My first adventure (and the only adventure I’m NOT looking forward to) will be packing my suitcase. It’s gonna be interesting to say the least. I have to fit 6 months worth of my belongings into one big suitcase, and one carry on suitcase. An almost impossible task for me – as anyone who knows me knows that I tend to over pack for just a night at a friend’s house! And I have no idea how to even start this process! I’m in desperate need of some help. I don’t know how packing is going to turn out, but hopefully I can fit everything I need to. I’ll let you know how it goes!
With love,
Abby
Valpo Voyager
Student Stories from Around the World
Category: England (page 17 of 26)
Visiting and witnessing London Tower was so miraculous that it needed its own entry. As mentioned in a previous blog, the British are very superstitious. London Tower, much like the London Eye, also has a few quarks about it as well. There are, and always will be, six ravens at London Tower. King Henry XIII was told that if and when the ravens left, the kingdom would fall. To this day, there are still six ravens, with clipped wings so they cannot leave, as well as a seventh close by just in case.
London Tower in itself is amazing. Going inside and touring all of the buildings and seeing the Crown Jewels was quite a sight. The actual crown the queen wears is placed in a glass case for all to see, covered in diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls. Many of the difference stones were given or passed on from other royalty members, such as a pair of pearl earring that were Princess Diana’s.
If something is not covered in jewels, it’s covered in gold. There is a gold plated punch bowl that can hold up to 144 bottles of wine. Guess how much that must weigh. Half a ton. So what’s the secret? Everything is actually silver and just plated with gold because otherwise it would be too heavy to even hold itself. There are guards in every room there to answer questions and make sure no photos are taken-there is a copyright on the Crown Jewels. Guests are able to walk throughout the all of the towers and along the top to look out over London, into what used to be dungeons or rooms for the royalty.
Fun fact: people still live there today. It’s like its’ own little village with their own church, doctor and even their own pub. Many are the tour guides and their families. Not just anyone could be a tour guide. You have to have served in the British military for a minimum of 22 years as well as have certain honors and a spotless background. Guards will also be seen for there is still today an apartment for the queen if she chooses to stay in it. Regardless of her presence, it is guarded 24 hours a day, every day.
Another fun fact that I personally found very interesting was the fact that there were many different kinds of animals that lived in the tower throughout the years, and I’m not talking about dogs or cats or horses. I’m talking about lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants and even a polar bear. Other royalty would give the king and queen exotic animals as gifts. Unfortunately for the animals, they were kept in cages and often did not live long. They had even killed people who came too close to them.
Many exciting things happened in the walls of the tower, such as a woman smuggling out her husband by dressing him as a woman just hours before he was supposed to be decapitated. There were also many deaths in the tower walls, including five women, three of which were queens.
The London Tower is filled with history and mystery in the walls and is a place every person who visits London should see.
This past weekend our group took the train down to London for the weekend to experience the breath-taking experience of seeing Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Tower and so much more. To say that the weekend was incredible would be an understatement.
I woke up around 5:30am Saturday morning, hopped in the taxi by 7am and were off on the train by 7:30am. The first stop was High Street Kensington so we could stop in at the hostel and drop off our bags. The walk wasn’t too bad and the hostel was very nice compared to what I was picturing. All of the girls stayed in one room, luckily we got our own room, and Zach, the only guy on the trip, was in a separate room with a couple different guys he did not know as well. After the bags were dropped off, we hopped back onto the tube and headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. The sidewalks were filled with people lined up to watch, which seemed like a lot to me, but apparently wasn’t many at all.
As luck would have it, right when we arrived in England, their 50 degree weather disappeared to Valparaiso because it was quite chilly in London and apparently 55 degrees back at home. Anyways, after, we ventured through the Queen’s park and over to see the miraculous Big Ben and the Clock Tower. Most people believe that Big Ben is the huge clock tower, when in reality it is the bell inside of the tower. The tower itself was just renamed a couple of months ago to The Queen Elizabeth II’s Clock Tower in honor of her diamond jubilee. There we all took numerous pictures of the tower in awe and amazement. It was definitely a sight to take your breath away.
We continued our way and saw the great London Eye, the fourth largest ferris wheel-though don’t let them hear you call it that-in the world. It was closed for yearly maintenance though so we couldn’t actually go on it. There are 32 pods that represent the 32 districts in London. Entertaining enough, there is no pod 13 for the British are very superstitious.
