Oxford, London, Harry Potter… and soon, back home!
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.