Travel Itinerary and Budget Analysis

Link to Budget Analysis:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsZ692V8EOvddGxUOVFTSWl4czFuTmVRWWg3Z0ZTeHc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

Link to Travel Itinerary:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n2WaPzcrSjJfOcu7fJkxeQoDi9pVswlJ_-OOGWaYSvg/edit

Day 13- December 27

Today is our last day in England, so we woke up a little earlier so that we would have enough time to pack up and sit down to have our last breakfast at the hotels breakfast buffet.  Once we finished packing up and checking out of the hotel we took a taxi to the airport.

We got there around 10:20 so that it would leave us enough time to get our bags checked and everything situated for our flight back home.  We loaded the plane and took off at 11:40.  On the plane both  Rebecca and Mary Beth slept while Maya, Sydney and I  took airplane selfies and watched movies.  Once Rebecca and Mary Beth woke up we were all hungry so we all ate lunch together.  Our flight didn't return home until 3:45 p.m.


As soon as we landed we greeted all our friends and told them about our days in England.  We shared all of the places we visited and what we did.  We also told them that they should join us next time we visit England because its such a great experience and it's so much different from the United States of America due to the colder weather, tourist sites,and even the language.  England in our opinion is so much prettier and there is so much more fun and activities to keep people entertained.  We mentioned how its a relaxing romantic getaway and a very nice place to spend vacationing in both the winter or summer.  We also included that it would be an educational and fun way on learning new cultures which include different holidays, food, and hobbies.


We are so happy to be home since we were gone for so long, but we all  still miss England and all the fun we had traveling and spending time with each other.

- Zoë

Day 12- December 26

Today is December 26 which is the day after Christmas; in the UK, today is Boxing Day. Boxing Day is a day that is almost like a second Christmas.Tradesmen and servants would get presents from their employers, in the past. Today, Boxing Day is a national bank holiday or national holiday. In the UK, Australia, and Canada, it is a day for shopping! It's is like the American Black Friday where most stores have dramatic price changes and sales.

Boxing Day is also similar to our Thanksgiving because of sports. Rugby is very popular in England, Wales, and Scotland and there are multiple matches played and shown on the television. Ice hockey also has its time in the spotlight on Boxing Day as well. Several games are played and multiple championships like the IIHF World U20 Championship.

Since we only had one more day in England, we decided to have a day of fun! We went to Cadbury World in Bournville, Birmingham. We got there by train and the cost to get there was $17.98. The cost to get back was $14.71.
Cadbury World is an amusement park focused on chocolate! We tried some and it is the best chocolate I've ever had. We rode the mini roller coaster which was really for little kids but it was still fun! I would definitely recommend Cadbury World. It is extremely family friendly and a lot of fun!

-Rebecca

Day 11- Wednesday, December 25

Today is Christmas Day! We woke up at 9 am and went to the Balthazar restaurant which is in central London. This was a great Christmas breakfast! They had all kinds of breakfast foods and we had a nice time with each other. After breakfast we went back to the hotel to open our gifts that we got each other. We all loved the presents! By the time we finished all of that is was already 11:30. We went out to the streets of London and everything was so beautiful! The lights and Christmas decorations were amazing.
We then decided to go ice skating in one of London's many outdoor rinks. It was located at the London eye on the South Bank. It was beautiful! By the time we finished ice skating it was already 3:30. We decided to have an early dinner since it is Christmas and we didn't have lunch.

We went to dinner at a fancy restaurant called Greig's. It was perfect for Christmas dinner and they had great food! We were there for about two hours so by the time we left it was already about six. Since we had a long week and the trip was winding down we decide to go see a movie to relax. When the movie was over we went back to hotel.



Ice Skating in front of the London Eye

When we were back at the hotel we were talking about how great London was so far! We definitely would recommend for other tourists to go to London during Christmas time! London is truly spectacular at any time of the year but during Christmas time there is something truly magical about it.  There is so much to do and so much to see and going during Christmas just makes it that much more amazing!  London is beautiful during Christmas time and is an excellent place for tourists, from any country to visit during the Christmas season!

