Day 9 - London (14 July 2019)

This morning came bright and early with room checks at 5 a.m. to ensure all of my students were up and ready to leave by 5:30 a.m.  The early morning leave times can be a challenge, but no one slept in!  There were a few cat naps on the train though. 













We arrived at St. Pancras station and walked over to King’s Cross Station from there. We dropped off our luggage with a delivery company who took it to the hotel so we wouldn’t need to drag our bags around all day. 



















At King’s Cross station, there is a large Harry Potter shop and a place where you can see a re-creation of Platform 9 3/4!  The shop was brilliant. The whole time I was in it, they had the musical score from the films playing. 





















They even had a wand section and a nod to Doby and Hedwig too! 



















It was a lot of fun to be able to experience (with loads of other people) the shop.  The line to take your picture was pretty long at the trolley, so a selfie was sufficient!  
As well as a meat pasty for lunch. 



















Then, we took the Underground (the Tube) straight into the heart of London!  London’s Tube is less complex than the métro in Paris, so my students felt fairly comfortable navigating it. 



Solène then took us on a walking tour of London. It was so fun to feel the pulse of the city as we walked through the incredibly historical streets while musicians and street performers kept your attention too. 



















After buying discount tickets to Wicked (yay!), we walked therough Leicester Square and over to Covent Garden. What a fun place that is!  















After sitting down at a café, we perused the stalls and enjoyed the atmosphere. 











We had a delightful time walking through the streets together as a group.  























It was glorious to not feel rushed. Despite tired feet, we had a great time! 



















We walked over to St James’ Park for a little bit of a break. On this trip, I have hit at least 10,000 steps everyday. After such an early morning, even the students felt like they needed a small breather for a bit. 



















We found a tree and hung out by the trunk for about 15 minutes, just appreciating the moment. 





We then walked through Piccadilly Circus on our way to dinner. This place’s vibrancy is bursting through the seams!



















Our restaurant was a quaint little place that had delicious food!  There were a lot of nooks and crannies that could easily be overlooked, but they were darling too. 





My group sat at the front of the restaurant so we could leave quickly for the show. It was really good food too!  















We then walked a little way to the Oxford Circus Tube to make our way over to Victoria station. 







We found the Apollo Victoria Theatre and were so excited to see Wicked!  Some of my students had never seen a show before, and only Shannel and I had previously seen Wicked in person. It. Was. AMAZING. 















After taking the Underground 20 stops, we made our way to the Barking Station where our hotel was near. 



We walked the 3/4 mile to the Premier Inn Barking through town. I turned on my phone’s navigation and handed it to a student to lead us there after he asked a few times where we would turn. 

We made it to the hotel about 20 minutes before the other group who was on the bus, but it was worth the effort to go to see Wicked in London!  What a memorable day!  So grateful for these memories we are creating together. 💕


Comments

  1. UnknownJune 20, 2019 at 12:48 AM

    Your hotel was clear out at Barking? And you led them home! Good job, Kim!
    What a lot of walking you have done! I don't think I could still do that.
    I remember Tiffany wanted to see Wicked. Still playing at the Apollo :)

    ReplyDelete

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