I tried to finish my blogging before I left the UK, but by the time I knew it, I had already landed at the McAllen airport. It took my about a week to get my body clock back to U.S. Central time mode, and because Ian has been reminding me that I need to finish this, I dedicate this last blog about my summer in the UK to him.
CITY CRUISES
As my time was running out in London, I wanted to do something special in the city. The National Railways runs a two for one special on several city attractions, and I was interested in either visiting the London Dungeons (although I’m a big wimp and scare easily), or taking a boat ride on the Thames River. The reviews said the queues for London Dungeons were quite long, and so we choose the “City Cruise” promotion. I was a bit incredulous about the two for one offer because-- why would they give us a free ticket just for getting there by train? We had to take the train, regardless. Also, I wasn’t sure which pier we would leave from which meant we had to explore the bank side. Is it just me, or do most people have trouble remembering what order the bridges are in London? We walked a LONG way and encountered HUNDREDS of joggers along the way (Ian said they’re paid to jog there to promote a healthy living atmosphere :p.) We finally got to Westminster Millennium Pier and paid about 5 quid for each ticket (woohoo!) The queuing was a bit disorganized, but we soon forgot our discomfort when we saw what we believed to be our boat. It had two levels, and I planned to go on the top deck. I imagined photos of me with my hair blowing in the wind. Sadly, that boat was going to Greenwich, and we were going to the London Tower. After much waiting, our wee boat got there (only one deck - booooo.) It took forever to officially start our cruise because the captain of the boat decided to give one of the boat workers a lift across the river (it probably would have been quicker for that worker to walk across the bridge, but oh, well.) I’d seen most of the places the guide pointed out during the cruise, but seeing them while on the river made it more exciting! I also found that “The Anchor”, the restaurant we had dinner the night we saw “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at the Globe, was the place the actors at the original Globe would zip to to get a drink in between performances. All in all, the City Cruise was a lovely experience. We followed it with a walk in London and a sandwich lunch at a small garden we found hidden near the bank side.
LAZY BONES
As a child, I used to love going with my dad to the “Pulga” (flea market) on south 23rd street in McAllen. My mom didn't like me to tag along because after I went to the pulga, I would get sick. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that a doctor explained that my flu-like symptoms were actually allergies. I still like flea markets even though they often make me feel ill; and so, when Ian mentioned in passing he needed to get rid of some stuff, a plan was devised with the help of his dad to go to a “boot sale.” A boot sale is the British equivalent of a flea market (boot as in the trunk of a car.) Ian’s dad told us Sonia, Ian’s cousin, had made over 100 pounds at the Lazy Bones Boot Sale. Ian wasn’t too concerned about making too much of a profit. He just wanted to sell enough to pay for the entrance fee, and mostly he wanted to get rid of some things that were taking up storage room.
While Ian was pushing vinyl records and computer bits, I explored the goodies others were selling. I bought a dress and three pairs of earrings for 5quid. Yay!
Ian made enough to pay the entrance fee and made a bit of a profit on top of that. Hooray!
Overall it was a smashing success. :D
ROYAL RICHMOND
When planning to go on an excursion with London Walks, I was always nervous I wouldn’t find the guide when I got to the designated train station, but thankfully the guides always showed up on time, and always appeared to be very capable of guiding a large group while on trains, coaches (buses), and through busy streets during the walking part of the excursion. This time, however, we had a ditzy guide. She didn’t want to take our money and she had a hard time explaining that instead of train tickets, we needed 2 zone travel cards for this particular excursion. Well, we missed our train, and I was starting to panic. When we finally got on the train, I sat next to two posh looking old ladies. Shortly after the train left I noticed a bad case of B.O. I smelled myself a la “super star”, and confirmed it wasn't me and that I smelled lovely (haha). I looked around and deduced the smell was coming from the man in a three piece suit sitting behind me. I kept glaring at him hoping my laser eyes could communicate he needed to not shift around so much so as not to spread the smell. I later realized, it was actually one of the posh old ladies. Who woulda thunk?
Once the actual tour started, I was able to walk away from the smell, and have a very nice time.