 We had a great Christmas day in London. It is a Christmas we will never forget!

- Mary Beth

Day 10- Tuesday, December 24

Today is Christmas Eve! We wanted to go to Windsor Castle today, so we woke up at about nine this morning and ate breakfast at out hotel. Then we walked to Waterloo Station, the closest train station to the hotel. It was only about a ten minute walk. The station was huge!

 The inside was very busy and crowded. We were able to get tickets for the 10:45 train, so we had to wait for about 30 minutes. The tickets were only about $24. We just got some donuts and magazines to pass the time. We boarded the train at about 10:40 and left right on time. The ride was pretty long, just over an hour and a half. Once we got there, it was already after noon so we decided to stop for lunch before we went into Windsor Castle.

 The castle was only about a five minute walk from the train station and there were tons of places on the way to the castle. We stopped at this cute little place called Nando's. They were a Portuguese chain restaurant that served chicken, and it was delicious! We went to the ticket box for Windsor Castle and got our tickets and got audio tours. There was a little bit of a hike up to Windsor from the ticket office, but there was such a great view! You could see the actual castle perfectly. 

Windsor castle is the royal family's "second home" (the first being Buckingham Palace). It was built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror. The royal family has been living in it since Henry I and it has been occupied the longest out of any European castle. 

There is so much to see at Windsor Castle! The queen 

reside there, though, so you can't go to all parts of the castle. You can go to St. George's Chapel, which was founded in 1348 by Kind Henry III. You can see the Grand Staircase and Royal Vestibule. There are so many rooms from the past kings and queens that you can walk through. 

Grand Staircase

Our personal favorite was Queen Mary's Doll House. It was a doll house built in the early 1920's for Queen Mary. It was a gift for her and the original idea came from her cousin, Princess Marie Louise. The princess had many connections and because of that, the dollhouse has many features such as running water and electricity. The house is made to show how the royal family would have lived at this time. Many things in the doll house are replicas of things in Windsor Castle, and the whole house is built to scale (one inch to one foot). It was beautiful and so interesting to look at! The details were incredible. There was even toilet paper in the bathrooms!

By the time we were finished with Windsor Castle it was dinner time. On the way back to the train station we stopped at The Crooked House of Windsor, or The Market Cross House. It is called the Crooked House because it is in fact crooked. 

We decided to go look around at some of the shops at Windsor. We ended up buying tons of postcards and key chains for souvenirs. 

Then we made our way back to the train station and went back to our hotel. Today was a great day in Windsor!

-Sydney

Day 9: Monday, December 23

Today we woke up at 8:00 a.m., and went down to have breakfast at the hotel. While we were eating we discussed all of the things we still wanted to before we left. We decided that one of the places we wanted to visit before we left was Hampton Court. We had all heard that it was a real nice place to spend the day and that visiting the gardens were a must do. We left the hotel 9:30 and headed to the train station to get to Hampton. The train picked us up at 10:05 and on our hour long trip we played on our phones and wrote about everything we had done so far in England to make the time go by faster.

When we arrived at Hampton Court we went to the Great Hall, a room with a  beautiful hammer- beam roof and walls that are hung with Henry VIII's best tapestries. After we finished viewing the amazing art in the Great Hall we wanted to do something that we did not get to do often so we decided to go to Hapton's world famous maze.

 The maze covers a third of an acre and contains half a mile paths. Before we went in we were told to try to stay together as much as possible so that one person does not get lost. We stayed together for about the first five minutes and then we turned it into a race to see who could get to the finish first. Of course we all went different ways trying to see which way was the fastest. After about thirty minutes I get completely lost and have no idea where I am and I get a call from Zoe saying that her, and Marybeth had already finished the maze and were waiting for us at the end. About an hour later I was still lost and had no idea where I was when I got another call from Zoe saying Rebecca had just finished and they were starting to get bored waiting for us. Then I tried really hard to find the finish and get there before Sydney. I finally found the end and was so relieved when Sydney dashed past me towards the finish. I chased after her as fast as I could but there was no way I could have caught up to her

By the time we all finished the maze it was about 1:00 and we were all starving. We decided to go to Tiltyard Cafe to have lunch. While we were there we talked about our experience in the maze and all laughed at how long it took Sydney and I to finish. After we all finished eating, we went to see the Hampton Gardens. The gardens are a total of sixty acres with pretty flowers, plants and wildlife. It was absolutely beautiful! There were a bunch of amazing fountains, and lime colored trees forming an arch to walk under. While we were walking we saw a family of deer all huddled close for protection and it made the garden even more amazing!

