Tuesday (June 2, 2009) wasn't too busy either we all met up to tour Westminster Abby with our guide Marc Belben. A little background on Westminster...

It is the greatest known church in the world, there are over 3,000 people buried there today and the Abby used to be Catholic until the 1500's when King Henry the 8th separated the church and crown. What I thought was pretty cool was that there is a tomb for an unknown British warrior like they have in Paris as well as the U.S. It is a tomb that represents all the lives lost during WWI and it is lined with red poppies which symbolize blood shed and war.

Probably one of the greatest tombs was not a tomb at all but a commemoration to Winston Churchill who said when he became Prime Minister during WWII was "I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat, toil and tears".

Another crazy fact I learned was that out of everyone buried in the Abby there is only one who is buried vertical, everyone else is horizontal. That person was a man by the name of Ben Johnson who was a student of Westminster and a partisan of Shakespeare. When he dies he could only afford so much space within the Abby so he was buried vertical as opposed to everyone else buried there.

I liked this trip because I got to see graves of so many famous historical people that have made such a big difference in our lives and to not realize what they did for generations to come until then was a big awakening and made me want to go home and research all of the people further just to know what went on in their lives. It was cool seeing a church with so much history within the walls too because we have nothing even remotely close to this in the States.

Hey Everyone!

So this week has been a little crazy and I know I haven't written about last week so here it goes. Get ready....

The Monday we got back from Paris wasn't too busy we all met under the Big Ben and had a lecture in the House of Parliament with an actual member of Parliament named Graham Brady. He told us how things are ran within the British government and we were given the opportunity to ask questions about the problems within their government, his thoughts on them and his ideas of how they are going to be fixed. He also gave us a little background on the Prime Minister. The current PM is Gordon Brown, there are 646 members of Parliament and 97% of Parliament are white. What I found interesting that I didn't know before was that the Prime Minister can declare war and ask the queen to dissolve Parliament and be open for national elections.

After are lecture in the House of Parliament we broke for lunch and met back at ULU for another lecture on the European Union with Dr. Gavin Dodsworth. I actually enjoyed this lecture because I felt that he related what we were talking about to our generation. He had a way of speaking passionately about the EU but was able to convey the message to us in a clear way. We learned that there are 27 countries in the EU and that it is not automatic to be a member. If a country doesn't want to be in it they don't have to; by choice Norway and Switzerland are not in it. To be part of EU you have to feel as though if you give you will get something out of it and the only country to leave was Greenland. One of the main reasons to have started EU was to bring countries together and prevent WWIII. It has done a good job so far and by coming together in the EU, there will be more influence on the rest of the world.

We learned how the Euro came about and it was to create a United States of Europe through currency, goods, service, free movement of people and capital. There is one federal reserve and it determines the Euro's worth.

Monday was like a said an interesting day but it wasn't too chaotic which was good because we were all still trying to recover from Paris. It was cool learning about where the Euro came about and why it is so important for more countries to join and come together along with the majority of Europe.

The day after our tour of Kew Gardens we all got ready and met at the Eurostar train station to travel to PARIS!!!!!!! It was a 2 1/2 hour train ride from London to the heart of Paris so we left around 11:30 and got to Paris around 2:30. Yeah I know that's three hours but Paris is ahead by an hour so technically according to them it was 2:30. The ride was pretty fast but the best part was the fact that we had to go UNDER the English Channel instead of over or through it.

After we got off the train we were rounded up and told to board a charter bus. We then took a two hour bus tour of the area and got to see everything Paris had to offer including but no limited to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Parthenon, and Napoleon's Tomb. After the bus tour was over we were taken to our hotel which overlooked the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower. When were all settled in we decided to all go out to dinner as a big group to a fancy French restaurant. Everyone got to order French cuisine and I got to try foods I would never dare try in the U.S. I got to eat snail and duck and creme brule. After dinner we all wanted to explore so we went to a local store bought wine and sat under the Eiffel Tower and watched to light show. We got back to the hotel pretty late so we all hit the hay as soon as we got to our rooms.

The next day we got a reasonable start and probably the most decent breakfast since we left the states. Some of us wanted to go shopping and see the stores but others like me wanted to see the sites. The first stop my group went to was the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo De Vinci. It was breathtaking being able to be this close to a painting that is so famous and recognized everywhere as a masterpiece. The Louvre was HUGE so it took us a couple of hours to see all was wanted to see but it was well worth it because not only were the paintings and sculptures amazing the walls and ceilings themselves were incredible as well. It seemed as if every room had a different motif.

