Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Pictures round 2, and some links to videos
Ok so if you want a video recap check out the highlight videos at:
youtube.com/dyscokiwi
Here we go for some pictures:
Day 6-A blast from the past, and face to face with the bard
This morning was a normal morning, a bit earlier of a leave, but 8:30 was our departure time. We did awake to a different breakfast this morning. it was no longer the pampered service of room delivery, but we actually had to work for our breakfast. It required waking up and walking downstairs to the buffet room. Then we had to pick up our extremely hot plates, and load them up with blood pudding and other traditional English breakfast items. It was a scrumptious start to the day. THe other school didn't meet up with us till the end of the day, so we waved at them as they left early this morning.
We jumped on the bus at 8:30 for an hour and a half bus-ride to Warwick. The students once again capitalized on the opportunity to sleep. Some did stay awake though and continued to battle on their game boys. We arrived at our first destination, Warwick Castle. Warwick was a unique experience because live actors were placed throughout all of the castle grounds to give a more realistic approach. Activities that were offered included: Watching the trebuchet launch a pebble, A falcon show which some individuals thought they were going to be carried away by a bird aka they know who they are, walking along the castle walls, touring the grand halls of the castle, archery lessons, Climbing spiral staircases designed for a child at the age of 5, ye olde fashione gifte shoppe, the King Maker wax museum, squeezing through small staircases, buying snacks and cold drinks, did we mention a small spiral staircase? Cody was also up to his usual Cody antics, and Mr. Dutton, his chaperone, is coming to a boiling point. But it's Cody, so it'll all work when the whole group starts laughing. The weather and wind were not favorable, but we all bore through it, and carried on, because we came for England weather, not tanning weather.
We ran to the bus and scooted over to the nearby Stratford upon Avon. This was the place where the bard himself was born, raised, cornbread fed, and died. We started off inside the birthplace, not the mom's inside, but the actual house. It was very realistic, small, cold, crooked, and Robbie is under the belief that people were all shorter than 6 feet in earlier centuries (doorways are always problems). The house was awesome though, and it was cool to be in the same house as Shakespeare. We were given 2 hours to roam the city and find some grub. Some ate at a pub, a pasty place, a local sandwich shop, some ate Italian. After that, we all roamed the city like tourists, snatching deals and shopping at Poundland (the British Dollar Store). At 4:30 we jumped on the bus and met up with the other school. We took a 3 and half our bus ride up to Wales. The hotel is nice and quaint, and was actually requested by Mr. K.
Dinner was at 8, and we actually had options. Starters were a choice of: melon and fruit, cream of mushroom soup, and a salad. The main courses were: Cottage Pie, Battered Fried Fish, and a Spinach and Ricatto Tortellini. All were delicious, and the option to choose made it even better.
After dinner we all got to chill around the hotel, and now a "blizzard" is hitting the hotel. The snow is actually sticking on the ground, and it looks pretty awesome outside. Maybe if it stays up at this pace, in the morning we can have a snowball fight.
Tomorrow we leave for Ireland, and we look forward to the ferry ride. Pray we stay warm and don't have to get our fingers chopped off from numbness...as that would make blogging difficult.
We jumped on the bus at 8:30 for an hour and a half bus-ride to Warwick. The students once again capitalized on the opportunity to sleep. Some did stay awake though and continued to battle on their game boys. We arrived at our first destination, Warwick Castle. Warwick was a unique experience because live actors were placed throughout all of the castle grounds to give a more realistic approach. Activities that were offered included: Watching the trebuchet launch a pebble, A falcon show which some individuals thought they were going to be carried away by a bird aka they know who they are, walking along the castle walls, touring the grand halls of the castle, archery lessons, Climbing spiral staircases designed for a child at the age of 5, ye olde fashione gifte shoppe, the King Maker wax museum, squeezing through small staircases, buying snacks and cold drinks, did we mention a small spiral staircase? Cody was also up to his usual Cody antics, and Mr. Dutton, his chaperone, is coming to a boiling point. But it's Cody, so it'll all work when the whole group starts laughing. The weather and wind were not favorable, but we all bore through it, and carried on, because we came for England weather, not tanning weather.
We ran to the bus and scooted over to the nearby Stratford upon Avon. This was the place where the bard himself was born, raised, cornbread fed, and died. We started off inside the birthplace, not the mom's inside, but the actual house. It was very realistic, small, cold, crooked, and Robbie is under the belief that people were all shorter than 6 feet in earlier centuries (doorways are always problems). The house was awesome though, and it was cool to be in the same house as Shakespeare. We were given 2 hours to roam the city and find some grub. Some ate at a pub, a pasty place, a local sandwich shop, some ate Italian. After that, we all roamed the city like tourists, snatching deals and shopping at Poundland (the British Dollar Store). At 4:30 we jumped on the bus and met up with the other school. We took a 3 and half our bus ride up to Wales. The hotel is nice and quaint, and was actually requested by Mr. K.
Dinner was at 8, and we actually had options. Starters were a choice of: melon and fruit, cream of mushroom soup, and a salad. The main courses were: Cottage Pie, Battered Fried Fish, and a Spinach and Ricatto Tortellini. All were delicious, and the option to choose made it even better.
After dinner we all got to chill around the hotel, and now a "blizzard" is hitting the hotel. The snow is actually sticking on the ground, and it looks pretty awesome outside. Maybe if it stays up at this pace, in the morning we can have a snowball fight.
