Mr. Wood is in London!

London @ Night

2007-04-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it is my last night in London, so I thought I would post some evening pictures we have taken throughout the week here. I have enjoyed blogging for all of you this week and I hope you have enjoyed reading about London. Do you think we should use blogging more in all of your classes? Keep your comments coming. Remember, they are worth extra credit.

Mr. Wood

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Trafalgar Square

London Eye

Sherlock Holmes Restaurant

Big Ben

Kew Palace & Kew Gardens

2007-04-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Today we visited one of the most beautiful places and ironically we would have never known about it had I not turned on the television last night. In England there is a television channel called UKTV History. This month UKTV History is having a "Britain's Best" competition. Last night on UKTV they aired a special on Kew Palace. It was recently reopened after a 10 year remodel, so we thought we would go and check it out.

To get to Kew Palace you have to take the Underground to the small village of Kew almost as far west as the Underground possibly goes. Kew is one of the nicest places I have ever been. I would love to live there. Just take a look at how cute the downtown area is.

After walking a short distance you arrive at the entrance to the Kew Royal Garden. I had no idea how large this place is. Apparently, it is nearly 300 acres and the place is crammed full with plants from all over the world. Kew Gardens started in the 1700's as a collection of exotic plants. Since that time the gardens have been continually added to and today it is a giant park on the outskirts of London where many families take their children for the day. On the grounds there are 5-6 huge green houses. We went inside of the Temperate House which dates back to the late 1800's. The place was huge and contains the largest living indoor plant, the Chilean Wine Palm. The grounds of Kew Garden are full of all sorts of exotic and beautiful plants. I definitely want to go back the next time I am here!

Now remember, the whole reason we went to Kew was to see Kew Palace. During the late 1700's - early 1800's King George III and his wife Queen Charlotte lived with their 15 children on the grounds of Kew Gardens in Kew Palace. Kew Palace is also the place George III spent most of his time once he had lost his mind. Kew Palace was closed 10 years ago for a major renovation and was only reopened last year. Walking through the palace was like stepping back in time. The historians working on the renovation focused on making the place feel like it would have felt during the early 1800's when George III and his family lived there. It was fascinating. Mrs. Botan and Mrs. Kelley would probably want to spend all day there.

Tomorrow we are headed back to Modesto. Who knows, I may even see the DC students during my stop at the New York Airport. They are supposed to be there at the same time!

Mr. Wood

Kensington Palace & Covent Garden

2007-04-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today began with breakfast in Green Park. Green Park is just one of many royal parks in the London. Green Park is across the street from our hotel and next to Buckingham Palace. After stopping at Starbucks and a neighboring Pret a Manger (kind-of like a bakery) we headed over to Green Park to people watch and plan the day. The best part about Green Park is that throughout the park there are huge fields of daffodils. When we first arrived they were in bloom, but now some of the flowers are starting to fade.

After eating breakfast we took the Tube to the Kensington neighborhood of London. One of the royal residences, Kensington Palace, is in Kensington along with many different embassies. On the way to Kensington Palace from the Tube station we walked past the Iranian embassy as one of their spokes people was being interviewed by Al Jazzera. It was interesting and not something I expected to see in London.

Kensington Palace was a beautiful and facinating place. Currently, it is not the home of the Queen, but many members of the royal family live there. Kensington Palace was originally built as Nottingham house in 1605. In 1689 King William III and his wife Queen Mary II bought Nottingham house and enlarged it into Kensington Palace. They did this because William III suffered from asthma and Whitehall, the current royal residence at the time, was situated in central London where factories produced tons of pollution. Kensington was out in the country and was known for its clean air. By the 1760's Kensington Palace was no longer being used as the primary royal residence, but other members of the royal family started converting some of its buildings into apartments. Most recently some of Kensington Palace's residents have been Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon (sister and brother-in-law of the current Queen) and Princess Diana. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

While at Kensington Palace, we took the tour and were able to see a collection of Princess Diana's dresses, the apartment of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and the rooms which were originally used by members of the royal family in the 17th and 18th centuries. In spite of all the things we saw, we actually only visiting a small portion of the palace. It was a very interesting place.

After visiting the palace we headed over to Covent Garden to visit the Covent Garden Market. The marketplace is an open-air shopping area in the location of a market area which dates back to the 1600's. The place was hopping with tourists and local residents. Near the market is our new favorite chain of restaurants in London, Pizza Express, so we stopped for lunch. Pizza Express has great Italian-style pizzas and is pretty inexpensive by London standards.

