Our time is rapidly coming to an end in London. In just a few days, people will be boarding a plane home, or heading into continental Europe to do some travelling before heading home to do summer internships.

It’s hard to believe it’s really over. It feels like we just got off the plane from New York and were trying to adjust to life in a foreign country. It’s funny to think that that foreign country now feels like home.  

Looking back on it, this semester in London has been an amazing experience for all of us. We got to travel all around Europe, see and do things we’ve never dreamed of, and meet people that we never would have had the opportunity to meet.

I'm writing this from the sports newsroom of The Times, where I’ve been lucky enough to have interned this semester. Through this internship I’ve gotten invaluable experience in the journalism industry and had some amazing opportunities. I shadowed reporters at several press conferences and I even was sent out to cover a football match by myself. I know my fellow Park Scholars had outstanding internship experiences as well. Zach’s internship with a prospective parliamentary candidate allowed him to learn more about British politics than he ever thought possible, and Mykal’s internship with a West End theatre marketing company not only allowed her to get great experience in theatre management, she also got free tickets to some great West End shows.

In these four months, we were also able to see an incredible amount of Europe. Among the seven of us, we managed to visit Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Finland. We travelled even more extensively in England, making our way to Liverpool, Bath, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, the Cotswolds, Brighton, Stratford, Oxford, Cambridge, and many more. The travelling was tedious at times. We slept in airports, caught 4 a.m. buses, and got lost in foreign cities. But it was all worth it and made our travels even more memorable.

The London Centre afforded us several great opportunities to learn more about the culture and history of our temporary home. We took classes such as British Art and Architecture, Empire and Decolonisation, European Mass Media, British Pop, Drama and the London Theatre, and Victorian Art and Society, all of which allowed us to explore different perspectives of London. Every week someone was seeing a play or musical, or going to a football match or concert. Sometimes it seemed like we never stopped. If all of this seems overwhelming, the truth is, it was at times. Culture shock, homesickness and fatigue hit each one of us at some point. However, the entertainment and excitement that London provided never failed to take our mind off of things.

It will be tough to return to Ithaca in the fall. After you’ve spent your semester going to football matches, plays, and museums for class and travelling around Europe on the weekends, it’s hard to imagine being back in a regimented college setting where you have more than two papers a semester. However when we do go back, we will return as better people because of our experiences here.

The Park Scholars recently took some time out of our busy London schedules to visit Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Oxford, with other members of the London Centre. We set out early Friday morning and arrived at Warwick Castle around 10 a.m. We had plenty of time to explore the castle grounds, including its two towers, mill, and trebuchet. There were even a few students that bought wooden toy swords and staged a sword-fight on the lawn.

After Warwick, we headed to Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford is a quiet, small town, best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. You can definitely still feel the effects of The Bard and his works in the town. It had an abundance of Shakespeare-themed bookshops, restaurants, and even a store called “Much Ado About Toys”. That night we saw “A Winter’s Tale” put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It was an interesting story, and extremely well-acted. Even though the entire play was in Shakespearean English, it was still easy to follow and very entertaining. One of the coolest parts was seeing all of the actors around town that night and the next day.

The next morning we took a tour of Trinity Church, saw Shakespeare’s grave, and did a walking tour around Stratford, where we saw notable Shakespeare landmarks, like his school, his birthplace, and his son-in-law’s house. After eating lunch along the Avon River, we piled back on the bus and made our way towards Oxford.

We only had two hours to spend in Oxford, which isn’t nearly enough time to explore everything that the town has to offer. Oxford University is made of several smaller universities such as Christ Church, Oriel, and St. John’s, all of which have specific majors and programs. Even though Brian, Zach, and I didn’t visit any of the schools, you could still feel the academic atmosphere of the town.

Overall the trip was great. It was an opportunity to get away from London for a few days, enjoy the English countryside, and just relax.

