Paris to London via the Chunnel

May 21

This day started with a very early wake up time. The vans to take us to the train station arrived promptly at 7:30 am and we were off on a new adventure.  We took the Eurostar fast train to London.  I slept through most of the ride… a testament to how tired I was! I woke up somewhere in the Chunnel. One interesting thing about the train ride was that the air displacement when the train entered the tunnel was a little hard on our ears.

Waiting to go through customs at Gare du Nord, Paris

Alex and Chryssa on the train

Andrea, Krista Kristine and Christina on the train

St. Pancras Station all dressed up for the Olympics

Dr. Luehrman taking pictures in St. Pancras Station, London

Once in London, we found our way to the Omega Hotel and dropped off our luggage and went in search of some lunch. Some of us went into a Pub and ordered Fish and Chips, a British standard. It was somewhat startling to hear English again! Our students have a new subway system to get used to (The Tube) and, of course, you have to remember to look left before crossing the street. After lunch, we took everyone to The Courtald Gallery. This gallery is pretty small and today there weren’t many people. After the crowds of people at the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay, it was very pleasant to get to stand and really look at the paintings. The Courtald Gallery has a truly exquisite collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Several of the more famous works are the Van Gogh Portrait with the bandage over his missing ear, and the famous Manet painting “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” (1881-82).

Manet painting “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” (1881-82) 

Van Gogh, Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear, 1879

Renoir, La Loge 1874

St. Stefans Tower, Big Ben

Iconic Red Phone Booth

After the gallery visit, we took the students briefly by the Westminster area where they could see St. Steffan’s Tower which many people refer to as “Big Ben” . From here they could also get a preview of Westminster Abbey where William and Kate were married. Most of the students were tired and interested in getting moved into their rooms. So we let them go get dinner on their own. (After making sure that they could navigate the Tube!)