Across the river we saw the London Bridge and well as Tower Bridge. Maybe people confuse the two. The London Bridge is not the beautiful bridge, but actually quite boring. It’s the Tower Bridge that everyone loves to look at and take photos of. Of course next to Tower Bridge is the London Tower that I will write more about in my next blog.
After sightseeing for a while, we hopped on one of the on-and-off buses and took a tour around the city. We saw every well-known and tourist spot there is to see in London as well as learned a lot about the city itself. Such as, there are dragons in every entrance and exit in the city of London. When you are entering the city, the dragons will be facing you, when exiting they will have their backs turned away from you. We also learned about the bubonic plague and how the saying “God bless you” came from the time of the plague and that people would say it because once they began to sneeze, they would only live for another 48 hours.
Another tour some of us went on was the Harry Potter tour that took you all around the city and showed you the places that the movie was filmed and inspired by. We saw The Ministry of Magic, Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley and a few other little places throughout the different books.
There were many other places we went, like Piccadilly Circus where we saw the play 39 Steps, Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. The trip was truly amazing and felt like it was more than just a mere two days. I can’t wait to go back and experience more of the city because it is just not possible to see it all in two days.
Arriving in London, I thought it would be an automatic, “oh my god, I’m here, I can’t believe it!”, but it really wasn’t. There was no huge moment of realization and it actually took until we saw Big Ben in London that it did start to sink in that I was truly 3,950 miles from home. There are many differences here in England from home and many things that are different from what I expected.
Of course there are the obvious things such as the cars on the opposite sides of the road that everyone already knows about. However, they look significantly different than they do back home in the US even if they are the same brand like Ford or Toyota. Another huge difference is the food. I had already heard that burgers taste differently because their cows are treated and fed differently than ours are in the US and I can confidently agree with that statement now from experience, they taste significantly different. Not bad different, but just not what you would expect when biting into a burger. Of course the first night in the pub, that’s exactly what I ordered. Pubs are quite different from our restaurants or bars as well. First off, you don’t have someone waiting on your table, but you go up to the bar, order your drink and food, pay and then sit back down. They will bring you your food and that’s about it, and they will bring it out as its ready, not everyone’s together. If you are just going for drinks, but don’t actually want to order something, they do want you to pay for water just because they don’t like it when people are taking up a seat and not spending money. In restaurants, if you want your check, you have to ask for it, they will not just bring it out to you. All of these are good tips to know when eating out inEngland.
When walking around, the city itself is so significantly different from anything I have ever seen before. The streets are so narrow you wonder how those huge double-decker buses even fit on the streets. A general rule for walking around the town, always stop and wait for the walking signal, cars, buses and especially bikes will not stop for you. Bikes here are treated like cars, they drive on the road and have their own lane and they will hit you if you walk out in front of them. Pedestrians in no way have the right of way in the roads. We always have to be very careful and look every which way before we cross because most times we cannot even tell which ways the cars are coming from. It really did not come as much of a shock to me when I heard that kids here do not learn to drive until they are 17 and do not get their licenses until at least 18, if then. If you think driving in Chicago is bad, you can’t even begin to imagine what the lane changes and crazy driving goes on in England. The traffic patterns still have yet to make sense to me and people should really be saying that those English drivers are bad, not the Chicago ones.
While walking the streets, I noticed that there aren’t garage cans spread along the sidewalks. It’s actually a bit of a search to find one. Surprisingly enough, the streets aren’t filled with litter. If walking in the City Centre around 6:00pm, it was very shocking to notice that the stores were beginning to close, so if you wanted to go shopping, you have to make sure to do it earlier in the day. However, while shopping earlier, something that is quite common I have found to know is that there are street performers either singing or playing the guitar all along the streets. It’s very interesting to me as well as very enjoyable to hear. In general while walking, the British will not make eye contact with you if you are passing them. In my opinion, I have found that the men are much friendlier than the women as well.
A few things that I was told to prepare for that I don’t find accurate exactly was first that the portion sizes were very small. I did not seem to think they were small but actually quite large in some pubs. In London, it seemed like every place we passed had a huge section of fried too as well. At the hostel we stayed at, breakfast included fried bread, a fried egg, fried hash browns, a fried tomato, fried sausage and ham that were all cooked in a large pan filled with about an inch of oil. They also served baked beans which everyone in our group decided to pass on at 8:30am.
