UK Adventures Blog

After the ever-shrinking group of breakfast-goers returned from the dining hall, the whole team (minus a few) piled on to the coach for a quick nap en route to Windsor Castle. Due to an injury, a few of us stayed behind to explore Chelsea. The rest took an audio tour of the Royal Apartments and the King George Chapel. We saw a hundred-year-old dollhouse that belonged to Queen Mary, and we're just in time to witness a changing of the guards. One group even found a fellow Aggie – Class of '01!

Next we split off to explore all that the small town of Windsor had to offer. Some groups went to italian experiencing some delicious authentic —and with that expensive — Italian carbs, and others went off to exploit the cheap underground Windsor video game market. We had to be back strictly at 1, and while the group of lads made it back 10 minutes past than that, Nikhil managed to get back 20 minutes past due to his escapades. We hopped back on the bus and made our mary way off to Hampton’s court.

The court was stunning. While it’s elevation didn’t quite match the rest of the palaces we’ve seen, the courtyards, gardens, and intricate architecture well made up for it. Our guide led us inside and let us disperse to do as we please, where we explored William VIII’s apartments, the hedge maze, the natural scenery, and a fancy indoor court for a peculiar wall-tennis sport. We ended our visit with some subpar rock skipping and headed off back to HQ.

Alex and Nacho made great use of the bus ride back to solve green eggs and ham… something about basic linear algebra and coordinate planes. On our return, we encountered our first form false fire alarm. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes. After a sampling mushy peas in the dining hall, the group split up to explore the V&A art museum and the British Museum. 

We hope to make some time tonight for writing postcards, seeing where the Tube takes us, and maybe even sleeping!

Cheerio and Gig 'em,

Allie and Gavin 

Our grand epic begins later in the morning than usual. Each adventurer struggled to fight the urge to roll over and shut off their alarms, and while the battle was close, most of our heroes were triumphant and made an appearance at breakfast. While the grub was good, they began to realize the difficulty in consuming the same set of food each and every morning. Fortunately, today was brightened for everyone by the fact that it was the hero Akira's birthday. Following the fulfilling meal, the merry group dispersed for coffee and a moment of rest before the trials of the day were to begin.

They met outside their home with the tour guides of the day: Leo and Clarissa. These brave travelers guided the group through the perils of the underground in the safest manner available, but some of our keener adventurers deciphered a more efficient (while more difficult) route to our destination. Fortunately the journey was short and the heroes arrived in Greenwich shortly after. As they traveled to their destination, they made sure to scope out the market for potential luncheon locations. The naval museum contained many wonders to explore, including the back of a boat, an operating boat engine, and the coat jacket of a famous British Admiral. To complete the planned portion of the expedition, the group hiked up to the nearby observatory to discover the origins of how time was tracked and how captains navigated the treacherous seas through adjusting their clocks based on where on the globe they were. Several people also successfully stood on two hemispheres at once!

The expedition (and skipping breakfast) had worn out many of the adventurers rather quickly, so a group split up and rushed down the hill to quest for something to quench their hunger. The remaining team waited to watch the daily ball drop at the Greenwich observatory at 1pm before rolling down the slope themselves to follow after their companions. From brisket sandwiches to strawberry Gelato, the Greenwich market had much to offer the starving heroes, and everyone agreed that the food was delicious.

On the return journey, the group discovered a new passageway back to Imperial College: a boat. Through the deep, perilous waters of the Thames River, our brave adventurers sailed to reach Westminster Abby. From there, the team split up and rushed to accomplish as many feats as possible before everything began to close. In a race against time, the explorers witnessed the British Parliament in action, learned about the history of space travel, marveled at the beauty of ancient art, and (the most dangerous task of all) dared to sleep through the afternoon. With new knowledge gained and experiences cataloged, the group reunited upon the footsteps of the college.

Tonight, dinner was even more exhilarating than it normally is. Cakes were brought out and singing was in order in celebration of Akira's birthday. Apparently, the cake looked so good that a fellow adventurer from another group couldn't help but ask for some. Everyone was amused and Mr. Altendorf demonstrated some of his magic skills to her while she chowed down. Fully sated, the team split yet again. Some decided to watch the new Oppenheimer film, while others hopped on bicycles to explore town, and yet others wandered off together to discover what London had in store for them.

As the evening closes in and the shroud of darkness envelopes the bright and bustling city, the heroes of our story each slowly (but surely) find their own way to their beds and promptly fall into a deep sleep, for they are all sorely exhausted and yearning for each moment of shut-eye they can catch at this point in their journey.

Signing off

Mr. Bendixen & Mr. Kinley

 

 

Hello loyal readers!

After our first few days in London, it was finally time to branch out from the big city. We hopped on the bus and got ready for our journey to the prestigious Oxford University. On the way, some trip members caught up on lost sleep and were caught on camera.

At Oxford, we toured New College, which is actually old and from the 1300s, and was the inside courtyard of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter films. We then walked to the main campus before breaking to eat lunch in the market and walk the city. Many of us ended up in the bookstore to buy British classics but some found their way exploring even more of Oxford's great campus.

After our escapade to Oxford, we once again got on the bus, this time to Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of Winston Churchill. The palace held many exquisite tapestries and pieces art, as well as a hedge maze. Seeking to challenge the maze, many members of the group tried their best to best the hedges. Despite its initial impression as a kids playground, the maze rapidly became complex and confined some members so long they had to run to catch the bus.

Finally, the day was over and the bus trudged along back to Imperial College. After dinner and another night of missing the museums before closing, we had a free night on the town, with some going to Oxford Street (not the university!) to shop while others visited Chinatown and the LEGO store. We still have a long way to go before seeing all the things London has to offer.