The City of Richmond started as a fishing village and then in the 1300s became the home of the Royal Palace during the reign of Richard II and Anna of Bohemia. Because their power was always precarious, the monarchy wandered about with an entourage of 5,000 to 10,000 people proving their might. They built a series of castles, manor houses, etc around England.
Anna of Bohemia died in Richmond, upsetting the King enough to want to shut down the palace there. It was Henry VII that rebuilt the palace in Richmond.
Queen Elizabeth I did this as well, and the guide explained she would gauge how long one place could sustain her and her entourage (the lords of the area would have to foot the bill for lodging, food, and entertainment for all the court.)
Other claims of fame for Richmond include:
• Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” mentions a pub in Richmond.
• Samuel Peeps came looking for treasure in Richmond.
• Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon’s son was born in Richmond
• Elizabeth I died in a room above the gatehouse. Her ring of state was never found and it was rumored she threw it out of the window before dying.
Our tour of Richmond ended with our boarding a boat which would take us to Hampton Court.
HAMPTON COURT
Before I begin sharing about Hampton Court, I want to make a plug for Netflix. I often joke I'm a poor Mexican girl. For several years of my childhood, we didn’t own a television set, and I’ve lived without cable for most of my life. Well, a few months ago, I subscribed to Netflix for under $10 a month which allows me to watch movies and TV shows on my laptop. I’d heard about Showtime’s The Tudors (story about the reign of Henry VIII and his six wives) on Gossip Girl I think, so I decided to watch. It’s basically a historical soap opera that’s quite addicting. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I’ve learned so much from that show! On several of the tours I took this summer, I knew what the guide was talking about because of the show The Tudors. Hampton Court was one of Henry VIII’s stomping grounds, so I was in heaven walking through the palace and gardens.
Hampton Court was initially built by Cardinal Wolsey as a country house. He leased the land it was built on for 50 pounds a year! Cardinal Wolsey was the son of a butcher who rose within the ranks of the Catholic Church and became the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest ranked church official in England. It was clear to me that Cardinal Wolsey valued aesthetics because he built the palace with red brick, made the chimneys fashionable (as in not only for utilitarian reasons), and even had carpets on the floor (carpets and tapestries used to be hung on walls and never stepped on.) Both because of his position and rumors of the grand house, Cardinal Wolsey began receiving gifts for his new home from people in power from all over England.
Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon often visited the cardinal at Hampton Court.
Things started going wrong for the cardinal when Henry VIII decided he wanted to divorce Katherine of Aragon, which became known as “The King’s Great Matter.”
Emperor Charles V of Spain was Katherine’s nephew, and he controlled the pope at that time. Because he was unable to manipulate the pope into giving Henry VIII his divorce, the cardinal began losing favor with the king. When Henry VIII marveled at the grandness of Hampton Court, Cardinal Wolsey felt obliged to gift the “country house” to the king.
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn also stayed there frequently. They would arrive by boat on the Thames (as I did!)
Also, Jane Seymour gave birth to Henry VIII’s son at Hampton Court. Later, Henry VIII would claim his only true wife was Jane Seymour because she was the only wife that gave him a son that survived child birth.
William of Holland and Mary also lived in Hampton Court. They commissioned Christopher Wren to renovate Hampton Court. When Mary died of small pox in 1694, the project was left half finished, so Hampton Court’s architecture is half Tudor and half Wren.
It is tradition for servants of the royals to be sent to retire at Hampton Court fulfilling their motto of living “by the grace and favor of the monarch.” This has given Hampton Court the nickname “The Royal Squat.”
In the mid 1800s, Hampton Court was open to the public, and today you can even rent an apartment there during a holiday stay.
Other claims to fame for Hampton Court:
• The Hampton Court Conference was a meeting to talk about translating the Bible to English which became the King James Version. (This was an extension of the reform and wanting to move away from masses in Latin.)
• Edward VI started Grammar schools while at Hampton Court. (After Henry VIII’s reform, education all but disappeared as the monasteries carried the burden of education in England.)
