Summer in England 2010

time has flown by, and your children approach tonight with both relief and regret. They are ready to come home and sad to leave. All of us miss you there, but we will miss our friends here. It has been a wonderful experience, and I am sure the kids will enthral with tales of castles, knights, kings, lords, battles, riches, and many more amazements. Thank you for trusting them with me for the last three weeks. They have been awesome and by far the best kids here.

we are schedulde out of LGW tomorrow morning at 9:00 GMT on Delta flight 11, and we are expected back in Atlanta around 1:35. Please meet us at baggage claim. I will hand you over your children, and make sure they  have checked in with me before you leave.

Today we went to Windsor Castle and on a boat trip up the Thames to Runnymede to see where King John signed the Magna Carta and where there is one acre of American soil donated to us by the Brits as a memorial site to John F. Kennedy after his assassination. So yes, you can walk to America from England! Tonight is the last dance and farewell. See you all tomorrow.

at Magna Carta Memorial

yesterday was a long day of driving, but I think that the kids enjoyed it. We first visited Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace. It is simply amazing to think that we were in the home where he grew up. In the Shakespeare museum, they actually had a copy of his First Folio, the book put together by Ben Johnson and friends which is responsible for us having access to most of his plays today. You could buy it for a pound then, but God knows what it would cost today. There are only a few in existence. Also, we visited Warwick Castle. It was initially established by William the Conqueror in 1080, and then inhabited by the Earl of Warwick from then on until is was sold in the late ’70s. It most recently was turned into a kind of theme park, like Disney, for Medieval times. I think the kids loved it, and many may come home with swords and souvenirs. Talk more later

Sorry for the absence, but there has been plenty of action here, and I will try to get everyone all caught up this weekend. First of all, last Saturday was Zino’s birthday, and he said it was one of his best ever. We will try to make it a great one for Sydney today as well. Today is an on campus day, and believe it or not, most of the kids seem to enjoy them as much as or more than than touring. Yesterday, we traveled to The  London Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Tower of London. The London Museum is simply concerned with the city of London proper, which is only one square mile. So, all of the artifacts from the museum, beginning with the Roman excavations, are from that spot. Really incredible. you will be pleased to know that all of your kids made it to the very top of St. Paul’s to get the best view of London! The cathedral itself it magnificent, but the view from atop is phenomenal. Then we went over to the Tower of London and heard stories of beheadings, false imprisonment (Sir Walter Raleigh), and had a chance to see the Crown Jewels. It was a great day. I will catch you up later on the rest. Time to wake your children!

Yesterday was another good day. Despite inclement weather, we headed in to Portsmouth for an excursion to the HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. It was massive and housed 850 men. Lord Nelson is somewhat of a historical pillar here, so to see where he commanded and then later died was remarkable. Then we were off to Arundel Castle, still a working castle and residence of the Howard family. Construction was begun in 1067, and the original keep still remains. The art work alone (tons of Van  Dykes) must be worth a fortune, but the history there is both breathtaking and priceless. Today we are off to The Globe and Hampton Court Palace – check out the links. And speaking of links, look under the pictures page, and there are a couple of short video clips of your kids. More later.

at Arundel

Yesterday was a great day. We began at the Royal Observatory (where many of your children took their pictures straddling the prime meridian, literally being at two places at one time – the eastern and western hemispheres), moved westward up the Thames, and then ended with a round on the London Eye. It was a great time! Ask your kids to tell you the difference between Big Ben and St. Stevens Tower (maybe they listened – smile). Today is an on campus day where they play different sports. It rainy and chilly today, but it is supposed to clear off and be nice beginning tomorrow. Talk more later

on top of London

We just returned from Winchester. The kids had a great time. It was a place ridiculous with information and history. I have included a pic under under the picture page. Also, if you check under the itinerary page, I believe there is a link to the Winchester Cathedral home page. We also had a chance to visit Winchester College, the longest standing English school to remain at one site (since 1382).  Will write more later