Matt (official post)

Well it has been another beautiful day here in England! The weather today was a wonderful 12 degrees Celsius. Today we went to Clifford's tower, DIG Hungate, DIG, Jorvik Viking Center, and we had High tea. I am going to talk about DIG, which is an interactive center with a lot of hands on learning, the Jorvik Viking Center, and High tea. At the DIG the group got to dig in fake archeological dig sites. There were four of them each with a particular time period and the relating artifacts related to that time period. The group then moved over to a table where we got to try and identify bones and sort items out into what they were. We all then looked around their museum. After we left the DIG the group headed off to Jorvik Viking Center. We walked around town for a little bit because we were early for our reservations. When we met back up we went down into their exhibit where the floor was glass and there was a recreation of an excavated ruins of a Viking settlement. There were maps to find different things in the ruins and different visual and video information stations giving the group a little bit of the history of the settlement and the Vikings. The Group then got to ride on a suspended carriage (kind of like a roller coster track with no drops or twists) which gave us a tour through a recreation of a Viking village that had animatronic people dressed like Vikings. They were almost life like. A recording gave us a tour while explaining the history and interacting with the animatronic Vikings. When the ride was finished it brought us to their museum where they had actual artifacts out on display. After we left the Viking Center the group went off to have High tea. We went to a fancy place called Betty's. It was very fancy. We were served our meals on a plate tower. The bottom plate had the sandwiches which were small, the next plate had a scone with cream and jam, and the third had a fruit tart, a biscuit(a cookie), and a lemon desert. The tea was very good and was served by the pot. The group then went back to the hostel and relaxed, played card games, and wrote in our journals. It was a great day indeed. Tomorrow the group is going to see Fountains Abby!!

Until next time everyone,

Matt

Unofficial post - Pictures of Teatime, Clifford's Tower, and the DIG

We now have pictoral proof of our ventures about York...we had a busy day today. We visited Clifford's tower this morning (see other official blog posts for details), then explored the profession of an archeologist at the DIG museum, where we got to see a real digging site. The picture shows us at model digging sites where we dug up models of artifacts actually found recently in York. VERY COOL. For dinner, we had high tea at Betty's, which was a big deal. I overheard an English woman saying that one couldn't visit York without going to Betty's. So, we got a very legit. experience :) Enjoy the pictures, more to come.

Karen

Dig, Dig, Dig

So this morning went by without any Acts of God, at least that we know about. We started out with breakfast and then continued on to walk to Clifford Tower, which is what is left of the York Castle. It was small, but still interesting, especially when we walked around the top of the tower. The view was fantastic, although it was not as good as a view as from the top of the York Minster Tower. After we were all finished looking around and having foam sword fights with swords from the gift shop we headed on our way to the Jorvik Dig museum/tour. When we first got there we met our guide, Jennifer, and she took us to the actual dig that is currently going on now, which is all from the Viking era. They have found many different 'little' things and foundations to buildings, which were made out of wood. Two of the more interesting little things was the communal toilet seat, it had six spots, and the curse stone. The curse stone was used to put a curse on someone but writing something bad that should happen to them and then putting it back into the wall with the writing on the inside. The archaeologists also found a stone foundation, but are unsure what it is at this point in time. After seeing the dig sight we went to lunch, which was on our own, and this was when many of us got our people watching done, there are many differences that we saw compared to home. After lunch we got went back to the Dig Museum and got a tour of that. We did a 'dig' and got to look around. Matt will have more for you on the Museum and on the rest of our day!

Courtney

A Series of Unfortunate Events...and a Big Hill (official post 2)

Hi everyone, Mandy here to continue the day.

After Rievaulx Abbey and lunch we headed to Helmsley Castle where we took an audio tour of the ruins. We each took our own time to explore. It was very impressive with the hill it was on and the bridges we had to cross to enter. The house part was the only part we could really go into because they had some cool exhibits set up in there. I found the keys the most fun. And they also had to basement type things we could go into and they were dark but very fun. After we all finished we got on the bus to head to Pickering Castle where our luck continued. It was closed. So we walked the path around it and at the end we broke from the path and had to climb a hill so steep I had to use my hands to help, but it was fun making it up because of all the encouraging going on for all that were struggling.

So because we couldn't go to that one either when we got back to York we walked the wall, which was a short trip with some pretty views. Then we went to buy food for us to make tonight. We all had spaghetti and had a blast and now we have all broken up to do our own things.

Talk to you later from the UK.

Traveling Outside of York "Official Post"

Hello everyone,

Today was the first day we traveled outside of York. We woke up this morning and had a wonderful breakfast at the hostel again. After that, we met Ian, our bus driver, loaded the bus and headed north out of the city. Our first stop was Mount Grace Priory. Upon arrival at this ancient monument, we discovered that we were lack of luck streak continued. There was a slight mix up of when the priory was open and today happened to be the day when it was closed. We did not let this stop our adventures though.

