Open the Door to a Summer of Learning!

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This is a photo book that I created to showcase some of my learning in Europe this summer.  I can see that I still have some learning to do as far as how this particular program works, but I will continue to work with this book and make some others after I return to the States.  Perhaps my dragon will write one about Wales.



Off to Cardiff

I shared a cab to Paddington Station with a flatmate, and took the train to Cardiff.  Yes, this is the station of storybook bear fame and I have been through there once before at an ungodly time in the morning on the way to Paris.  That time I saw the bear statue briefly and found it disappointing. 

The public transportation system here is extensive and while we used the tube (subway, underground) a lot during our stay in London, as well as the bus system, I am unfamiliar with the trains and the other forms of transportation I will need to use during the rest of my trip.  Learning curve!  I booked my Paddington to Cardiff ticket the night before via computer, and also reserved a hotel in Cardiff that is RIGHT NEXT TO the train station which is also the bus station.  Any friends familiar with my geographical impairment will understand why this is important for me.  (My flatmate Martha whom we nicknamed the "Human GPS" is now back home in Florida, but she needn't worry about having to come find me as she did a few times in past weeks.)  The first thing I found out when I arrived at Paddington was that you have some leeway with certain tickets.  I had to retrieve my ticket from a machine, and I noticed that it could be used at various other times yesterday morning.  Because I had arrived early, I was able to take a train a half hour earlier than I had planned.  (This was good, because all the trains were delayed en route, and I got in about the time I would have if I had taken the later train!)  The next thing I found out was that you do not find out what platform your train departs from until sometimes moments before you need to board.  People stand and watch a board and finally your train's sign indicates a platform.  (An elderly woman shared with me that she got a tip-off from a staff member about her train's platform because it is too hard for her to maneuver there in time.)  I had some heavy luggage and was anxious to board in time to stick my large bag in the small holding area because I could not lift it nor did I think it would fit in the overhead space.  I therefore memorized the location of all the platforms before I resumed my sign watching, and was successful in doing this.  The scenery from the train was not overly interesting, but I did notice that Reading, England has a huge Oracle facility.  (Yes, the tech company that some of our friends work for at home, although there is also apparently a huge mall in Reading by that name but I don't know if there is any relation.)

 



Here is a view from my hotel room, 10th floor, and you can actually see the tracks I came in on.  I feel good about being so close to the place I will return from on Monday morning to get my Heathrow flight Monday night.  (Hmmm...I can see it but can I remember how to get to it?)   Speaking of technology in the above paragraph brings me to the horror of not being able to connect to the hotel's free wi fi last night.  My iPhone connected without any problem, but my laptop absolutely would not.  The Welsh are very friendly and the service desk people sent someone up to help, then sent their expert up later, but none of this could get me connected.  Today it works!  I am posting quickly because I want to visit Cardiff Castle which is right up the street.  I walked past it last night.

 

My dragon seems to enjoy the view, and as you can see he is learning Welsh from the dictionary I bought in Oxford.  I have only heard a few people speaking it, but it is on all official signs.  Everyone speaks English, and I have met a few people who moved here from London. 

I am going to charge the computer without signing out because I am terrified of losing my connection.  I also noticed when I was able to connect to their site that they are running an extra discount this week.  That will be a plus.  Off to the castle....

Last Day in London

I intensely dislike packing, and I'm going to have to start.  Tomorrow morning our study group is going in all directions.  Most are heading back to various parts of the U.S., and a few of us are staying a bit longer.  My dragon and I are headed to Cardiff.  I'm so excited about seeing the land of some of my ancestors.  It will be hard to part from people I've lived with for only three weeks, because we have gotten to know each other so well.  Because we all work in some aspects of the Information Science field, I feel certain some of us will see each other again in a professional capacity.  I also know that I will keep in contact with those I have grown especially close to.

Today we went to Buckingham Palace!  Each of us was given an audio device and it was seriously the best audio tour I have taken.  It was perfectly synched and you could press different numbered buttons if you wanted to hear more about a certain topic.  Different people spoke on the tape including the Queen's husband (!) thanking us for visiting.  Notice in my picture that the flag is flying, indicating the Queen was at home today.

The palace was splendid, and each room was explained in detail.  Some of these rooms are still used by the Royal Family.  The Queen's 1953 coronation was covered in detail.  My favorite part was a movie where you could see the young Queen tap her 2 and 4-year-old children on the shoulders when they made faces, covered their eyes, etc. during the official photography session.  All the while she continued to smile without seeming to look down.  It was a true mom moment.

Speaking of moms, I took this photo for mine as she would love the gorgeous window boxes in London.  They are all over the place, and I spotted these while walking from the palace to the Hard Rock Café for our final luncheon.

