Cultural Excursions
Each Cultural Excursion was a great experience to get out of the classroom and learn about the world around us! Each one was special in their own way.
Guildhall and Tea
St. Mary's Guildhall and a traditional Cream Tea
Paris
Our weekend trip to the City of Lights
Coventry Cathedral
Tour of the Old and New Cathedral and the Bell Tower
Warwick Castle
Group cultural experience to Warwick
St. Mary's Guildhall and Traditional Cream Tea
St. Mary's Guildhall is over 1000 years old, and has a very interesting history. Every king and queen of England had visited there, or eaten a meal there! Much of the furniture has a vast history and is priceless. Their claim to fame is that Mary Queen of Scots was held there before she was executed by Queen Elizabeth I. The other is that it lived through the bombing of World War II, despite the ceiling of the main hall falling off. Much of the decorations that were on the ceiling were taken off prior to the bombing because of how special they were, as were the paintings in the hall, so how we saw the hall was very similar to how it would have looked prior to World War II. Our guide told us many stories that made the hall come to life with history!
Coventry Cathedral
The Coventry Cathedral was a beautiful religious site. The new cathedral was built directly next to the old cathedral, which had been bombed during World War II. The old cathedral is open-aired with many artifacts and monuments dedicated to the history of the cathedral and the events and people that had gone through it years before.
The new cathedral is a large space with many areas that are used to show the history of the museum as well as kept for place of prayer and remembrance. There is a large tapestry on the back wall, behind the altar and the cross, that shows a picture of Jesus. It is said to be the largest tapestry in the UK (DOUBLE CHECK). There are also many tall stain glass windows with Bible verses next to them. These Bible verses were all chosen to show how Jesus talks about what his disciples should act like, and were all written with in the King James Version translation.
One of my favorite parts of the cathedral was a cross that looked to be very old and burned. The description next to it said that when the old cathedral had been bombed, two beams had fallen from the ceiling in the form of the cross. The priest at that time found it and put three nails in it to keep it that shape. It has held together ever since. I think this was a wonderful reflection of how faith and Jesus can still be seen even in the darkest and saddest times.
The Bell Tower was the main part of our cultural excursion. We walked up about 180 steps to the balcony at the top. You could look out and see the university and many parts of the city that we had visited. It was beautiful and breath-taking. The other interesting part of the bell tower was the room where you could look down on the bells that were played at every quarter of the hour.
paris
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On our weekend off, eight of us flew to Paris, France. It was a wonderful experience to dive into a new culture and see the iconic sites. We visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc du Triumph, the Louvre, Versailles, walked along the Seine, saw the Pride Parade, and visited a carnival where we saw the city 50 feet in the air on a swing! It was a trip to remember.
Warwick Castle
Visiting Warwick Castle made me realize how short the history of the US is, as well as how different it is from the UK's. The castle hosted guests that were alive decades before the US became a country, and it is so fascinating to walk around and image the events and history that went on in each room.
The tower walk was one of my favorite parts because of the views from the top of the tower. The English countryside is so vast and amazing to look at. Although we experienced it on the train ride to Warwick, it was a completely different experience to see it from that height. And getting to experience this as a group made it a great time for bonding outside of Coventry!