The girls in our group were also told to make sure to pack tampons because they were very hard to find inEngland. I have been to many different grocery and pharmacy stores-similar to a Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart back home-and have seen tampons sold at each. On the other hand, I wish we were told that zip-lock baggies were not sold in theUK. The British seem to love their saran wrap and use it for everything. A few people had told me that North Face jackets were slightly frowned upon as well as sweatshirts with hoods, however, I have seen many people wearing both and many people also wear jeans out and about.
Overall, I have to say that I am loving my English experience and learning all of the differences between America and England. It is fascinating to witness everything and I cannot wait to have more interactions with the British to learn more about their culture and ways.
Now that I have settled in back at home, and most of my unpacking is done, I am finally realizing that my time in Cambridge has come to an end (I might have been in denial for the past couple days…)
The last week in Cambridge really went by like a blink of an eye. I remember working on a lot of school work, and hoping I had more time to spend outside (so an advice to the future Cambridge groups: start your Art History portfolio as soon as it’s handed out to you!), trying to frantically figure out if I had bought souvenirs for everyone I needed to, and putting off packing as much as I could.
After getting everything off my shoulders, I spent my time walking around Cambridge many times. I walked to the market almost everyday to see if there was anything new. I walked through streets with pretty Christmas lights. I walked to the mall and in the stores where I wish I could buy things, but could not afford (Darn being a college student!). I went into random stores in the streets and found some very cute things as well as creepy naked Barbie looking dolls. Overall, I tried to take in the atmosphere of the city centre as much as I could.
After numerous trips there this semester, I can still imagine in my mind the way to get to the city centre. Walking out of the centre, walking through the street past the hand washing car place, past the castle hill, walking through an area with small shops, the crossroad that took me almost the entire semester to be able to cross, the street that gets much narrower, walking across the punting bridge, being asked by the punters if I want to take their tour, walking past the round church, more stores, and finally reaching the city centre. Even if it is a 20 minute walk to get to the city centre, it was never a boring walk. I hope I will always remember the scenery that I saw walking there and to all of the other places that I have adventured to.
There are SO many other things that I hope I will always remember too. I will never forget how green the grasses were. I will never forget the beautiful buildings filled with history and memories from many, many people. I will never forget the interesting stories – such as the Eagle pub which has drawings on the ceiling by the American soldiers from the second World War, or the ghost that lives on the top floor of the pub and the windows are always open because of it.
I’ve also made great memories with the people there. Talking to a doctor who wanted to become a child surgeon so that he could save the lives of children, which was a great inspiration to me. Seeing a guy whom I had met during one of my first couple weeks there and him still remembering me when I coincidentally saw him again during my last week there. Being able to hang out with students who go to Cambridge University and hearing their lives as students – who go to the number one ranked school (They sure sounded like geniuses!).
This semester has also helped me take a step closer to becoming an independent adult. I learned how to cook, clean well, and go grocery shopping on a low budget (it sure prepared me to become a better wife!). It made me realize that I would definitely want to come to Europe again and strengthened my desire to work internationally. It exposed me to different cultures and how I can adjust to them. It also helped me strengthen my mentality towards certain things and beliefs of my values. I learned how much I love meeting new people and making connections. But the biggest thing I learned is that there is SO much out in the world that I have yet to see and experience.
The mountains, lakes, towns, buildings, grasses, plants – everything I saw was absolutely beautiful and stunning. There were breathtaking moments that I will always keep in my heart.
And a special shout out to my C-90 group. I loved how we were a small group of 10, and that allowed us to become close with pretty much all of each other. There were people in my group that I probably wouldn’t have met at Valpo and am so happy to have had the opportunity to become so close with. I can say that I’ve had special moments with pretty much every member in my group and will treasure those moments. It’s weird to think that we won’t be living together when we return to Valpo next semester, but I’m hoping for reunions where we can talk about this amazing semester that we experienced together. Thank you, C-90, because my experience would not have been the same without you guys (:
Also a big thank you to Cambridge and the program for everything this semester. I cannot be more thankful for all of the experiences I had and am so happy to have made this life changing experience.
Everyone says that studying abroad is an experience of a lifetime…and now, I can truly say that for myself!
Thank you again, Cambridge (:
Until next time…
Cheers!
Aya
Our first weekend in England!
And our last week in England - Merry Christmas!
Ever since coming back from Fall Break, the countdown to Cambridge has really begun. From the two hour weekly meetings with Julie Maddox to meetings with my Cambridge group, I’ve definitely been kept busy and am more excited than ever about my adventures in less than two months. All of the group meetings have been very helpful, informing us about health, safety, packing and expectations while abroad.
