Day Four “On Our Own”

August 1 – Day Four “On Our Own”

Today we were left to our own devises from 8:30am until 4:15pm. Each person or group went their own way. Some went to Chelsea Stadium, some went to the Churchill War Room, some went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art, and some went to the Prime Meridian. Some walked, some ventured onto the Underground, some went by boat and others went by cab to their destinations. The weather was warm by London standards. For those of us from across the pond, in our opinion the weather today was lovely. We have been so fortunate to have excellent weather for our stay so far.

I have asked each parent/group to provide for the group a couple of words as to what their group of folks did today. I have tried to quote each person as well as I can read their writing and in no particular order or importance – except my husband’s input which I have placed last in the hopes that you will become bored and quit reading before then. [I plan to update this entry tomorrow, as it is late and I am tired.]

“Darby and I had a wonderful day in London. We went to the Churchill War Rooms and took a relaxing cruise to Greenwich. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.”

“[Started out on the] South side of the Thames, across Western Bridge, followed the river towards Tower Bridge and saw the Chick Museum and the Tate Modern Art Museum, and Sir Frances Drake’s ship the “Golden Hind.” It was then off to the Anchor Pub and then across the Tower Bridge to the Underground and back to the Grosvenor hotel. This trip was guided by an old friend “Jim White” from post college days who has lived in London for 15 years.”

“I saw some beautiful flower gardens on Lady Diana of Wales’ memory wall. The ship in the bottle on Trafalgar Square was exquisite. Churchill’s War Room was very interesting and I wish I had had more time there.”

“Coach Conley traveled to Greenwich and stood on the prime Meridian, visited the Hard Rock Café, and walked along the Thames.”

“Caleb, William, Jeff and Mr. Demas did the Stamford Bridge Tour, home of Chelsea FC, enjoyed relaxing at the Hyde Park Forum, Duke of Wellington monuments, and people watching”

“Alex and Cynthia went to the British Library and saw an original copy of the Magna Carta from the 1200’s and original works from Shakespeare, Chaucer, Mendelssohn, and others. Also went to Nike town, Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern Art Museum, and the Millennium Bridge. Walked lots!!!!”

“David and Janet went to Nike Town, Adidas Store, Piccadilly Circle, and the Hard Rock Café. Saw lots of really nice and expensive cars.”

“The Milford’s saw spectacular views from the London Eye and beautiful architecture, took a lovely walk through Hyde Park, and saw their nephew Evan who live in Cheltenham.”

“Eight of us visited the largest Nike store in the WORLD and purchased shoes, tee shirts, and other specialty items. Then several of us headed toward Churchill’s War Room and Museum. Fortunately for us we lost our way and sat Trafalgar Square, the Stand (theater district), St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace. May miles on foot … many memorable moments!” Carrie

“Eric, Chris, George, Jon and I ventured to the shopping district of London. Jon and I went to Harrods while the boys spent time viewing cars at high end dealers. Together we hopped on the Underground (Metro) to Chelsea Stadium and made it back through Hyde Park and engaged in people watching.”

“A couple of observations: the London Metro is 3-times as big as DC’s and works 3-times as well. Chelsea has better looking jerseys, hats, etc. than Arsenal, London cabs are cleaner than DC cabs but the drivers didn’t speak English any better, and Harrods makes Neiman Marcus look like a 7-11” Jon

Game 2 news to follow in a separate post.