Things have been busy in London. From the G20 summit to the English Premier League title race, London has been buzzing with activity, and we've all been partaking in everything that the city has to offer. Last week Zach and I went to see the English National Football team play a World Cup Qualifier at Wembley Stadium. The game was against the Ukraine, and was one of the first big tests for the squad, which had gone undefeated in its qualifying play so far. They jumped in front when Peter Crouch volleyed a cross into the back of the goal, and it appeared as if they would hang on for a 1-0 win. But Ukraine star Andrey Schevchenko evened the score late in the game. But English captain John Terry secured victory for the Three Lions in the 85th minute with a powerful shot past the goalkeeper, keeping them perfect in group play. The entire experience was amazing, and being in a legendary stadium like Wembley was great. One of the coolest parts of the entire night was leaving the stadium, because there were over 80,000 people pouring out of the stadium, all headed up one road to one tube station. The amount of people was crazy. The entire night will definitely be one of my favorite experiences from London. Check out some of my pictures from the game.

This weekend myself and the six other Park Scholars took a trip to the birthplace of the Beatles, and home of one of the most successful soccer clubs in England. That’s right, we went to Liverpool.

The trip was organized by the London Center, just like our trip to Bath and the West Country, and there were about 35 other people from the school along on the trip.

Liverpool is located about 200 miles northwest of London, so after a five hour bus ride we finally pulled into the city. Upon arriving we immediately hopped back on the bus for a “Magical Mystery Tour” which took us to landmark sites in Beatles history, including the Cavern Club, where they were first discovered, the houses and schools of the four Beatles, as well as Penny Lane and the church where Elanor Rigby is buried.

The next morning we headed down to Albert Dock to check out “The Beatles Story” a museum tracing the story of the band from their days in Liverpool through Beatlemania and up until the present day.

After that we had about four hours of free time to further explore the city. Zach and I went to Anfield, the soccer stadium where Liverpool FC plays their home games. Anfield is one of the oldest and most storied stadiums in England, and many Liverpool fans make trips from all over the world to visit. We took a tour of the stadium where we got to enter the player’s dressing home, and go onto the field through the player’s entrance. We also checked out their museum, where we learned about the many trophies and accolades the club has picked up over the years.

Brian, Corinne, Mykal and Eric, went to Tate Liverpool, a branch of Tate London, which has an impressive collection of modern art.

After our free time we made one last stop before heading home. This was at Crosby Beach to see Anthony Gormley’s art display, called “Another Place”.

Artist Anthony Gormley placed 100 cast-iron, life-size models of himself at certain points along the beach. Depending on the tide, you can see several of the statues sticking out of the water. It was…interesting.

After that we piled on the bus for the five hour ride home, which was made a little more entertaining by a TV show that we put on called “Skins”. The next school-organized trip isn’t until early April, however we’re all planning to travel in the meantime, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out some of my pictures from the trip and some of Mykals and a video that Zach and I made at Crosby Beach. 

by: Maura Gladys

Things have been pretty crazy in London lately. With six inches of snow blanketing the city and bringing life to a standstill, we don’t know what to expect next. Before the big  blizzard of ’09 hit however, myself and 6 other Park Scholars went on a weekend trip to Bath and the West Country. The trip was organized by the London Center, and most of the other students from Ithaca attended as well.

We started off in Avebury, the site of an ancient henge and several stone circles (kind of like another version of Stonehenge, but not as famous.)

Then we went to Glastonbury, where we toured the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, a monastery that is often associated with the legends of King Arthur and Avalon. After touring the monastery, a few of us climbed the Glastonbury Tor, an extremely large hill with a tower at the top. Legend has it that Guinevere was imprisoned in the tower. When we reached the top we were all extremely tired, but the view was definitely worth it.

After Glastonbury we headed for Wells, where we toured the Wells cathedral. The next morning we saw the Roman Baths, ancient baths that were formed from hot springs.

Our last stop of the trip was Stonehenge, which, although it was cool to see, was a little anti-climactic. It’s such an iconic site, but it’s much smaller than you would think, and once you’ve seen it for ten minutes, there’s not much else to see. Also it was cold and windy and I think we were ready to get back to London.

But overall the trip was incredible. I got to see and do things that I never could have imagined and I got some great pictures. We’re heading to Liverpool next week on another school-organized trip, so that should be just as fun. Stay tuned!