 

 





As always we had a photo focus, and today's was capturing movement by photographing a vehicle.  London is the hardest city to cross the street safely in of any place I have ever been, but would you believe today it was hard to find a speeding vehicle?  It seemed that everywhere we looked in the area of the palace people appeared to be driving, well, almost normally!  I did manage to capture a bit of motion with this car below, but I actually felt safe walking around in that area.  Bad photo op though.
I prefer safe.  Hey, you can sort of see his wheels moving....

I will leave you with a picture of a small part of the Queen's gardens.  She has gorgeous gardens.  When next you hear from me I will be in Wales, where my dragon hopes to find his name.

Mixing It Up With FSU Study Abroad Programs--Group Video Project

Watson, the game is afoot!

We had a free day and I was able to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum!  Some of you know that I have been a Doyle fan since grade school.  My uncle bought me The Complete Sherlock Holmes and I was hooked.  I have been collecting Doyle for years, and the opportunity to do things like this is a real plus during my time in London.  The museum is of course located at 221b Baker Street.  Obviously Holmes has lots of fans worldwide.  The queues (lines) were long and people were speaking many languages.  Fortunately my flatmate and I went early and did not have to wait long.

 

The house is of the period, with fireplaces and meticulous attention to detail that Holmes aficionados would notice.  There were some hokey figurines and some things that could have been done better, but overall I really enjoyed my visit.  This was one of the few places on my trip that I have bought several things to take home!  I felt as thought Holmes and Watson might walk in at any moment. 

Last night I had the opportunity to return to the British Museum for another visit.  Yes, it is open every Friday night and it is less than a five minute walk from my flat!  There is a special exhibit right now about Pompeii and Herculaneum.  This is the first time that most of these artifacts have been shown outside of Italy.  While admittance to the British museum is free (!!!) there is of course a charge for an exhibition of this nature.  Would you believe I got a discount with my student i.d.?   How many people do you know who in one trip could receive an AARP discount on British Airways and a student discount around Europe? 

 

The exhibit was well done, with a film in the beginning interspersing scenes from these ancient towns and mural portraits of the occupants with scenes of modern day Italians engaged in the same jobs and activities.  It brought a truly human element to what we were about to see. 

 

 



Because the towns were buried for so long, we have a chance to glimpse a civilization that would have been torn down or built over as happened elsewhere.  The murals from Pompeii are indescribably beautiful.  The jewelry of the people, their tableware, even their mechanisms for running water are on display.  The exhibit was set up as a series of rooms in a house.  It was tastefully done, with none of the ashen molds of the victims' bodies that we've all seen pictures of.  There was one of a guard dog, who was found at his post in a doorway.  Seeing him made me sad.  There is still much of Pompeii left to excavate. 

 

At Herculaneum, which was a smaller town, most things were incinerated.  There was some furniture which survived as charred.  It is other worldly to see a graceful garden bench, looking like charcoal, displayed in a garden room with the teal bird and flower mosaic walls from Pompeii.  I spent a long time in this exhibit.

 

Tomorrow is our last formal program day, and then our group will be dispersing. We will go to Buckingham Palace tomorrow and then have lunch at the Hard Rock Café.







Mrs. Ullrich's Trip to the United Kingdom

This is a Web 2.0 timeline tool that was demonstrated by classmates.  I thought it would be a fun teaching tool for talking to students about my summer learning experience.  I will continue to update it until I return.  When classes end Monday I am going to Wales for a week.  My mascot is a Welsh dragon, as yet unnamed.  (I bought a Welsh dictionary in the bookstore at Oxford!)  The mascot will narrate the Wales experiences. 

This tool, called Timetoast, could be used with upper-elementary students in book groups.  It would particularly lend itself to historical fiction, but would also be useful in organizing a student's thoughts about what happened when in a text.  I could also see this being used in the classroom for social studies topics.  I have gotten some great ideas this summer that I am looking forward to using with students next fall.

Night on the Thames

Tonight we took a ride on the London Eye.  Our entire class fit inside one capsule on this gigantic Ferris wheel, and there was still plenty of room to walk around.  When at the top, you can see for 25 miles.  It was fun.

Afterwards we strolled up the Thames, where lots of street performers were doing all kinds of interesting things.  A classmate pointed out a statue that was really a person.  I never would have guessed.  Later we saw another one.  Our destination was the Globe Theatre.  This is the third incarnation of the building, and it opened in 1997.  The theatre is a meticulous recreation of the 1599 theatre, which burned, and its 1614 replacement which was demolished in 1644,  When you are in it, it is easy to feel like you are back in Shakespeare's time.  We saw A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I have seen the play before, but this was somehow different.  The mainly British audience really enjoys Shakespeare and were laughing and totally engaged in the play.  The people who stand in an area next to the stage and under the open roof are called "groundlings." 

After the play, we practiced night photography from the Millennium Bridge.  My camera has a night setting, and we also used little tripods to keep our cameras still during the slower shutter speed.  Can you see St. Paul's Cathedral?

Check back tomorrow to hear about my visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum!