Shout out to Carol

Hey there Carol,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you! We miss you. Hope you are feeling better and that you can come home soon!

Cecilia

Abbey Road

One of our first days in London, a group of us took a trip see the most famous crosswalk in the entire world. I am talking of course about the crosswalk at Abbey Road, where The Beatles had their picture taken walking across the road. This picture was made into the album cover of one of their last albums, also titled "Abbey Road" and was released in 1969. "Abbey Road" became the most successful Beatles album, debuting in the UK at #1.

We took the tubes straight to the stop where Abbey Road is and it was a 10 minute walk from there. When we first got there we didn't even know which crosswalk it was. It looked nothing like it did on the album cover, but of course that's because 1. it was Winter and the original picture was taken in the Summer and 2. because the original picture was taken almost 40 years ago.

It took Brian Peters and myself 20 minutes to get two good pictures each walking across the crosswalk because of the heavy traffic. We still got the shots and proceeded to check out the famous Abbey Road Studio which you can see in the background of this picture. This studio is where the Beatles recorded almost all of their albums 50 years ago.




There is a white wall in front of the Abbey Road Studio covered in graffiti, song lyrics, and signatures and the dates they wrote them all, which I read later is encouraged. However the one thing that surprised all of us is that this wall had no date before Christmas of this past year. Meaning, this wall is whitewashed every few weeks. We found this amazing because the whole entire wall was covered in writing. As you can see, the entire wall is filled after only being whitewashed blank barely 2 weeks earlier. Here is some pictures of the signatures that were present on the wall.













The Abbey Road Studio doesn't grant access but I was able to take a picture from outside of it after walking through the graffiti gate. Overall this was a really cool experience to take the pilgrimage that many thousands of Beatles fans have taken over the years and to walk across the same crosswalk the Beatles once did, as well as other famous bands and singers such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Green Day, Pink, and Wings to name a few.

-Sean Haddad (Danbury, CT)

Life Lessons

So, one of the most important warnings we recieved before we left for our trip was, "Beware of the pick-pockets!" I unfourtunatley learned first hand at how swift some Europeans can be. To set my story staight, I didn't get mugged. It all started the night we saw Chicago. After the show, a few friends and I walked thought the Leicester Square area to China town and stumbled upon a bar/night club called O'neils. We had heard that other people from the trip had already been, so we decided to check it out. Upstairs we found a lively bar atmosphere with a live band playing American songs and a crowded dance floor. First things first, we went to check our coats and along with it I checked by purse aswell. I realize now that this was a stupid move in itself (handing over my belongings to a complete stranger) but this is besides the point. We paid the lady, recieved our ticket numbers, and headed to the bar for the first of many 3lbs drafts.

As the night progressed, I carelessly misplaced my ticket numbers for my coat and purse so I decided to head to the counter to straighten things up before the rush at the end of the night. I told her how I lost my number, and after giving me some trouble for it, I was able to pursuade her to find my pusre on the ground, look up my ID, and hand it over. Now I was stuck lugging around a chuncky purse. I skeptically decided to set my purse down near the stage where I saw many other unwanted coats and such so figured it would be okay, we would be leaving soon anyway. For the next hour or so, I checked on it periodically between dancing and getting some drinks from the bar. Unfourtunately, after my last drink of the night, I went to get it and it was gone, along with its contents: my camera, cell phone, atm/credit cards, ID, and some money.

All I can say is lesson learned. At first I was pretty shook up by it but now I realize I really didn't lose all that much. In fact, I gained a very valuable life lesson and an experience that I will never forget.
-Colleen Scanlon

Warwick Castle

It seemed as if I had climbed over 1,000 winding stairs to the high towers of Warwick Castle. As I reached the top step of the tallest tower, I caught my breath and looked through the fog at the entire compound and the city beyond. As I looked at the elaborate layout of the castle, it was hard to believe that it was built almost 1,000 years ago! All of the rooms, towers, and stairs were still in tact and open for touring. The view from the tower was beautiful, despite my fear of heights. As we made our way down another set of spiral stairs, we found ourselves in various rooms. After seeing many rooms filled with wax figures, I was startled when a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes greeted me; I thought she was wax! Besides the many dark rooms, the towers, and the prisoners' dungeon, I also enjoyed the grounds in general. There was a beautiful conservatory and dozens of peacocks roaming the gardens. We were able to get within inches of them to take pictures. Despite the long bus ride and the many stairs climbed, the Warwick Castle was a great place to visit with such an interesting history.
-Mallory Rousseau

"it's a love story, baby just say yes"

Big Ben. Enough said.










Royal Albert Hall. A group of us went to see Cirque du Soleil Quidam here. The show was amazing, even from our nose bleed seats at the top.









Our entire group went to see Chicago while in London. I'm not one for musicals, but it was a good show if you like that sort of thing.

We went to the Louvre and saw the Venus de Milo.

One of the only days we actually saw the sun. This is the view of the Eiffel Tour during the day. Gorgeous.

Our last night in Paris :(. Dinner cruise was lots of fun, especially with the view we had from the Seine River.

This experience is one that will last a lifetime! I made friends with people I might not have had I not had this opportunity. Memories & friendships to last forever!

~Janna Silva

Cirque Du Soleil Quidam

While in London, my friends and I decided to see one of the famous Cirque Du Soleil shows called Quidam. As described by their website :

"Quidam: a nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past. It could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming, going, living in our anonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. The one who cries out, sings and dreams within us all. This is the "quidam" that Cirque du Soleil is celebrating.

A young girl fumes; she has already seen everything there is to see, and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her little world, and she finds herself in the universe of Quidam. She is joined by a joyful companion as well as another character, more mysterious, who will attempt to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling, and the terrifying."

The show itself was absolutely unbelievable. I couldn't believe some of the things those performers were able to do with their bodies. The show had everything from contortionists to acrobatics. What I thought was especially interesting is the age range of performers. The cast ranged from young children to fairly old adults. One of the best acts was a group of four girls who could not have been older than ten years old. They did this really engaging act involving jump ropes and wooden blocks. I can't even begin to explain some of the things those little girls were able to do with such common objects. Another great act was the body throwers. At one point there were about six or seven people standing on one persons' shoulders and then they would jump onto a different tower of people. It was unreal. Although I really enjoyed the show, I found it difficult to follow the story line...it was a little odd, to say the least. All in all though it was a great show and I am glad we were able to see it, especially since we went to the premier showing!


the stage from our seats

-Steve Alibrandi (Braintree, MA)

Chicago

On one of the last nights in London we all were able to see the show Chicago! The experience was very amazing and fun. The theater was in a great location with many shops and resturants around in which we all got to enjoy. Since London is known for their great Indian food I decided to try it out (not that great- but im a picky eater ;-) ). This part of town was just upbeat and fun with many friendly people.

Once the show started I felt a bit at home since the actors didnt have a british accent and it does take place in America. The musical was just more than I had imagined, upbeat, funny, and mesmorizing. The actors were believable and the costumes added alot to the part (all of which were a bit scandalous). For the most part the songs were sung flawlessly and you could tell they all enjoyed what they were doing. I felt as if I was part of the show instead of just watching the show. Not to mention we had third row seats in the center!! This was one of my many favorite parts on the Lodon/Paris trip.