This trip was an amazing experience, I am so happy we had such a great group of people and amazing RD’s! One important goal that I accomplished during this trip was learning how to navigate the city by walking and public transportation, mostly due to the help of Google maps. Although the buses remain somewhat of a challenge to me, I can confidently say that I know my way around the tube, and can figure out how to get around London. Also, this trip was full of unique experiences that I would not have if I didn’t go with this group, such as an exclusive walk around the skyscraper district, a visit to Kew Gardens, and going down the Twizzler. I also really valued all of our free time, it allowed us to have a lot of freedom and helped me learn how to get around quicker. My favorite day on the trip was probably the day we went to the British Museum, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, and had tea at the National Portrait Gallery. We packed so much culture and context into that day, which I really appreciated. Also, Kamilla and I ate some truly delicious burgers by Trafalgar.
Author: Sabrina Hooker
Experiencing London
My Experiential Map!
By far my favorite sketch that we have done from this trip was the experiential map. I liked it because it helped me to reflect back on the day and remember exactly what we did. It also gave a new perspective to just how much are we covered, and helped me relate a map to the experience of walking through a space. I also enjoyed making quick little sketches of the places we visited, and accompanying them with longer descriptions of my experience in that space. I think this is the sketch I’m most proud of, and I am really happy I learned about this type of sketch in this class.
Stonehenge Shenanigans
Quick sketch of Stonehenge
Our visit to Stonehenge at the end of a long day was unfortunately pretty rainy and windy. I was able to get a rough outline while on the site, and then I was able to add details and color later on from a photo. My goal with this sketch was to capture the texture and shadows of the stones, which I think I accomplished pretty well. I do wish I had more time on site to complete the drawing instead of referencing a photo. I’m glad I chose to use color for this sketch, I think it adds some more description and depth.
Museums, Greenwich and Cathedrals, Oh my!
On Saturday, the afternoon after we arrived in London, we went to St Paul’s cathedral. The inside was incredibly intricate and vast, the structure is monumental and absolutely gorgeous. We climbed up many compact, winding stairs (through the double dome structure) to get an amazing view of the city, which really helped me to orient myself, and gave a great preview to all the activities and places to look forward to in the coming days.
View out from top of St Pauls towards One New Change shopping mall.
Our second full day in London consisted of a 10 mile walking tour, starting with Monument, then heading down to Tower of London, across Tower Bridge to Tate Modern, a boat out to Greenwich, and finally ending at the Olympic Village. My favorite part of this whole day was visiting Greenwich, where we saw the Painted Hall, The Queens House, and the Prime Meridian. The whole complex was incredibly beautiful, I especially enjoyed the Thornhill paintings in the Painted Hall. We also hiked up the hill to the observatory, and got a great view out towards the Thames.
Ceiling by Thornhill in Greenwich Painted Hall
The next day, we visited the British Museum, where we drew the central plaza and reading room. This was a real challenge, because the ceiling is very complex. My favorite part of the museum was all the Greek statues.
View of Reading Room and ceiling at the British Museum
Sabrina Hooker Pre-departure Blog
The sites I am most excited to see are Kew Gardens, Stourhead, and Salisbury Cathedral. As a landscape architecture major, the incredible variety of plant species at Kew is incredibly interesting to me, and the different greenhouses look fabulous. I will definitely be visiting the Temperate Greenhouse, I love the combination of unique green plants against a stark white architectural background. Stourhead is, I think, very much one of a kind, I have never been to a landscape that takes a visitor through the story (except maybe Disney, although I would categorize that as something else entirely). In 2300, my favorite section of architecture that we learned about was Gothic churches. I love their haunting beauty, the way they look almost weightless, and the vast spaces inside. I am most looking forward to Salisbury in particular because the town has the medieval market, and I can’t wait to buy very unique items there, it will definitely be where I get most of my souvenirs. My main concern pre-departure is obviously the virus, I just hope that everything goes smoothly and that everybody stays healthy while we are there. I am also excited to spend some time getting to know London with my friends!
Sabrina Hooker Bio
Hello! My name is Sabrina Hooker, and my hometown is right here in Columbus, OH, so the Buckeyes are very special to me and remind me of home. I am majoring in Landscape Architecture and double minoring in both Environmental Science and Studio Art. I am most looking forward to seeing Kew Gardens, St Pauls Cathedral, and a view of London from the eye. I absolutely love strolling through colorful gardens, they exude peace and comfort to me. St Pauls also peaks my interest because grand cathedrals are always so awe-inspiring, and going through the double dome will be such a unique experience. Also, I am very excited for all the delicious food London has to offer. Just being in a city that has so much history and world significance is why I am looking forward to this trip so much. One of my goals on the trip is to try and find a way to capture what it’s like to be in London through sketching, and I am eager to learn as much as I can about drawing in order to do that. Finally, wandering around in such a cool place with experts on the city and friends will be such a fun and exciting experience.
This is a picture of me, Sabrina!
Sabrina selfie
Sabrina selfie for first day of class.