced to go a little out of my comfort zone doing so.
As my time ends here in London, I’m finding myself both excited and sad. I’m very homesick, but I’ve grown a bit attached to the routine I’ve developed over the past week. I’ll miss a lot of things, but I’m excited to get home as well. London has been an incredible introduction to what I hope to be many more adventures to come!

Day 6 and 7: Simple and Sweet

March 18 2016March 18, 2016

Day 6 was really nice. We went to the Temple Church, Middle Temple, and Sir John Soane’s house. I enjoyed the Lincoln Park Fields because it was so peaceful in the middle of the city. I also liked that there was such spectacular places all surrounding the Lincoln Park Fields. The drawings seemed confusing at first but after starting the drawings I enjoyed that part of it. I liked the way my section came out better than my figure/ground. I also enjoyed the fact that we were able to have such amazing free time after that. I wish we had more free time but I understand that that can’t always happen.

Trace surprised me and took me to the Harry Potter Museum which was one of the best experiences I have had. I smiled so much my cheeks hurt. He knew how much I wanted to go but the tickets were sold out for our free day so he decided to get tickets for yesterday. I loved it so much! I would say that that was our Museum of choice and although it wasn’t an architectural museum like Tate Modern or the British Museum but it was spectacular. I loved that there were the real costumes and all the sets! I got to take a picture with the 9 3/4 station. I loved that I got to sit in the flying car and I got to see all these amazing props. It didn’t seem real but it was seriously spectacular.

Day 7 was pretty simple and sweet. We started the day off with the Westminster Abbey and yet again my perspective and scale was off. I assumed it was huge when it was only big. I thought Westminster Abbey had a bigger ceiling space than St. Pauls and I would have to disagree completely with that statement I had before. I liked Westminster Abbey but I didn’t enjoy the tour guide that much. He was fabulous at his job and I liked what he told me but I wanted to explore it more and read certain plaques. Besides that the Westminster Abbey was really nice. I wanted to sketch the front facade more but I really couldn’t figure out how to warm my fingers up and we only had a small amount of time to do the sketch.

After Westminster Abbey I went to Allies and Morrison. I LOVED it so much! The models were fantastic and I am so glad I went into this major. I love what I do and I can’t wait to get to that level. The models were fabulous and all the different materials used were so fantastic. I loved the tour so much!