My Cambridge group also has been a great learning experience that I am happy that we are able to have. Not only do we get to talk to our peer advisor-someone who studied abroad in Cambridge last year-but also friends that she had gone with. They share their insight with us and we are able to ask any pressing questions we may have. Something that was important that I asked right away was about the EuroRail and BritRail passes and which to purchase. Both our advisor and her friend gave us their personal opinions about which they bought, ten day flex pass for the EuroRail and two any four days in two months for the BritRail. This time also allowed our group to talk and get to know each other, which has been really nice. We were able to open up and find that we are all interested in traveling around Europe together, which is very exciting.
Packing!
Thanksgiving break-and all the sales that go with it-was a great time to figure out what I needed for England. A huge internal debate I had with myself was what kind of suitcase I was going to bring abroad. We are only allowed to bring one suitcase, a carryon and a personal item on the plane. After looking up the dimensions on United’s website, my mother and I went to five different stores looking for a suitcase that would be as big as the airline would allow. We ended up buying one that I had never even thought of getting, a duffle bag on wheels. This will allow me to pack items and squish them in without be bounded by the strict shape of a regular suitcase. It is also only 8.6lbs allowing for more of my own items to be packed, such as clothes, boots, and hopefully some peanut butter (they don’t sell peanut butter in Europe) while still under the 50lbs limit United has.
Being home also allowed me to buy a few items I knew I would need and have my sisters and grandparents give me for Christmas, such as a money pouch to go around my neck for my passport and other important documents, as well as a quick dry towel for when I’m traveling around and staying in hostels (you don’t want to have to try to carry a huge towel in your carryon). Then, of course, there were some impulse buys such as boots and scarves during Black Friday sales that may not have been a necessity, but will definitely come in handy during those chilly, rainy England months.
Overall, the pre-departure experience has been exciting! A little nerve racking, sure, but I feel like I know what I need to know and am ready to start this amazing journey. I already love the group I’m going with and know that they will be there to support me while I try to figure out what to bring, what to leave at home and will help remind me what not to forget while I’m packing.
By Lauren Zomparelli, Advertising and Creative Writing Majors, Business Minor, from Elmhurst, Illinois. More posts to come!!
There are so many things I could say about this topic. Why I chose Cambridge? The reasons are too many to count! The main reason I chose to study abroad in England, is that it has always fascinated me. Starting when I was around 10 years old, Great Britain has been an obsession of mine. I love everything about it. Their history is so amazing and so vast. It spans back centuries and it is so full of mystery and opportunity. I love reading about the history of England. Just to think, the city of Cambridge first came into being around the time that Christ was alive. So many thousands of years of history! I cannot wait to explore that history. So then, when an opportunity to travel 2 weeks in Europe was presented to me my sophomore year of high school, I jumped at the chance to experience all that I was so enamored with. I told my parents about it, and my Dad told me that I could travel for two weeks in high school, or I could take a semester in college and study abroad for a full 5 months. I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe my luck that my parents would let me do something like that. Looking back now, I kind of think that it was my parent’s way of getting me off my travel kick for the moment and keep me safely in the U.S. I don’t think they ever dreamed that I would grasp onto that promise- that I would be able to travel in college- and I would never let it go. When I was searching and applying for colleges one of my stipulations for attending any college was that it had to have a superb study abroad program so that I knew I would have the best experience possible. So when I found out that Valparaiso had such a good Nursing school, I immediately set to searching about its study abroad programs and what I found thrilled me. Not only did they have a fabulous study abroad program, they had a study site in Cambridge, England! I was beyond thrilled! My wildest dreams were going to come true. I knew for sure I was going to Cambridge.
I am looking forward to so many things while I am living in another country. I am looking forward to a new culture, a new way of doing things, and a new way of viewing the world. I am looking forward to learning more of their history, and meeting new people. And most of all, I am looking forward to traveling. All over the world! From London, to Paris. From Berlin, to Venice and Rome. I cannot wait to go on a gondola ride in Venice, or climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I can’t wait to touch the Berlin wall and walk through the castle that inspired the one and only Cinderella’s Castle. I can’t wait to see the Stonehenge and wander through the Colosseum in Rome. So many things I have on my bucket list that I hope to do while I am over there. I am so excited writing this that I can’t even contain myself! There are so many other things that I wish to do, but I don’t want to write too much!