When we were done at the gardens we all decided that it was a good time to start heading home. We all slept on the train ride back because the whole day had been exhausting. When we finally got back to the hotel we went and had dinner and went to bed.

--Maya Meurling

Day 8- Sunday, December 22

Today is December 22 and since Christmas is three days away we decided to go shopping for presents for each other. We went to Harrods and explored. Harrods was founded in 1834. Harrods fills 5-acres of land and is almost over one million square feet. Every store that we went to in Harrods was too expensive for our budget but it was so much fun to look around! We saw tons of cool things. There were scarves for almost $300!! Way too expensive for our budget but they were so beautiful we each had to buy one! There was even an entire Disney store that had costumes that look exactly like the Disney princesses! There was a Santa that we took our pictures with too. Harrods was so much fun 

but I wish we could have stayed longer or bought something!

After our long shopping day, we went to dinner. The Hard Rock café was within walking distance of where we were. The London Hard Rock Café is the original Hard Rock Café from all over the world. It was opened in 1971. Eric Clapton loved eating at the restaurant so he gave them a guitar and they put it up on the wall. Then a week later, the lead guitarist from The Who gave them their guitar as well. Today, there are more than 70,000 guitars, drums, other instruments, and rock memorabilia at over 163 Hard Rock Cafes around the world!

Since we didn't buy anything at Harrods, we went shopping somewhere else for Christmas presents.  I bought a souvenir snow globe that has all of London in it. I bought Sydney and Maya cheesy London souvenirs. For Mary Beth, I bought an England sweatshirt. Zoe’s present was a phone booth keychain.  

Zoe's present

Mary Beth's present

Sydney and Maya's presents

- Rebecca 

Day 7- Saturday, December 21

Today we woke up at 8:00 am. and we had breakfast at Maria's Market Café. At breakfast we got England's famous, Blood pudding. It can also be called black pudding. Blood pudding is a type of sausage made with animal blood. Many people who read descriptions of it, find it to be not very appeasing. It takes most people some time to get used to it but if someone was raised up on and was eating it their whole life they probably wouldn't mind it. Since it was our first time eating it we didn't enjoy it that much but at least we can say that we tried it!

Stonehenge is beautiful at sunset!

After breakfast we went to Stonehenge. Since Stonehenge is about two hours away we decided to rent a car. By the time we picked up the car it was already 10:30. We drove to Stonehenge, which is located in Wiltshire, and arrived there at about 11:30.

Stonehenge was estimated to be built around 3100 BC. It was built in three phases. The whole project was said to have taken more than thirty million hours of labor. Stonehenge is one of the most prehistoric sites in Britain and it was amazing to be able to visit it.

We toured Stonehenge and after that we went to the Stonehenge store which had many amazing gifts we could pick up! After we visited Stonehenge and the shop it was already about 1:30. It was getting of late so we decided to get some lunch. We got lunch at a restaurant called Charter 1227 Restaurant. It is located in Salisbury which is about 20 minutes away so it wasn't too bad of a drive. Lunch was very good! We were very satisfied after lunch.

By the time we finished eating and were ready to go it was already 3:30. We hopped back in the car and made our way back to London! We arrived back in London at about 4:30. Once we were back in London we returned the rental car and then decided to go back to the hotel and take a 2 hour nap since we had a long day and had to drive far. We woke up at around 6:45 and went back out to get some dinner. Since we had a long day and didn't want to spend too much money we just ordered out pizza and ate it in our hotel room. We rented a movie and had a nice relaxing night!

