Butler University College of Business: Leadership London

Okay, this is really the last post.

2009-07-25T18:20:00.002-04:00

First day back and already going into withdrawals! We stopped by Sam's Club on the way back from the airport and wow, what a difference from our local Sainsbury's! Bulk is the name of the game at Sam's, which is something Londoners don't know much about.

Anyway, I found this card by etsy vendor paperpastries and thought it was pretty accurate! I knew I was going to love it, but I didn't expect to love it this much!

Until we meet again, London... I will be back!

The last day...

2009-07-23T18:22:00.009-04:00

** This post was started in London, but finished at home in Indiana... I had a busy night before we left so I wasn't able to crank it out like I normally do. My apologies!

Busy Trafalgar Square

"The last day..." these three little words made me feel so sad on Thursday. For our final hurrah, the class headed to Texas Embassy for lunch to ease back into the American groove. The main attractions: mountains of ice in our cups and free refills!

Our lunch spot, the Texas Embassy

Angie, Muriel, and Nicki at lunch

The restaurant was very festive and quite a different environment than the pub scene. We filled up on chips and salsa as we looked over a variety of delicious Tex-Mex dishes.

It was great to have the group all together. It is funny to think of the first days when we were still a little shy and nervous about meeting everyone. Now, we tease and joke around with each other like old pals! Nothing like traveling across an ocean and exploring a foreign country to bring people together :)

Decisions, decisions...

The (accidentally) self proclaimed Spice Girls

After lunch, we were off on our Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. I am familiar with their music, but not a hardcore fan so a lot of the information given was new to me. We stopped at the record studio where "Hey Jude" was recorded, and the Apple office where their last performance (rooftop!) was held.

The hippest of the hip street in the 1960s

We walked through the "Swinging London" hotspot, Carnaby Street. Carnaby Street was the fashion and cool center in the 1960s, and although the culture and allure has faded, it is still a major shopping area.

The group on our way to Abbey Road

We hopped on the Tube and headed to the St. John's Wood stop to visit the famous Abbey Road crossing. We ended the tour here, and desperately tried to recreate our own Abbey Road picture. The traffic didn't quite agree with our plans, but we did the best we could!

We couldn't manage a perfectly staged Beatles walk across the road, but I still caught a stroll (notice Christina cheesing for the camera!)

Prof Williams, walking the walk

Emma, Charlotte, and Mal... the first attempt at the walk

After Beatles mania, Muriel, Nicki, and I headed to Kings Cross to check out some Harry Potter mania. We followed other fans to find the famous Platform 9 3/4. It was a perfect photo opportunity for visiting Muggles!

On my way to Hogwarts!

For my final evening, I went to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to see my sixth show, "Wicked". It was fabulous! I know I have said that about every show, but I honestly believe that every show has been great and it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite. On my to-do list for home: search for the soundtracks for the shows I have seen and replay them over and over.

Wicked, my final show of the trip

With the last day comes my last post as well. It has truly been a pleasure keeping the folks at home up-to-date with our London outings. I hope everyone enjoyed my stories and accounts!

I also wanted to thank Stephanie Judge and Kate King, the marketing mavens at Butler, for setting this blog up and giving me the chance to share experiences. More thanks goes to Prof Williams and Butler for giving me the experiences to share!! It was an unforgettable trip with a million amazing memories. I have definitely been bit by the travel bug and definitely plan on studying abroad for a semester... I just need to figure out where!

Final thoughts: thank you to the people at Butler, the readers, and my fellow classmates for putting up with my constant photography! :)

Churchill, Chinese, and Lion King

2009-07-22T18:06:00.003-04:00

Emily, Charlotte, Angie, Muriel, Ethan, and Mike

This afternoon took us underground to the Cabinet War Rooms. These rooms were a system of connected hallways and rooms used in World War II by the British government. They were built in response to the bombing in London and to alleviate the public's fear that their leaders may leave the city. Instead, Churchill and his team set up camp underground, having dining rooms, bedrooms, and a mini kitchen to keep them occupied in between military planning.

Charlotte, Emily, Kelsey, Ros, and Jenny

The Cabinet War Rooms of the British government in World War II

Entering the underground system of offices

An intro slide show including infant gas masks! (or actually, infant gas body suits)

Our man of the afternoon, Sir Winston Churchill

I did not know Churchill was a talented artist!

The War Rooms joined a Churchill Museum which I really found fascinating (I am super intrigued by World War II information). He was such a colorful character that it was fun to read his quotes and learn about his general tendencies and personal life. For example, he liked to wear velvet rompers, hated whistling, and was a very good painter!

On our way back to the flat, we stopped to monitor the filming scene that was parked just a block away from our flats. Mike did some detective work earlier in the day and found out a Leonardo diCaprio film was being filmed under a false name to avoid the paparrazi. Although we didn't see any of the star studded cast (Leo, Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, and others), we will still keep our eyes open! (The London Paper and London Lite tabloids have posted numerous pics of Leo about town, so I know he is here!)

The film crew lighting the interior Victoria House for their shooting

Several of us ventured down to Soho and Chinatown for some Chinese cuisine. We tried to shield Emily's (a vegetarian) eyes away from the various meats hanging in the window, but I think there were too many for her to totally block it out! After dinner, we departed to our various performances for the night. Emily, Ethan, and I headed to Covent Garden to see the Lion King. It was absolutely amazing!! Everyone has said the costumes and sets are awesome, but I couldn't really believe it until I saw it.. and I definitely believe it now!

Fifth show: the Lion King!

Jack the Ripper + Indian dinner!

2009-07-21T18:37:00.004-04:00

When our first "stop and talk" was under this creepy bridge, I knew we were in for a scare...

The evening activity took us to the East End of London for the Jack the Ripper tour. Throughout the tour, we walked to various murder sites and retraced Jack's steps of the night. The story is very chilling, and our tour guide really played it up with dramatic pauses and creepy voices.

Our incredible storyteller

He definitely kept everyone's attention!

A little background on Jack the Ripper: he (no one really knows for sure who) conducted a series of murders to prostitutes in the East End. The details are pretty gruesome, and he is considered to be the most famous serial killer of all time.

After being thoroughly chilled by Jack's story, we headed to Brick Lane for some quality Indian food. We each picked a dish and then shared them family style with our neighbors so everyone could try different items. My pick: chicken tikka misala, a dish that Rick Steves calls one of the most popular English dishes. Some people, such as Muriel and Mike, went for the super spicy!

One end of the table: Perry, Jeff, Kelsey, Mal, Ethan, and Ros

Angie, Muriel, Mike, Christina

Alison and Charlotte

Emily and I

As long as we kept the water flowing, we were all pretty good! I didn't see any major sweating from our group... and they even pass out refreshing moist washcloths at the end of the meal to wipe off your supposedly sweaty hands and face! It was definitely a new and fun experience for our Midwestern crowd.

Dinner in progress!

Garden party: invitation only

2009-07-21T11:28:00.004-04:00

Lined up and ready to go! (This is only one of the three enormous lines leading up to the Palace gates)

This afternoon, I was walking to Buckingham Palace when I noticed a large amount of very nicely dressed people walking around. Curious, I ducked into a store and asked what was going on. The saleslady told me there was a garden party today in Buckingham Palace.

Guards at the gate were carefully checking invitations

I knew a little about the exclusive get togethers from Britt, but wanted to learn more... what I found: Garden parties consist of around 8,000 or 9,000 guests from various organizations. They can be chosen or nominated by the group as representatives. Britt said special or important deeds can also give a more common person an invite. During the garden party, there is a band playing and the Royal Family does a "meet and greet" to guests through various and winding lanes.

I have never seen so many hats...

The dress code is rather fancy. Men wear suits, and women wear either dresses or skirts and some kind of head gear. Today was rainy, so many accessorized with an umbrella!

.. Or so many feathers!

