London and Edinburgh

Sorry that I only wrote two lines a few days ago, but my long sharing of our first day wouldn't post.  I was out of time and it was late; thus, such few words.

\I must say that Rob and I have been so lucky to be with our students.  Their amazement, their excitement, their honesty, their thoughtfulness and helpfulness - these are the qualities that have made us so proud to be traveling with our Lobos.

London was a whirlwind.  After our flight, we toured London for more than four hours: Big Ben, The Docks, Gardens, Trafalgar Square, etc.  We finally checked in to our B&B and got ready for the Globe.  We walked for 5 minutes and here was the replica of The Globe - as primitive as in Shakespeare's times.  The students were the groundlings (they stood right before the stage as in the old times) and cheered as the funny parts of As You Like It.  Rob and I sat in side seats and couldn't see much except for our kids. At intermission, only two students remained to see the play.  The others were too tired and wanted to go to bed.  They all loved it but Sophia and Maddia saw the entire production and absolutely loved every bit of it.

The next day we toured Tower of London where they watched in awe the royal jewels. We walked through the Middle Age palace, towers where prisoners had been tortured for a long time - all in the rain.  Were they wet!  Now they will bring their rain gear in the future!! We took a boat on Thames River to St. Paul's Cathedral, a place of service built 1400 years ago.  Then we went to the pub and ate English food.  We had a blast, many soaking wet and trying to dry their shoes and clothes in the bathroom dryers!!  They loved the food.  Finally we went to Camden Market where they shopped and got good deals.  It's a cultural diverse market full of people from around the world.  We rushed back (after taking the tube and a double-decker bus) to change for our theater performance of War Horse.  It was a marvelous play with puppeteered horses on stage.  The audience clapped for a long time and our Lobos could talk of nothing else afterwards.

Today we got up at 4 AM to take the train and ride to Scotland.  We met other Fringe Festival participants.  Once in Edingburg we toured the city and walked part of the famous Mile where entertainers were everywhere.  Our Lobos were hooked.  It was a world of drama in every way.  Soon they will advertise their plays to entice people to come see their play.  They're already talking about how they're going to do this.  They checked into their dorm, a wonderful room, and they were busy organizing their "home" for the next 8 days.  I loved watching them.  Tonight some are exploring the campus while others are in their room talking and relaxing.  I will check on the "California girls", as they call them here, at 11 PM to make sure they're ready for the night

My time is up.