66 --- Yes, We took The London Eye

Anne and Lucie before they took the London Eye during their free afternoon in London.

The London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel), is the biggest Ferris Wheel in Europe; it's 135 metres high. It's the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, with over three million people taking the observation wheel in one year. It cost us 14 euros for a 30-minute ride. A good way to have a full view of the city of London, even on a cloudy day! And it goes very slowly. No one felt dizzy; no one felt sick; no one was afraid. And did you know that the passenger capsules were made in Grenoble, by Sigma? Each capsule holds 25 people, but if you go with a group, it's better to be in different capsules so that you can take photographs of your friends in the capsule in front of you!

Do you know why it's called a "Ferris Wheel" in English? Do you know the origin of the word poubelle in French? Do you know the origin of the English word sandwich?

You can look for the answers on the internet, or return to this blog where you will have the answers in the next entry.

Jane

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to feel dizzy = avoir la tête qui tourne ou avoir le vertige

65 --- Free afternoon: Guess what this group did!

I went with this group --- from left to right: Yvonne, Lucie, Jean, Nicole, Annie, and in the back, Joëlle, Anne, Josette, Amélie, Yvette, and Audrey.

More photos later.

Jane

64 --- Free afternoon: Marie Odile

Marie Odile writes:

I went with Michèle and Alain to the National Gallery, but there we separated because we wanted to see different things. I wanted to go to the Renaissance department (I'm a fan of the Early Italian painting---in French it's "primitif" *). I was amazed by the comments which we could read on little papers next to each picture. In just a few sentences you understand what is of particular interest in the painting. I had a marvellous time in this museum and would like to return there some other time.

Then I went to Harrods and admired the food department



and bought a nice little marmelade jar to put my homemade marmelade in. So now I have something to remind me of London every morning at breakfast time.

After visiting Harrods we met up with Simone to walk to the theater to see Billy Elliot. On the way there, we saw beautiful red brick houses





and remembered that it would soon be Easter

and we saw that spring was already here.

Marie Odile

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*Early Italian painting dates from around 1300 to 1500. I read that the French term "primitif" was perhaps invented in the 1920s.

63 --- Free afternoon: Shopping; The Royal Mews

Paul and Annie's free afternoon: Shopping. Here with Huguette and Gil in a very nice shop of luxurious fabric and lingerie in Oxford Street. Do you know the shop? It's Liberty's.

Monique C. and Monique F. had a different afternoon.

Monique C. writes:

During our free afternoon, before going to the theatre, we went to visit the Royal Mews near Buckingham Palace. We saw many horse-drawn coaches. One was marvellous!! A coach from out of a fairytale !!! The GOLD STATE COACH !!! It was made in 1762. It needs eight horses to draw this vehicle weighing 4 tons! The interior is lined with velvet and satin.

Since 1821, it is used the day of the coronation of the King (or the Queen). But the last day out was for the Queen's Jubilee in 2002.

We also saw the Australian State Coach (1988) which is heated and fitted with electric windows and air-conditioning!

And we saw a royal Rolls-Royce.

62 --- Our free afternoon

Thursday afternoon, our free afternoon. What did we do?

First Chantal C. and Marie Thérèse tell you about their adventures in the big city of London:

Chantal writes:

After our guided tour of the Tower of London on Thursday morning, the bus driver took the group to Harrods, the world’s most famous luxury department store. We had a free afternoon. So, Chantal D. and I had lunch inside Harrods and then we visited the store. Downstairs, you can see the Diana Memorial.

Then Chantal and I were on our own in London! We took the double-decker bus (very nice) to go to the big toy shop, Hamleys on Regent Street. I bought a boomerang there for my grandchildren. Then we went shopping at another big department store, Liberty’s.
After our shopping, we met the other students at Trafalgar Square. (We didn’t take the tube to go there). From there, we all went to Green Park for a picnic.
After that, we went to the theatre to see Billy Elliot. I liked the play very much.



Marie-Thérèse writes:


After we visited the Tower of London on Thursday afternoon, my husband Jean-Pierre and I went all over the city to look for a pub. We were going there to meet our friends.
In the city, there are many fast food places where people eat quickly, standing up.

Canary Wharf

After we had fish and chips for lunch, we got a taxi to go back to the hotel.
We visited the Canary Wharf area. This is a modern area with a lot of offices and blocks of flats, with shopping centres in the basements. There is a museum in Docklands but we didn't visit it because it was closing time.
On one side of Canary Wharf underground station is the London Stock Exchange. Numbers flash across the screen on the outside of the building.
These show company stock prices.
Out of their offices, the office workers and bank clerks stop in pubs and drink wine or beer. Men and women drink a lot inside the pubs or on the pavement outside standing up and talking for a long time.



