England Expedition: Day Two

First off, hot sauce is not a real thing here in Great Britain.

When getting off of our flight, we worked our way through immigration — my first time — and it was very intimidating being asked numerous questions of where I was going and why. Once through, we got onto a large charter bus and made our way to the Corus Hotel right outside Hyde Park.

Secondly, I don’t believe there are speed zones in London. There is no use of blinkers; everyone seems to just drive all over the streets. Not to mention they drive on the wrong side; one must truly look both ways before crossing the street here. I look forward to learning how to use the tube (London subway) so that traveling will be easier.

Once we checked into the hotel we were then herded back onto the bus to go to the National Theatre to watch the production “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” So badly do I wish I could say more on the play, but I fell asleep through the whole first act… as did the rest of our crew (jet lag). At one point I looked down the aisle of students to see EVERYONE asleep or at least fighting sleep. What would have been a beautiful production turned into nap time.

After the play, we came back to the hotel and walked down the street to a pub where we all had dinner as a group. It’s amazing how old these buildings are. It was interesting to try the different foods brought to us; they were all appetizers, but they were all delicious! Then the evening hit, and we were free to roam the city. A group of us attempted to walk to Oxford Street but the bustle of the roads made us turn around. We eventually walked through Hyde Park, and to say it’s beautiful does not serve justice in description. Truly every inch of this city is beautiful; the time put into every stone is breathtaking.

Maddie Jaggars ’17