The chosen were led beyond the outer doors of the Palace

A particularly cute couple (military uniform or national dress is also acceptable dress)

I believe the man on the left is the definition of "dapper"

I people-watched for a rather long time and was quite intrigued by the people who were granted access. I think my invitation must have gotten lost in the mail... maybe next time!

Hampton Court + afternoon tea

2009-07-20T15:48:00.005-04:00

Good morning!

To start off the week, we met in the morning at Waterloo train station to make our way to Hampton Court Palace. Everyone was a little groggy after a busy weekend, but coffee and bagels seemed to do the trick to energize!

Our tour guide for the morning, Britt's bff Sarah

We toured Hampton Court Palace, a palace that traded hands from Cardinal Wosley to King Henry VII- two key players in our book for tomorrow's lecture, "A Man for All Seasons". The style of the estate is torn between Tudor and Baroque because of renovations as ownership and favored styles changed.

Hampton Court Palace

Ethan IS King Henry VIII

The gardens were beautiful (and the pretty day didn't hurt either!). We were mesmerized by swimming swans and enjoyed a leafy tunnel.

After I took the picture, Mal said, "Oh, did you want me to pose?"

Perry, Alison, Mal, Christina, Kelsey, and Emma in the gardens

Charlotte in a vine cubbyhole in the gardens

Fact: Charlotte and Kelsey like swans (and were the only ones brave enough to get close!)

At the edge of the estate, there was a maze. Although Sarah, the tour guide, said it normally takes people twenty minutes to complete, we thought it would definitely take us longer! Despite a few dead ends, a little frustration, and lots of laughs, we all made it through... with plenty of time to spare! After the maze, we stopped at a local pub for lunch.

Perry and Ethan, my trusty leaders in the maze

Emily and Muriel at lunch near Hampton Court Palace

Ethan's weapon of choice against bees: his shoe

The train ride back was quite eventful for a small group of us: Mike had noticed a woman fall near the busy road and stopped to help her. She was not feeling well and was left unable to get back to her house. We tried calling for a taxi on various phones but were unsuccessful. A biker stopped to help, and got a hold of a car service to help the woman... the service came shortly after and the woman was on her way back to her house.

At this point, we were 4 minutes away from missing the train (which would make us wait another half hour for the next one). Determined to make it in time, we took off sprinting for the train. Of course, due to our sheer speed, we made it!

Alison, Perry, and Christina were weary travelers

This afternoon, Charlotte, Emily, and I decided to upgrade from our college lives and student budgets and splurge on a fine English tradition: afternoon tea. Emily found a very fancy looking hotel and booked reservations. We were quite pleased with ourselves and enjoyed a nice leisurely meal to the delightful tunes of a piano and in the company of elegant patrons.

Myself, Emily, and Charlotte outside our spot for afternoon tea, Brown's Hotel

Our ultra-posh glasses of champagne!

The tower of treats: sandwiches, scones, and sweets

The experience included a glass of champagne, each person's choice of tea, assorted sandwiches (Charlotte and I were fans of the salmon), scones complete with cream and jam, and sweets (Emily enjoyed the chocolate macaroon). We had a very nice Italian waiter who professed his love of California to us and kept our tower filled with food items. It was such a relaxing afternoon, and we left happy, full, and very sophisticated :)

The tea aftermath... a very successful affair!

Aerial shot of Windsor Castle

2009-07-19T11:49:00.005-04:00

Photo from london-architecture.info

Here is an aerial shot of Windsor to get a feel for how massive it is... nothing but the biggest and the best for the Queen!

The journey to Windsor

2009-07-19T11:36:00.006-04:00

Our new "ticket" given to us by the nice customer service man at Heathrow

Over the weekend, Emily and I decided to go to Windsor Castle, the official residence of the Queen. We booked our train tickets and were good to go... so we thought...

To avoid the rush to the station like last weekend's trip to Bath, we left in plenty of time. However, the journey really began when we were unsure which platform to go on. A man at information gave us the platform and train time, so we hopped on a train....

Not exactly on the way, but we made it work!

... that took us to Heathrow airport terminals!! It wasn't quite where we wanted to be, and the wide eyed look of disbelief that everyone was giving us when we asked for help wasn't making us feel any better about our situation!

Luckily, we found a nice guy to help and he gave us good (written) directions. Finally, after a 2 hour journey instead of the 45 minutes it would supposed to be, we made it to Windsor.

The bustling city of Windsor

Windsor

Windsor was much busier than I had expected, but it was the castle estate that really stole the stage. I was absolutely amazed to see a true castle up close. Windsor Castle is the Queen's home, and she spends most weekends there. As a whole, the castle is home to about 150 people! It is open for touring and used for special Queenly ceremonies such as new knights to the Order of the Garter or diplomatic dinners.

Emily at the beginning of our Windsor Castle audio tour

The entrance of the Queen and where she must stay when the Castle is open and she is here (the only part we weren't shown through!)

The interior was incredible! Think of the most ornate room you have ever seen, multiply that by 100, and then clone the room to form a castle... and that's Windsor!

Special feature: Queen Mary's doll house, which has to be the coolest dollhouse I have ever seen. Everything was so precise and detailed... the doll wine cellar (no joke) was stocked with little wine bottles, and the doll Crown Jewels (!) were exact minis of the real things.

It doesn't get much more "castle-y" than this!

I am a Queen groupie... her banner is flying so she was home!

And we made it back to our flats, safe in sound, in a very swift 45 minutes.

Saturday AM and PM stroll

2009-07-18T13:42:00.006-04:00

Camden Market... note scary/weird figures on the side of the buildings on the left..

What else do you do when it is a pretty Saturday morning in London than go to the market? I headed to Camden Market, which is a combo of five different markets in the general area. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about my decision at first... I don't really fit in with the black-fishnets-piercing-tatoos crowd! But further into the stalls, I started getting into market mode.

Sports complex in Regent's Park

From Camden Market I walked to Regent's Park. I stumbled upon the sports complex. It was very busy... I spotted games of rugby, football (our soccer), and cricket. In the background of the above picture, you can see The Hub.... a cafe and 360 degree view of the entire complex.

Beautiful blooms in Queen Mary's Garden

My favorite part of Regent's Park was Queen Mary's Garden. They had sections of sooo many roses and signs telling the names of each rose. Some good names: Sexy Rexy, Invincible, Razzle Dazzle, and Indian Summer.

Spotted: wedding!

After a quick lunch at the flat, I headed west to Holland Park and their Japanese Garden. The Holland Park area is super pretty and I spent a long time walking around... (not because I was getting lost...)

The houses around the park = majorly impressive!! Every house had beautiful landscaping around the front entry and black ironwork. I wonder how much pounds you would have to be willing to shell out for one of these places...

My future residence in Holland Park

The grand entry at every home

I knew the street... just not where the actual park was.

Dutch gardens in Holland Park

When I did finally find the Japanese gardens, they weren't quite as neat as the other parks I have seen. What I did find: a wedding (reception?) occurring at the Belvedere, a restaurant in the park. It looked very posh!

Spotted: wedding no. 2!

See that girl... watch that scene..

2009-07-17T16:47:00.004-04:00

Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's

After my visit to Buckingham Palace, I headed east to Tate Modern, a museum of modern art. I really enjoyed walking across Millennium Bridge when we went to Tate's neighbor, the Globe Theatre, so I took that route again. It was rainy, but the view of the riverside made up for the many umbrellas.

On the Tate Modern side of the Thames

Tate Modern... one of the most exteriorly unattractive museums I have seen!

Tate Modern was pretty crowded, so I did a quick look at the open galleries. I saw a few disfigured people paintings by Pablo Picasso, and several interesting installations. Tate Modern is such a different gallery than the formal and traditional National Gallery we had visited earlier!

