London Calling

Ritchie at the Cliffs of Dover

Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

House of Commons

It's been a pretty full-on weekend and I'm exhausted but, my gosh, what fun! 5 countries in 24 hours - got to love Europe really. I went with school to London for the day! We left Germany at 3am, drove through the Netherlands, Belgium and France, caught the ferry at Calais, and arrived in England in beautiful sunshine to see the Cliffs of Dover. An hour and a half later and I was in London. I have to admit to being ridiculously pleased to see the sea and loved our calm crossing of the Channel. I also found it very strange to be back on the left side of the road and being surrounded by English speaking people! Driving through London and then walking through the centre was a crazy experience. The impact of seeing places that used to only exist in the T.V. was just amazing. Standing in front of the House of Commons, walking through Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace (cup of tea with the Queen perhaps??), Tower of London, I felt like I was in a dream!

London Eye

We let the students go shopping in Oxford and Regent streets and us teachers went looking for a pub and some food. Got asked how old I was by the security who wouldn't believe that I'm 22. Though according to my year 9 class I'm 35... London at night is SO beautiful, my camera doesn't do it justice and I can't wait to get back in June (still haven't seen The Globe). Bit of drama at the end of the day though. Bus was supposed to pick us up at 9pm but the drivers got lost, then got caught up in demonstrations in Hyde Park, then directed 10km out of London. We waited 2 hours for the them and made the ferry in Dover at the very last minute. Very tired students and teachers and we're all glad to have Sunday to sleep before school on Monday.

The weather is just incredible, I was walking around without a jacket and today I'm sitting outside in 20 degree sunshine to write this. Winter ain't coming, hello Spring!

St James' Park

Tower Bridge