Monday, July 7
Today
was our last day in London, and we decided to spend the day in the city exploring
areas that we wanted to make sure we saw before leaving. We knew that we couldn't
cover everything that we wanted to do, plus we wanted some time to relax and
enjoy the best weather we've seen yet (finally, sunny all day!). We put together
a plan which we knew would involve a lot of walking, and did a good job of
pacing ourselves during the day. ~Steve
We got an early start and after eating a quick breakfast ventured to Hyde
Park. There we stationed our backpacks next to a group of flower beds, benches
and beautiful trees. I painted a flowerbed and distant archway with water
colors. The sky was really fun to paint - it was a beautiful shade of blue
with puffy white clouds. David and Mom read the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer,
while Dad snoozed in the grass. It was entirely peaceful except for the soft
snores of people sleeping nearby, and the rhythmic sound of horses' hooves
hitting the dirt pathway. It was a wonderful way to relax and enjoy one of
the few sunny days during our stay. ~Katie
We then walked to Harrods, one of the largest stores in the world. This store
was absolutely amazing! There were seven floors with about 20-25 separate
rooms on each floor. Each room was not a separate store, but a separate department
such as athletics, food, candy and clothes. You can buy anything here, from
a handkerchief to a solid gold golf putter! We saw some watches that cost
over 50,000 pounds (that's over $80,000). We explored this massive store for
a while, and then ate lunch at a famous deli in the store. This was the largest
store I had ever been to, and it was a really cool experience for us all.
~David 
We took the Underground to Covent Gardens where we immediately saw crowds of people gathered together. As we walked up through the crowds, we saw many street performers such as mimes, chalk artists, magicians and an amazing man who could do the limbo with the stick down to the height of a wine bottle! Everywhere you turned there was another entertainer. As we walked through the town, we saw many more shops and spent a short while at the Science and Natural History Museums. ~Katie
We walked into a neighborhood called Soho, and ate dinner in nearby Chinatown. Soho was a busy place and had lots of theaters, stores and restaurants. After this we ventured into Chinatown and had a magnificent Chinese dinner. The food was real Chinese, and tasted great. On our way home, we stopped by Piccadilly Circus, a busy square, and then rode the Underground back to our hotel. ~David
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I think England was a great way to kick off our adventure. We learned a lot more about getting around busy cities, eating balanced meals, being patient and flexible and working together. Sometimes we would do 5 or 6 things in one day but coped with our exhaustion by looking forwards to getting into our soft beds in the evening. I just can't imagine how hard it's going to be to get around busy cities when the people don't even speak English! We just enjoyed starting in an easier place where the majority of the people spoke English.
I found the great diversity of the people in London fascinating and enjoyed learning about England's numerous years of rich history. It was really interesting hearing about their perspective on the Revolutionary war! Overall, England was a wonderful place to begin on our journey where we will discover so much about the world we live in today. ~Katie
Overall, London didn't blow me away, but I think that it was a cool place. I enjoyed visiting castles, museums, homes and the countryside. I had never been to Europe before, and enjoyed the change. The city was much different than cities in the U.S. Walking down the streets, we saw people of different nationalities everywhere. It was a hard city to walk in, but it was fun trying to do it. I enjoyed visiting England, and hope to visit again! ~David
Distance Walked: 6.57 miles