After Tate Modern, I went to see my fourth (!!) show of the trip, Mamma Mia!. Although the actors weren't quite as good as in my previously seen shows, the energy and music was electrifying!! I think the story is so fun, and it is impossible not to enjoy the ABBA tunes. The crowd got really involved, and sang and dance throughout the show. I was especially fond of the oh-so-glamorous '70s costumes :)

How can I resist you?

Booked: train tickets to Windsor Castle on Sunday for Emily and I. Maybe that is where the Queen ran off to this morning?

Changing of the guards

2009-07-17T08:03:00.005-04:00

The Queen is home in the picture on the left, her flag is up. But towards the end of the ceremony, I noticed the British flag is up so she must've left!

This morning I went to see the changing of the guards again. I got there 45 minutes early and snagged a spot by a pole on the Victoria Memorial where Britt said was an excellent view. She was right-- I had a great spot of every march! I took several videos too to capture the full effect :)

Weekend 1: Edinburgh with Ros and Jenny

2009-07-16T16:44:00.003-04:00

For more pictures of weekend adventures, make sure you visit "Roz's World", a blog by Ros. The link is one the righthand side of this blog homepage, or you can click here. I just left a taste of their gorgeous pictures, so make sure you click to see the rest! There are some good ones of Ros and Jenny dressed up in costumes... don't miss out!

[If you click on the "Roz's World" link on this blog's homepage, at the top of her page, go to "Recent Entries" to see all of her entries]

Lloyd's, lunch, and more

2009-07-16T15:23:00.010-04:00

Ethan dressing for success! Can you say "business major"??

Right after class, we hit the Tube and headed to insurance central, Lloyd's of London. I could tell we were in a business district because the dress code of people on the pavement had switched from trendy-artsy to business professional.

Jenny and Ros enjoying the ride in outside-the-building glass elevators

Awesome view! (St. Paul's is the dome building just right of the middle)

Lloyd's is an insurance market (as explained in Prof William's previous post). It originated as a coffee shop where merchants would also insure their ships. They have loss books that date back to the beginning of the operations in the 1700s that keep hand written records of all sunk, damaged, attacked, and loss ships. Lloyd's still has loss books today, but the number of merchant ships is much fewer.

Mike, Emily, Charlotte, Nicki, and Muriel in the conference room

We met with a longtime employee in the publicity and PR department who gave us a general rundown of the company. Interesting fact: this March, Lloyd's insured the tongue of the "Italian Master of Coffee" for Costa Coffee in London. The valuable tongue belongs to Gennaro Pelliccia, and he tastes all of Costa's raw coffee beans in the London roastery!

The building had lots of levels and lots of escalators!

The people at Lloyd's, hard at work.

Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.. aka Leadenhall Market

After Lloyd's, the class scattered to their various stations or airports for weekend travels. A group of us visited the location of Diagon Alley. It was pretty neat to think they filmed in there, and I am going to have to watch the films again so I can check out similarities and differences.

Ethan and Emily enjoying a Pizza Express lunch in Diagon Alley

After lunch, I headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum, an art and design museum. The focus is on textile, sculpture, and photography. I was particularly interested in the fashion exhibit. They displayed historical costumes, famous outfits (such as Di's dress), and up-and-coming designs from the students of the Royal College of Art.

Still a little obsessed with Princess Diana... her "Elvis" design by Catherine Walker
(photo by dianasjewels.net)

Chandelier by Dale Chihuly in the lobby of the V&A

I have to admit, I am a great lover of museum gift shops. The V&A had an especially interesting array of beautiful items... that were a bit out of my price range.

The door to the V&A.. it is huge!

On the way home, since I was in the neighborhood (and not at all because I am mildly in love with this glamourous store), I stopped in Harrod's again. Talk about out of my price range! Harrod's makes the V&A shop look like the clearance aisle in the Dollar Store!

Where people are headed for Weekend No. 2:

Christina, Kelsey, Mal, Emma, Alison: Rome
Prof Williams and company: Sorrento, Italy (jealous!)
Charlotte, Mike, Jeff: Dublin
Ros and Jenny: a trip around Wales and Scotland
Myself, Ethan, Emily, and Perry: sticking around
Muriel, Angie, Nicki: Munich

Lloyd's of London: What's an Insurance Market?

2009-07-15T18:33:00.003-04:00

Everybody knows what a stock market is, a physical or virtual space where people buy and sell ownership shares of companies. So what's an insurance market? Well, it's a bit different. The first share of Google is identical to the last share of Google. But, insurance doesn't work that way because every insurance policy, whether it's for J-Lo's best attribute, Danica Patrick's hands and eyes, or protection against business disruption due to natural causes (i.e., hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, etc.) is different. Which means they can't be traded. So, how can you "make" a market if you can't "trade" insurance stock like company stock?

Well, you can by bringing buyers and sellers together. The buyers at Lloyd's are companies or organizations looking for some kind of insurance or risk coverage. For instance, Wimbledon buys insurance that protects it from the losses that would occur if most of its matches were rained out and the 2-week tournament took 3-weeks instead, or even had to be shortened (Obviously, with the new retractable roof at center court, the risk is smaller than it used to be, but all of the other Wimbledon courts can be rained out). Likewise, oil companies buy insurance to protect the losses that would occur if one of their tankers sank or leaked crude oil.

The sellers are various insurance companies or individuals who are willing to purchase the risk for a particular price. Usually what happens is that one company or person takes the lead in negotiating the price and particulars of the policy, and then shops it around to others who then buy small parts of the risk. Once 100% of the risk is covered, the buyer than starts paying the policy premium. If the risk is avoided, the buyer loses the premium and the sellers keep it. If the risk is incurred, the buyer is reimbursed for their losses as specified in the policy and the sellers have to cover those financial losses.

Think of it this way, 300+ years in Edward Lloyd's coffee shop, sea-based entrepreneurs would come in wanting to insure the risk of sending a ship or ships to Asia to bring back tea and other traded goods. However, the risks were very high that the ship or ships would sink, be damaged, or suffer losses through piracy. Since few people could risk shouldering the entire loss themselves, they diversified their risk, and thus their potential losses, buy only signing on for part of the risk.

In this way, insurance markets are made.

On Thursday, our students will get a detailed explanation of how Lloyd's market works, of brokers, syndicates, secondary risk markets, etc. While it sounds highly technical, what goes on at Lloyd's today isn't all that different from what happened in Edward Lloyd's coffee shop 300 years ago.

Ice Ice Baby

2009-07-15T17:56:00.005-04:00

The Absolut Icebar.. kept at a brisk 23 degrees Farenheit

After dinner, a group of us ventured out to the Absolut Ice Bar... which is exactly what it sounds like: a bar of ice! There was a little bit of a wait, so we waited in the posh upstairs (and normal temperature) bar.

The girls, all anxiously awaiting our turn!

Charlotte, Emily, Perry, Emma, Kelsey, and Mal sporting the eskimo gear all patrons are equipped with upon entry... complete with glove!

We were given heavy capes with fur trimmed hoods and gloves to wear while in the bar. You can only stay in for forty minutes because it is so cold!! Everything is made of ice, from the actual bar to the seating and drink glasses!

Nicki holding her drink in its ice glass
Kelsey and Perry

Muriel's drink glowed!!

Mike, frozen and "owning the ice bar"

I would say we had a blast! It was such a cool (no pun intended!) environment and everyone was so pumped to be in there. We felt super awesome in the big capes!

Dinner party!

2009-07-15T14:24:00.007-04:00

Kelsey and Emma, slaving away in the kitchen

The lovely ladies of flat 16 cordially invited the students and faculty of Leadership London 2009 to their humble adobe for a dinner party this evening. Guests were kindly asked to bring a dish, so the spread included an assortment of pasta, salad, garlic bread, and brownies. The men brought drinks, and the party was set! A computer supplied a play list, and the flat's living room was filled with hungry students.

