Didn't really think we could do it all, but we did...

Well it was quite a busy first "official" day for the trip. After a refreshing night's sleep, everyone was reenergized to explore London in earnest. In order to get to know the city a little better, we were fortunate enough to have a wonderfully talented Blue Badge guide to teach us about not only the major landmarks and histories of the city but also some of the lesser known stories and hidden places of London. In fact, Pepe Martinez ( in his own words, "the most British of names") knew his target audience quite well and blended the beautifully sublime (Kensington Gardens) to the mildly annoying (Simon Cowell's house.) Pepe asked engaging questions, and some of your progeny handled them nicely. Antonia von Litschgi correctly identified the London Blitz as the third time the city was destroyed (Queen Bodicea and the London Fire being the other two.) Pepe then dropped us off at the Tower of London where we all had some lunch and the explored one of the most historically significant sites in London. 

The Tower of London has been the location of a permanent settlement since the time of the Ancient Romans, and your students had a chance to walk through 1700 years of history. We started with the Crown Jewels, and sophomore Liam Johansson showed a little bit of applied learning and critical thinking by asking why so many resources would be used to make a jewel-encrusted solid gold punch bowl while thousands of people were dying of the plague (his words, not mine.) A bunch of other students then joined in a conversation around income inequality and social responsibility, and teachers' hearts fluttered with pride. 

After the Tower of London, we navigated the Tube (on our own... at rush hour) to Victoria Station for some free time shopping before a dinner of Japanese noodles and chocolate cake. You might not think the two would go together, but Winterim asks all of us to step outside our comfort zone a little bit. The dinner served as a lovely prelude to our first theatre evening. 

The 39 Steps is a West End theatrical adaptation of an Alfred Hitchcock film adaptation of a British spy novel. It doesn't get much more English than that. And if it sounds crazy, the production lives up to its convoluted premise. It is a high-energy, quickly-paced laugh-out-loud comedy that uses clever theatricality to simultaneously honor and mock old spy stories. I cannot accurately put to words the frantic mood of the play; I'll leave that to your offspring to share how great the show was. 

Tomorrow will be another equally full day. We start with an acting workshop, will have some free time in the afternoon (Nancy, Carl and I haven't quite decided what we are doing yet... museums probably), and fish and chips and Wicked to round out hump day. 

Have a great Wednesday!!