Hello! My name is Allison Brennhofer, but I go by Allie. I
just finished my junior year of college, where I am working on a Humanities
degree, focusing on English, History, and Women’s and Gender Studies with a
minor in Philosophy. I just finished a semester in Ireland, which was an
incredible experience. I am so happy to have this opportunity to extend my
travel and experiences.
Today, we had a coach bus tour of London with a tour guide
named Eleanor. Of all of the tours I have been on, I would say she is my
favorite. She was witty, hilarious, and very kind. She peppered the tour with
interesting facts, such as that George Orwell based the Ministry of Truth in
1984 off of a building that his wife worked in. She also pointed out fun shops,
such as an umbrella and walking stick shop that has been open since 1830.
The tour took us by Big Ben. We took some touristy shots,
naturally, and learned a bit about the structure. Eleanor informed us that Big
Ben is the bell inside the clock tower, not the clock tower itself. The clock
tower is actually called the Elizabeth Tower, after Queen Elizabeth II.
Another little known fact that Eleanor shared with us is that
there are two Londons: the City of London and the London everyone thinks about.
I had actually known this before, from a Sherlock Holmes class I took with
Professor Johnson, but to actually see the city limits and understand the
difference between the two was so interesting. The border is marked by statues
of dragons. If the dragon is facing you, you are entering the City of London
and if the dragon is facing away from you, you are leaving the City of London.
It was quite an experience to see London from the high
vantage point of a coach bus, and I thoroughly enjoyed it (especially when it
started raining!).
Allie,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the bus tour as well. Eleanor was so much fun to have as our guide. My favorite part of the tour was when we were told about Westminster Abbey. I think it is so incredible that it pays homage to brave souls who have died for fighting for their beliefs throughout history. I would like to see an LGBTQ activist like Harvey Milk up there amongst the historical icons. Who would you like to see?
Eleanor made the tour so special with all of her knowledge and wits. I didn't know that the bell was called big Ben until the tour. I thought that the marking of the cities with dragons was really interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteAllie, I adored Eleanor's tour as well! She had me captivated the entire time because of her commentary about where sights in novels were, the places where Harry Potter was filmed, and her idea of questioning why we do things instead of directing questions at other cultures (I.e. Why can't we drink out of the tap instead of why do you drink out of the tap). The direction of the dragons telling you whether you are entering or leaving the city of London was very clever. It'll be fun to see how many more fun tidbits of information we get over the next couple of weeks!
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