NOTE: This is the final story in a series of four about the experiences of a group of Kiefer students who traveled to the Republic of Ireland and parts of the United Kingdom earlier this month. Read part 1 here, read part 2 here, and read part 3 here.
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From Edinburgh, the group traveled by train the 4½ hours to London where they would spend their last two days in the United Kingdom.
“London was my favorite place we visited because of the mix of old and new,” said Evan Webster, a junior at Kiefer High School.
Webster was joined by fellow students Ashton Cooprider and Logan Holt, both seniors, junior Mikayla Godwin, sophomores Kaitlyn Ellis, Savannah Lee and Brooke Mullings and freshman Sierra Lee. In addition to their teacher Lorrie Quinnelly, adults on the trip included Misty Sloan and Cindy Wilson, both of Kiefer, Josh Quinnelly of Sapulpa, Trela Lopez of Kellyville, and Kathy Vaught and Sherrie Robb, both of Arknasas.
“My favorite thing was seeing Buckingham Palace and riding the London Eye,” Savannah Lee said.
Her sister Sierra Lee agreed that the London Eye was quite an experience.
“I experienced so many wonderful things that it is difficult to pick only one,” Vaught said. “If I had to choose, I would say it was visiting the British museum in London. I could have easily spent the whole day there.”
“I liked London the best,” Ellis said. “I liked getting to ride the subway and getting to go anywhere in the city.”
The subway, or underground as it is marked, or “the chube” as the Brits call it, was a new experience for the young people from Oklahoma as well as some of the adults along with them. Most had never experienced that, but they were eager to jump on board and see where they could go.
As Americans, group members were familiar with the idea of jumping in a car and going anywhere they want to go. Europeans, on the other hand, are much less likely to have access to a personal vehicle of their own. Public transportation – buses, trains, subways – are their primary means of transportation.
Following the red, yellow and blue lines of the London underground system posed no problems for the group who had already manipulated their ways around Dublin and Edinburgh on their own.
“I was most surprised at the ease of using the trains and the underground transportation,” Wilson said.
On the train by 8:30 a.m., the group took a train and then connecting subway lines to the heart of the city. They spent their morning on a walking/bus-riding tour of greater London. Among the sites they saw were the Tower of London, the newer structures of the glass building known as the Shard and the pickle-shaped Gerkin, the Clock Tower of Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, which most tourists think of as London Bridge, as well as the new Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge. The structure is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames with views of Tower Bridge and Blackfriar’s Railroad Bridge.
Though it was drizzling rain, Webster had a time running and skating across the wet steel pathway with a local tour guide the group met.
The Kiefer travelers walked on to Picadilly Circus, a shopping area in downtown, where most would spend their other free day in the city.
“London was definitely where we walked the most,” said Lorrie Quinnelly. “We logged almost 20 miles those two days.”
Since Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating her official birthday the weekend they were in London, the Kiefer group was able to see some of the official festivities. Even Burger King got in on the act. Rather than their traditional Burger King birthday crowns, visitors and people walking by the fast food chain received a markedly feminine crown commemorating her majesty’s birthday.
The Kiefer group trudged their way to Buckingham Palace in time to observe the changing of the guards there, but the ceremony was cancelled due to the rainy conditions in London. Students did, however, get to see the military band and the mounted guards making their way into and out of their positions at the palace.
Portions of the group visited the original Hard Rock Café for lunch and were allowed to not only inspect the memorabilia on the walls of the restaurant, but also visit the vault in the gift shop which housed items such as Sting’s bass guitar, a bench on which the Beatles sat during visits there, B.B. King’s guitar “Lucille,” clothing and other items belonging to musicians such Eric Clapton, Richie Sambora, Gene Simmons and Pete Townsend.
“That was my favorite place we ate,” said Josh Quinnelly.
London’s Hard Rock celebrated its 45th anniversary on June 14, the day the Kiefer group left Heathrow Airport for home, and sold hamburgers at 1971 prices. That put hamburgers at 50 pence, about $1.02, with cheese for another dime. Quinnelly said he paid 16 pounds for a burger and fries there two weeks ago; that’s about $21.89.
“Inflation,” he said.. “Go figure. Of course, we’d have had to be in line at 6 a.m. to get one of those burgers at 1971 prices.”
That evening, Mullings, Cooprider and Holt all saw a production of Wicked in London, while the rest of the group made their way back to their hotel to pack for home. For Holt, Wicked was a favorite experience.
“I liked London because of all the theatrical history there,” he said.
In addition to the new Globe Theatre where Shakespeare’s plays are performed regularly, the group saw American actor Sam Wannamaker’s Wannamaker Theatre, a totally candlelit auditorium as well.
Lorrie Quinnelly who led the group said the trip overall was outstanding and much more than she expected.
“Intellectually, I knew my students would benefit from this trip,” she said. “I believed they have a good time and they would grow personally from their experiences in another country.
“But they were talking about when we could take a trip like this again on about Day 3. They want to be world travelers; they want to broaden their horizons and experience other cultures. I think this has been life-changing for those students and even some of the adults.”
“I like being able to see all these places because I’ve always wanted to travel and see places like Ireland and London,” Godwin said.
“I’d love to come back and just do Ireland or just do Scotland,” Vaught said. “I could have spent a lot more time in Edinburgh just exploring around the place.”
“My nephew (Josh Quinnelly) and I didn’t really want to leave Ireland,” Quinnelly said. “That’s where our family originated. We felt like we were returning to our homeland. I’m so glad we went.”
“The feeling that we were standing in history or literature … sharing this experience with my grandson and the other (young people) made me feel as if I were part of something monumentally important and much bigger than myself,” Wilson said.
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Featured Image: The Kiefer group poses for a picture in front of the Tower of London. They are, from left, Kaitlyn Ellis, Mikayla Godwin, Brooke Mullings, Ashton Cooprider, Savannah Lee, Evan Webster, Misty Sloan, Sierra Lee, Kathy Vaught, Logan Holt, Cindy Wilson and Trela Lopez. Kneeling is Sherrie Robb.
