November 5, 2012
London/Wales Trip journaling
Days 32-42 + final
project TBD
We
arrived at Heathrow airport in London at 7:00 in the morning on which was
actually 2:00 our time. We had to go through customs before we could get into
the UK. The man at customs asked me questions like, “How long will you be
staying in the UK?” and “Who are you staying with?” once I answered those
questions, he checked my passport we got to go into England! Emma and I then
took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station were we met Auntie Kim
and Uncle Paul and Olivia, Hannah, and Nellie. We left Paddington really
quickly so we could get to the hotel and then make it to Buckingham Palace to
see the changing of the guards. The palace was beautiful and the guards were
absolutely hilarious with their red coats and beaver skin hats and their VERY
serious expression. We tried to make then laugh when they walked by. We then
walked through Victoria Park and saw a bush that was painted like the Queens
crown, it was beautiful. We then hopped onto the tube (the subway) to Victoria
Park and got on the bus to “The making of
Harry potter at Warner bros’ Studios” This is the real Harry potter Studios
and it was awesome. We went in to the real Great Hall of Hogwarts and saw the
actual costumes of the actors. We went to the real Diagon Alley; Saw the real
Tri-Wizard cup and the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. It was so awesome!
The
next day, we were rocking out to Beatles music on Abbey Road. We took pictures
across the crosswalk posing like we were the Beatles walking down Abbey Road
just like they did on the cover of their album. It was really fun because we
did all sorts of silly photos and I got to sing “I want to hold your hand” for a college student who said I might be
on the college radio! I bought a Beatles bag at the gift shop which I LOVE. Get
it- LOVE. Like the album, and cirque de solei act?! No, ya I guess it wasn’t
really that funny… anyways! After that, we went on a time tour bus all over
London and met William Shakespeare! The time tour bus host was a mad scientist
that transformed London when he took us back on his time machine bus back in
time. Sure! After we went all over London in the bus we got on the tube to
Piccadilly Circus and to Ripley’s Believe or not museum. We saw two headed cows
that were actually real! And many other strange things like, the Beatles made
of gum, Princess Diana made of lint, and Mr. Bean made out of DUNG!!! There was
mirror maze and a laser race which was hard yet entertaining!
Happy
Birthday! Olivia Hannah and Danielle! Today was their tenth birthday! We went
to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum which was SUPER cool! I got my picture with
Johnny Depp, Obama, and the Royal Family. We stayed there for a long time and
went on this cool spirit of London ride kind of like Spaceship Earth at Epcot
in Disney World except all about London. We got our pictures taken and it was a
wonderful ride, except for the heat in the Great Fire of London room! After we
were done with the Wax museum, we got on the tube, AGAIN, and went to the real
Tower of London, Which was my FAVORITE historic place to visit. We got a tour
from a Beefeater named Andy and he showed us the Bloody tower where Prince
Edward V and his brother the Duke of York were murdered, which is what the
British people believe. The beefeater said that their bodies are buried by
Queen Elizabeth I in a place called innocence corner. They said that the bodies
at Westminster are probably the ones of the boys but Elizabeth II refuses to
have them DNA tested. We saw traitors gate were Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen
Catherine Howard, Queen Jane Grey, and Mel Gibson entered before execution.
(Well except for Mel Gibson, he was just filming Braveheart!) We went into the Chapel Royal of St. peter ed Vincula,
where Catherine Howard, Jane Grey, and Anne Boleyn were buried! I talked to one
of the other beefeaters after who was very impressed with my knowledge of
British History, so he called me a very clever little lady and asked where I
learned it all from, and I said from my teacher, my mother! I home school, and
he was very impressed. Later than night we went for an awesome dinner at the
“Rainforest Café.” 
Today
was our last day in London. I was so upset yet still overflowed with amazing
adventures. Before we got on the train to Cardiff we went to Kensington palace
where Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, and now Kate and William lived. The
triplets and I did a Queen Victoria Scavenger hunt because they were doing an
exhibit about the time she lived there. We saw her coronation and wedding dress
which was super cool. I learned Victoria was the first Queen to have a Jubilee
and that she had nine children. I thought it was cool to be in a real palace. I
saw 5 of Diana’s most recognizable dresses. They were gorgeous. I learned that
Kensington palace is located in Hyde Park, However when we tried to play Hide
and seek there I fell and got mud all over my pants so don’t do that! The next
day we arrived in Wales. We went to Cardiff Castle which is the Golden medieval
Palace that the Bute family transformed, in 1800 though the palace grounds date
back to 1006! Nellie went in some World War II tunnels, or attempted to! Emma,
Olivia and Hannah didn’t want to go so Nellie and I went in alone. It was
decorated for Halloween so it was kind of scary we took about ten small steps
before we decided to run back to Emma!
The
next day we took a train to Techniquest, which is a science museum play area
thing. Unfortunately Nellie didn’t want to come with us so it was just Emma,
Livvy, Hannah, and I. we saw a really cool planetarium show that showed us our
constellations and hints of how to find them. We looked at Jupiter and tried to
find any aliens. We saw a shadow coming in through the distance but then the
connection stopped; I’m guessing that was just for show though since Jupiter is
made up of only air and gas, like Saturn. We built bodies with Emma, and took
pictures in a shadow box and made a magnet and so much more stuff. SO MUCH FUN!
Saturday, Olivia and I and Emma went to a 1500 year old Cathedral in Llandavv
which is a neighborhood in Cardiff. That’s pretty much all we did on Saturday.
