Photos on our Facebook page.
EDINBURGH -
Mary King Close: Mary King's Close was a narrow crowded street in Edinburgh. The close was sealed off from the world when a new Royal Exchange was built over top of the buildings the lined the close. We leaned how the crowded conditions contributed to the spread of the plague in 1645. We learned about the plague doctor, George Rae, a renowned physician who employed the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to survive the plague! He is pictured in the background of our photo.
Edinburgh Castle: We had a chance to explore the historic Edinburgh Castle.
William Wallace Monument: We climbed atop the William Wallace Monument. This tall monument contains 3 levels that give an account of William Wallace’s life and legacy as well as other notable hero’s of Scotland. Achievements of these heroes ranged from political and social to scientific. This photo is from the top of the monument (246 steps!) and provides a view of the Scottish Highlands in the background.
Other Notable Itinerary:
- Surgeon’s Museum
- Medical themed tour of Edinburgh
- Sir Walter Scott Monument
- Holyrood Palace (Queen’s Residence in Edinburgh)
- Arthur’s Seat (Biggest hill in England)
- Sites that inspired Harry Potter (JK Rowling is from Edinburgh and wrote it there)
- Famous connections to University of Edinburgh (Charles Darwin, Lord Joseph Lister, Robert Liston, Alexander Graham Bell, Florence Nightingale, Charles Bell, Doctors Addison and Hodgkin for which the conditions they discovered were named.)
LONDON -
We rode the London Eye.
Meat pies at The Mad Hatter.
Collection of evidence at our forensic workshop, Murder at White Tower (Tower of London). A detective from Scotland yard walked us through the process that detectives follow to collect evidence and draw collections. Mckenzi is wearing the suit they would use to collect evidence.
Dusting for fingerprints to solve the Murder at White Tower.
Visited Tower Bridge.
Tower of London: Beefeater at the Tower of London.
Fish and Chips in Farrington, an area of London known for diamond trading and jewelry shops.
Tracing the steps of Jack the Ripper: Learned about the social economic of the victims of Jack the Ripper and their connection to Ten Bells Tavern.
Abbey Road: Check our recording Earth Cam Abbey Road for walk at 8:43 AM on June 17.
McKenzi standing next to Florence Nightingale’s lamp she used during the Crimean War to visit soldiers. The military leaders didn’t believe that a women should be at a war. To avoid problems, she and her nurses tended to the soldiers at night.
Florence Nightingale Museum
Katie and Madi try on some nursing clothing that would have been used during Florence Nightingale’s time.
Walking Medical Tour of London: We started at a medical herb garden by the Royal College of Physicians and ended at this red building housing the University College of London. We learned about National Heath System (NHS). The differences between the US and UK were highlighted and discussed. Our guide did an excellent job of comparing today’s medical techniques to those used historical.
Old Operating Theatre was the actual surgeons theatre housed in the old St Thomas Hospital.
Enjoying vegan stew at Mamuśka, a Polish restaurant.
Last night’s treat was a visit to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to watch Wicked! An awesome ending to (as the British would say) a brilliant trip!
Just when we thought our highlights of the trip were done, our tour director coordinated a ride back to our hotel on a double deck bus. When the found out we were disappointed on not getting to ride one, he planned a way to include it! It was a great surprise after the theatre!
Marmite taste test: In the UK, you either love or hate marmite, a toast topping that is derived from the yeast extract of hops during the brewing process. You can see Campbell’s vote.
Other notable itinerary:
Borough Market
Wellcome Center
TRANSPORT HOME -
We had a major disruption on our way home. Our flight was canceled in Montreal. Due to the high volume of flights that were canceled, we were in airport lines for 6-7 hours before we were able to secure a hotel and a rebooked flight that departed 24 hours after we originally were to return to the states. But the students were troopers! Their positive spirit and willingness to make the most of a bad situation was awesome!
This is a photo of the group after waiting 6 hours to talk to someone from the airline regarding rebooking our flight. We had been kicked out of the departure terminal because U.S. customs shut down for the night. We were forced to go through Canadian customs and retrieve our bags which we took a while to find. And ultimately got to talk to an Air Canada representative who was awesome at rebooking us and finding us a hotel.
Montreal Airport: Take Two!
And back home on the bus: “I’ve never been so happy to see you Mr. Kaschinske!” Campbell Twomey exclaimed. Back in the USA! 🇺🇸