Master chefs Alison and Kelsey

Hostesses Christina, Kelsey, Alison, Mal, Emma, Perry and Charlotte provided the main course and the location. Although I overheard them saying cooking for twenty was a little challenging, the meal was perfect! Alison, Kelsey, Emma, and Perry were manning the flat's double stoves, while Mal was sent off running to other flats to bring more pots! Christina was a perfect hostess and making sure the guests were settled and comfortable.

Guest Emily with co-hostess Christina

Emily and I brought dessert (I wish we could say "made from scratch", but let's be realistic!)

Muriel, Nicki, and Angie

Jeff (who is happy to be there!), Jenny, and Ros

The meal was a definite success! Thank you, flat 16!

Found: 16th century optical illusion

2009-07-15T12:45:00.004-04:00

"The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein the Younger

After searching for the artist name and painting title on the National Gallery's online archives, I found it!

Prof Williams led me to a prime viewing area for this painting... I was in a far right corner, at the same plane as the painting. As our guide was talking, he asked the class what the big blob was. I was confused because I didn't see a blob... I saw a skull! After he told said it was a skull, everyone rearranged in different positions to see different perspectives. I thought it was so cool that Hans Holbein the Younger painted such a neat optical illusion.

But... no postcard of this one either :(

Art Appreciation Day

2009-07-15T12:26:00.002-04:00

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery showcases all 13- 19th century Western European paintings (with an exception of a Leonardo da Vinci drawing). We had a Blue Badge guide show us around the different rooms and tell about the history and artist of each painting. He was able to pick out subtle motifs or hidden messages in several paintings.

Pre-gallery ice cream: Christina, Emma, Kelsey, Ros, Muriel, Nicki

Most people tend to overlook the crabs (my favorite) in favor of the flowers... they didn't even have a crab postcard :(

van Gogh was a popular artist, along with the three Renaissance artists: Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael. The above van Gogh paintings, along with more gallery information, can be found on the National Gallery website.

[I am going to try to find an online picture of another favorite painting... hang tight]

Our neighbor, the British Museum

2009-07-15T07:42:00.003-04:00

The British Museum

Since we had a little block of time before leaving for the National Gallery, I detoured to the British Museum on our way home from class. It was absolutely mobbed, but pretty neat. And, like many of the museums in London, it is free!

Ceiling in the Great Court

Right when you walk in, you enter the Great Court. In the middle is a circular Reading Room building, but the ceiling is what captures your attention... an entire covering of geometric clear tiles.

The main attraction, the Rosetta Stone

I wanted to find the Rosetta Stone, which was easily the most crowded exhibit in the already crowded place. I was surprised how easy it was to see the different starting and stopping points of the hieroglyphs: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek (not that I could read any!)

Next up, off to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Hopefully we get to see some entertainment on the plinth!

2009-07-15T07:19:00.003-04:00

As part of our preparation for our study of Queen Elizabeth I's leadership, we visited the Tower of London. Here we are, hearing again from Blue Badge Guide Britt Lonsdale, as we stand at the entrance to the Tower at Traitor's Gate, through which the then Princess Elizabeth entered the Tower when she was imprisoned by her sister Mary (aka Bloody Mary).

I dreamed a dream.. Les Mis

2009-07-14T19:07:00.003-04:00

"The world's longest running muscial" at Queen's Theatre

Tonight was show number three for Emily and I! Perry was planning on joining us, but when the theatre only had two tickets remaining, she passed them to Emily and I and bought FRONT ROW seats for Monday night instead.

Emily has read the novel, but I was a Les Mis newbie. Perry caught me up to speed on our Tube ride from the Tower of London to Leicester Square, and I am very glad she did! I was thankful to have a better understanding of the plot during the production.

Emily and I were very impressed! Our seats were in different spots of the theatre, but when we met up afterward, we spent the Tube ride back talking about it. The sets were great, the emotion was intense, and the voices were unbelievable!

The theatre from my seat on the faaaar left

The three shows we have seen have all been so different that it is hard to pick a clear winner. And, I still have a few more titles on my list, so I can't pick a favorite yet!

Out to the tower, and off with your head!

2009-07-14T18:21:00.007-04:00

Britt is back!

This afternoon took us eastbound to the Tower of London. We were joined by our good friend and excellent guide, Britt. Her knowledge of all things England amazes me! She seems to know every little bit of history... which is why she is our favorite :)

Ros and Jenny in front of the Tudor houses

Ethan, Angie, Nicki, and Muriel ready to go!

Perry, Kelsey, Emma, Christina, Mal, and Alison in front of Tower Bridge

Many of Britt's stories were concerning the main purposes of the Tower: treason and death. The Tower of London was home to England's most wanted and the enemies of the royals. Prisoners were held in the many towers until being freed or, most likely, their execution.

Tower of London

Tower of London

We had a special surprise during our visit: Prof Williams pulled some strings and was granted permission that allowed us to enter the Bell Tower. The Bell Tower hosted some famous enemies including Sir Thomas Moore (a main character in our play, "A Man For All Seasons") and Queen Elizabeth I. Our trip to the Bell Tower was guided by a Yeoman Warder, a knowledgable guide who has served in the English army. He said the last American to enter the tower was Michelle Obama with daughters Sasha and Malia a couple of weeks ago!

Emily being led to her doom by our Yeoman Warder at the Bell Tower
(....... kidding)

Mike, assisting in battle

The Tower of London had two special exhibits: Henry VIII's Dressed to Kill, featuring his armor, and the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House. Although Henry's armor was interesting, my favorite were the Crown Jewels... when given the choice between pewter or diamonds, I think I will pick diamonds every time! We saw a video of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and I recognized the exact spot where it took place inside Westminster Abbey (Britt had pointed it out last week). I was mesmerized by the ornateness of the royal accessories! There was a punch bowl that could have easily been a baptismal font at a cathedral! The crowns are absolutely breathtaking and positively regal.

Queen Elizabeth II (the current Queen) at her coronation.

Look at little Charles and Anne!

photo by Old UK photos

A Co-Pilot, A Co-Pilot, My Kingdom for a Co-Pilot

2009-07-14T04:13:00.002-04:00

As Libby indicated below, I had a late arrival from my weekend in Berlin. We were scheduled for a 6:30pm departure on EasyJet, which was delayed multiple times before it was finally explained they were short a crew member. The problem, of course, is that the clock was ticking for other members of the crew who, once they've started their day, can only put in so many hours (this is a safety issue above all else). So we lost them, too, and our flight flew back to London Gatwick without us (yes, they can fly the plane, but after so many hours, they can't fly it with passengers). In the end, a volunteer crew came from Gatwick to pick us up. We departed about 3am from Berlin, arrived London around 4 am and made it to our flats around 5am after paying 100 pounds ($165) for a taxi. Things like this happen, but the biggest sin committed by EasyJet is that they did a lousy job of keeping us informed. We didn't fully know what was going on until the Captain informed us after we'd gotten on the plane. This weekend, I'm flying British Air to Naples, but fly EasyJet back to London. Hopefully, lightning won't strike twice.

A day in the park, and night at the theatre

2009-07-13T17:51:00.008-04:00

Relaxation station set up on Round Pond, right across from Kensington Palace

After a long weekend (longer for some than others.. cough cough Prof Williams' arrival to London in the wee hours of the morning!), we were given a later start date for class and the afternoon off since the Globe performance was in the evening. I set off west to Kensington Garden and Palace, the former home of many years of royalty, and my personal favorite, Princess Diana.

The pristine garden and fountain surrounding the palace.

My favorite two exhibitions of the palace were the archives of Diana's dresses and the records of the last debutantes of London. I recognized the black dress below from her famous twirl with John Travolta!

Official picture on the right from the White Musuem

After my tour of the palace, I took my time and walked from Kensington Gardens to its eastern neighbor, Hyde Park. The park was crowded, and there were many paddle boaters on the Serpentine boating lake. Still on a Diana high, I walked past the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain too.

