Howdy!
Today we traveled from York to London and went on a tour to get acquainted with the new city. Our day started bright and early, with a 7:15 departure from our dorms in York with all of our luggage. At 7:30, we ate breakfast at the York St. John’s dining hall. The food consisted of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and beans. After that filling meal, we took a bus to York train station to catch a train to London.
However, upon arriving at the station, we learned that our train was unexpectedly canceled! Luckily, we were able to hitch a ride on a different train. The catch was that we didn’t have any seating, so we had to stand for the entire 2 hour ride.
While the train ride may not have been the most glamorous experience in the world, it got us from point A to point B. We were finally at King’s Cross Station in London! Everybody successfully got off the train with their luggage in tow.
Our next stop was the dorms, where we would be staying for the next week. We boarded another bus and promptly arrived at the Imperial College dorms around 11:30. In the Student Social Space, we stored all our luggage while the staff readied our rooms. In the meantime, we broke into groups to get lunch before our walking tour at 2:00. Student leader Eric headed an expedition to a quaint Georgian restaurant, where we experienced several new dishes, among which were chicken livers and Georgian lemonade.
After lunch the group reassembled at the Prince’s Gardens outside the dorm and split into three groups for a walking tour of the area around Imperial College. We walked past sights like the Natural History Museum, the Royal College of Music, and Royal Albert Hall, before finishing our tour at the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens for some group photos.
After a short break and dinner at the Imperial College, the group split up one last time to tour the area in our own time. A large group of us took advantage of the Friday night late closing at the Victoria and Albert Museum nearby, exploring its vast and dense halls.
The exhibits included huge Raphael paintings from the Sistine Chapel, beautifully ornate gold crucifixes and chalices, and an evolution of British fashion throughout the centuries. The most popular exhibit was a hall full of replicas of world famous artworks, like Michelangelo’s David and Trajan’s Column (which they had to chop in half to even fit in the building).
Despite rocky circumstances in the morning, we had a great travel day today and are looking forward to touring Westminster Abbey and the London Tower tomorrow!
Cheers,
John and Jonathan