Day 7-Home!

Sorry! I got kind of lazy to finish this out and I apologize to all you who have been faithfully following.

So they rest of our trip was pretty much chilling and trying to soak in the last days of England by finding our own fun. Our free day in Liverpool we didn't have much to do. We slept in pretty late and then went to a Pizza Hut. This Pizza Hut isn't much like ours back in the States. First of all, the taste wasn't very similar and the restaurant was like a nice restaurant and not just a neighborhood pizza joint. The most significant difference though was the size. The "Regular" size pizza (which costed about $11 USD) was a little bigger than a personal pan pizza that is sold in the US. The rest of the day we just roamed around stores in an outdoor mall that was a couple blocks from our hotel. The mall was pretty awesome and was very interesting. Oh, and on our way out that night we were kindly offered some weed.

The next day we headed back to London with a pit stop in Oxford, home of the oldest university in England and 2nd oldest in the Western world. We saw a lot of old buildings and interesting shops and I would even be able to comprehend going to that school. It is ridiculously hard to get in to but it only costs about 4000 pounds a year to go there, and before 1994 they didn't have to pay any tuition... that sounded pretty appealing to me. I also purchased an Oxford tie while there which I plan on wearing to every interview for the rest of my life. When we got back to London we had a meal at a vegetarian restaurant. Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds. Not only did they not have any meat, they also managed to make corn, bread, pudding, and even cheesecake taste bad. After that we were free to do what we wanted and we decided to see the sights one last time. We went to the most awesome Nike store also. It was HUGE and was just an impressive store with a lot of glass walls and  it just looked impressive but also had a photo studio or something. I don't really know but they had people dressed in Nike clothes in what looked almost like an advertisement shoot. We then took a traditional London double-decker bus around town for a little while and saw the Big 3 again: Big Ben, London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. It was a good final night.

Because we were in the smaller group by ourselves, we DIDN'T have to get up at 6 o'clock but instead got to sleep in and we left the hotel at 10 o'clock. It was weird to pack up and think that we might not ever be back again but I think we were all ready to get back to the States and get back to normal life (and good TV). We got through all security and everything easily like professionals and waited for our first plane. We got on another very big plane but this trip was different: it was to Minneapolis instead of Detroit so it was a 9 hour flight. BUT the plane was probably only about 1/3 full so most of us got to lay across three empty seats. Yes, I laid down and slept across 3 seats and was not in first class. Also the tvs were working and I watched 3 different movies. We finished up by flying from Minneapolis to Chicago as customs and security went very well. I forgot how awesome flying at night was as I looked at the windows to see the suburbs of the Twin Cities and see the distinctions and city centers of St. Paul and Minneapolis and also Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive when landing in Chicago.

All in all it was a great trip and a great experience. I am very glad I did it and am glad that I could do my best to share my experiences with you guys through this blog. I posted a bunch of pictures and a few videos on my facebook profile but have MANY more that I would love to show you and help give you an idea of what went on through some commentary. I hope this blog and my pictures encourage you to try going to a different country as I had a great time taking my first trip out of the States. Keep it real and thanks again for reading!

James

Day 5/6

Okay, I forgot to write yesterday but not much happened actually until about 9.

Yesterday was our travel day to Liverpool. We got on the bus at about 9 I think and then we traveled about half the distance there and then made a stop in Stafford, the birthplace of William Shakespear and his wife. We stopped and saw his wife's birthplace which is in a quaint village outside the town. Again, it's something like what you see in the Lord of the Rings...without the round doors. In fact, the trip from city to city reminds me of the same trip in the US: it goes from big city to suburbs to farmland. The difference is that instead of corn and cows on flat ground, its sheep and some other crop (I guess) on the rolling hills of middle UK. We even actually got to see the church that Shakespear got married in which also holds his grave.

We then arrived in Liverpool and got to our rooms. This hotel was built in 1912 and it is evident. The style is like something you would see in the Titanic (which was registered in Liverpool) but the rooms aren't as grand because, well, they're 100 years old.

Then we went to "the most famous club in the world: The Cavern Club." It was where the Beatles were famously founded. There is so much Beatles history in that place and it felt like we were there in the 60s as there was still live music being played. But as much Beatles history there is there, there is equal fame found in it's other bands. The Cavern Club has housed bands such as The Who, Queen, Arctic Monkeys, Chuck Berry, Rod Stewart, and most recently, Adele less than a year ago. The atmosphere in there was again very unique and awesome. The live music played a lot of popular songs and you never really felt like sitting down. We finished the long day by returning back to our room to chill and watch tv for a while.

Day 6

With our EF Tour guide, she pretty much just brings us to famous places and just lets us go and explore for ourselves which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. It's nice to have freedom and you aren't restricted to what the group is doing and you can go at your own pace but then on the other hand you have to find out the information yourself or otherwise you just get the surface of the information.