-Mary Beth

Day 6- Friday, December 20

This morning when we woke up, we had a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel. After we ate, we walked to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. This is the ceremony to change the guards at the queens' palace. There is a parade and hundreds of people show up to watch.

After the Changing of the Guards, we went for a walk to Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square is a landmark in London that many tourists and Londoners go to.  In the middle of Trafalgar Square is Nelson's Column guarded by four large lion statues. Nelson's Column is a monument that commemorates Admiral Horatio Nelson. Admiral Nelson was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar, which was a battle fought by England's Royal Navy against the French and Spanish fleets. This was during the War on the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars. The Battle of Trafalgar was on October 21, 1805. The monument was constructed from 1840-1843 and refurbished in 2006.

After we spent some time in Trafalgar Square, we walked to the British Museum. On the walk, we saw lots of the infamous red telephone booths! We stopped and took pictures "calling" people in them.

 It was only about a twenty minute walk to the museum, and it was really cool to walk around London and see some of the not-so-touristy parts of the city. The outside of the museum was amazing! It was really big and the columns made it look very majestic.

The museum was established in 1753 but wasn't opened to the public until January 15, 1759. It was first opened in the Montagu (or "Montague") House in Bloomsbury, on the same site as the current museum building. Over the past two and a half centuries it has expanded, and now has several branch institutions, such as the British Museum of Natural History in South Kensington. The British Library used to be located at the museum but moved to a different location in 1997.

There were so many amazing artifacts in the museum! Our favorite part of the museum was the Department of Egypt and Sudan. There were so many amazing artifacts! The British Museum has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts besides the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There were lots of large busts of Egyptian kings, queens, gods, and goddesses. What we found to be the coolest artifact though, was the Rosetta Stone.

 

Bust of Amenhotep III                                        Bust of Ramses II 

The Rosetta Stone is a large rock that has Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotics, and Ancient Greek inscribed on it. It has the same thing written in each language. Basically, we understood the Greek writing so we were able to translate the other languages. Without the Rosetta Stone, we would have not been able to understand what hieroglyphs or Demotics said.

Once we went through the museum, we got a taxi back to the hotel, where we ate dinner. After dinner, we decided to go for a walk along the River Thames down to the Millennium Bridge, the only pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the River Thames. The bridge first opened in 2000, but after safety concerns, it went under construction and reopened in 2002. 

At the end of the bridge is St. Paul's Cathedral. Construction for St. Paul's began in 1675 and ended in 1720. It is one of London's most famous churches, and it is beautiful at night.

We then headed back to the hotel. This was by far our most eventful day here in London, and it was so much fun!

-Sydney

Day 5: Thursday, December 19

Today is our fifth day in England and we decided to sleep in a bit because of our busy day yesterday.  Once we woke up we decided to spend the day visiting the Science Museum in London.  We quickly got dressed and headed on downstairs to have the last of the breakfast in the hotel. After eating we took a taxi to the museum.

Once our taxi dropped us off at the London Science Museum we walked in and were then able to join an activity called Cosmos and Culture.  Here we learned how astronomy changed the way we work with and see the universe.  We also explored new scientific concepts and learned how different instruments and tools worked.


After that activity we went to another part of the museum and learned about the technology and medicine in Europe during the 1800's.  We learned about how medicine has always relied on technology.  These types of technology include scalpels, probes, and materia medica. Technology and instruments now-a-days can diagnose and treat the body.
After this activity, which was our last learning activity at the museum we were all hungry again so we walked down to the ground floor to have lunch at one of the museums cafes; Energy Cafe.                                                              
We had such a busy and fun day and we can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!

                     

 -Zoë

Day 4- Wednesday, December 18

Today we woke up at 9  because we had to get an early start so we could  spend the day  at the Twickenham RFU stadium to watch the Oxford vs. Cambridge rugby match at 2:00. 

We all got ready and went down to get breakfast at the hotel and then we got started with our day. By the time we were all cleaned up and ready to go is was 10:30.We knew that the weather conditions were not going to be great and that there was probably going to be some traffic so we decided to leave right away. 

