Our second day in London began after we were assembled into our touring groups led by Exeter’s student ambassadors. We then walked to the center of Covent Garden to meet up with our tour guide. Our group was lucky to have Jan, an energetic and sarcastic Englishwoman who directed us through crowds with a blue and gold Buckingham Palace umbrella. Jan has been in the tour guide business for over 30 years, and her experience was evidenced by the wonderful history and facts she provided us about London’s highlights. For instance, Covent Garden used to be called Convent Garden when nuns occupied the area, but was later changed once they moved to other locations.

We hit all the highlights on our two hour tour including the River Thames with its donated obelisk statue, the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, the horseguards at the back of the palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Jan also pointed out 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister’s official residence is located, the government building which was used as the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, and numerous war memorials scattered throughout the city. Jan also pointed out the homes of Prince Charles and Camilla and another palace used as a residence for royals next door.

Jan finished our tour by leaving us to explore Trafalgar Square for the afternoon. I joined a group of about seven students and together we walked to Picadilly Circus down Regent Street (AKA- the street with lots of expensive shops I cannot afford to walk into). After a quick lunch, we wandered through the Soho area before splitting off in two groups. Our group rode the Tube back to Kensington Palace in time to actually tour the inside of the home and the surrounding gardens. The areas of Kensington open to the public provide an intimate history of the childhood of Queen Victoria and her devotion to her husband Prince Albert. Their relationship is a beautiful love story from start to finish, and Queen Victoria never truly stopped mourning the death of her beloved Albert. Other wings of the Palace provide an in-depth history of royal fashions from Princess Margaret to Princess Diana as well as walk-throughs of the queen and king’s chambers.

Later that evening, we traveled across the Thames to the Globe Theater to see Macbeth performed on stage. I was initially excited to see the play anyway, but all my expectations were completely surpassed! The performance was both amazingly powerful and mesmerizing and truly brings the play to life. The humorous ad libs added in by the actors provided a special treat you can only get when you see something performed live. An extra bonus was the realization that Banquo was performed by the same actor who plays Pippin in Lord of the Rings! Seeing a Shakespeare play performed in the venue it was originally envisioned in was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience which has made me appreciate his works even more.