After lunch we took the Tube down to Clapham to visit a motorcycle shop. I wanted to see what my bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 650R looked like in England. I knew from looking online they looked a bit different. Norman, when I see you in person I will tell you all about it.

Thank you for all of the comments you have been posting. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts.

Mr. Wood

Shopping & Walking

2007-04-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a very busy day, but a dream come true for Mrs. Botan and Mrs. Kelley at Ustach. Both of them insisted that I make sure I did not miss Harrod's department store while I was in London. After a quick breakfast at Starbucks we hit the tube and got off a few stops west of our hotel in Knightsbridge.

Just as you come out of the Knightsbridge station, you are greeted by the entrance to the Harrod's department store. Harrod's was originally opened in 1834 and has been in its current location since 1905. The store is six stories high and takes up an entire city block. If you can think of it, they have it somewhere in this store. Harrod's has the typical clothes, jewelery, toys, electronics, furniture and even designer golf carts.

However, the most impressive part of the the Harrod's complex are the Food Halls located on the ground floor. The food halls consist of 4 or 5 different rooms (I can't remember anymore) of food. Each room is kind-of like a grocery store specializing in its own type of food. For instance, there is a meat room, a vegetables and fruit room, a bakery, a prepared foods area, and even a candy and chocolate area. Naturally, being a carb-addict, I gravitated towards the bakery and found a great almond croissant.

After visiting Harrod's we walked off our purchases by taking the City Walk mentioned in Rick Steves' London tour guide. We started in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery. We walked down the Strand towards St. Paul's Cathedral and saw a bunch of different sites. Some of the places we visited included the original Twinings Tea Shop which has been in the same location since 1706, the BBC New Building, two churches, and we even walked past the Australian Embassy. The Australian Embassy was the location of Gringotts Bank in the Harry Potter movies. Finally, at the end of our walk we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. Needless to say, my feet hurt!

I hope all is well and you are enjoying your vacation.

Mr. Wood

London Subway

2007-04-10T02:18:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

If you've never been on the London Tube (subway), this is a quick glimpse of what it looks and sounds like. We took this video clip using a Canon Powershot SD550 digital camera on our way back from the Tower of London. I had no idea my camera could actually create videos like these. I guess it pays to play around with a your camera. Let me know what you think of the video.

The Tower of London

2007-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today's tour of London involved visiting the Tower of London. The Tower of London is an 18 acre complex consisting of multiple buildings. The first buildings on the site were actually walls built by the Romans in the 2nd century. After William the Conqueror took over England he built the center building of the Tower of London complex, the White Tower, around 1078. His main reason for doing this, according to the tour guide, was the scare the people of near by London into submission.

The Tower of London complex has been continuously added to and changed since the time of William the Conqueror. In its past the Tower has served as a royal residence, an armory, a prison for traitors, and a storage location for the Crown Jewels. At one point in its history it even had a moat. However, in the 19th century it had to be filled in because all of London's sewage would end up draining into it. YUCK!

The place was a mad house of tourists today since it is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in England. However, we were able to see quite a bit before we had to leave due to the crowds. In the most interesting place in the complex, the Jewel House, we could not take pictures. Here is a picture of me standing in front of it. Nearly as exciting as seeing the Crown Jewels, I know. :-) We did get to see many different royal crowns encrusted with jewels and tons of gold plates and service ware. There was even a punch bowl that was the size of a small bathtub completely made out of gold.

Inside of the Tower of London complex live seven ravens. There is a myth that if they ever leave the complex the kingdom will fall. In order to ensure this does not happen, their wings have been clipped so that they can't fly. That seems like cheating to me, but I guess it is working since the Queen is still here.

Mr. Wood

Good Morning!

2007-04-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! Lots of great comments. Some people are really raking in the extra credit. Right about now a whole group of you are getting ready to leave for DC. Have fun!

It is 9:30 in the mornning here and we are getting ready to take the tube to the Tower of London. More than likely the place will be packed with tourists, kind of like Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, but it should still be fun. On the way there I am planning on finding a bagel shop. For some reason I have bagels on my mind! The picture posted here is of downtown London from yesterday. Check out the giant egg!

Mr. Wood

Easter in London

2007-04-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

According to all of the books I read before leaving on my trip, today should have been a very quiet day in London. However, I was surprised to find out that nearly everything was open. A few shops were closed but that was about it.

This morning we started the day on a Big Bus tour of London. While very touristy, it did provide a great overview of all of the sights. It was a hop-on-hop-off tour, so we were able to get off at a few different places and get back on when the next bus came by. During the tour we drove past many sites including the London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Trafalgar Square. The first place we got off at was the British Museum. This museum contains artifacts from nearly every culture around the world. Some of the most interesting displays were the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, mummies and parts of their tombs from Egypt, and an exhibit on money from all over the world. Check out the body of the dehydrated man, called Ginger because of some red hair found on his body, buried in the Egyptian sand 5400 years ago.