On a lakeside stroll in Hyde Park

Our evening activity, seeing William Shakespeare's "As You Like It", walked us across the Thames on the Millenium Bridge to the Globe Theatre. The theatre is a reproduction of Shakespeare's own theatre. It is open air, and the seats are around the stage in several tiers. To allow us to get the full effect, Prof Williams bought "groundlings" tickets, which meant we stood right in front of the stage for the production.

Christina and Mal

Jenny, Ros, Nicki, Muriel, Ethan, Angie, and I

The show was great! We were right in the middle of the action by being actually at the level of the stage. We were so close I actually thought we would be spit on by the actors pronouncing strong declarations! The Shakespearan language is a little tricky for me to understand sometimes, but the expressive and comedic actors helped the audience along. At the end of the show, they did a big dance number... not very Shakespeare-esque but very very entertaining!

Perry, Kelsey, Alison, Emma
The stage, complete with a trap door!
The circular Globe Theatre

We walked back across the Thames on our way home, and the waterfront was so pretty lit up. After busy weekends, I think we all could agree it was nice to be back in London and our flats.

Looking across the Thames: Millenium Bridge on left, with St. Paul's Cathedral straight across

Weekend 1: Jeff's Paris edition

2009-07-13T12:38:00.004-04:00

I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some other weekends that my classmates had. Jeff Poss, a fellow junior marketing major, sent me some of his pictures and comments from his weekend in Paris.

Via Jeff:

1, 2: Disneyland Paris. Everything was in french... including the C3PO on the Star Wars ride. Interesting, to say the least.

3. The view from my friend's apartment.

4. Inside the Musée d'Orsay, an old train station that was converted into an incredible museum.

5. A Van Gogh inside the museum.

6. A view from the top of the Musée d'Orsay.

7. A statue on the roof of the Musée d'Orsay.

8. French flags on a street.

9. With my friend Michelle from high school on the Eiffel Tower. She is studying abroad in Paris and I stayed with her.

Merci, Jeff! It looks like your weekend was successful!

Weekend 1: Bath + Cotswolds edition

2009-07-12T17:23:00.016-04:00

** EDIT: I realize the picture medleys might be a little smaller than the regular pictures, but if you click on them, they should enlarge a little. I just had so many pictures (504!!) from this weekend and wanted to share them... without having a mile long post!

Early Saturday morning, Emily and I left the flat for the train station in route to Bath! Charlotte took a later train and met us in the city at the Bath Abbey. Bath Abbey is a pretty central point, and despite the major crowds of touring foreign school groups, we found each other and began our exploration!

Views of the Abbey. The grey skies were from Saturday, while the perfect blue was on Sunday.

In order to get the best understanding of Bath, we took a tour with a volunteer guide, Barry. He was very informative and amusing while he took a group around for a two hour walking tour. He made sure we recognized the important landmarks, and threw in historical facts and trivia as well. Charlotte, who is a history buff, kept him on his toes with her questions!

1. One fourth of the Circus, a segmented circle of curved condos/apartments

2. Barry was easy to spot with his bright orange shirt!

3. Lots of pretty flowers

4. Emily with the Pulteney Bridge

5. In addition to the Abbey, there were other churches in Bath

After the tour, we toured the Roman Baths. There was a cell phone-ish machine that played an audio guide and told about the displays and models. I was absolutely amazed at how old the baths and the artifacts were... the Romans began building around the hot springs around 40 AD!

Key player for Bath's popularity: Queen Mary of the seventeenth century... Queen Mary had previously been very unsuccessful at being able to conceive, but after bathing in the spa, she gave birth nine months later.

1. The supposedly healing Roman Bath, which are hot springs

2. Charlotte, Emily, and I

3. Charlotte and I taking a sip of the (notoriously bad-tasting) spa water... yes it was bad, but we each finished our glass!

4. Signs for the Roman Bath

The Royal Crescent, also condos/apartments, looks out on a very wide large to give its former noble tenants a sense of true country while still in their chic quarters. The wall was used to keep out sheep!

The Pump Room of the Baths, where a cup of afternoon tea (or Bath water) is available for your pleasure.

After the Baths, we hit the streets looking for some lunch. We ate at the Pig and Fiddle, and liked it so much we came back later that evening. While unwinding in the evening, a lot of people came in the pub dressed up as cavemen, dinosaurs, and just plain weirdos. We were pretty confused, and a few locals said they were dressed up for "hen and stag" parties, which are like our bachelor and bachelorette parties... only with a much more embarassing dress code!

1. Emily at our lunch spot, the Pig and Fiddle

2. Emily putting our backpacks in the hostel lockers

3, 4. The Bath YMCA hostel was actually really nice!

5. Emily and Charlotte going up the stairs to our dorms

We spent the night at the Bath YMCA hostel. It was the first hostel experience for all of us, and we were pleasantly surprised! Emily and I stayed in the 14 bed female dorm. We talked to several of the girls, including a German girl who was traveling around by herself. I think as far as hostels go, this one was top notch.

An all day affair: our transportation for the Mad Max's Cotswolds tour is the second bus

On Sunday, we enjoyed a nice continental breakfast at the YMCA and walked to the meeting point for our Cotswolds tour. My mom and I had heard about the tour from my Rick Steve's book, and I was crossing my fingers that it would be good! Although the tour can fit up to sixteen people, our group was a small seven so it was a more intimate affair.

This was a hotel. The grounds were gorgeous and there was a little stream in the back... gorgeous! I wish we could have seen the inside! Gary said several movie stars, such as Michelle Pfeiffer, have stayed in the big manor hotels that are in several cities.

Throughout the tour (which lasted from 9AM to 5PM) we traveled around the countryside in a little bus. The tour guide, Gary, was the driver and donned a headset so he could talk while driving. (His other job: a driving instructor in Bath so we were in good hands!) We made stops at little villages on the way. The stop lengths varied depending on the villages and quality of photo potential!

I love the vined covered buildings!

1. Our Dayton, OH friends from the tour: John and Barb

2. Gary, the guide

3. Charlotte on the bus.

4. Queen's Head, our lunch pub at Stow-on-the-Wold

5. Street signs at the trout farm in Bibury

6. Dry stone wall: a fixture in the countryside that Gary loved

6. An entrance to a hotel in Bibury

Emily, myself, and Charlotte on a picturesque street

It doesn't get more English countryside than sheep! We got pretty close while walking

At one stop, the Upper and Lower Slaughters, we took a half hour walk on the public walkway that connects the little towns. We walked through fields among the grazing sheep and enjoyed the blue skies! Separting the fields were "kissing gates", zig zagged gates that only allow one person through at a time.

I had a great time on our English countryside adventure. Bath was a fun area to explore on our own, and the ancient history is truly amazing! The Sunday tour was super relaxing and absolutely gorgeous! As Emily said later, after reviewing her photos, "the pictures don't do it justice." I feel like I have covered both sides of England: urban London and the bucolic Cotswolds area.

Up next: another busy week of discussion and sight seeing!

Quiet Pleasures in London: The View from a Coffee Shop Near Our Flats

2009-07-11T16:12:00.003-04:00

One of the quiet pleasures in London is this view from the Costa Coffee on New Oxford Street located about halfway between the Tottenham Court Road and Holburn tube stations. This is about 2 blocks from our flats and our classroom. While it looks busy, I had to wait several minutes at 8am to get enough foot and road traffic to cue to get this shot. One of the secrets of any large city is to move 1 or 2 blocks off of the main roads. When you do, the crowds and the noise fall away. This location falls in between those extremes.

Blog pause for Bath

2009-07-11T02:26:00.002-04:00

Since I will be going to Bath and leaving my computer behind, there will be no posts until Sunday. Then I will be back to blogging in full force!