• Queen Mary and King Philip of Spain also lived at Hampton Court.
• The concept of the King’s cabinet was established at Hampton Court. The area where the king slept was called the cabinet and his most trusted advisors would put him to bed each night.
I was able to explore most of Hampton Court (it’s huge!) including the King’s wine cellar, the kitchens, gardens, and I even made my way through the maze. I thought it was going to be a kiddie maze as they said it was a fun stop for children, but I had a hard time finding my way out! Haha… Hampton Court is a definite must see when visiting the London area.
Paris
I took my first trip abroad the summer of 2008. I’ve received several comments on Facebook about how wonderful it is to be able to take these trips, and I agree! As a poor Mexican girl, I never dreamed I would ever see the places I’ve seen. It’s amazing how perspectives can change in a span of a few years. I want to spend my life teaching, travelling and writing.
I met Ian two years ago on my first Study Abroad trip, and we spent one Saturday walking the streets of London. We got along so great I told him I thought he would make a good traveling buddy. If you’ve ever traveled with someone, then you will agree how important it is to travel with someone who adjusts to situations.
My comment that Saturday proved to be true. Ian visited me while I was in Spain last year, and his trip was such a success that he caught the traveling bug.
Initially, I was supposed to be in Italy for one month, but because of lack of student enrollment, the trip was canceled. In retrospect, I’m so glad I was able to spend two months in England because I’ve learned so much more from this trip than I have the two previous study abroad trips.
Despite this, I still wanted to visit a new country (3rd summer 3rd country and all that.) Having caught the traveling bug, Ian was just as anxious to visit somewhere new. We agreed we would go to Paris for my birthday.
It would only be a short, three day trip, and really you have to enjoy traveling to go through such a rushed trip. We left the Harold Wood train station at about 4:47am and didn’t get to the hotel in Paris until 8pm that evening. We had to take several trains both in London and Paris and of course the flight from London Luton Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (the actual flight was only about 1hr and 10 min long!)
After we arrived and after much deliberation, we decided we would visit a proper fancy French restaurant. They only served wine and mineral water for beverages. Ian convinced me not to ask for Coca-Cola (lol.) I wanted to take pictures, but ended up deciding I would look too much the tourist. I was so excited I couldn’t even eat, and Ian didn’t think it was proper to eat my food too. I didn’t dare ask for a doggie bag!
After dinner, we walked a bit through the streets of Paris and called it a night.
The next morning we had a breakfast of omelets with fromage ( we had the choice or ham OR cheese), toast, butter and jam, coffee, juice, and hot chocolate. It was delicious.
We made a plan to visit four places: the Louvre, Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower, and Les Champs Elyees.
At the Louvre, we saw the Mona Lisa (which was a bit underwhelming next to the massive paintings in the same room) and the Venus de Milo. We saw as much as we could in a few hours, but the Louvre is huge, and really, it would take days and days to see it all properly.
On our way from the Louvre to Notre Dame, we survived an attempted scam! As we were taking pictures by the river near the Louvre, a woman pretended to find a man’s gold wedding band. She asked us if it belonged to us, and showed us that it was real gold according to the engraving inside the ring. We said it wasn’t ours, and she said we should keep it for good luck. We insisted several times we couldn’t keep it, but she kept insisting. We said okay and smiled and she walked away only to walk back to us to ask for money to eat. Ian handed her the ring and told her she should keep it. She obviously could benefit more from it. She wouldn’t take the ring and kept asking for money. I gave her two euros and she said it wasn’t enough-- to give her more. I suddenly felt like I was being taken advantage, and I said no. This went on for a bit more and Ian finally took the ring and threw it in a trashcan near us. The lady cussed us out and walked away!
As we crossed the bridge, we saw another woman pulling the same scam “look at the ring I just found” on a man across the street. Out of curiosity, Ian googled the scam, and sure enough, it’s a common scam in Paris. They must get the brass rings by the bagful and guilt tourists into giving them money for them!