With that being said, we started the day with a guided Beatles tour with a guy who knew a whole bunch about the Beatles. The Beatles were very autobiographical with their songs which made this tour extra interesting. On our tour we saw the boyhood homes and birthplaces of Paul, John, Ringo, and George. We saw Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and Elanor Rigby's tombstone. Actually the song name Elanor Rigby didn't come from the gravestone but was actually a combination of two different names. We also went to the place where Paul McCartney and John Lennon first met. This was a church reception hall that is usually locked but when we were outside the hall there was a man inside who invited us in.

Then after that our tour guide left us and we were stuck with the EF tours lady. We went to an exhibit that explained the relationship between the Beatles and Elvis. It was pretty interesting but rather small and busy because we were all in there at the same time. There were a lot of interesting artifacts in there though.

We then went to a Museum called "The Beatles Story." And that's pretty much what it was. The story of the Beatles in exhibits and audio explanations. It was really interesting because they made the rooms into exhibits that looked like some of the places that they experienced such as the Cavern, the recording studio, their agent's (Brian Epstein) office. Once we got done with that we headed back to the hotel and it's about 6:30 now and we have dinner at 7. After dinner we're planning to go to "The Grapes" which is the bar that the Beatles members hung out at as teenagers.

The number of events has calmed down since we've gotten to Liverpool but its still a good time and we are getting a lot of new information everyday and seeing sights that we are very privileged to see. We are standing in the same spots that the Beatles did and are experiencing the same things that the Fab Four wrote about.

Free Day Tomorrow!

Day 4

First of all, no one told me Iowa State is 2-0 in Big 12 and Royce White had a triple-double? I'm keeping you guys up to date on London and I gotta find this news about "the States" on the internet? :) Interestingly I've met someone from Cedar Rapids, talked with a Beefeater who has been to Des Moines, and gotten "Go Hawkeyes!" yelled at me over here in London.

Anyway, today was our free day and we filled it up pretty well. First of all we went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We didn't get a good look at what happened behind the gates but we did get a good view (and video) of the Guards march over which was probably the coolest part anyway. We were also surprised to see a dog "marching" with the Guards. Don't worry, he was supposed to be there and was also on a leash.

There isn't much that rivals the atmosphere of a European Football match (soccer) and we got to experience it from the seats. We arrived early wearing our Chelsea garb at Stamford Bridge, the home of the Chelsea Blues (but are often just referred to as Chelsea). We got some awesome pictures and got to stand about 5 feet from the pitch as the seats go very close to the field. As I said, the atmosphere is unrivaled by anything I've experienced in the US. I've been to a lot of sporting events in my life and the only other time I've seen an event that packed was Pella vs. Pella Christian...and this game wasn't even that important. We participated in cheers and joined in the excitement after each of the four goals by Chelsea. We even got a giant flag passed overtop of us as a regular pre-game event. Chelsea won 4-0 which was great but it was awesome before the game even started.

After the game nearly all 41,529 fans were walking out at the same time and the width that we all had to get through was about the same width as a regular street in Pella or from shoulder to shoulder on a highway, so not very big. We didn't have a choice in the direction we were going. We went where the flow took us. Oh! they also had a drug/bomb sniffing dog when we walked in!

We then met up with everyone else and got some food at this fancy noodle restaurant which was very good. We then broke off again and we just meandered and mozied around the streets of London around Picadilly Circus (which is like a smaller, older Times Square that I've mentioned before). It was really relaxing and it was pretty cool because the streets don't make sense so we just winded around and explored a little bit.

I wish the internet was faster and that I would remember my cord so I could upload some videos and pictures but they will definitely come up once we get back to the States. Tomorrow we head up to Liverpool which is about 4 hours but we're stopping somewhere on the way up for a while and I 'm not really  sure what we're doing.

Someone has to videotape the Championship game tomorrow or something for me! They don't care about "American Football" over here. I dunno if there will be as convenient WiFi spots as what we have here in London so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post or not but I will when we get back here in a couple days for sure. Have a good one!

Day 4

Day 4 was a lot o walking. When we stopped for dinner we had already walked 11 miles!

First off for the day we went to the Tower of London. This is most famous for holding the Crown Jewels-the jewels for the kings and queens at their coronation. Again these are just indescribable and pictures were not allowed. The price of these items would be astronomical before the sentimental value they hold. I believe one of the diamonds was about 124 carats! The whole tower is actually like an armored city that still looked kind of like a scene from Lord of the Rings.

In the afternoon we saw places of interest according to the Beatles. We saw Paul McCartney's studio and a current residence of his, too bad he wasnt at home or work. We also saw Abbey Road studios and walked across the road like the Beatles. This is a somewhat busy traffic intersection that the public doesn't always enjoy the fan's enthusiasm. It took me and my friends 5 times and many swear words before we got a good picture. Ask us about it when we get back....