We got stuck in some traffic along the way and we ended up getting to the stadium around 12:00 so we had some extra time to go to the Twickenham history museum before the game.Twickenham Stadium is for rugby which is a big sport in England. Before we took the tour though we decided to go to the World Rugby Museum. This museum was created in 1996 and became the World Rugby Museum in 2007. We visited the Wall of Fame, which was opened by Martin Johnson in 2005. We also learned that the stadium’s construction began 1907 on land that use to be a cabbage patch. After two years of construction Twickenham stadium held their grand opening on October 2nd, 1909. Twickenham stadium has seating for about 12,000 people in the 1900’s to 84,000 people in 2004. Twickenham stadium is the largest dedicated rugby union in the world.

By the time we got food and finished getting ready it was 1:30 so we headed for our seats and got prepared to watch the game. Our view of the field was amazing we were able to see everything that was going on at all times which made the experience of the game a whole much better.  The game lasted for about ninety minutes so by the time we were all packed in the taxi it was 3:45. When we arrived back at the hotel after about another hour and a half in the car we were all exhausted, so we decided to take an hour long nap before dinner. When we woke up we were all still a little tired and we did not want to have to get dressed up for a fancy meal so we decided to eat dinner at the hotel. 
-Maya

Day 3- Tuesday, December 17

We woke up at around 10 am because of the time change. Since we got the package with breakfast served at the hotel we got breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we went out to London to tour some more sites

First we went to the Charles Dickens Museum which is located in London. This is a very historical museum and a big part of London's history. Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He is notable for creating some of the worlds most famous fictional characters. The Charles Dickens Museum is a house that Charles Dickens, himself, lived in. Later it was converted into a museum.We experienced what it would have been like to live there and we learned more about the life and history of Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens Museum

We were starting to get hungry after the museum so we needed to get some lunch to fill us up. We went to The Table Cafe. This cafe was perfect for lunch! It had great food and satisfied us.

After lunch we went to the London Sea Life Aquarium which was magnificent with all the sea creatures and sea animals. It is home to some of Europe's largest amount of sea life. The aquarium holds over 2 million liter of water! There are over 500 species from all over the world that are in the London Sea Life Aquarium. We had an amazing time exploring all the different kinds of sea life!

By this time it was already 5 pm so we decided to get dinner since we had a play planned for later in the evening. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in London.

After dinner we went to the London theater to watch a play, Mama Mia. The London Theater has been around since 1995. The show was great and once that was over is was getting late so we came back to hotel. It was a great day today and we can't wait for another great one tomorrow!

- Mary Beth

Arrive in London-Day 2- Monday, December 16

Since we arrived early in the local time, we decided to take a nap. At about 3:30 PM, we woke up and had a quick lunch at the hotel. Afterwards, we decided to take a ride on the London Eye to start off our sightseeing.

The London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. It was opened to the public on March 9, 2000. It rises 443 ft. above the ground. I was terrified! From the Eye, we could see all of London and its beautiful sites like Big Ben and the Tower of London.  The ride took about 30 minutes.

Our view from the London Eye

After the Eye, we decided to go to see Big Ben. Apparently, "Big Ben" is only the name for the clock and not the building itself. The tower is called Elizabeth tower. It was completed in 1858. It is such a gorgeous building. It was a great way to end our first day in London!

After we went to Big Ben, we had dinner at E Pellicci and took a taxi there. The taxi ride cost $50 and we each payed $10.00 for the fare. The dinner was pretty good actually! We all had a burger for dinner. We took a taxi back and payed $10.00 again each. When we got back to the hotel we watched a movie and then went to bed. It was a great first day in London!  

-Rebecca 

Travel- Day 1- Sunday, December 15

Depart from JFK: 6:10 PM

Departure Date: December 15, 2013

Airline: American Airlines

Departure from RDU: 2:30 PM Eastern time
Arrive at JFK at 4:20 PM


1h 50min Layover time
Arrive at LHR at 6:20 AM 

$1,096 roundtrip, including taxes & fees

We can't wait to get our trip
started!!