We're off to the English Countryside!

Jill says... Yesterday was a very busy day, and unfortunately we over planned a little and didn't get to everything, which I am a little sad about. We began the day at Hyde Park, and luckily we got there before it began raining. We strolled through the park and took a lot of pictures. Next we moved on to Harrod's to do some shopping. However, we entered Harrod's directly through the Food Hall, and never left it! It was truly amazing, and we wandered through the patisserie and the bakery, the deli, fruit, gelato, caviar and champagne---it was a little overwhelming to say the least! We chose a few items each, and wandered over to a statue outside to have a picnic. Really, we were looking for Kensington Gardens, but couldn't find it, so the statue had to do.

From there, we headed out to Discover--the Story Making Centre (http://www.discover.org.uk/). I had heard about the indoor/outdoor play space online, and it had sounded like something we definitely had to see while we were in London. Discover engages children's imagination and promotes creativity by providing them with a space to pretend and create, all based around stories and children's books. We were able to get a tour by one of the employees, and she told us that most of the people who are employed at Discover are professional artists (actors, writers, etc). The construction of the different areas was exceptional and would definitely appeal to little ones. They had puppet areas, interactive computer games, dress up areas, forts, caves, and tunnels. My favorite part of Discover was the exhibition that is in the downstairs area called City of Stories. From the Discover website: "It was designed by artist Cathy Wren and composer Jon Owen, City of Stories will open your eyes to London's rich tapestry of tales and adventures. Find out by exploring our wonderful world of legends, folk stories and traditional tales. Explore stories from London's east end communities including Bengali, Polish Roma, African, English and Tamil. Watch out for chairs that tell stories, magic furniture and hidden worlds." We bought the City of Stories CD to bring back to our classrooms to enhance our own story time. This was definitely one of the best children's museums I have ever been to, and it was different because most children's museums focus mainly on science. It really gave me a lot to think about in how I can change my classroom to create a more literature-based environment.

After that, we headed back to the hotel for a nap. It was our last night in London, and we were too tired to do much of anything.

Today we are heading to Shropshire, England which is in the English Countryside. We are taking a bus to get there, which actually sounds good right now--sitting for four hours and seeing some wonderful scenery while we do it. We are going to the Festival at the Edge http://www.festivalattheedge.com/, which is a storytelling festival. I am also looking forward to our next hotel--it's a Holiday Inn! Don't laugh, after you've been holed up in a shoebox with another person for several days, a Holiday Inn sounds like luxury. We will be in Telford, England, right next to the park in the town square. We will try to write while we are there, but I am not certain if we will have Internet access or not.

Bethany says: Off to Shropshire we go! I am with Jill on the Holiday Inn! There was not enough room for our luggage to move through the room without picking it up over head. I hope the Holiday Inn lives up to its name.