After the Louvre we went to catch a quick bite at a local Chinese restaurant. We then wanted to check out a modern art museum called to Centre Pompidou. It had exhibitions of modern art that I can not begin to describe but it was very enlightening, very French and very nude. After the museum it was getting late so we headed back to meet everyone for dinner and for a second night in a row we got some wine and hung out under the Eiffel Tower.

The last day we had to see Paris we got us early and went to first see Jim Morrison's (the lead singer of The Doors) Grave then to the local market where some of us bought gifts for our families and then to the Church of the Sacred Heart. It is a place where is you stand at the top of the steps in the front you can see all of Paris and was a fabulous view but way too many steps. After taking some pictures of and with the church we moved to another land mark the Arc De Triumph. From the top you could see in a complete circle the different streets leading out of Paris. It took forever to walk up but the view at the top was well worth it.

After we climbed down the Arc we all gathered up and got ready to head back to London. The train ride back seemed a lot faster then before but that must have been because we were so tired and the moment we dozed off we had to wake up.

Paris was up until now the most interesting place we've visited. I never realized the differences until now. When ordering water, you can;t ask for tap it has to be in a bottle and either still or sparkling. Their subway system is a lot more dirty then in London and in some parts Washington D.C. The french were a lot more easy going about the language barrier then I thought they would be. I sometimes heard horror stories of people not being friendly and not willing to help you when you needed it. Another difference is the pace of life in Paris. It isn't as fast as London but it isn't as slow as Amsterdam it is in the happy middle. The biggest difference I saw though in Paris was the amount of people that were homeless and the amount of gypsies. It kind of scared me at first but I came to find that most of them aren't that dangerous you just have to be aware and cautious. All in all it was a great weekend and I learned a lot about a city I've studied for years in high school and college and hopefully someday I'll be able to go back!

On Thursday, May 28th the group had to meet up in the morning to discuss with the professors about the intentions of our final projects. After we all had our individual time to talk about or plans of action we had a planned day at Kew Gardens.

Kew Gardens is roughly 300 acres of land today but when it was first resurrected it was only 9 acres. It was first thought up by Princess Augusta, King George III in the 1750's and about 80% of the plants do not come from Britain they are mostly from the America's.

It was a nice and relaxing afternoon getting a chance to see all the different types of plants but the best part was getting the chance to go on the Treetop Walkway and see all the gardens from high up. It was a bit rocky but so worth it to see above the trees. When we got down there was even a peacock walking around just hanging out.

The gardens were interesting because the majority of the plant life came from other places other then Britain. It gave me the sense that no matter what a Londoner says they do not have everything in their city they have to go pretty far out of the country to find a good sturdy oak.

After we left Stonehenge we traveled a little further to a place called Bath which was discovered by a Roman Prince who had been caste away from his kingdom because of his disfigured face. He discovered a hat spring in Bath and washed his face with its water, his face was miraculously healed and was able to go back to Rome and tell his amazing story. It is believed today that he was not really disfigured but just had a bad case of acne and the water helped his breakouts.

The town of Bath was a spa and recreation town not a military one. There was a religious temple to the Goddess of Wisdom Minerva and the Celtic God of the river. In 410 AD the Romans left the town of Bath and it fell into disrepair; the baths were used as rubbish bins. During the time of the religious era, Bath was known for its Christian Churches and bubbling hot water. Ralph Allen was the man who came across a stone quarry in Bath and decided to build and expand the town in the 18h century.

After learning all this history on the bus from our wonderful guide Bob we were actually allowed to explore the Roman baths. It was a self guided tour so we were able to walk around at our own pace. After the tour of the baths some of us were still interested in the history of the rest of the town so we were able to get a personal tour from Bob. We got the chance to see where Nicholas Cage and Johnny Depp live but we also learned where the term powder room comes from. During the era of powder and white wigs, one would go to the restroom after getting out of the carriage when visiting a friend. They would have to check to make sure their wigs were on properly and that they had enough powder on their faces hence it being dubbed the powder room.

I really enjoyed getting to see the area of Bath because before I came to this country I never really knew how parts of England were discovered, I figured they just appeared and thrived automatically. It was also cool to look around the town and get the chance to explore a different place other then the busy streets of London. People seemed to move a little slower and be a little bit more personable.

Hey blog followers!