Although a lot of people probably don’t add this, I am looking forward to the classes I will take while I am abroad. They can teach me more about the country I will be living in for my semester abroad. I can’t wait to write blogs and journals. I love writing, and to be able to write about my experiences in the most exciting 6 months of my life will be a blast!
By Abby Lorenzo, Nursing major from Seymour, Indiana. More posts to come soon!
Now let me tell you, when I first heard the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were coming to Cambridge for the first time since their marriage, I literally squealed out loud. I mean, who wouldn’t? This is Prince William and Kate that we are talking about! Yes, I was one of those girls who sighed as I watched the Royal Kiss and hoped to have a prince for myself one day. (But I mean, let’s be real…I’m pretty serious!)
The entire Cambridge community was also excited to hear this news and it was on the newspaper for days. Finally it was revealed where they were going to be and what they would be doing. We had classes this day, but thankfully after working things out we were able to make it out to the city centre where William and Kate were going to be waving to the crowd.
On the morning of November 28th, I woke up extra early for classes. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I brought everything I needed to my classes so that I can peace out as soon as class ended; which is exactly what I did.
All of C-90 walked as fast as we could to the market square, and there were already so many people there. After waiting patiently for about 30 minutes, they finally came out!
I couldn’t believe that I was seeing a real life prince and princess with my bare eyes!
There they are!
The entire crowd cheered with excitement and many were yelling out their names. This was probably the most spirited I have seen of the people here!
The handsome Duke and the beautiful Duchess
Duchess Kate is known for her great sense of fashion and I’ve heard that the girls here love it and it was so true! There was a group of girls near me and I heard them mentioning many times how cute her ankle boots were and that they wanted it. They also couldn’t get enough of her coat. And I do have to say, her outfit was very classy and I loved it too!
A couple other girls and I tried moving towards an area that we thought they might walk past. This was the closest I got to Prince William!
Hello Prince William!
He was quite a handsome man! One of the girls in C-90 were able to shake hands with him and I couldn’t have been more jealous! She definitely was a lucky one.
One of the great things besides actually being able to see William and Kate was to see how many people were there and how excited everyone was. It was so nice seeing an entire town come together and celebrate this historical moment. It was such a memorable experience for me as well and I was thrilled to be a part of this Cambridge history. This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and although I was jealous of my friend for being able to shake Prince William’s hand, I knew that I was also very lucky to be able to have this experience. Who else can say that they have studied abroad and was able to see the country’s prince? I do hope though, that they will be coming back more often after this time, and the future Cambridge groups will also have opportunities to see them as well!
Cheers until next time!
On a side note, it was released a couple days after this visit that Kate is pregnant with her first baby. So this means that we were able to see William, Kate, AND the future heir to the throne! haha. Definitely a cool experience.
I’m sure everyone knows about the Cinderella/Princess Castle that’s in Disney World and Disneyland, right?
Well, there is a castle called the Neuschwanstein Castle that is located in Fussen, Germany which is what the Cinderella castle was based off of. Being a huge Disney fan that I am, seeing this castle has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Going to see this princess castle was one of the things that I knew I had to do while I was abroad and it finally became a reality the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Holly and I flew over to Munich, Germany which is about two hours away from the castle. During our first night there, we adventured around the city centre of Munich. It was night time, but there were many Christmas lights that lit up the city beautifully!
We were also able to see a gorgeous night view of the New Town Hall, which essentially is a HUGE clock tower. The way that the light was shining on it made it absolutely beautiful.
There were Christmas markets all around the area of the New Town Hall. Sadly, they were all closed at this time so we were only able to see the stands and people starting to close up any remaining stands. But all of the stands had Christmas decorations and it was still very fun to walk through the streets.
One thing that caught our attention was this huge display at a mall. The mall had a stuffed animal store inside it, so it was a display of many, many animals celebrating the Christmas season! It was absolutely adorable and I wished I could take them all home with me…or even better, I wish I could have that display at home! This was probably hands down the cutest display that I have ever seen and it looked like a lot of effort went into it! Here are a couple pictures I took:
Little bears making a snowman!
Look how cute they are (:
At this point, I hadn’t seen a whole bunch of Christmas decorations at Cambridge yet, so this definitely put me into the Christmas spirit. There were so many people there looking at the display and taking pictures; many of them were happy, little children! It made me really happy to see that this display brought out so many smiles on people walking down the street. I wish the States had intricate mall displays like these!
