Humanities Spring goes to London & the beautiful Lake District and Edinburgh (April 22nd – May 2nd)
From April 22nd to April 26th: London
St. Paul
We’ll spend from April 22nd to April 26th studying and experiencing the city of London and its wonderful sights and, in particular, its modern and contemporary art and architecture, together.
Short classes in the mornings will help us connect more directly with what we see both on our walking tours and in museums.
Morning classes in the classroom (9:30 – 11:30) will be based on conversation, on readings about what we are going to see that day, and on mini-compositions in which students record their impressions of what they’ve seen in London. Informal classes in English conversation continue all day until 7:00 (dinner and relax time!) Everyplace we visit, whether it is St. James’ Park or the British Museum, each student will be asked to say a sentence or two in English about their impressions (don’t worry, staff will help you!).
Excursions will include: London’s squares, bridges, the Tower of London, but also the Thames River with the experimental Milennium bridge and, of course, London’s wonderful neighbourhoods, The Houses of Parliament, Camden Town, Portobello Road, St Paul’s Cathedral etc…We’ll take a walk through London’s famous Gardens and parks: especially St. James (which Virginia Woolf loved and wrote about) but also Hyde Park and Regent’s Park. Last but not least, we’ll visit many museums: The Tate British, Tate Modern, National Gallery, British Museum (several Museum tours and a wonderful Talk and Draw Session at the National Gallery) and, if we have time, the Courtauld Gallery.
London home-base: Palmer’s Lodge Hostel, an elegant, renovated Victorian home
On April 26, we board the train for Grasmere (about a five- hour ride).
April 26th- April 29th : The Beautiful Lake District (Cumbria) and Grasmere
The Grasmere hostel
From April 26h to April 29th, we’ll be walking and relaxing in the beautiful Lake District, home to William Wordsworth, the father of modern English poetry. Wordsworth (1770-1850), believed that poetry should be democratic, for everyone. He wrote in a new simple, non-poetic, conversational language — which you will all be able to understand !!! — and which we think will be enriching and inspiring to students of all levels!
Morning classes: Starting April 27th, we’ll have conversations (about our train trip, our wonderful Grasmere breakfast, etc.) we’ll read and discuss Wordsworth’s poems together, and write mini-compositions.
Excursions: We’ll walk along the lakes and through the fields which inspired them. We’ll buy gingerbread in the local gingerbread shop, visit the cafes and shops of this little charming town, spend time in the church Wordsworth attended, visit his two homes and the gardens still there today which he landscaped himself, a living expression of his sensibility and aesthetic. On April 29th we will get on the train for Edinburgh (about 2 hours away).
Grasmere home-base: The
Butharlyp Howe YHA 5 star hostel, charming and peaceful, in the midst of the Lake district countryside
On April 29th we will get on the train for Edinburgh (about 2 hours away).
April 29th – May 2nd Edinburgh
St. Giles
From April 29th to May 2nd we will have 2 days of morning classes (where students have conversations, read texts about what we’re going to visit that day, and write mini-compositions about their impressions of Edinburgh) and spend the rest of the day getting to know this graceful and elegant city firsthand – its gardens, squares, museums, Castle, Royal Mile and monuments. Now that we are at the end of the trip, students will make presentations to the rest of the group in English, about their favorite spots and works of art. We will get to know both the fairy-tale Gothic old city, and the rational new town, with its innovative grid which became an inspiration for New York City.
HS alumni who work and study in the city will take us to their favorite pubs, bakeries, gardens, and bookshops and help us to feel at home, HS residences are right in the center of the old city, just a few minutes from the Royal Mile.
