Biddick Academy

The other day I visited our sister school, Biddick Academy. Students’ summer break lasts about six weeks. They go back to school sometime next week. The school is in Newcastle, England.

Angel of the North

This statue is called “The Angel of the North.” It is located in Newcastle, England. The statue is dedicated to the all of the miners that used to work here.

Scottish Breakfast

Today I had a Scottish breakfast. It was like an English breakfast except for the haggis. Haggis is a t Scottish item that basically pig intestines mixed with oatmeal and seasoning. It sounds gross, but was actually pretty good!

Scottish Referendum

On September 18th, Scotland will vote on whether or not it wants to separate from the United Kingdom. I've spoken with people who want it to happen and people who do not want it to happen. Recent polls suggest that Scotland will remain part of the Union. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Loch Ness

I went on a cruise around the world famous Loch Ness. Unfortunately I didn't see Nessie. Loch Ness is the largest body of freshwater in Britain and its deepest point is 754 feet. The loch is 22.5 miles long and around 1-1.5 miles wide.

Highland Cattle

These are Highland cattle. They are usually black, red, or yellow. They are mostly used for meat.

Scottish Highlands

The country of Scotland is basically divided the highlands and the lowlands. Edinburgh is located in the lowlands. I was able to take a day trip from Edinburgh to tour around the highlands. It was neat because the tops of most mountains were covered in mist. There were also many rivers and lakes. The scenery was breathtaking. It is hard to believe that the Scottish Clans used to inhabit this area hundreds of years ago.

Edinburgh

These are pictures I took of Edinburgh from on top of a hill called Arthur's Seat. I climbed 823 feet to reach the peak. Many people go there to picnic. In fact, the wind almost blew my phone out of my hands when taking these photos. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and has around half a million people.

The view from the bottom of the hill

About 3/4 of the way up

The very top.

American Food in Scotland

Today I found a store specializing in American food. There were a variety of items like Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, and M&M's. The prices were over double what they would cost in the States.

Giant's Causeway

Giant’s Causeway is a UNESCO world heritage site in Northern Ireland. The site is a geological phenomenon full of myth and mystery.  There were many trails on which to hike and climb. I could have spent an entire day there.

Irish Trivia

The famous band U2 is originally from Dublin. I heard their songs played many times.

Leprechauns were first mentioned in the 14^th century. I saw a rainbow on my first day in Dublin, but I did not see any leprechauns.

Finding a Four Leaf Clover is said to give you good luck. I did not find one.

Irish Government

The Republic of Ireland is a constitutional government with a parliament. The current president is Michael D. Higgins.

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university. It was first founded in the year 1592. It was great to walk around. The world famous Book of Kells is on display here. This book is from the 800's AD. It has part of the Bible written in Latin.

The entrance to Trinity College

Irish Writers

Some famous Irish writers are Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels. James Joyce, author of Ulysses. George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde are also from Ireland.  

Irish Language

The national language of Ireland is Irish. Most people speak English though. Signs are always written in both languages.

Irish Dance and Music

Irish dancing is well known for its fast footwork. Irish music uses many instruments, some of which are the fiddle, flute, harp, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and harmonica.

Euros

The type of currency that is used in the Republic of Ireland is the Euro. The Euro is currently the standard currency for 18 European countries. The amount of Euros in the picture is about $30.

Conwy Castle

Conwy Castle is a great place to visit to see exactly how and why castles were built. Conwy is located in north Wales. The castle was built by Edward I between 1283 and 1289.  Nothing was off limits. I could go into every room and observe every detail.

This window is only wide enough for an arrow to pass through. The English were great at using longbows.

Here you can see the different rooms of the castle.

This is one of the castle towers. The flag of Wales is on top.

English Football

One of the most popular sports in England is soccer. In some ways it is like a religion, it can divide a family depending on which team you support. The best league in the country and one of the best in the world is the English Premier League. While in Liverpool, I had the chance to tour around Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club. LFC finished second in the premier league last season.

English Breakfast

Today I had a proper English breakfast. There was bacon, eggs, toast, and sausage which is fairly common to the States. What I think separated an American breakfast from an English breakfast were the large mushrooms, baked beans, and the black pudding. Overall I found the meal very good.