On Sunday we went to visit the girl’s school, which just had its 150th
birthday, and the triplets and I performed a Halloween play. I have to believe
it was one of our best!
I made
this chart that explains some of the many differences between the United
Kingdom and America…
AMERICA United Kingdom
Underwear Pants
Shopping Carts trolleys
Diapers nappies
Pacifier Dummy
Cash-register till
Line Queue
Stroller’s tram/buggy
Dessert Pudding
Attendance register
Erasers Rubbers
Trash Rubbish
Popsicle Lolly
Mall Arcade
Yard Sale Car-boot
sale
Backyard garden
Chips Crisps
Fries Chips
Toilet Lou
Contact/info details
Zip-code post-code
Sweaters Jumpers
Sneaker Trainers
Gas/fuel Petroll
Look what I learned to say in Welsh.
Dysgais I hun ung Nghynru
Pemblodd tapadd cee Llee
United Kingdom America
Drive on the left Drive on the right
Refrigerator smaller Refrigerator big
Have to pay a pound
for shopping cart Don’t have to pay money
for a shopping cart
Signs in Welsh first signs
only in English
Motorway Highway
Have to pay 15p for
shopping bag don’t have to pay
for a shopping bag
Everything is smaller Big
Have badays have
no badays
Use butter on
sandwiches no
butter on Sandwiches
Tea Dinner
Don’t drink with
meals Do
drink with meals
Love high heels Don’t
always wear high heels
Holiday- 2 weeks or
more Vacation-however
long you want
Steering wheel on
right Steering
wheel on left
School-run Drop
off
This means “Happy Birthday to you, I learned this is Wales”
On Monday
we did some serious shopping. I bought millions of gifts and traditional British
clothing…sort of! Tuesday night we went to St. Fagans outdoor Welsh museum Halloween
festival. It was cool, yet kind of scary. The triplet Welsh friends came with
us and they were going to spend the night. They’re names were Haladd and Shunedd.
At St. Fagans, we saw real old Welsh homes and it was a lot like Plymouth. We
went in to one of the houses were a Welsh Lady was telling some Welsh Halloween
Superstitions and I got called up as a volunteer as well as another boy to see
if we were true love. We both took a nut and through them into the fire at the
same time, she said if the nuts popped at the same time we were true love, if
they popped close together, we might get married. The nuts popped close
together and we were the same age…ANYWAYS! On Halloween day, we all went to see
Hotel Transylvania, which was very
funny! We also went trick or treating in the rain! All of my makeup was off by
the end of the night and I looked like a melted away face zombie, it was kind
of cool. Hannah was dressed up as a corpse bride, Danielle was Draco Malfoy,
Olivia was a spider Princess, and I was a Zombie Cheerleader! It was a really
fun night. 
Today,
we went back on the train from Cardiff to London, just Emma and I. We arrived
at Paddington Station and then took the tube to the London Eye. It is amazing
how big it is! We got on quickly because we had pre-bought tickets. As soon as
we got into the capsule, I got out the camera. Emma and I took beautiful
pictures of all of London, pretty much! After we were done with the eye, and I hopped
into a taxi to go see Wicked. There weren’t very many restraints though near
the theater, and what there was looked rubbish. So we walked and walked until
we found an Indian restraint which was actually quite good. Sitting next to us
were two American from New Hampshire…coincidence! I had some butterfly shrimp,
which was actually quite nice! After tea, (dinner) we saw an AMAZING
performance of Wicked. It was the first time I’ve seen the show and I thought
it was spectacular. I LOVED the character of Elphaba. I really, really enjoyed
that show!
Today,
which is a Friday, exactly two weeks have gone by that we have been in the UK.
And tomorrow, we will go home. But only after one more exciting full packed day
in London! We got on the tube and headed for Westminster Abbey bright and early
in the morning. The tube got off right under Big Ben. Who is absolutely beautiful,
except we couldn’t see him? I know what you’re thinking, this is strange
right?! But we couldn’t see him because he is the bell inside the tower and
nobody could see him…but the tower that he is in is beautiful! We crossed the
street to Westminster Abbey and waited in the queue for a while until we could
get inside. But when we could, I said that it was absolutely gorgeous! Oh you
wouldn’t believe how beautiful it is, all golden and silver with stained glass
windows creating a rainbow around the room, so pretty! I saw where Queen
Elizabeth I and bloody Mary were buried. I thought that it was kind of odd that
they were buried together however, because Mary hated Elizabeth…but they were!
I also saw Mary Queen of Scots grave. I saw the memorial of Shakespeare, but I
learned that he was not buried there, he was buried in Stratford. One of the
people who worked at the Abbey took me into the room where William and Kate
were married. I got to step on the stairs into where the Queen sits when she
visits the Abbey. I also got to stand where the choir stood at the wedding.
After we were finished with the Abbey, we went on a Double Decker bus tour and
River cruise all throughout London. I learned that the city of London itself is
only one square mile. Which is one of the smallest cities in the world, but the
whole region of many cities is called London altogether. That night, we saw a
show called Let it Be in Piccadilly Circus at the famous Prince of Wales
Theatre. It was a Beatles concert where a band that sounded and looked exactly
like the Beatles performed a bunch of their hit songs, it was great!
Today we
left for home. The plane trip took 8 hours and altogether the travel time was
14 hours! London and Wales was the most amazing adventure I’ve ever had. I learned
so much and had loads of fun. I want to thank Auntie Kim, Emma, Mom, Dad, and
everybody else for this wonderful trip.
Awesome blog Sophie! It was really great to see you and I'm so happy you had a great time!!!
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