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One interesting part of our time in the UK was learning about the different parts within the UK. In my Edinburgh post, I mentioned about the relationship between England and Scotland and how the Scottish feel very patriotic and proud of their heritage. As the UK is made up of not only England and Scotland, but also Wales and Northern Ireland, each of these regions has an official statue at the Kew Gardens. We took a picture and did some re-enacting of these statues! The animal of Wales is actually a hound!
One of our favorite discoveries from the park was a long wooden table modeled off of a royal table for foreign dinners and events. It would be a long way to pass the salt and pepper!
Our next activity was heading to The Monument, which is a tower constructed to honor those who died in the London fire. It has 311 steps and you can climb up to the top to see some views of the river and famous Tower Bridge and London Bridge! Although it was a bit of a workout, we were rewarded with splendid views and we proud of ourselves! They even provide a complimentary certificate if you make it to the top!
I don't know the story behind this, but it seems like it must be a great street to live on!
For lunch we stopped at a place called Pret (which seems sort of like a Panera, except with a larger focus on sustainability/organic and fair trade ingredients). They had an AMAZING kale and cauliflower mac and cheese! The picture doesn’t capture how incredible it was, but it is definitely something I sort of hope to recreate! They also had a delicious green juice!
Our next stop was the Imperial War Museum. As with many of the other London museums, this was free, and it had some of the best exhibits I had ever seen. The World War I exhibit was exceptional, and they had several planes, cars, and war vehicles from World War II to the present. They also had an emotional Holocaust exhibit. It definitely gave me some teaching inspiration and new ideas as we prepare for the upcoming school year.
After spending three hours at the Imperial War Museum, we prepared to head to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is the area in which the 2012 Olympics were held. After visiting the 1992 Olympic Stadium in Barcelona several years ago, this was something I was incredibly excited about! Upon arriving near the stadium, we decided to stop at a yummy Mexican restaurant where I had some plantain tacos and Jake had some spicy black bean tostadas! Then, we proceeded to the park.
I think visiting the Olympic Park was my favorite part of London. There is definitely something magical about being in a place that was at one time incredibly packed with people from all over the world, and in a place where people made history, reached their dreams, represented their home country, etc. What makes it even better is that it is so quiet and calm, so you really feel the power of the wide open space. We started out by visiting the aquatic center/pool area, where we were able to sit in the bleachers and watch the London diving and swimming teams practice, which was pretty exciting. We also walked around the park to see the stadium and some of the natural areas. It was an excellent way to end our time in London!
Next up…moving on to Spain!
The kale and cauliflower mac and cheese kind of looks like they burnt something and they just said screw it and poured nacho cheese on the top hahahaha.
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