The following day was dedicated to the castle: the day that I have been waiting for (:
We took a train down to Fussen, Munich, and then a bus right to the bottom of the Alps mountain where the castle stands.
It was a very pleasant hike up to the castle. Nothing too difficult, but it wasn’t just flat, boring roads either. I was hoping for some snow, which we didn’t see, but most of the leaves that were on the mountains were red and yellow and colored the mountains beautifully.
View from the walk to the castle!
As we neared closer to the castle, I was almost hyperventilating from excitement (a little dramatic, I know).
We finally made it to the top, and the castle was everything that I hoped for. It really was just like the Cinderella castle at Disney and I could really tell that it was modeled off of this.
I was so happy to see it up close, but I also wanted to see the view that I’ve seen in pictures. I knew there had to be a way to get up there, and while Holly and I went inside the castle grounds and looked out to the beautiful view, we found it:
The bridge!
So our next task was to find how to get to the bridge since it seemed like it was on the other end of this part of the mountain. It wasn’t too difficult though, since we realized that there were a bunch of people heading the same direction. On the way to the bridge, we were able to see some great views. This was a more rural area, compared to Munich, and it was very beautiful in its own way.
There aren’t mountains in Cambridge (the biggest “lump” of land we have is the Castle Hill, which really is just a hill) so it’s a nice change seeing such big mountains. Not to mention, they are just beautiful. If I had more time here, I would loved to have gone hiking. But our nice, little hike up to the castle and to the bridge will have to do for this time!
Finally arriving at the bridge, it took me a lot of courage to walk on it, but it was definitely worth it. Here is the castle of my dreams!
Hello, Neuschwanstein Castle (:
Aaaaaand crossing that off my bucket list (:
I could not have been more thrilled to see the castle of my dreams. Being abroad gave me the opportunity for me to accomplish something that I have always wanted to do and I am so thankful for that. This was the last out-of-England trip that I made, and it was a great way to start wrapping up the semester. After traveling to Italy, Ireland, and Germany this semester, it strongly encouraged my desire to come back to Europe one day again. Next time, I will know exactly the places that I want to go to but will also be willing to see new things as well. Flying (and taking the ferry!) is right under my belt, and I’ve become a much more confident traveler 🙂 Maybe backpacking throughout Europe will become a reality one day in the near future!
Until next time,
Cheers!
So here is part 2!
On Sunday (the last day of our trip), we went to see Stonehenge and the Windsor Castle.
It was the perfect day for Stonehenge and I could not have been more blessed! The sun was shining bright on them and it seemed mystical and almost magical. I don’t think even words could describe how beautiful it looked so let me just show you a gallery of pictures!
Okay, so maybe I lied and it won’t let me upload a lot of pictures because they are too beautiful and high def. But, you do get the picture, right? It was an absolutely stunning day! I think this is one of the very few moments where my camera captured the complete beauty of the moment that is being taken.
The Stonehenge seems to remain a mystery on how and why it was created, but after my observations I have decided that each of those “tunnels” lead you to another dimension like Narnia, the Enchanted Forest from Once Upon A Time, or Hogwarts… I really wish!
Leaving my fantasies behind, it really was such a great and iconic thing to see and I was very glad to be able to experience that.
After Stonehenge we left for our final destination: the Windsor Castle.
What was really awesome about the Windsor Castle was that it is still used by the Royal family today. I was really hoping to casually bump into Queen Elizabeth, but sadly that did not happen. However I did get to see very neat things such as the Dollhouse display and the inside of the castle.
The dollhouse display had miniature furniture for every room! They were all so well made I couldn’t believe it. If I were a size of a thumb, I could definitely live there. Apparently the light and water actually work inside the dollhouse, so really, I actually COULD live there if I was like tiny Tom!
The inside of the castle was of course amazingly beautiful as always. Everything is so intricate and delicate. It’s always hard to believe that a human being was able to create such a thing! It’s really amazing to realize how skillful a person can be. I really wish I can show some pictures but they don’t allow pictures inside so I guess the only way you’ll be able to see it is if you join the Cambridge program or go see the Windsor Castle yourself (:
Castles weekend was something that I have been looking forward to since I signed up for the program and I can’t believe that it all happened so quickly. I loved every moment of it though and it got me excited for the following weekend that I had planned: a trip to Germany to see the Neuschwanstein Castle! This was one of the things I’ve wanted to do for a very, very long time and will give you the full details next time!
Until then,
Cheers!
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