Cheers,

TJ

Today started early in the morning at around 7:30 again. Half of us made it to breakfast bright and early, while the smart ones slept in and met us for the tour guide at 9. Some of us found the Greek yogurt served with honey which was probably the best part of an otherwise hit-or-miss meal. Once we all finished, we regrouped… except for Dhruv who had to stay . To start our journey, we hopped on the bus number 9 to Hyde Park corner station, then the 414 to Marble Arch (which we almost missed because we got on the wrong bus initially!). Afterwards, we went down to the underground, got on a few (read: a lot) of wrong trains, and made conversation with an absolutely jacked stranger about how much he benches (200 kilos!!). 3 trains later, and after a few briefings about the brand new Elizabethan line which we tried out, we all ended up at the fancy Canary Wharf train station which had tons of both ‘Canary Yellow’ decorations and memorable photo opportunities.

We arrived at the center of the London dock—one of the largest and most influential ports in the world. Interestingly enough, containerization (brought into commercial practice only decades ago) reduced the number of dock workers from 100,000 to just 300 today! Really shows the power of mechanical and transportation engineering to change an entire workforce (A&M Engineering, anyone?). We then took a short walking tour of the area and saw some modern artistic pieces. Then, we split for a brief ten-minute break. Tejas and Nikhil went to a tube-like structure between the station and the skyscrapers to take pictures, while Anish and a few others went to get coffee and pastries. Once we met up again, we took the Elizabethan line back to Liverpool Street to visit a cluster of skyscrapers and a residential center of the city. We learned how airspace regulations, city building codes, and historic view preservation efforts limit the construction of skyscrapers to small, isolated areas away from the path of incoming air traffic. As a result, we were in the center of some very interesting, crowded architecture. One of the buildings had a so-called “cheese grater” form of transportation where elevators lined a layer outside the main building so as to not take up any space on the floors. Also, we saw a building aptly named “The Gherkin” (pickle in American terms) which stood out for its really unique shape.

Next, we journeyed down a few blocks to a primary residential center where we came across the Barbican—a tower at the entrance to a castle. Finally, as we were walking along a beautiful garden area, we ran across some very aggressive ducks that tried biting Caitlin! Though cute at first sight, these ferocious creatures were not meant to be messed with.

At around 1:15, we made it back to the Imperial college and headed for a presentation on theatre (its history and impacts) right after heading back to our dorms. We also took our Imagination House books for a meeting we would have with Mr. Lee Walker at 3. Though many of us were tired from quite a busy morning of transit and walking, we were surprised to see that we had a better-than-normal packed lunch. There was some quite “exquisite” chicken shawarma which was leagues better than the sandwiches served back at York. We also had vegetarian sandwiches and spicy crisps served with a proper can of spring water. Vibha and Marie went to the farmers market and picked up some local food and fresh fruit from truck vendors. Right around when we finished eating, Mrs. Wilson presented on theatre; then, we started up a Zoom call with Mr. Walker and Mr. Will Wynn (former mayor of Austin!). A few notable questions asked were about Mr. Walker’s imaginative process and how he included his philosophy of curiosity throughout his endeavors, as well as explaining his morals and how he maintained them in the cutthroat business world. During the remainder of the evening, we attended a showing of Les Misérables which was one of the most entertaining experiences of the trip. Taking a single train to Piccadilly Square (depicted in the COD: MW game), we got off after four stops and walked to the showing area. From the get-go, the theatre’s inside was ornate, and the showing room had a historic atmosphere. Though slightly crowded, everyone managed to find comfortable seating. The story has multiple twists and turns, and it is absolutely worth watching a live performance or reading the play for the full tale; however, in a sentence, it depicted the story of a criminal-turned-hero and his adopted daughter evading the police, hoodlums, and the chaos of the French Revolution of 1832. The music was impeccable, and the acting even more so. At points, it seemed like actors and sets just teleported into and out of the stage as every single scene was so well done. Most of us agreed that the whole experience was a 9.5/10 (save for the late showing time which resulted in a couple of us dozing off). Nikhil also met an individual that he knew from South Texas who was on an exchange program for his performance studies degree. To round off the night, we all took (a very crowded) train right back to the dorms, where most of us immediately retired to doze off in preparation for a busy day tomorrow.

This is your London crew signing off for the night. Catch us tomorrow for Oxford and more!

Nikhil and Vibha

Hey guys,

Today we started our first full day in London bright and early with breakfast right at 7:30 am. After our meal, we had an hour to explore on our own. A large group of us walked to the skinny house, a building only 6 feet wide, while others went back to the dorms to sleep for an extra hour. We also walked over to the nearby shopping mall, one of the biggest in the world, but it was closed.

We then met up with our tour guide and set off for Westminster Abbey, the site of coronation for numerous monarchs, as well as a burial site for many important figures in history. We had some free time to explore and either continued to walk around the abbey or walked around near Big Ben and the Thames.

Hungry, we set off for lunch at PizzaEast, owned by Gordan Ramsey. It was an interesting experience, filled with expensive, cheesy food. We hate cheese but the pizza and olives were good. The tiramisu was good for the individuals who were not nut free (Nick).

After lunch, we took the complex tube system for several miles to the Tower Bridge. During this visit, we saw a pirate ship cross under the opening drawbridge. After seeing the incredible view, we toured the Tower of London to see the incredible Crown Jewels, giant ravens, and beautiful scenery from the White Tower. After another confusing ride in the London Underground, we arrived at our dorms in time for a wonderful dinner of sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice. When the dinner concluded, several of the members including Marie and I went to an incredible Tchaikovsky concert filled with a mosh pit of senior citizens bumping to 1800’s classical hits.