Our second stop after getting back on the bus was the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London has been a variety of things in its 1000 year history including a royal residence, a prison/dungeon, and currently home of the royal jewels. The place was crawling with tourists, so we are planning on visiting it tomorrow or Tuesday. On the way back to the hotel we walked through St. James and Green Parks on our way to Buckingham Palace.

While walking around town we also stopped at the Waterloo Station which has a tube station along with a Eurostar train station. The Eurostar is the high-speed train which in 3 hours takes passengers from London to Paris by going under the English Channel. I am tempted to purchase a ticket and ride to Paris just so I can experience life on a 186mph train. We will have to see what the week's schedule holds. Oh, and as you might be able to tell from the pictures, our suitcases came this morning. YEA!

I hope your spring break is going well.

Mr. Wood

First Night in London

2007-04-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

My first evening in London was pretty low-key. We took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and walked out of the station you see here. Piccadilly Circus is a giant intersection, which is sort of like Times Square in NYC or Union Square in SF. Our goal was to pick up some temporary clothes at the GAP until our suitcases arrived. After visiting a very crazy and small GAP by American standards, we went to dinner in Soho, another neighborhood of London next to Piccadilly Circus. There were tons of restaurants to choose from, but we ended up at a pub serving fish n' chips. After dinner we visited a crepe stand. Crepes are actually French food similar to a pancake, but there are crepe stands all over London. My crepe was load with strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream. After dessert we took the tube back to the hotel and I crashed by 8pm.

This morning I awoke to great news....my suitcase was downstairs at the front desk. Yea! Now, I am dressed in clean clothes and ready to hit the town. It is Easter Sunday, so many places are closed, but the British Museum is supposed to be open. The British Museum contains tons of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. Next to it is the British Library where the Rosetta stone and the Magna Carta can be viewed.

The picture to the right is of the view of part of the neighborhood around my hotel. It looks like a place where Mary Poppins could live. Thanks Avery, for the pointer on the people in the tube station. I will keep them in mind today. Have a great Easter and for those students who are going on the DC trip, have a great time and be good! :-D

Mr. Wood

Finally in London!

2007-04-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well, after nearly 24 hours of traveling I finally arrived in London at my hotel. I am exhausted! The first flight was great, but the second one was a bit cramped and I didn't get to sleep at all. Unfortunately, the airline lost my luggage, so right now I am without a change of clothes and I would really like one! Perhaps I will go shopping. My luggage is supposed to arrive sometime tonight.

I did get to do one nifty thing today. We took a high speed train, the Heathrow Express, from the airport to central London's Paddington Station. The picture above is of the train. Take a look at the station. They actually have a Starbucks and a Krispy Kreme! In spite of my instinct to visit Starbucks, I checked out a British coffee shop instead. It was pretty good! For my Harry Potter fans, Paddington Station was actually mentioned in the first book.

After hitting Boots, the British version of Walgreens, inside of Paddington Station to replace the toothpaste and shampoo that will arrive sometime tonight we found the Underground. The Underground is London's subway system and it is one of the best and most popular in the world. Using the Underground we made our way to the hotel. My hotel is a really neat old hotel close to Buckingham Palace. Alright, time for a power nap!

Mr. Wood

Hi Ho, Hi Ho Off to London I Go!

2007-04-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't hopped on any flights yet, but I did make it though the security checkpoint with my little clear plastic bag of toiletries. For those readers who haven't flown in a while you now have to put all of your carry-on liquids in small bottles (3 ounces or less) and they have to all fit in a small Ziploc bag. Personally, I hate the security check point. Ripping off my shoes, pulling out my laptop and making sure no metal objects are in my pockets while people are waiting in line behind me is too stressful!

Elizabeth from 6th period emailed me that the comment section wasn't working. I fixed it. Thanks for the feedback! Five EC points for you. I am off to eat some lunch before I board my first flight to New York. Hopefully, my video iPod, books, and magazines will keep me entertained. :-)

Mr. Wood

PS: Don't laugh at my tragic picture. I took it with my built-in laptop camera and the lighting in the food court at SFO is bad!

Follow Me in London

2007-04-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of watching America's Next Top Model and re-runs of Three's Company from the comfort of you couch? Take a look at my trip to London! I will be reading your comments and perhaps I will even give you a few extra credit points if you post something. :-)

Mr. Wood