British Landscape Field Trip #4: Coventry!

For our fourth, and final, British Landscape field trip, SCIO headed to Coventry. Beforehand, we learned about the Coventry Blitz during WWII, heard about the different places to visit, and of course, talked about Lady Godiva.

We got dropped off, walked to Holy Trinity Church together, and looked around. Here's some picture highlights:

This is a famous doom painting.

Next we walked to Coventry Cathedral through the ruins of the old cathedral.

Here's the old ruins.

After the blitz, someone found these two pieces of wood fallen in the shape of a cross. It became a sign of hope for Coventry.

The thing in the cross that is barely visible is the cross of nails, made of nails from the Cathedral.

Just an awesome window in the new Cathedral.

St. Michael and the Devil, our emergency meeting point. (Our leader told us we were meeting by the Devil, apparently not by St. Michael...)

"Father Forgive." (This is where the charred cross stood; this is a replica.)

Me in the Cathedral.

Inside St. Mary's Guildhall.

The Golden Cross Inn. I don't know if I'd like to go on the top floor.

Inside a Museum about the Blitz.

A gatehouse in a garden.

Lady Godiva's statue. Her husband was going to raise taxes, but told her that if she rode through town naked, he wouldn't raise them. She did so, and everyone turned their eyes, except a guy named Tom, which is where "Peeping Tom" came from.

"Self-Sacrifice"

Ford's Hospital.

It is still in use!

The Cathedral on our walk out.

Five out of seven of our food group on the bus ride back. Oh, how I'm going to miss these weirdos... 

The day was fun, but exhausting! I had a fun time traveling for British Landscapes, and am kind of sad that it is over. No more field trips with SCIO! We'll just have to find our own times to travel.

British Landscape Field Trip #3: Portchester and Portsmouth

For our third British Landscape field trip, my program went to the lovely town of Portchester and Portsmouth, to see Portchester Castle and the Historic Dockyard (and HMS Victory). The day before, we learned all about the two places, with a history of Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. Here's a few pictures!

Portchester Castle. The walls are still there from the Romans.

We climbed up the Keep. This was the view from the top (with the 1500 view pictured).

The sea was beautiful!

Leaving the castle ruins.

The bridge/moat (with Rachel creeping up).

There was also a church on the grounds. St. Mary's Parish Church Portchester.

Black and White of the dock.

Next stop: Dockyard. 

The HMS Victory, which we went aboard.

Horatio Nelson, the famous seafaring man, who died during the Battle of Trafalgar, was packed in a barrel with brine, and preserved until they reached shore.

Aboard the HMS Victory.

The 1995 film Persuasion was filmed on this deck.

Friends!

Original Cannon.

We also saw the Mary Rose, recently taken up from the bottom of the ocean, and currently being dried out.

The day was fun (cold, but...), and I learned a lot about the history of Britain's navy. It's always interesting to hear about another culture and another country's history. When our professor asked who had heard of Horatio Nelson, almost none of us had. Apparently he's a household name in Britain. I'm always learning something new!

British Landscape Field Trip #2: Hampton Court Palace

For my program's second field trip, we went to Hampton Court Palace. The palace was beautiful, the grounds were beautiful, and then it rained. Luckily, it wasn't until after we had seen the gardens (for the most part). The Palace was built by Cardinal Wosley, and used by Henry VIII (with his multiple wives). Here's some pictures of my day:

The Fountain Court. This fountain used to have wine flowing out of it.

The King's Chocolate. I tried some and it was disgusting! It was too spicy for my liking.

We even met Henry VIII. He was fascinated by us female scholars from the Spanish Colonies, as the US was known.

Perhaps my favorite place in the Palace!

The ceiling of the Great Hall.

The Queen's Staircase.

Astronomical Clock.

Guns. Guns everywhere. And knives. Who knew they could be decorations?

The Gallery, where Alexandra and I were tempted to waltz into.

My favorite place again.

The King's Loo!

As Oxford Scholars, we had to recreate the statues. I mean, isn't that what scholars do?

The view from the Gardens.

And again.

There were lots of beautiful gardens behind the Palace.

Self-explanatory.

As we were waiting for our group, we decided to take some pictures with the statues around the Fountain Court.

These are 20th century recreations, but I loved the entrance statues! One of them (not these two) is a lion with his tongue stuck out. 

It was a fun trip, besides the rain, and I learned a lot about Henry VIII and his wives. As a creepy voice behind the stairwell kept saying as we walked through:

"Divorced, Beheaded, Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived." 

A little rhyme to remember Henry VIII wives and how he got them out of his life.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip. Next up: Portchester!