I've got a feeling that this blog may be relatively short.
It's not that we didn't do much today, in fact, it is the opposite. We had another packed day. This entry may be short because the long days, late nights, and early mornings are starting to catch up with me. I may not be as young as I think I am, but in all honesty, the exhaustion is worth it. We've seen so much in such a short amount of time and I really think that it has been the trip of a lifetime for many of the students. Everytime I hear one say that they are having a blast, or that they'd move here, or that they can't wait to come back...it makes the sleepless nights worth it.
Today, we had a bus tour of London. Our guide Justin took us all over and we got an extra special tour because the marathon route blocked off some typical sights. We visited a few sights related to Harry Potter. I am in the middle of the first book, but I don't know the things as well as the kids...sorry. I have some pictures, but they'll probably go up sometime tomorrow (See second paragraph).
We also visited St. Paul's Cathedral today. It was very beautiful. London has so much to offer. There are tours to the city that last seven days total and we are trying to get it all done in two days. By midday, we had made our way over to Harrads. This store has everything. I personally decided that I'd start saving for the autographed Jaws poster they had in their millionaires collection. It was just under 2000 British Pounds. If I save too much, I might buy the autographs of the every single American president...even William Henry Harrison who only served for a month and a few days. This collection would only cost me about 200,000 pounds. The real gem at Harrads was an alarm clock that wakes you up with a personalized song. I bet it is still waking Evan up.
After exploring Harrads, we descended upon one of three museums. One museum was an art museum that focused on things that beautified their surroundings. This includes tapestries, fashion, and other pieces. I didn't go to that one so it is tough to comment. Another museum the kids visited was the Science museum. Mr. Bemis tells me that this one was very hands on and they kids only got through about 1/2 of it because they were so busy. I ended up at the Natural History museum. I'm a sucker for dinosaurs. This museum also included exhibits on rocks, primates, and aquatic mammals. It was stuffed full of taxidermy master pieces.
The three groups met back up and after a quick trip to the hotel, we went to dinner at Mr. Fish and Chips. Earlier, I vented about an oily fish and chips that I sampled in Wales, but Mr. Fish and Chips is the real deal. His fish was crispy and tasted really good...note that I don't like fish and I am admitting that I liked it....my family will be so excited they will want to take me out for seafood. At the restaurant, we celebrated our second birthday of the trip. Melissa seemed more than a little embarrassed when the group broke out into song on her behalf.
The meal ended with a trip to King's Cross station for another Harry Potter stop. Ms. Payne led the kids as they tried to push their shopping cart in to Platform 9 and 3/4s. No one made it to Hogwarts.
We then met a very interesting character who led us through the streets of London and explained the horrific murders committed by Jack the Ripper. Our macabre tour guide expertly mixed humor and history into an exciting and engaging tale that took us to the actual sights of the Ripper's blade. Our students were more than a little scared at times, but they also laughed and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I hope they impressed them when I beat Ben, our guide, in a staring contest...but more than likely I just freaked them out a bit.
When our tour concluded we journeyed back to the hotel. It's been a long night and an exhausting one. I am about to go to bed, but if I can muster the energy, you may have another quick post with an exciting surprise.
Mr. Lavoie, currently in the hotel lobby because I thought the internet might be better down here...and because I am a little scared by the Jack the Ripper guide.
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