Friday, May 19th,
Today was one of the most eventful days thus far into the trip. The day was full of viewing some of the most infamous sights London holds, and the largest and most famous stadium in Britain. The day began by taking the tube to the London Eye where we had a great view of the River Thames and Westminster Abbey on the other side of the river. We crossed the bridge over and stood in Westminster Abbey where we saw Big Ben up close and learned a little about the history of Westminster Abbey. It was incredible to be in an area you see on TV so often, especially since the Coronation of King Charles III happened just weeks ago.
As a group, we then walked through to the entrance of St. James’s Park where we saw the Horse Guards Parade, a large outdoor horse ground where beach volleyball was played during the 2012 Summer Olympics. There was still stadium seating around the ground for the coronation so it was easy to imagine what the ground would have looked like in the summer of 2012. Through, St. James’s Park we made our way to Buckingham Palace where we viewed the changing of the guard. Surrounding the palace were massive crowds of people all wanting to view the guards wearing their official uniforms with a large black hat and red coats. After waiting for 20 minutes or so the ceremony was completed with horses and a band. We then set off for the famous Borough Market for lunch.
After taking the tube to Borough Market we ventured into the large crowd to be met with the smells of many different types of food. I got separated from the group and quickly jumped in line for the chocolate-covered strawberries. There was cuisine from practically every corner of the world and it was hard to choose the best option. It seemed like everyone faced the same dilemma: by the time we left, we had no more room left in our stomachs.
After a 30-minute ride via the tube, we arrived at Wembley Park and walked up to the stadium on the Wembley Way. A newly built pedestrian street from the train station to the stadium is lined with modern residential buildings, restaurants, and playgrounds. On some of the walls leading up to the stadium was a brief timeline of the history of Wembley Stadium including its role in the 1948 Summer Olympics. At 3:30 in the afternoon, our tour of Wembley Stadium began. We first viewed two small Wembley Museums that showed both the history of the construction of the stadium as well as memorabilia and artifacts from events that had been held there in its history. I found the history of Wembley to be incredibly interesting as it held the famous Live Aid 1985, many other concerts from famous artists, many English FA Cup Finals, several Champions League Finals, the 1948 and 2012 Summer Olympics, many NFL Games, and games from the UEFA Euros soccer tournament. Next, we stepped into the massive and cavernous stadium. Any sound in the stadium echoed, I could only imagine what the stadium would sound like when at its maximum capacity of 90,000 (second largest in Europe). We then saw some of the internal workings behind the stadium including the press conference room and locker rooms. We then stepped foot out onto the field the same way that some of soccer’s greatest-ever players have done. Finally, we were brought into the Royal box where the royal family has special blue seats as opposed to the red that fills the rest of Wembley.
As the day concluded, both were incredibly tired from a day of travel and excitement. We got to see some of the most historical and impressive landmarks in London and I’ll certainly never forget it.