OK so I left off talking about the play I saw at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The next day, Tuesday May 27th, we had a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. It was an amazing sight but the only down and messy side was that it was pouring and extremely windy and cold. On more then one occasion people were either loosing their umbrellas or having to turn them right side in when the wind picked up and blew them out.

A little history about the are of Stonehenge....
In 12,00 BC there was a change in culture from large family groups to smaller, more individualistic family groups and in this specific area archaeologists called them the beaker people because in their culture they were buried in the fetal position and their graves contained beakers or pots that stored food or valuables like money and jewelry.

A henge is a circular earthwork ditch with stones or wood. It was a slow process that took 1500 years to build. The people dug a ditch 6ft down and 300 ft in diameter. The first stones were brought in from the furthest places known as blue stone which were 8-12 feet high all the way from Whales. There were around 40 of them brought and placed in a ring. The second stones that were brought were known as marble downs across the ares; they were moved on rollers 20-25 miles, they were cut at the site and two were placed standing while one was placed on top. In 1500 BC Stonehenge was complete but there is no clue as to what happened to the beaker people because their burial rituals died out.

The Stonehenge as we know it today is in its collapsed form, over the centuries there was a road that went through it during the medieval times then a farmer owned the land that it rested on and would let people as they walked by break a chunk off and take it with them on their journey.

The beaker people were discovered by archaeologists to have over 7,000 burial mounds in the area surrounding Stonehenge. They were believed to be a spiritual people. The reasoning behind Stonehenge in not exact but it is believed to be astrological but have healing properties as well. People came from all over to be healed from curses or ailments.

I really enjoyed when we went to Stonehenge because I had heard of the extreme controversy of its origins. It made me think just how far back this area went and that I could have been standing where someone else walked or was healed at thousands of years before. It was quite a sight even though it was raining but it seemed to make the experience more memorable and appreciate the fact that I had to see this controversial wonder first hand.

Hey All!

I know it's been a while since I've last posted but I just got back from grand Paris yesterday evening and haven't had a moment to spare but I left off talking about my trip to Amsterdam. This past week we had a few really good and interesting days before the small excursion to Paris.

The first day we got back from Amsterdam, we had to rush on the train and head to class. If I'm not mistaken it was Tuesday May 26th. Our guest Lecturer Bob Craig was the one who talked to the class about the History of London. He went back to almost 2,000 years ago and explained how London came about. It was no major settlement but was founded by Cesar when he and his men crossed the what is now known as the English Chanel. The area known today as London was recorded by 60 AD by the Queen Boudica. She was unhappy with the taxes the Roman put on her people and when her kingdom was unable to fully pay the Romans off, they beat her and assaulted her two daughters. She then in turn raised an army and attacked London; her army killed 30,000 people.

Bob then went on to talk about many other very interesting things but there isn't enough time or energy to type everything into this blog ; ) but her talked about King Charles I and his war waged against his people and the Parliament. He wanted to arrest 4 Parliament men, London sided with Parliament and the King lost the war. He was put on trial and convicted of treason and sentenced to death.

Bob talked about a lot of things in the history of London lecture and it made me realize how young America is and how much further back English history goes more so then the U.S's. Compared to England and specifically London, the history is not as interesting but I think it is because I grew up hearing about the same things that happened to our country over and over and hearing about another country's' background really intrigued me.

After Bob's lecture we took a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It wasn't my favorite museum but it as or the most part interesting. There are seven corridors that make up the building and if one were to read every single plaque in the museum it could take up to six months. Our guide showed us many things in the exhibit including art and historical pieces from the Greek/Roman period, the Chinese and Arabian cultures and the most interesting the Egyptian time period. We got to see the mummy of Cleopatra and some Roman statues of Greek Gods and Goddesses.

Later on that night we all went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and saw the play " The Comedy of Errors" and it was fabulous! It was funny, it made you think and I didn't find myself board at all during the performance. I had no idea what the play was about going into this but i left feeling as if I had heard to story line before. It is about two brothers being separated as young boys and finding themselves in the same city when they are older. The dilemma come in when everyone including their wives and love interests keep confusing them for each other. They discover each other in the end and all returns to normal. i really liked the way the theatre was set up because it is an exact replica of how the theatre looked back in the time of Shakespeare. Some of the crowd stood while the rest of us got to sit in backless chairs which doesn't sound better but made all the difference.

All in all it was a jam packed day and a great learning experience. Cheers! More to come later!