While London seems like a city that you could spend a lifetime exploring and still not see and fully understand everything about it, our weeklong trip was a great glimpse into all of the culture and landscape that London has to offer. I think that it is a very rare experience to be able to learn about landmarks and buildings that hold a global significance, then get to go see them in the real world. I really appreciated this aspect of our trip because there were certain things that I was surprised that I enjoyed so much when we saw them in person. Something as simple as taking a nap in Hyde Park, after several days of long walking tours, was one of my favorite memories from the trip.
As I expected it would be, the day trip to Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Salisbury was my favorite day of the trip. The medieval town of Salisbury felt like something out of a movie set. I really enjoyed seeing the massive spire from the cathedral always peeking out above the buildings, and when we walked on the cathedral lawn I was amazed at how tall the structure actually was. Stourhead was a great break from all of the urban areas that we visited, and as cheesy as the signs reminding you to “take a breath” seemed, I actually did what each one said and it made me much more mindful of the whole landscape. I have always been intrigued by Stonehenge, so I was very excited to see it in person. A few years ago in Alabama I visited “Bamahenge”, and I remembered how amazed I was when I first saw the fiberglass recreation of Stonehenge. Visiting Stonehenge I actually felt like the wind and rain added to the experience, and made the whole scene that much more mysterious – so I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Finally going to the top of the Shard and looking out over the city at night was the perfect way to end the trip. It seemed like the lights stretched out forever and gave me some perspective on the expanse of London. I had a hard time leaving the top of the Shard and everyone I was with kept gravitating back toward the windows because there was always something else to look at. When we finally went back toward the hotel, a few of us stopped at The Flying Horse, a 200 year old pub, and talked about some of our favorite stories from the trip, capping off an unforgettable trip.
Sketch of Westminster Abbey facade
View through an alley framing the Shard
View of Stonehenge
View of Tower Bridge from the top of the Shard, looking east