Free time Friday

2009-07-10T13:05:00.005-04:00

Emily said, "Paparazzi!"

For our first Friday off, Emily and I decided to take advantage of a free morning and go to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. The gates of Buckingham Palace and the grounds around the Victoria Memorial were absolutely swamped!! We tried to make our way to a certain pole that Britt said was a prime viewing area, but were stopped by a policeman when we were about to cross a gate. The marching in started shortly after, and our stopped positioning ended up giving us an excellent view!

Sunny weather, blue skies, Friday morning = heavy crowds

Between the old guard coming in and the new guard coming out, we made our way through the crowd to a spot lining the street. As we waited, the guard band entertained the crowd with marching tunes, "Dancing Queen", and a Lion King song. The entire ceremony was a really neat experience. The amount of tradition that stems from the changing is extraordinary!

My favorite!

After the ceremony, Emily and I decided to walk around looking for a place to eat. Our search led us around St. Jame's park, which was a nice stroll due to the beautiful weather. We finally ended up at a pizza place in Knightsbridge. It looks fancy, but the price was right!

Emily at our swanky lunch pick, Pizza in the Park

After lunch, we hopped on the Tube and went to Notting Hill to wander around Portobello Market. The gorgeous Notting Hill area is more residential than our area of London. There are a lot of little independent shops and restaurants lining the streets. I have heard that Notting Hill is comparable to Greenwich Village in NYC, and I think that is a pretty accurate description.

The world famous Portobello Market

We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around the market. No item was left out: the spread of goods included everything from antique tiles to the latest Nikes. Foodies could get their pick of food items such as olives, fruits and vegetables, and whole fish fresh off the boat. My family and friends would all agree that I could wander through stores and just look at things for hours, so I was in heaven! It was a successful afternoon... we both headed back to Bedford Place with some great finds.

Lovely buildings in the surrounding Notting Hill area

Pizza coming out of a cute car... what is not to like?

Emily chatting with a pharmacist in Notting Hill.. she had been looking for a pharmacy for days so she could check it out and compare/contrast with her pharmaceutical experiences in the United States

Tonight we are taking it easy and preparing for our journey to Bath ("Baaaaathhhh"). Our train leaves bright and early tomorrow morning, so a good night's sleep is a must. We think about our classmates often, scattered around Europe in their various cities. Europe better watch out, because LL '09 is on the loose!

Weekend jazz

2009-07-09T19:08:00.005-04:00

We are heading into the first weekend of LL '09! Where everyone is headed:

Muriel, Nicki, Angie, Ethan, Jeff, Kelsey, Christina, Mal, Emma, Alison: Paris
Ros and Jenny: Scotland
Myself, Emily, Charlotte, (maybe Mike?): Bath and the Cotswolds
Prof Williams and company: Berlin
Perry: Aunt Angie's house

I have a feeling we will be hearing about some adventurous weekends on Monday!

Chicago!

To start off our weekend, Emily and I decided to go to the theatre. Although we got blanked at the Lion King, we ventured to Chicago and were successful. We had very good seats and chatted with a fellow American traveler next to us. She was at the end of a two week whirlwind trip around Europe, and envied our chance to stay and get to know London.

Chicago was very good performance. It was definitely a bit more PG-13 than Hairspray, but still entertaining! Surprise of the show (Emily and I had no idea): the actor who played lying lawyer Billy Flynn was Jerry Springer! The sign on the front of the theatre (which we had apparently missed) said that tomorrow would be his last show, so we just caught him!

We took our sweet time getting back to the flats and enjoyed people watching. We were especially fascinated with a particularly heart wrenching goodbye of a couple separating at the Tube station... it was very very sad!

Night pic: Emily and the National Gallery

The masked man on the plinth in Trafalgar Square

The scoop with the person on the plinth is a new art "exhibit" in Trafalgar Square. Artist Antony Gormley asked people to apply to stand on the fourth (empty) column. They are allowed to do whatever they want, and the people change every hour. You can learn more about it here, and watch video of people here. Mike was going to apply, but the spots were filled through July already!

Picadilly Circus: Rick Steves called it the Times Square of London

A VIP trip to Burberry

2009-07-09T12:10:00.007-04:00

This afternoon, the class scored a visit to Burberry's new global office for lunch, a tour, and quick Q&A with the CEO, Angela Ahrendts. Perry, the London vet and guru of our class, is Ahrendts' niece and set up a visit. I believe the class of Leadership London 2009 will be eternally indebted to Perry for this opportunity of a lifetime!

A few major players in the Burberry family:

Bailey and the face of the Fall/Winter 09 ad campaign, Emma Watson (AKA Hermione Granger from Harry Potter)

photo from UK Instyle

Christopher Bailey is the creative director of Burberry. He is responsible for the design of all Burberry lines, as well as the advertising, corporate art and image, and store design. Basically, he is a very key player in Burberry. We actually saw him while touring the showroom! I had seen his picture many times before, and was silently freaking out as we were detoured around where he was sitting to not disturb his interview. Beth and Nicki, the ladies of the showroom who showed us around, said he had asked about us and wished us good luck!

CEO Angela Ahrendts (and she looks even more glamourous in person!)

photo by Wharton Conference

Angela Ahrendts, or "Aunt Angie" to Perry, is originally from New Palestine, IN. She graduated from Ball State University and immediately moved to New York City to pursue a career in the fashion industry. With the help of her father's connections, she made her way into the scene and rose the ranks. Her jobs before Burberry CEO included top executive positions at Liz Clairborne, Henri Bendel, and Donna Karan. Her advice: network, network, network!

The Burberry check, the iconic plaid print

We were given a lunch in the cafeteria when we arrived. I was lucky enough to sit on an end with Beth and Nicki, Burberry employees and our guides, and talk to them about their experiences. Burberry moved into their current location, a seven story building in Westminster, at the beginning of the year. The ladies said that now all aspects of Burberry operations, design, and etc. are under one roof... as opposed to the five different buildings they previously had to run between.

Their area of expertise, the showroom, is an enormous display room of the pieces in each of the Burberry lines. The collection that is currently in is for Spring/Summer 2010. Nicki said they only allow a limited variety visitors, such as media outlets or department store buyers, to enter the showroom because the clothes are not yet displayed to the public.

Angie, Kelsey, Ethan, Charlotte, Mike, Ros, Nicki, Emily, Muriel, and Jenny in front of the equestrian knight logo

We listened to a presentation from HR employee Simon about the history and direction behind the brand. Then, a leadership development employee, Gill, spoke to us about the specifics of Burberry's leadership. She said Ahrendts is an extremely involved CEO, and Nicki said she sees "Angela and Christopher" all of the time around the building. Gill noted that Burberry is focused on furthering personal growth for each of their employees and promoting internally. She said they are transforming their brand and on a lookout for fresh eyes and new ideas.

The group at lunch in the cafeteria

I was incredibly excited to go on this visit, and it did not disappoint. The employees were extremely friendly, and we got to go behind the scenes and learn from the "top of the top" what makes Burberry successful. Ahrendts blew me away with her easy going conversation, glamour, and business savvy. I was absolutely impressed and completely inspired by this once small town Hoosier girl who had worked hard and became a success. I left the office starstruck and with a new feeling of determination...I would love to be a repeat of her success.

Muggle mania!

2009-07-08T16:24:00.009-04:00

The crowd, already antsy at 8PM.

Last night: riding on the Tube back from Harrod's, I was reading the newspaper and came across an article talking about the Harry Potter premiere in Leicester Square. Very interested, and remembering cousin Amy's advice to try to catch a premiere (thanks Amy!!), I went back to the flats to round up some recruits. Jenny was game, and we made our way.

