Protests, Victoria and Albert

On Friday, we had a meeting with the FIE people, which was a bit boring. We also probably did some other things, but I can't really remember. 

Over the weekend, we had a free day on Saturday, where we went downtown for a while in the freezing cold. It was seriously below freezing, and we all quickly came home. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, and the Thames. Briefly, of course. That night, we enjoyed a few drinks down at the pub, the Gloucester Arms.

There were massive protests right outside our flat, over the Israeli bombing of Gaza. It was intense, and highly uncomfortable to be an America walking through the crowd. Many of them blamed America for supporting Israel, as well as Israel. Many kids weren't allowed through for several hours, though the group I was with had perfect timing, so we left soon after it started and got back right before they  brought in the cavalry (no joke, they did actually sweep the streets with cavalry). A couple police officers were injured, and one was knocked unconscious. 

Just to give you an idea of how close we actually were: we could see the unconscious police officer right out our window.  They also knocked out a few windows from the shops down the street, including a Starbucks, which of course, was the one to get international press. The Israeli embassy is right down our street, and is entirely blocked off with bobbies out in front all the time.

Sunday morning, we  had a walking tour of the area. Turns out we're technically across the street from Kensington Gardens, as Kensington Palace is less than a mile from our place. Hyde Park is right next door, and they sort of connect to each other. We walked through the Park, to the Diana Memorial (described by our guide as a 'glorified moat'). We also went around Kensington, and saw the place where the riots had been. 

In the afternoon, we had a guided bus tour of London, were we saw the sights and got out at Buckingham Palace and near Tower Bridge. It was pretty run-of-the-mill, though the guide was a really amusing 50-ish lady with purple hair. 

School started Monday, I'll post later.

I went to the Victoria and Albert today with two other kids on the trip. That place has so much packed into it, you cannot do it in one trip. We saw the medieval casts of effigies and doors and archways, jewelry, silver, painting, and tapestry. For some strange reason, the tapestry room smelled terrible! So we only spent a bit of time in there. 

We'll go back in the future for sculpture, iron work, Asian art, and tons more. 

Woo! Packed days!