We moved on to Rievaulx Abbey. Once there, Karen gave us a wonderful tour of the Abbey ruins. She pointed out the different areas, such as the choir with its large decorative arches, the cloister and chapter house the monks used. We explored the ruins examining the kitchens, dining area, and infirmary. Some of us even found the lavatory area.

Afterwards the class explored the museum, learning about different descriptions of the monks and what they did. Some members of the class enjoyed the hands on tasks, such as building puzzles.

The countryside surrounding the Abbey gave the class chances to take pictures with sheep and miniature horses. After all of the exploration, we ate lunch at the Abbey cafe, then loaded the bus to head to our next sight.

The day continued, which Mandy will write about.

-Talk to everyone soon, Nicole

Blogging Continues in this official post!!

Well as I'm sure you're aware, this it the second official day for blogging. I'm KC (or Kaitlyn) and I will be your hostess for this posting. To start off the day, we sat down to a very fulling meal filled with pastries, fruit, meat and the famous black pudding and English breakfast tea. Now for those of you who don't know what black pudding is... I don't really know either. But quoted words from Andrew (last poster), it tastes a lot like sausage but looks black.

Anyways, after breakfast we walked the streets of York, heading in the direction of York Minster. Such a fascinating building with the Gothic architecture - meaning the pointed archways and flying buttresses. Majority of the morning was spent within the Minster, getting a tour of the famous church.

What I found really interesting was the stories of the glass windows. Did you know that yellow is the only stain of glass to soak into the glass? It's true! Anyways, we continued to tour the church, gazing with wonder-filled eyes at the ceiling and detail in the cravings.

After the Minster, we were set loose upon the city of York. Majority of us just wondered around, looking into the shops and buying a few things at a local market. Oh, I also found the most AMAZING chocolate shop where I found truffles and bars - long story short, it was awesome.

We then met our Professor (Dr.L) outside the Cat Gallery. :D She then took us to Barley Hall where we learned about the construction of a medieval house. One part that was my favorite was the great hall where we sat in the seats of the masters and mistresses. I was Lady Snawsell, the wife of Lord William Snawsell (aka, Sondra). I think the names of everyone are going to stick, especially Andrew being the Nun, Amanda the Monk and Matt the pot-boy. (Don't ask).

The tour was filled with history, education, laughs and memories. We were then returned to the Minster to attend a Psalm. The experience was definitely a treasured one along with the Ghost Walk of York. That was also filled with history and ghost stories to entertain all ages while walking around the historic city of York.

I suppose that wraps up the day. Hope the weather is nice where you are reading from and have a wonderful day/night.

~KC

A Long Day of Travels (Official Post)

Hello friends and family of everyone following our journeys. First and foremost, we have all arrived at the York hostel. However, it took us longer than what was planned.

We left Cedar Rapids on time but we had a five hour delay in Chicago. Apparently, the plane we were going to board had some type of mechanical problem. This meant we had to wait for a plane coming in from London to take us to England. The silver lining was that the plane we took was bigger and easier to sleep on.

We arrived in Manchester around noon today and then we took a train to York. I personally enjoy traveling by train.. It is a great way to look at the landscape of the country while traveling at a fairly good clip.

Once we arrived in York, we took a walking tour of the city to gain an idea of where everything is. York is a lovely town. I love all the walking trails and the architecture of the buildings. It is definitely different from the States for sure.

For dinner we ate an Indian dinner at the Gates of India at the Old Grey Mare Inn. Let's just say the dinner was a learning experience and at least I can say I tired it.

I think I speak for the entire class in that tonight is going to be a good night to relax and sleep!

Tomorrow we tour some of the popular sights of York.

Andrew Bridgewater

Fellow Travelers

Here's the group (with Dancing St. Francis), overjoyed that they will be departing soon.  Three days to go until departure.

Thomas Howell

Hello everyone! My name is Thomas Howell. I am a Freshman at Wartburg College joining the trip to England this May. I amHello everyone! My name is Thomas Howell. I am a Freshman at Wartburg College joining the trip to England this May. I am very excited to go out of the country because I have never been. Especially to England because I watch the B.B.C. a lot. I am excited to check out all of the awesome castles and cathedrals as well because I am huge into history and to learn about English history would be amazing. I am nervous about leaving the country but also super excited! very excited to go out of the country because I have never been. Especially to England because I watch the B.B.C. a lot. I am excited to check out all of the awesome castles and cathedrals as well because I am huge into history and to learn about English history would be amazing. I am nervous about leaving the country but also super excited!

Matthew's "Official Post"

Hello Everyone,
My name is Matt and this is not my first time out time out of the country but it is my first time going to England and Wales. Before I have been to Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. I have also done a lot of traveling within the United States. Although I have done all of this traveling I have yet to see a castle or monastery so that is one thing I am most looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to going to London for the first time. I live close to Chicago and enjoy going down there on day trips so I'm really excited for my day trip(s) to London. While I'm there I hope to see a lot of Harry potter sites as well. My girlfriend and I are big fans and can not wait to see the "tourist" sites and not just harry Potter ones. At the end of the trip I hope to have seen and learned a lot about many different subjects from the theme of the course and outside of the theme.
Until next time,
Matt