Our next stop was Notre Dame, and Ian mentioned he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go inside. We've seen A LOT of cathedrals in the last couple of years, and so he’s lost his motivation saying, “You’ve seen one cathedral, you’ve seen them all.” I do agree with him in part, but I still go in to see them when I get the chance. Notre Dame is impressive to say the least, and when we realized it was free to go in, we decided it would be such a waste not to go inside. We were not disappointed. There’s a reason Notre Dame is so revered. It’s breathtaking. And like all other outings, we got to witness strange human behavior. One man kept asking people (including Ian) to take pictures of him in front of a chapel, and a small boy was feeding the pigeons outside bits of bread which he would then pick up off the dirt and put into his own mouth. Ew.
We had lunch at a restaurant near Notre Dame. Again, it was a delicious meal. I thought it would be a simple, light lunch as we had ordered sandwiches, but they were soooo tasty. The only surprise is that we paid 12 euros for two coca-colas. That’s like $9 a coke! Still, the food was so good, we didn’t mind paying so much for soft drinks.
It was time to make our way to the Eiffel Tower. It was hard to get lost as you can see the tower from most of the city. On our way there we saw several groups of break dancers, and the vendors were very motivated to sell. I suggested we not make eye contact… haha.
We had to wait in line for several hours (there’s a queue to buy tickets, a queue to get to the second floor, a queue to get to the top, a queue to get back down to the 2nd floor, and a queue to get to the ground.) The view from the top is totally worth it.
By this time, we had been on our feet for about 9hrs during the day, and I needed a break. We stopped at a restaurant and I had hot chocolate and crème brulee.
We had one more stop—Les Champs Elyees. Could I make it?
Let me digress a bit. I discovered that Ian and I like to sight see in different ways. I like guided tours and he likes to roam free. In fact, he gets into this positive, adrenaline pumping mode when he’s allowed to sight see without a guide.
After the Eiffel Tower, I was so tired, and Ian was so pumped! I couldn’t disappoint him, and I still wanted to see Les Champs Elyees. We saw so much more on our way there. Ian wanted to keep going. We walked through most of Les Champs Elyees, and I was amazed that the shops were still open at midnight. We walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. Our sightseeing finally ended at about 12:30am and we ended up having dinner from a vending machine.
The next morning we had breakfast at the same restaurant from the day before, but Ian ordered ham AND cheese with his egg omelet. I couldn’t believe it. The menu clearly stated ham OR cheese, not both! But, the waiter didn’t even blink. Ian’s confidence empowered me, and so I was brave enough to do the same! Confidence is contagious.
After breakfast, we made our way to the palace of Versailles. I was able to understand the French Revolution so much more after seeing how Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette lived. One word comes to mind— opulence. They were clueless as to how normal people lived (hence the “let them eat cake” remark.) But, I have to admit the French have both the English and the Spanish beat on beautiful palaces.
All in all, our holiday to Paris was an extraordinary experience.
The last day we were in Paris was my birthday. We ended the celebration with pizza, a movie, and birthday cake. WOOT! Perfect Birthday.
DINNER WITH IAN’S FAMILY
The last Sunday before I left the UK, I was invited to Sunday dinner (it’s actually at lunch time) with Ian’s family. His sister Linda is a great cook, and I look forward to these invitations. The conversation is always interesting, and the Sheridan family is absolutely lovely. And, on top of all their kindness (Ian’s mom got me books from several libraries for my thesis, and Ian’s dad prepared two bikes for me to learn how to ride) they had birthday cards and presents for me (and they totally know my taste… I loved my earrings, necklace, and wallet!)
Words cannot express how much I appreciate them all for making me feel so welcome.
LAST WORDS
This summer was absolutely extraordinary. I realize something like this cannot be accomplished alone. I want to thank my parents for being so supportive of my education, the Sheridan family for making me feel welcome in England, London Walks for offering affordable excursions throughout England, the International Women’s Board and the Office of International Programs for scholarships, Esperanza from the OIP for helping me with all the paperwork, and last but not least, Ian whose support encourages me to follow my dreams. I want to take all I learned and inspire my high school students to dream big and work hard towards those dreams. I hope I too can support others who want to follow their dreams.
