#Deportes
(Español) Una verdadera “red” de noticias: últimas volley news
(Español) Interhouses: resultados y fotos
(Español) …Y el sol brilló a pleno en el Family Day 2013
… Goodbye, London, Goodbye!
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Friday, December 21st
We left the hotel early in the morning on a walking tour of London’s South Bank. It had stopped raining and some sun rays were slowly warming up the day. It did not feel like London in December and we decided to make the most of it. We got off the underground at Westminster Abbey and crossed the Westminster Bridge. We walked straight ahead till our first stop: The Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe. Some girls decided to visit the theatre while others, the wonderful art museum. The Globe is a reconstruction of the original theatre that caught fire in 1613 and also hosts an exhibition hall. Plays are performed in the spring and summer. The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery that features a permanent collection of paintings by Braque, Matisse, Pollock among its 60.000 masterpieces. We met again at the foot of the Millennium Bridge to continue our walk towards St. Paul’s Cathedral, and from there to the Tower of London.
When we reached the Tower, the group split once more. One group visited the Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror, which is actually a castle and served, as a palace, observatory, storehouse and, above all, as a prison. The group did not miss the amazing crown jewels. Another group went the Tate Britain, which celebrates paintings from the XVI century to the XX century and hosts works by Turner, Hogarth and Gainsborough, among others. A third group went to the Imperial War Museum that focuses on military action of British and Commonwealth troops along the XX century.
After an intense day most the girls returned to the hotel while some went to theatre to see the hit musical Billy Elliot.
Saturday, December 22nd
It was a grey and rainy day, but this did not refrain us from following the day’s schedule. We left the hotel and headed towards Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. With more than 2000 Western European paintings on display, this is one of the largest galleries in the world. There are seminal paintings from every important epoch in the history of art, including works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, Velázquez, Turner, Van Gogh and Renoir. None of the girls wanted to miss one of the famous Sunflower masterpieces painted by Van Gogh.
We then headed towards Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II and then walked to Westminster Abbey, the place of coronation for England’s sovereigns. Within the Abbey, they found UK’s oldest door, Poet’s Corner, the Coronation Chair, the tombs of Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and Sir Isaac Newton, among other highlights.
Believe it or not, after visiting the Abbey we had lunch and then went to the British Museum and visited the galleries devoted to ancient civilizations, from Egypt to Western Asia, the Middle East, the Romans and Greece. The girls were impressed by the Egyptian mummies and the Parthenon sculptures. After this visit we took the underground to Notting Hill and Portobello Road where the girls rummaged through the various shops . In spite of the rainy weather, we really made the most of our day.
Sunday, December 23rd
Sunday was the last day of our trip to London. The girls were given free time in the morning to visit places they had missed, to shop for Christmas presents or to simply stay at the hotel getting ready for our long journey back home. Some went to the Victoria and Albert Museum to visit a Hollywood Costumes exhibition, others went to the London Eye, another small group to the Natural History Museum and the some returned to the National Gallery.
After lunch, we returned to the hotel and the bus picked us up at 2 o’clock to take us to Heathrow to catch our flight to Madrid and then home. It had been an amazing trip, we did not waste a single minute of our visit to the UK and none of us will forget the great moments we shared, the fun we had and everything we learnt, not only in the exciting museums, but from each other.
We will look at the pictures and relive all those wonderful moments which will accompany us the rest of our lives...
Mónica Bruck
Head of the Humanities Department, Middle & Senior
Oxford, London, Harry Potter… and soon, back home!
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Thank you, Mónica Bruck, for this report.
Wednesday, December 19th
The day was rainy and cold but the girls were ready lo leave Cardiff at 8 o´clock in the morning and we all headed to Oxford, one of the oldest university towns in Britain. The drive took over two hours. We arrived in the beautiful medieval university town and got off the bus at The Randolph, a famous five star hotel, and walked along High Street up to King Edward’s Road to merge into Merton Street, in search of Merton College, one of the colleges that dates back to 1264.
Unfortunately many colleges were closed and we were not able to visit them due to the Christmas holidays. The city’s Cathedral is the chapel of Christ Church College founded by Cardinal Wolsey, during the reign of Henry VIII and it is one of the most beautiful buildings of Oxford. As it kept on raining, after lunch we boarded the bus that would take us to London, our next and last stop.
London: musicals and a rainy first night
We arrived in the late afternoon and got ready for our first night in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Some girls had already bought tickets to famous musicals like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and others got tickets to We will rock you and The Lion King as soon as they arrived at the hotel.
Another group decided to stay and rest after the long day. The West End was packed with people during this Christmas season in spite of the fact that it was raining heavily. The bad weather could not ruin the girls' first night in London!
Thursday, December 20th: the magic of Harry Potter... and the last hockey match
Thursday would be a different day for some girls. They had booked the Making of Harry Potter tour from Buenos Aires. We had an early breakfast and headed to the train station and then the shuttle bus that would take us to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. This is a behind the scenes walking tour where we were immersed into the world of filmmaking, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series. It was an exciting adventure and it is unbelievable the work that goes into filmmaking and how talented each one of the hundreds of participants have to be.
The rest of the girls went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which specializes in decorative art and design. It features an Islamic Middle East Gallery, a China Collection and Japanese Gallery, a Photography Collection, a Fashion Room, a Jewellery Gallery among others. Some girls visited a special exhibition of costumes worn in very famous movies such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Cleopatra. They were even able to see Marilyn Monroe`s white dress from the 1955 movie "The Seventh Year Itch", which was kept in a special glass cabinet. After visiting this museum, some girls went to the Natural History Museum next door. There they visited the Dinosaur Gallery, the Earth Gallery, they were impressed by the huge blue whale and the Darwin Centre. They were impressed by the interactive activities offered by the Museum.
At around four o’clock the girls returned to the hotel to get ready for their last hockey match of the tour. For some girls, it would be the last match for good because they are finishing school! The B team played against the Eastcote Hockey Club and the A team against Old Loughtonians Club. Unfortunately our girls lost in spite of their enthusiasm and will. Vicky and Carolina, their coaches, said some very moving words because it would really be the last match for some of them and we all wished the “ex S6” all the best.