Liverpool

This is a picture of the famous Liverpool skyline. Liverpool was a very important port city for a long time. It played a crucial part in World War II as it was the main supply port for the Battle of the Atlantic.

Below are the Albert Docks. Originally the docks held all of the different goods that were brought into the ports. However, now the docks are full of different shops and restaurants.  

Also, Liverpool is the hometown of the legendary rock group, The Beatles. There is a museum dedicated to the group in the city.  You can go to the club where they got their start.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge was built as early as 3000 BC. We still aren't completely sure why it was built. Stonehenge is located in the Salisbury Plains. The area around was a very peaceful and scenic countryside.

Bath

The City of Bath is the location of an ancient Roman bathhouse. I walked on an original Roman road from 2,000 years ago. There were many other churches and historical sites in the area. The original name of Bath was Aquae Sulis. It was very neat getting to the city. It was located in very pretty rolling hills called the Cotsworlds.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is over 900 years old. The castle is massive. Think of a stereotypical castle and that is what it looked like. The same is true with the inside, everything was golden. This is apparently the queen’s favorite castle. It is like a miniature town inside. There were cars and a few small parking lots. They only let tourists inside a select few areas, probably a very tiny amount of the entire castle.

Sir Isaac Newton

Per the request of my former physics instructor, I have been asked to do a post on Sir Isaac Newton. Newton is buried in London at Westminster Abbey. He greatly influenced modern science with his discovery of gravity and writing his three laws, Because of his contributions to our understanding of the natural world, he was knighted and given a grand memorial in his honor. Be sure to take AP Phyiscs in high school!! F=MA.

Cars

Today I learned that most cars and signs in the UK uses miles as a term of measurement. I figured that because it was Europe they would be using the metric system. Britain uses miles per hour onspeed limits  and the roadsigns are displayed in miles. All other measurements that I have come across are in the metric system.

Newspapers

Each night in London, a newspaper is given out for free. I have been getting a copy every night to read. There have been many interesting articles in the local news sections.  Here is a summary of an article that I read.

There are tests being done on buses. The purpose of these tests is to see if the equipment can see bikes behind buses. I think this is a good idea. I have seen a few people riding bikes almost get hit by a bus.

Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral

Today I went inside the two most famous churches in London. The first one was Westminster Abbey. Kings and queens are coronated here. There are many statues inside dedicated to famous people. The church itself is massive. Later in the day I went to an organ concert at the church. I was not allowed to take pictures inside, but here are pictures of the outside.

The second is St. Paul's Cathedral. The architect for St Paul's was named Christopher Wren.  The cathedral itself has a huge dome and many great murals. Again I could not take pictures inside, but here is a picture of the outside.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci, who was most famous for painting Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, also was very interested in physics, math, geology, engineering, writing, and botany. Today at the British Library, I saw some of Da Vinci's original notebooks from the 1400's. One of the notebooks contained his studies on optics. the behavior of light. Unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of it because of the library's rules.

Today's Breakfast

For breakfast today I ate banana bread with yogurt at a local cafe. It was very good and quite different from the banana bread and yogurt I've had in the States. I liked the design on the bread.

Tower Bridge

This is the famous Tower Bridge. Many times people get Tower Bridge mixed up with London Bridge. Actually, London Bridge is one bridge over and is much simpler looking.

Different Words

Some words are used differently than the way we use them in America. For example...

America    -     England

cell phone -     mobile. 

French fries    -    chips 

soccer       -     football.  

trash          -     rubbish/litter

coworker   -    colleague 

line            -     queue

opinion      -    comment

row           -      fight

to go (in a restaurant)    -    take away

Palace of Westminister

The Palace of Westminister is where parliament meets. There is the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The government have been meeting here since the middle ages!  The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is David Cameron.

London Eye

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel located in London. It is a great way to look at the city. When it first opened back in the year 2000, it was the world’s tallest Ferris Wheel. 

Here I am inside the Eye. Check out that view!

London Trains

 The subway system in London is called by locals as the “Tube.” This is an example of a sign showing the destination of the current stop.

British Pounds

England uses the British Pound Sterling. The picture below is worth about $51.