Stonehill College Alumni Travel

Today we had to bid goodbye to London.  It was a wonderful ten days filled with incredibly beautiful weather, laughter, and learning.  We were blessed to have been guided by Janet, who remained with us all the way up to the departure terminal at Heathrow Airport.  Before we departed from our hotel, we grabbed one last group photo with our bellhop and the iconic red telephone booths just outside of our hotel! Until next year!!

Today some of the group took an optional excursion to Windsor Castle, while the rest of the group enjoyed the last full day with free-time in London.   The oldest and most occupied castle in the world, Windsor Castle sits 25 miles west of central London.  Our tour of Windsor Castle included the magnificent State Rooms, Queen Mary's Dolls' House. as well as St George's Chapel where eleven monarchs are buried, including Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed in any of the indoor areas of Windsor Castle but we were able to get some outside shots.  After the tour, the group had some time to explore the markets and charming town of Windsor before boarding the bus back to London. Once in London, we were able to briefly visit Buckingham Palace for some photo ops before jumping back on the bus to the hotel where the group was united for a farewell dinner at Scoff and Banter in Kensington.  After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get organiz...

Today after breakfast, we boarded the bus for the two hour trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Situated on the River Avon, and commonly known as just Stratford, the charming market town is in the county of Warwickshire most well known for being the birthplace and burial place of playwright and poet William Shakespeare. William and his wife, Anne Hathaway are both from Stratford and went on to raise their children here. The group spent the morning exploring Shakespeare's family home, which at one time also housed his father's glove making shop.  William was born in the birthing room and lived in the home all the way through his first five years of marriage to Anne. Their own children, Susanna, Judith and Hamnet were also born in the house.  After passing through the family for several centuries, the home was sold to Thomas Court in 1806 and then put up for sale by Court's widow in 1864.  In order to save the building a public campaign was launched, supported by Charles Dickens. T...

After departing the hotel, we took a drive northeast to Cambridge.  We began our tour with an unexpected, but very welcomed visit to the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, which honors the service and sacrifice of Americans who served overseas during World War II. The cemetery includes markers for 23 unknown burials, 81 markers of the Star of David for those of the Jewish faith, and 3,732 with a Latin cross for the others.  The markers are not separated by rank; officers and enlisted men are buried side-by-side. The memorial building is separated into two parts; a small devotional chapel at the far end, and an impressive map 30 feet long and 18 feet high at the near end titled "The Mastery of the Atlantic - The Great Air Assault".  The map covers the span of a large wall and features the principal sea and aircraft routes that brought troops to Europe from the United States.  After leaving the Cemetery, we continued on to the vibrant college town of Cambridge. ...

After breakfast, we set off for a full-day excursion to the city of Bath, dubbed "the most elegant city in England". Perhaps one of the most popular residents of Bath is 18th century novelist, Jane Austen, whose life's work now resides in the Jane Austin Centre in downtown Bath. The entire city of Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  After a driving tour of the city, we stopped to visit the Royal Crescent, a crescent-shaped row of 30 townhouses designed by architect John Wood, Jr. and built between 1767 and 1774.  Currently 10 are still full-size townhouses; 18 have been split into apartments of various sizes; one is the No. 1 Royal Crescent museum, and The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, which lies at the center of the crescent, is made up of No. 15 and No. 16 and rents for close to £1000 per night ($1300 U.S. dollars)! Next, we visited the Roman Baths, one of the most preserved Roman ruins in the world. Built in AD70 over hot springs, the site contains thousands of ar...

It is hard to believe that we are at the halfway point of our trip!  Day five started off, as usual, with a wonderful proper English breakfast at our hotel.  Today our group split in two, one small group hopped on the train bright and early for a full day excursion in Liverpool where they took in all things Beatlemania.    The remainder of the group traveled by bus to the lovely, lush, green town of  Hampstead in North London.  The first stop was a visit to Kenwood House, the home of many different historical noble families since its construction in the 17th century. It is currently home to the 1st Earl of Iveagh's renowned collection of Old Master and British paintings, including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer. The artwork on display in the mansion was incredible as was the architecture of the home itself.  After wrapping up our time at Kenwood House, we had some free-time to explore downtown Hampstead. Some of us hit the shops, others hit the pub, an...

Today we hit the road early for a two-hour ride to the charming countryside city of Oxford. As we drove into the city, our guide Janet pointed out the Eagle and Child Pub famous for being the meeting place of authors JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. We had a wonderful walking tour through the city and around the University of Oxford. Founded in 1096, Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The University does not have a main campus, but its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city center.  Oxford has educated a wide range of notable alumni, including 31 prime ministers of the United Kingdom, as well as many heads of state and government around the globe. Just as impressive as its storied academic history are the expansive buildings that house the 43 colleges that make up the University, some of which date back to the 1300's. After grabbing lunch and spending some "free" time exploring quaint downtown, we jumped on board the bus to take th...