Tomorrow we leave for Ireland, and we look forward to the ferry ride. Pray we stay warm and don't have to get our fingers chopped off from numbness...as that would make blogging difficult.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Day 5-Our Breakaway from the city
We were pampered again this morning with a departure time of 9. This time however we didn't hop on the tube, it was straight to our luxurious giant orange coach bus. It was nice. We took a two hour bus ride out of the city, and headed straight for the mysterious and scientific Stonehenge. Most students capitalized on the oppurtunity for an extra two hours of sleep, but our tour guide still attempted to do his job, and tell us info on the way there. He then repeated it once we arrived.
Stonehenge, the place that no one knows what they are talking about when they talk about it. To quote our tour guide, Eric, "If you walk away from Stonehenge with an idea about it, it is just as valid as any scholar, because no one actually knows." WE WERE greeted by the sight of sheep...and rain...and wind...and miserable'ness. But we still got out of the bus and opened our umbrellas as shields for the weather. They didn't work well, but in our minds they still helped. We were given an hour to walk around the monument, and gaze in it's glory, but after 35 minutes, all were back on the bus drinking coffee and eating cheese scones. Some did embrace the monument though, and Seth, Robbie, Ben, Brandon, and Drew decided to recreate stonehenge. So they put Robbie in the air above their heads, and went on posed for a photo. God did use his humor though, and as we all got on the bus, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared. Hurray for timing.
Then we had another hour bus ride to the AMAZING city of Bath. Once we arrived, we went on a bus tour of the city. This was unlike the other bus tour we had on this trip, cause everyone was awake..except for Seth he says. Eric took us to the front of the Roman Baths and showed us our meeting point. Then we all were given 2 hours and free roam of the city for food. No one died in the making of this lunch. The most popular option was a pasty. It's like "a hand held chicken pot pie" says Seth. They were yummy. Others had pizza or Burger King, once again embracing the local food. Megan Moore says she had a nasty onion quiche.
At 3:10 the group met outside the Roman Baths and headed for the inside. We were given two hours'ish to explore, and were told to meet out front at 4:45. The baths were warm looking, and after our entire group broke the rules, we all knew it actually was warm, because we all touched it. The water is indeed green, and according to Brandon Finke who tried some in the pump room, it tastes like drinking blood. Strange...but true. We were all given audio tour guides because Eric was not allowed to guide us as a group in the baths. They worked well, and Robbie personally enjoyed listening to the kids version of the tour.
Then we headed for our hotel, The Frances on The Square. It is a quaint, old looking hotel, where every floorboard creaks. Not too shabby of a hotel, and it will serve us well for the night. We pampered up and headed for dinner, which was FISH AND CHIPS! Ben Mason has been waiting all week for it, and he was not dissapointed. The meal was delicious, and it was followed up with a dessert of cheesecake topped with strawberries.
Then we headed back to the hotel, and all chilled in rooms and the lobbby for 3 hours playing cards and other things.. Curfew is in 50 minutes, and your writers are gonna go embrace those minutes. See you all tomorrow, thanks for reading.
Stonehenge, the place that no one knows what they are talking about when they talk about it. To quote our tour guide, Eric, "If you walk away from Stonehenge with an idea about it, it is just as valid as any scholar, because no one actually knows." WE WERE greeted by the sight of sheep...and rain...and wind...and miserable'ness. But we still got out of the bus and opened our umbrellas as shields for the weather. They didn't work well, but in our minds they still helped. We were given an hour to walk around the monument, and gaze in it's glory, but after 35 minutes, all were back on the bus drinking coffee and eating cheese scones. Some did embrace the monument though, and Seth, Robbie, Ben, Brandon, and Drew decided to recreate stonehenge. So they put Robbie in the air above their heads, and went on posed for a photo. God did use his humor though, and as we all got on the bus, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared. Hurray for timing.
Then we had another hour bus ride to the AMAZING city of Bath. Once we arrived, we went on a bus tour of the city. This was unlike the other bus tour we had on this trip, cause everyone was awake..except for Seth he says. Eric took us to the front of the Roman Baths and showed us our meeting point. Then we all were given 2 hours and free roam of the city for food. No one died in the making of this lunch. The most popular option was a pasty. It's like "a hand held chicken pot pie" says Seth. They were yummy. Others had pizza or Burger King, once again embracing the local food. Megan Moore says she had a nasty onion quiche.
At 3:10 the group met outside the Roman Baths and headed for the inside. We were given two hours'ish to explore, and were told to meet out front at 4:45. The baths were warm looking, and after our entire group broke the rules, we all knew it actually was warm, because we all touched it. The water is indeed green, and according to Brandon Finke who tried some in the pump room, it tastes like drinking blood. Strange...but true. We were all given audio tour guides because Eric was not allowed to guide us as a group in the baths. They worked well, and Robbie personally enjoyed listening to the kids version of the tour.
Then we headed for our hotel, The Frances on The Square. It is a quaint, old looking hotel, where every floorboard creaks. Not too shabby of a hotel, and it will serve us well for the night. We pampered up and headed for dinner, which was FISH AND CHIPS! Ben Mason has been waiting all week for it, and he was not dissapointed. The meal was delicious, and it was followed up with a dessert of cheesecake topped with strawberries.
Then we headed back to the hotel, and all chilled in rooms and the lobbby for 3 hours playing cards and other things.. Curfew is in 50 minutes, and your writers are gonna go embrace those minutes. See you all tomorrow, thanks for reading.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