Week saw Apple Srudios which is where the Beatles recorded a lot of songs. And we saw the place where legendary songs such as Hey Jude, Bohemian Rhapsody were recorded. The distric that we was just filled with music and musical references that will be shown and explained in later facebook albums.

Today is the free day where we're goi g to take in untrue English Football game!

Cheers!

Day 3

Today was a blast.

We started out with a guided tour that was part bus tour and part walking. Our tour guide was really funny, very personable, and extremely smart. First we went to Windsor Castle, the official residence and weekend getaway for the Royal Family. Our tour guide brought us in and it is actually like a small town within the walls with many shops and, of course, a Mac Donald's as they pronounce it. It was really awesome in every sense of the word. We were literally in awe when we went in the rooms that they would reside in. There were many statues, swords, gold, paintings, and crimson everywhere. It's hard to describe how amazing it was and unfortunately pictures were not allowed. Also at Windsor Castle was what I would call the Royal Church. In the tradition, the monarchs are buried there and some even have above-ground tombs. We saw the tomb and stood a tomb's wall width away from a King George (the one who passes in The King's Speech). We also stood above the grave of the famous Henry the VIII. Also in that church was the area where the Queen has her meeting of the Garters, those who have been knighted, such as Paul McCartney, Bono, and Prince William. We even saw and took pictures with one of the marching soldiers who never flinch.

Then we had lunch.

We then visited some interesting stops and shops such as The Beatles Store, The "Official" office of Sherlock Holmes on the address that is mentioned in the books about him, and the place of Paul McCartney's wedding. Our next big stop however was Buckingham Palace, another residence of Royalty and also the site where Prince William and Kate were first seen by the public as man and wife. This is a historic place that many many people would recognize. Our tour guide was actually privileged enough to have close to a front row view of the William And Kate event.

The big event we had was going to dinner where we were served a three-course meal with the main dish being Chicken Cordon Bleu. I don't know if this is a traditional English meal but it was delicious and the venue seemed very high class.

We then went to a downtown London Musical that is very popular called "Blood Brothers." Some of you might have heard about it but it was a really, really good musical that's about two twins who were separated at birth and does a really effective job at criticizing social class separation. I was very impressed.

Generally in London I've noticed a few differences. Obviously they drive on the left side of the road. They can't understand our "American accents." They use toilets and not restrooms. They have a yellow before the green lights also. Everything is old and historic. The buildings and architecture is just incredible. Historic buildings and impressive statues can be found around almost every corner in London. There is a lot of American influence in Europe (Dr. Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Roosevelts, Eisenhouwer, John Adams etc.).

Right now we are relaxing at one of the... eating establishments... by our hotel right around midnight. Tomorrow we are starting out by going to the Tower of London which I don't know what it is but that's why I'm here, to find out. Then we're doing a "Beatles Walking Tour" that include walking across the famous Abbey Road at about 2pm local, 8am in the Midwest, there is a live feed on www.abbeyroad.com/crossing if you wanna keep an eye out for us. Thanks for reading and check in again at about the same time. I'll try to keep up.

See Ya!

Day 1&2

Hello followers,

I am writing from the McDonald's across the street from our hotel in historic London at 7:47 local time (6 hours ahead of CST).

Just to give you a quick intro if you don't know what's going on, me and some friends are on a trip to London to see some sights and follow the trails of the Beatles on an interim course through Trinity. The trip is in total 10 days from the day we left till the day we're back in Illinois.

The trip started off in a flurry and continued on forever. We were all awake by 9 o'clock (CST) on Wednesday the 4th and met in front of the chapel to leave. To give you a quick hint at how long we've been going at it, we've gone for about 29 hours so far with less than an hour of sleep.

I want to be brief but give you a good idea of what we've done and seen so here it goes.
My group of friends flew out of Chicago at 2pm to Detroit where we flew to London. That's a 6 1/2 hour flight. When we landed in London it was 6:40am local time and were encouraged not to sleep cause it would throw off our body clocks. We then went to our hotel and started on our walking tour of London.

On this tour we saw and took pictures of most of the big sights very briefly. We saw London's Eye (ferris wheel), Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Traflager (sp?) Square, Picadilly Circus (Time Square feel), and ate at an Indian restaurant (I don't know either).

It has been very hectic and we're all still trying to get the hang of walking around in a big group (about 30 people) while not losing anyone since few of us have cell phones that work. Although a few people got left behind a few times we all met up at the restaurant so we're doing pretty well. The energy level is quite low right now among the group but a good night's rest on some comfy beds will surely get us back in the tourist spirit.

So as we go through the trip I'll try to post at least once a day but there are no promises. Pictures and videos may follow as well. We'll be breathing in the Londonderry Air and living it up the best we can! Hope all is well back in the States!

James