England
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England was my first destination of the summer. I went with a tour group/class from SNU, composed of adults, university students, and one young teen. As a group, we went to many popular attractions in Southern England. Most of our outings had literary significance, since the class studied English Literature. As we experienced the locations described in the literature we'd read, the stories and characters became a vivd tapestry of the country's culture. I returned to England the last week in July, immediately before my return to the States. During my second trip, I stayed with friends of my aunt; this gave me a unique opportunity to glimpse the everyday realities of English life. My hosts were wonderful, and even their neighbors helped make me welcome. I enjoyed both of my trips to England, and hope to return someday! Unlike my other pictures from this summer, these pictures are grouped primarily by their location, although they are in somewhat chronological order. Because I was in England for almost three weeks, I have several pictures from this country. I separated these pictures into three different pages; you can get to the other pages via the links at the bottom of the page.
London
This is the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. The ceremony that we saw was modified because of the rainy weather. We watched the Changing of the Guard on our first day in England. Wouldn't you like to have a hat like theirs?
Just when we thought the excitement was over, we heard hooves clopping on the pavement, coming toward the Palace. A few people in our group managed to discover that the Ambassador of Tunisia was coming to meet with the Queen Mother herself!
This is a picture Crystal and Andee in front of Buckingham Palace. Andee was my roommate during the trip, and Crystal was next door to us while we stayed in London. They were my friends during the trip; we had a lot of fun together.
We went to the Tower of London immediately after the Changing of the Guard. I used to think that the Tower of London was just one tower. Imagine my surprise when I found that it was actually a whole castle complex, with several buildings and towers! I took this picture in the Tower's armory. There were probably thousands of guns stored in the room, and most of them were artfully displayed. Look at the column on the left; I think that's amazing! The column on the right (it's difficult to see) is also decorated with rifles.
Here's the Tower of London Bridge, just a few steps from the Tower of London. It's one of London's most famous landmarks.
This is a statue near the Thames (pronounced "tims") River, about a block from the original Tate Gallery.
Here I am, on the London Bridge. And no, it wasn't falling down while I was there. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the original London Bridge was dismantled and moved to Arizona. The song was written about this event. If you know anything else about the London Bridge, please e-mail me. I would like to know the whole story!
Here's the dome of St. Paul's cathedral. It's a lot bigger than it looks in this picture.
These bushes are azaleas at Kew Gardens, on the south side of London. Aren't they pretty? Kew Gardens was wonderful. It was a huge area of wonderfully landscaped gardens and vast lawns. If Brian and I lived in England, I think we would get married here....if he liked the idea, too, of course. =)
It may seem silly to take a picture of lily pads, but these were monstrous! The largest one you see, on the right, was about six feet across!