Throwback: Stateside School Trip
Hello Wonderful People!
When I was in my first year of sixth form I was lucky enough to go on a history trip to the good old U S of A. We were there for just under a week and visited New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC. I'd already been to New York with my family earlier in the year and it instantly became my favourite place in the whole world, so I was supper excited to be heading back with my friends to this amazing place.
New York
As I was on a school trip, we obviously did all the touristy stuff; the Empire State Building, Central Park, Bloomingdales, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square. You name it, we probably did it. Not that I'm complaining, I bloody love this city! As I was 17 at the time, we were given a fair amount of freedom and were allowed to wander round the blocks close to our hotel in the mornings. My friends and I found this amazing little pancake house where we went every morning for breakfast. It was amazing! I love the whole vibe of New York; it's such an energetic city, you really feel like you're part of something. We were also super lucky with the weather. Despite going in late October, there was a crazy heat wave going on and temperatures were hitting the mid to late twenties! Sadly, one of activities was ice skating in Central Park, however due to the weather the rink had melted and was closed, boo!
Philadelphia
We were only in Philadelphia for half a day, as we stopped off here to break up the journey from New York to DC. Our main reason for stopping in Philly was to see the Liberty Bell. Well (I'm probably going to offend some Americans here, soz), with all the fuss I'd heard about this amazing bell, I was expecting big things. The one thing the Liberty Bell isn't is big. It was just your averaged size bell with a big crack in. I was disappointed to say the least.
Washington DC
I'd never been to DC before, so didn't know what to expect. The place seemed a little soulless, filled with grand official buildings and men in suits. However the weather was nice and there was lots for us to see and do, so I enjoyed my time here. We obviously did the standard touristy things; the White House, the Washington Memorial, Congress and the Lincoln Memorial. I loved the Lincoln Memorial and it was amazing to see the White House (we invented a great game called spot the sniper, the rules were simple: spot the sniper protecting the White House). Congress was alright, we had a hilarious guide, but even he couldn't stop it from being a slight snore-fest (soz). The Washington Memorial is very impressive, but we chose to go up it on the only cloudy day of the trip, so visibility wasn't fantastic, which was a shame. My trip to Washington also gave me a great claim to fame! It was really early in the morning and we were visiting the Washington Memorial before heading to the airport. We were the only people around at that time and as we were about to cross the road a huge convoy of vehicles began to roll past. When I say huge convoy I'm not even slightly exaggerating. There were police motor bikes, police cars, ambulances, limousines and random armoured vehicles. And in the middle of it all was the presidential limousine, and who decided to roll down the window and give a little wave to us? None other than the president himself, good old (ahem) George W Bush. Ok, so it may not be the best claim to fame, but it's still pretty cool).
Goodbye peeps!
New York
As I was on a school trip, we obviously did all the touristy stuff; the Empire State Building, Central Park, Bloomingdales, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square. You name it, we probably did it. Not that I'm complaining, I bloody love this city! As I was 17 at the time, we were given a fair amount of freedom and were allowed to wander round the blocks close to our hotel in the mornings. My friends and I found this amazing little pancake house where we went every morning for breakfast. It was amazing! I love the whole vibe of New York; it's such an energetic city, you really feel like you're part of something. We were also super lucky with the weather. Despite going in late October, there was a crazy heat wave going on and temperatures were hitting the mid to late twenties! Sadly, one of activities was ice skating in Central Park, however due to the weather the rink had melted and was closed, boo!
Philadelphia
We were only in Philadelphia for half a day, as we stopped off here to break up the journey from New York to DC. Our main reason for stopping in Philly was to see the Liberty Bell. Well (I'm probably going to offend some Americans here, soz), with all the fuss I'd heard about this amazing bell, I was expecting big things. The one thing the Liberty Bell isn't is big. It was just your averaged size bell with a big crack in. I was disappointed to say the least.
Washington DC
I'd never been to DC before, so didn't know what to expect. The place seemed a little soulless, filled with grand official buildings and men in suits. However the weather was nice and there was lots for us to see and do, so I enjoyed my time here. We obviously did the standard touristy things; the White House, the Washington Memorial, Congress and the Lincoln Memorial. I loved the Lincoln Memorial and it was amazing to see the White House (we invented a great game called spot the sniper, the rules were simple: spot the sniper protecting the White House). Congress was alright, we had a hilarious guide, but even he couldn't stop it from being a slight snore-fest (soz). The Washington Memorial is very impressive, but we chose to go up it on the only cloudy day of the trip, so visibility wasn't fantastic, which was a shame. My trip to Washington also gave me a great claim to fame! It was really early in the morning and we were visiting the Washington Memorial before heading to the airport. We were the only people around at that time and as we were about to cross the road a huge convoy of vehicles began to roll past. When I say huge convoy I'm not even slightly exaggerating. There were police motor bikes, police cars, ambulances, limousines and random armoured vehicles. And in the middle of it all was the presidential limousine, and who decided to roll down the window and give a little wave to us? None other than the president himself, good old (ahem) George W Bush. Ok, so it may not be the best claim to fame, but it's still pretty cool).
Goodbye peeps!
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