.BLOG GOT A MAKEOVER.
Thursday and Friday proved to be a bit hectic at the school. A government organization called Ofsted popped in on a surprise visit to evaluate the school based on lesson plans, teaching methods, and even private student interviews. This put the school in a frenzy as teachers prepared for their visit. That meant lots of lesson revamps, grading, organization, and panic. There obviously isn't anything like this in the States, so it was interesting to watch everything play out. School evaluations like this are done roughly every three years and the school is awarded a 'ranking' of less than satisfactory, good, and outstanding. Long Eaton has been 'outstanding' for the past six years so it was a lot of pressure for the teachers to keep the status.
We managed to escape getting observed by the gentlemen in suits, but it was funny to watch everyone be ducks. (Calm and collected above water, but frantically trying to stay a float under water.) Needless to say there was much rejoicing at 3:00 Friday with a celebratory night at the pub for all the teachers. We had our own reasons for rejoicing as we were catching a train to London.
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| Muswell Hill Highstreet |
Upon arrival in London we visited Katie's home town of Muswell Hill and Natalie enjoyed her first proper fish and chips, at none other than Toff's, a famous restaurant in North London.
We were then very generously taken in by family friends of Katie, The Whiteheads. They were running their own B&B it seemed and we were so grateful for their hospitality. (Thank you so much again, if you're reading this.) We really should've taken a picture, but in the rush of our activities, it slipped by.
That night we went out for a walk to Ally Pally, a large palace on the top of Muswell Hill that has a great view out over the city of London. Easily the best spot in London. Photoshoot followed.
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| Ally Pally |
Saturday we woke with the rain and started our day off by taking the tube into London, about a 30 minute ride from where we were. We're quite experienced tube-riders at this point. Getting off the tube we came out at Buckingham Palace, just in time for the Changing of the Guards. We were amazed at how many wet tourists put up with cold and wind to see those furry black hats.
We walked down the Mall towards Trafalgar Square. Took some pictures with some giant lions. Laughed at some soggy pigeons. And witnessed some spandex clad bike parade promoting safe riding on London streets.
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| Buckingham Palace |
Walked over towards Parliament and heard Big Ben chime once, for 1 o'clock. Saw Westminster Abbey, where the fab Kate and Will were wed. (Anniversary yesterday!) We braved the horizontal wind across Waterloo Bridge and walked down the Thames toward to Tate Modern (Free). We hesitated on going on the Eye, but then realized it was 30 pounds. Nope.
The Tate Modern was lovely featuring a Damien Hirst exhibit and tons of great art. We collected some post cards for our future art classroom. Highlight: Afternoon tea on the top floor of the Tate. Included: Scones with clotted cream and jam, and Earl Grey Tea. We sat with a great view of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge.
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| The Tate Modern |
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| View from the cafe in the Tate |
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| Tea and Scones |
We whizzed by the Globe theatre (Shakespeare) and then across the Millennium Bridge (famous from Harry Potter) to make it for the Even Song service at St. Paul's. (Free entry). We're glad we got to experience that because the choir was extraordinary and the architecture rivaled that of Notre Dame. (See Paris post).
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| The Millennium Bridge |
Our day ended at Covent Garden, where we ate an excellent, hot out of the oven, triple chocolate chip cookie. Why not? Ben's Cookies. Recommended by a friend. Stuffed, but still couldn't stop eating, we topped it off with Paella from a gourmet food stand serving hot paella in the middle of the market. We watched a few performers, and did a bit of window shopping before heading home. We're not really keen on the new fashion look of bum-revealing-daisy-duke-denims and tights that so many of the girls are wearing. Keep an eye out, because I'm sure it'll reach America before too long.
At this point our leather boots were filled with water and squishy, having walked in the rain for about eight hours. Our pruney toes were ready for some heat when we got back to the house in North London.
We got up early for worship Sunday morning and had a good service with the Christians meeting there at Katie's old church. It was lovely to see them again for a second time, but certainly hard to say goodbye.
By the time worship had finished Pizza Express was calling our name.
The three hour train ride back to Long Eaton was a killer, but we made it home safe.
Another whirlwind weekend checked off the list.
Much love,
N&K.
