Tuesday, May 7th: Sight Seeing in London

Today was our first full day in London! Whoo! Today we got up and met for breakfast at 9:30 AM in the College's Refectory. This was our first time eating breakfast here and it was quite delicious. After we had eaten, we had a guest lecturer from 10:30 to 12:30. We were taught by a lovely lady named Sue Gile, who went over some the major sites to see in London, plus many other important things to the United Kingdom, such as which countries make up the UK (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for those who don't know) and what their money looked like. She also gave us a brief presentation on the Royal Family and how they can trace back thousands of years to their ancestors. The lecture was a great recap of the information we had learned while in class at E.C, and the information we learned helped to enrich the rest of our day.

After the presentations, the class got its first taste of the city! At 1: 15 we rode the London Tube for the first time. The class went to Picadilly Circus, a famous square and Tube stop in London to go use the American Express service. After converting Euros to Pounds, we jumped on the tube to see Oxford Circus. This strip has always been historically famous for it's shopping centers, and when we got off the tube we got the chance to see one of the famous department stores. Many students got to pick up items like towels and shampoo- things that they will need for the next two weeks during our stay at Regent's College.

The Shard

When the brief shopping trip was done, the class got the chance to ride the tube to Victoria Station and ride a hop on/ hop off tour bus around London. The tour bus was fantastic, as the class got to see famous British landmarks like Big Ben, Trafalger Square, Parliament,  The London Bridge, and the London Eye. We also got to see the brand new building to the London Skyline, The Shard. The tour gave us a peak at many of the places we will be visting over the course of our stay in London.

Today was one of the most enriching days thus far in our course, because it not only gave us a preview of what's to come, but it gave the students the chance to apply what they had learned in the class room to their travels. One student, Rosemary Crowley, had the chance to see a statue of war hero General William Slim. Crowley had given a fantastic presentation on Slim during our week at Elmira College, and seeing the statue was one of the highlights of her day.

                                                       Top Sights (Click For More Info!): 
                                                      1. Picadilly Circus
                                                      2. Oxford Circus
                                                      3. Big Ben
                                                      4.Trafalger Square
                                                      5.Parliament
                                                      6.London Bridge
                                                      7. London Eye