Canary Wharf Underground Station

61 --- Tower Bridge

Here are a few of our photos of Tower Bridge, the world's most famous bascule bridge. There was much discussion among the students in the group concerning the number of times the bridge is raised each year. Wikipedia says about 1000 times a year. Other sources say less often. Certainly, it is raised less frequently than in the past! If you are curious, go to the Official Tower Bridge Website :
http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/
There you can see a photo of the bridge being raised and you have all the dates and times of the scheduled bridge lifts. Start counting for this year!!

From here, our bus driver drove us to Harrods, the extraordinary department store, to do some shopping!

As you can see, many of us took the same picture!

Jane

60 --- Puns and ....Scones!

A few examples of puns, just for fun:

1. My dog is a champion boxer.

2. "Happy Moo Year" (2009 The Year of the Cow or Ox)

3. As the shoe said to the hat: "You go on ahead, I'll follow on foot."

4. A pun is a punishable offence.

5. Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.

(See Post 12, Melanie's list of the 10 Best Things in London, Number 8 and go to your dictionary for the meaning of "quoted"!))

6. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

7. I do it for the pun of it.

8. Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

9. I'd like to go to Holland one day, wooden shoe?

10. A music shop had a small sign which read: "Bach in a Minuet."

That's enough!!!!

If puns are not your cup of tea.. and I do apologize because some are VERY difficult... here's my recipe for scones. They are SO easy to make.

225 g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
A pinch of salt
75 g butter at room temperature
50 g mixed dried fruit (I use dried cranberries)
1 egg, beaten
3 - 4 tablespoons milk

Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Then add the butter and mix with your hands until the mixture looks crumbly. Add the dried fruit and then pour in the beaten egg and add 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix first with a knife, then with your hands. Add a little more milk if the dough seems too dry. Make a ball then roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Use a glass to cut 12 round shapes about 2.5 cm thick. Place the scones on a lightly buttered baking sheet and the dust with a little flour.
Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes in a very hot oven, about 200° - 220°
Serve very fresh, split open, with butter, marmalade or cream.
They are best eaten on the day they are made. You can freeze them.
Enjoy them with a cup of tea!

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FYI = For Your Information:

Pronunciation:

"pun" rhymes with "one" "won" "done" "fun"

"scone" has two pronunciations: "scone" like "phone", "stone";
OR "scone" with the "o" in "not", "hot", "pot"

Scone, rhymes with "soon" = A village of central Scotland northeast of Perth. The old part of the village was the coronation site of Scottish kings until 1651. The Stone of Scone, or Stone of Destiny, which served as a throne during the coronation rites, was taken to England by Edward I in 1296 and kept in Westminster Abbey beneath the chair used during the crowning of British monarchs. The Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland in November 1996.
This is something Peter explained to us when we visited Westminister Abbey.

Jane

59 --- "Henri VIII: Dressed to Kill": A PUN

Before leaving the Tower of London we visited the exhibition in the White Tower: "Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill", where we discovered Henry VIII the warrior, the sportsman and the king. The exhibition celebrates the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII becoming King of England. We saw his armour, helmets and weapons.

What is the meaning of "Dressed to Kill?" Remember, this is the king who sent two of his wives to their death at The Tower of London.

"Dressed to Kill" here is in fact a pun = a play on words. (sometimes a play on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.) In addition, we remember what a cruel husband Henry VIII was!

1) A knight is "dressed to kill" because he goes to war to kill the enemy. He is dressed in his armour and carries his weapons.

2) But "dressed to kill" also means "dressed in fancy or formal clothes."
"For the opening of the opera, she was dressed to kill."

3) Henry VIII had his wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard beheaded.

Return to the blog for a little more "pun fun" in Post 60.

Jane

58 --- UIAD tea rooms: Curious? Read Post 57

Thanks for these photos Marylène, Daniel and Philippe.

Good memories of our teatime together!

Anyone interested in my scone recipe???? Yummy! Return to the blog later!

Jane

57 --- London in the classroom

Back from our London trip, Jane had the great idea of organizing a tea party to give the English students who were not in London an English atmosphere!!!! As I was also part of the London trip, I helped Jane for this party in my English group. Jane set up the English classroom like a tea room with small tables (each for 4 students) well arranged in the room. We brought teapots and teacups...porcelain and not plastic ones !!! We made two different teas: Earl Grey and English Breakfast. Jane made scones and I brought shortbread which I bought in London. We ate the scones with butter and jam and cream.
It was actually like in a tea room!!! All the students were very pleased with this nice moment and Jane and I were congratulated for that.

Annie P.

Check Post 58 for photos sent by other students.