We saw the theater (actually, we saw the signs first, then the crowd, and finally the theater) and joined the masses at 8PM. We discovered the priemere had been earlier in the evening and were disappointed to hear the stars we had missed: Johnny Depp, the entire cast, and I have even heard rumors of Madonna! The buzz among the crowd was that the stars would be exiting from the theatre after the show on the same red carpet. Determined to make up for lost star sightings, Jenny and I buckled in and even managed to get a few feet closer to the red carpet through the crowd's compression!

Just before 10PM, the stars began coming out. Freddie Highmore, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland fame was the first to come out. Daniel Radcliffe followed, but was too quick to capture any good camera shots. We also saw the Weasley twin actors and Luna Lovegood's actress.

The closest brush came when Helena Bontham Carter came to our side of the carpet for autographs. At this point, I don't think I was standing... everyone was pushing so hard I think I was held up by everyone else's force!

Despite my close position to the red carpet, the rowdy crowd and many reaching hands and cameras prevented me from getting a lot of good shots. Luckily, to preserve our premiere memories, Jenny and I befriended a fellow American student, Tracy. She wasn't as affected by the crowd's force and was able to get some good pictures, which she kindly emailed to me today!

One of the few pictures I got that turned out decent: the long sparkly dress belongs to Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood

A pic from Tracy of CA (a new friend) of Helena Bonham Carter, wife of Tim Burton and Belleatrix Lestrange (Voldemort groupie) in the movie

Official NY Daily News photo of the soaking wet stars

"Splashed" over the front of the papers today were pictures of the wet stars. Daniel's suit is shown soaked more than it is dry!

Jenny and I were on such a high from our night! It is definitely not everyday that you are in London for the night of the Harry Potter premiere!

Noodles + Hindu

2009-07-08T15:55:00.004-04:00

The entire class awaiting our noodles

After a particularly vigorous discussion (the hot topic: the confidence of Cruiser in The Bird of Dawning), Prof Williams treated us to a lunch at a popular noodle spot, Wagamama's. I give it an A+: plenty of variety, great food, quick service, and free green tea :)

My meal: green tea and yasai yaki soba

The afternoon led us north of London to a Hindu temple. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is the largest traditional Hindu temple outside of India. No shoes were allowed, so we walked barefoot around the temple and its halls. Cameras were not allowed either (people were praying while we were visiting), so for interior pictures of the temple, visit their website. The temple structure is covered in wood and marble carvings that were all originally done in India. The pieces were transported to London and then pieced together by volunteers.

Intricate, elaborate, ornate.. words cannot describe the detail!

Interesting fact: our guide (a PR guy) spent time with Michael Jackson and Madonna in the temple, and I saw Charles and Camilla had recently made a visit earlier this year.

Our guide set up a Q&A session about our questions about Hindu customs and etc. His big 3 to avoid: sweets, salt, and stress!

When we got back to the flats, I decided to venture out in search of Liberty, a fashion, design, and art mecca I have heard about. I was not disappointed! It featured four floors of designer goods and home furnishings. I witnessed two Middle Eastern women purchasing over $1000 worth of Liberty print fabric. Their bodyguard was anxiously waiting to the side, and after he got the bags, he passed them on to yet another bodyguard and the quartet left the store.

What a life... Harrod's yesterday, Liberty today. This town is going to make me an expert windowshopper!

Liberty: another new favorite store

Time on the Thames

2009-07-07T17:38:00.008-04:00

Our sight seeing for today started on the river front out of the Westminster Tube spot. We had to leave straight from class to the Tube, so many people stopped at the pancake hut for a quick lunch. The pancakes looked more like crepes, and were made fresh to order on a little stove with your choice of sweet or savory toppings. A popular (and very delicious looking choice): Pancake + Nutella, strawberries, and banana.

Ros and Mike deciding which combo to pick at the pancake stand... I believe the final choices were ham and cheese for Mike and plain with syrup for Ros.

We were taking a river cruise along the Thames to Greenwich. Within five or so minutes of the start of our trip, it started raining. Basically everyone cleared from the open top deck to the covered downstairs, but Nicki and I braved the wind and rain through the whole trip!

Alison, Emma, and Kelsey on the boat

Prof Williams and company huddled in their umbrellas in the rain! They started out strong, but ended up in the dry cabin below.

Interesting fact: "Wharf" really means "Warehouse at river front"

Along the way, we saw a lot of old wharf buildings that have been converted into luxury apartments. Prices ranged from 1 million to 3 million pounds per apartments. Many still had cranes still attached to the side between decorated balconies!

We made it to Greenwich and met up with a guide from London Walks, Richard. He was going to lead us around Greenwich-- through the Queen's House, the Royal Observatory, and the Old Royal Naval College, which is now used as the University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music.

In "downtown" Greenwich with our tourguide, Richard

The Royal Observatory is on the top of a (very steep) hill, which we climbed with our umbrellas while hoping the surrounding lightning would not strike us! At the top, we found the prime meridian line, the point of 0 degrees longitude.

The view from the observatory in Greenwich

My feet, straddling the prime meridian...

one foot in the eastern hemisphere, and one in the west!

Emma, Alison, Mal, Christina, and Kelsey on the prime meridian

When leaving Greenwich, a group of us decided to venture underneath the Thames on the way back instead of on top. We walked through a 30-50 feet deep tunnel (depending on the tides) to the other side of the bank.

Jenny, Muriel, Nicki, Emily, Angie, Ros, Charlotte, Ethan, and Prof Williams in the tunnel going from Greenwich UNDERNEATH the Thames

Several of us decided to hit the Tube and traveled to Knightsbridge to Harrod's. As we stepped out of the Tube station, we realized it had begun raining again. Anxious to get to Harrod's, we got out our umbrellas and hit the streets. During the five minute walk from the station to Harrod's, we had to stop two times due to the torrential downpour! It had even started hailing!

Harrod's was unlike anything I have ever seen! It was absolutely mobbed with people, and the designer labels were like looking through the advertisements of Vogue: Prada, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Marc Jacobs... All definitely out of my price range, but fun to admire! Our group had split up with hopes of reuniting in the food hall, but we had vastly underestimated the vastness (and crowds) that awaited.

The food hall, a must see attraction recommended to me by my grandpa and Prof Williams, is a collection of connected rooms containing any food imagined. Chocolates, fruit, vegetables, bakery, Krispy Kremes (really??), sushi, Indian, Chinese... everything! Emily, a vegetarian, steered clear of the entire room dedicated to any and every meat.

One of the rooms of the Harrods food court... absolutely amazing!

Lucky for us, Harrod's is having a sale for the entire time that we are here! Sales only occur two times a year, and a friendly cashier informed us that we are very fortunate with our timing. He said things will be marked down as the sale continues, but I am afraid I will be long gone by the time anything nears the range of my student budget!

First day of school

2009-07-06T13:56:00.005-04:00

Emily, Nicki, and Muriel outside of the FSU building for a "first day of school" picture

We started off the week with a morning at class. We had a intro leadership lecture, and then were visited by Acorn and FSU management who told us proper procedure and protocol for the classroom and our flats.

Our classroom.. complete with a fireplace

We were also given our agenda for the weekend, complete with times and Tube spots where we would meet. After class, we went to buy our weekly Tube pass and hopped on! The underground system is not nearly as complicated as I was worried it would be. There are clear maps and loads of signs, so we were good.

Ethan, Emily, Muriel, and Nicki in the Tube station

I set off with Ethan, Nicki, Emily, and Muriel. We stopped at St. Jame's Park since we were a little early to our meeting. There were a couple groups of school children who were running around in little uniforms.

Ethan, Nicki, and Muriel on a bridge in St. Jame's Park with Buckingham Palace

Our attraction for the day was Westminster Abbey. Britt joined us again as our tourguide. The interior was absolutely stunning. The detail was mindboggling... carvings, stained glass, paintings... nothing was overlooked! There are many, many tombs underneath the ground... with little slabs that tell the share who is buried right under your feet! (However, major bummer: no pictures allowed inside)

Emma and Alison outside of Westminster Abbey

After Westminster, we were set loose to do what we please. The rain had started and we got a taste of what London weather must really be like. You can tell the natives from the out of towners by how hard the rain must fall in order to get out an umbrella.

