London

Some say that New York is one of the greatest cities that you could ever go to. Well, I’m here to tell you, that they are wrong and London is the best city you could ever go to. Being able to spend time with my sister was amazing, being able to go to London was a blessing, and being able to spend

time with my sister in London was a dream come true!

           

            We hopped on the tube, which is what the British call subways, and took a 30 minute trip into the actual heart of London. The further you got into the city, the more crowded and stuffier the tube train got. It was my first time on a train like that before so I was a little sketched out by it. I had seen so many movies where the train breaks down in the middle of the rail way, or there is a crazy killer on the train, but I survived and am here to tell you the story of London.

            We got off the tube, I can’t remember where we got off at, and walked about a mile onto the Tower Bridge and made our way deeper into the city. We saw street performers, small markets and tea shops everywhere. We eventually strolled down to where Shakespeare’s Globe Theater was. That was something that I had read about in my English classes. My one English teacher was so obsessed with Shakespeare that shed go on and on about him and his theater. I always thought she was just a crazy old lady who had nothing better to do, but at that moment, I realized why she was so obsessed. It was living history. Obviously it had been restored but to think that that was where so many plays had been preformed ages ago can really make you fascinated. We wanted to watch a play but didn’t want to pay 20 pounds for a ticket, which is equivalent to 30 dollars. So instead we explored the gift shops of the Globe and we saw some actors that walked around, dressed in 15^th century clothes. After appreciating the Globe Theater, we walked down to the famous London Eye. For those of you who may not know what the London Eye is, it’s a giant farris wheel located in the heart of the city. Sadly, I can not say that I got to ride the Eye. In my defense, there was a 1 hour or more wait in line and the tickets were 40 pounds a piece. I figured when I’m older and have more money, I’ll ride it then. Then we walked to the Buckingham Palace, which is about 2 miles down, across another bridge. As we crossed the bridge we also saw Big Ben. we got to the palace and one thing I can say is that I did get to see the guards. You know, the ones that literally don’t show any emotions what so ever. They walked about a 10 foot diameter back and forth. I fell like that would be such a crappy job. After I had a chuckle about the guards, I was mesmerized by the size of the palace. And the giant gates that surrounded the palace. They were tall and black and the details on the doors were colored gold. I was hoping I’d get to see someone from the royal family, but I didn’t. they also offer tours of the palace, but again they were too expensive.

            It was about 3pm and Katie wanted to go to St. Peters cathedral. The very cathedral that the princes and princesses get married in. We walked through Hyde Park to the Piccadilly Circus tube entrance and rode that 5 minute ride to the cathedral. The architecture of the cathedral was beautiful. They only had the basement open of the cathedral, but even the basement was amazing. The floors, walls, pillars, and ceiling were white and the doors were old wood. It sort of reminded me of something from Harry Potter. But you can only stay in the basement of a church for so long until you get bored, so we ended up leaving shortly after and took the tube back to Piccadilly and then went to Hard Rock Café. After an hour wait for a table, our waitress told us of how the London Hard Rock Café was the very first of its kind. I had never been to a Hard Rock Café and it was neat to say that I had ben to the original one. The walls were decorated with well known British musicians such as Sir Elton John, Billy Idol, and of course, The Beetles. They had guitars, outfits and signed memorabilia from the artists that were probably worth more than my life. I ordered fried shrimp, which is my go to menu item when I’m overwhelmed by the choices. So yes, I recommend the fried shrimp if you ever get to a Hard Rock Café.

            After dinner, we took the tube back to the outskirts of London, which was an hour and a half ride. It was a long and tiring day and we made it back to base at about 830. I don’t even think I made it up to my room, I had passed out on the couch. I will never forget London and it’s my mission to make it back there and to venture out into the rest of the giant city.

            

White Cliffs of Dover

Dover, England is located at the very bottom of England, facing France. In fact on a clear day, you can see the coast line of France as well. The trip we took to Dover was mostly to see the white cliffs, which are very beautiful. The cliffs are steep, about a 50 to 60 foot drop and my sister wouldn’t allow me to get too close to the edge, knowing how clumsy I am. The fact that I had tripped and cut my knee on one of the trails about 5 minutes before didn’t help prove that I wasn't clumsy and that I'd be fine if I close to the edge

. The grassland of the cliffs is used for a cattle pasture at night for the local cattle farmers. The cattle had made trails that wind all over the landscape. There were even dirt steps that were dug into the hills so it was easier for cows, and people, to climb. I still find it hard to believe that big cows walk up those steps. The cliffs were amazingly white. It looked as if snow was permanently frozen on them. They glittered in the sunlight and hurt your eyes a little bit too. The cliffs are made of a chalk. You could literally pick pieces off the cliffs with your finger nail. The grass was greener than any grass i had ever seen before. It was definitely the most peaceful and beautiful place I’ve ever seen.

           

            Michael and I had gotten curious and saw that there was a trail that was carved out in the side of the cliff leading down to the coast. The trail was tiny, I could barley fit my feet onto it. The railing was sketchy as it wobbled when you would put your hand on it to catch your balance. About 15 minutes later, the three of us made it down to the end of the trail, except the steps that led you down to the coast had rotten away so we just stayed on the trail and admired the view from there. Surly enough, very faintly though, I could see France. I tried to convince Katie and Michael to drive to France in the underwater tunnel that connected England and France, but they shot that idea down really quick. We then took a slow walk back to the starting point, which was about 4 and a half miles away and drove back to Lakenheath. I still have yet to find anything as breath taking as the Dover cliffs were.

My first big trip out of Lakenheath was to Cambridge. Actually, that day we were supposed to go to London but it was raining and I didn’t want to experience London when it was dreary and wet. Michael, Katie and I packed a lunch of bologna sandwiches and string cheese and took the 45-minute drive to Cambridge. We parked, and walked about a mile to Cambridge University.

It really was an honor to be standing at the gates of such an old school. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I could have been standing on the ground that Sir Issac Newton, Steven Hawking, or Charles Darwin walked on when they attended the prestigious school. These were well known people that I’ve read about in my high school science, English and history classes. People who changed the world as we know it. It was definitely surreal to me.

 

After we were done admiring the college, we took a stroll down the street and saw all these stores that were clearly way out of my price range! The first store was Lois Vuitton if that tells you anything. We saw buildings as old as the country itself and that was also so amazing. I find history to be very intruding and I loved being around all these old buildings that literally told a story of an old village. The architecture was so mind blowing as well. Its hard to imagine these mid-evil people build these extravagant towns with just talent and skill and lacked the luxury of modern tools.

We punted in River Cam, which exactly like a gondola in Italy. The market was taking place that day as well. It was just a farmer’s market where people were selling homegrown fruits and veggies, homemade cheeses, and woodcarvings that were a little terrifying. My favorite purchase from the market was a hedgehog scarf that an elderly women sold to me for half off when she learned I was an American. Which was the complete opposite treatment I thought I was going to receive when locals found out we were Americans.

 I totally fell in love with Cambridge and its coffee shops, street performers and history. It really showed me that there was so much more outside of my little home town and how insignificant I was in this big world.