A bit of the group braving the rain in Trafalgar Square

Dreary weather

Pub Grub

2009-07-06T13:49:00.002-04:00

First official meal at the London pub: fish & chips and a half pint!

Visiting St. Paul's with our Blue Badge Guide, Britt Lonsdale

2009-07-05T18:59:00.002-04:00

Here we are at St. Paul's, Christopher Wren's masterpiece, built after the Great London Fire, 1666. It took 35 years to build and is celebrating its 300th birthday in 2010.

Our guide is Britt Lonsdale, a fantastic Blue Badge Guide, who I've been using for my college tours of London for 13 years. We're in the gardens on the southeast corner of St. Paul's. Notice the sunshine and blue skys - it won't last, but what a great first day.

Starting our London Bus Tour

2009-07-05T18:51:00.002-04:00

Bus tour

2009-07-05T12:51:00.009-04:00

Covent Garden

After our first night of full sleep, my 17 D flatmates and I decided to take advantage of the Sunday morning and venture to Covent Garden, an indoor market that really bustles on the weekend with stalls and people.

At Lush, a beauty products store, where Muriel thought the blocks of soap were cheese.

Nicki, Angie, and Muriel at the downstairs store of Lush

We met the group at 1PM and started a whirlwind bus tour of London. Our tour guide, Britt, had been working with Prof Williams for 13 years on his past trips. She definitely knew the ins and outs of the city, and was very quick to tell us which direction to look at for the best views. We left the bus at several stops to walk around and take pictures... another gorgeous day!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Britt in action

Muriel, Ethan, and Nicki with an "attraction" by City Hall

Jenny and Ros with Tower Bridge (and Jeff) in the background

Parliament and Big Ben

Charlotte and I with the a guard protecting the Clarence House, home of Charles and his fam.

For one of our bus stops, we took a stroll around the grounds and gate of the Buckingham Palace. Brit told us her secrets for the best views of the changing of the guards ceremony. We went into St. Jame's Park, where people were lying in lounge chairs and enjoying a band (who were quite fond of ABBA).

Jeff, Mike, and Buckingham Palace

Sadly, the Queen is not home. I originally believed that if the flag was flying, she was home... but Brit set the record straight: if the Queen's own flag is up, she is home... if not, she is elsewhere.

London Eye

You can't stop the beat!

2009-07-05T12:44:00.002-04:00

During a spur of the moment decision, Emily and I decided to spend our first night in London at a show. We stopped in at the Shaftsbury Theatre, which was showing Hairspray, and got tickets 30 minutes before the show started! We were in a little 2 seater box on the side of the theatre. The show was fantastic!! All of the actors had amazing voices, and the sing and dance numbers were great! It was a full house, and the crowd got very into it. I hope this will be the first of several shows I see in London!

Finally here!

2009-07-04T08:56:00.003-04:00

My first view of England from the plane

After what could only be described as a marathon day, we made it to London! We left Chicago at 5 PM Chicago time and arrived in London at 7 AM London time... which is 1AM Chicago time. No rest for the weary-- we hit the ground running: picked up our luggage, checked in, and grabbed some pounds (my first couple of times were not successful but it finally worked...sigh of relief...). Emily and I were hassled by a very unfriendly passport stamper. Maybe he was bitter because it was the 4th?

Muriel and Nicki in Paddington Station..

no time for stationary pics so it is an action shot!

We (the students) left Prof Williams in the dust (ha!) and ventured out on our own to Paddington Station and then took a series of taxi cabs to Bedford Place. We dropped off luggage and went walking around the area.

Blue skies... our taxi driver said it has been very warm, but the days ahead are rainy.

Emily, Charlotte, Jeff, Kelsey hanging on the street-- doing some people watching and wondering about what famous people we could see (Hugh Grant and Jude Law were favorites, with Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow closely following)

Taxi!

On the Ground in Sunny England

2009-07-04T06:33:00.005-04:00

13 of the 17 students were on the flight from ORD to LHR, 1 in 1st class (thanks sis for the miles!) and the rest in steerage. Rest on their way. After landing at 7:30 am, it took 2.5 hours in all to clear customs, grab bags, get some pounds, hop on the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, get a cab, and then get to the flats which weren't ready. So, we piled everyone's bags into my flat, which the manager thankfully decided to clean first. Everyone else's flats will be ready around 2pm, about the time that people will be ready to crash (few slept on the plane). If previous trip patterns hold - this is the 13th time I've taught this class, though first at Butler, everyone will be up between 6 and 7pm for a night of fun and then sleeping late on Sunday, all of which helps with the 5-hour time change. On Sunday, we meet at 1pm for a brief pep talk, review of guidelines (don't be late, watch out for each other, keep noise down, etc.) and then a fantastic bus top tour of London. Everyone needs to charge their batteries and make sure to bring empty 8gb storage cards because there are great pictures around nearly every corner of London.

About Leadership London

2009-06-29T09:43:00.001-04:00

Seventeen Butler University students will travel to London July 3-24 as part of a new site-based course called Leadership London. Taught by College of Business Dean Chuck Williams, the course will focus on leadership by utilizing the resources, institutions and history of London.

“Every afternoon, prior to our next morning class session, we’ll visit a site in London related to our class discussion,” said Williams. “For example, when we discuss Churchill, we’ll visit the Cabinet War Rooms from when Winston Churchill guided England in World War II, and then discuss the leadership case on Churchill the next morning. The idea of the course is to expose students to different models of leadership through cases and readings on famous leaders and from fiction, such as Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V, which have leadership themes.”

Williams said he chose London for the course because London is one of the largest financial centers in the world. The city is also familiar to him because he taught a similar course for 12 consecutive years at his previous institutions, Texas Christian University and the University of the Pacific.

To prepare students for the trip, Williams had them read a series of articles from The Wall Street Journal as well as chapters from his textbook, Management.

Program participant and junior marketing major Libby Bates said the readings gave her a good idea about the business way of life in England and Europe. “I am really excited now to go over there and see how everything works first-hand,” she said.
In addition to providing students the opportunity to study leadership in a not-so-traditional way, the course was designed to give students the chance to study abroad in a short time frame.

“It is critical for students, especially business majors, to be exposed to different cultures,” said Williams. “Currently 25 to 30 percent of our undergraduates study abroad. To grow that number we need to provide more summer study options like Leadership London, since studying abroad for a whole semester is not always an option for students.”

While excited about just being in London, Bates said she can also see the long-term benefits from participating in the program. “I think it will be really attractive to future employers and give me a definite heads up amongst many of my peers.”

In one week...

2009-06-26T10:43:00.000-04:00

In one week, I will be in route to London! This is my first transatlantic flight, and I am crossing my fingers for a window seat (or nice seat partner) so I can have a view like this flickr photo.

I cannot believe that it is only seven days away... those seven days are going to be filled with:

Reading: The 2009 Rick Steves London guidebook is all mine thanks to my travel savvy grandparents. Another resource for travel ideas has been the library. I have been a frequent visitor and have checked out other London guides (Frommer's is a favorite of my mom's) and also travel DVDs (Rick Steves and Samantha Brown are entertaining and informative).

Packing: On normal trips, I bet I could fill this flickr photo of suitcases with all of my stuff. But this trip, I will plan and pack like a seasoned traveler! Professor Williams gave us guidelines and packing tips that I will be poring over to ensure I cover everything but nothing extra.

The final countdown is on!

2009-06-18T14:07:00.001-04:00

Leadership London Meeting Places
Leadership London Students, here are the locations we'll be meeting throughout London as we make our class-related site visits. Enjoy. This will help you once we're in London and should get you even more excited about the trip!

View Leadership London Meeting Places in a larger map