Day 3 // The London Experience (with a taste of home)

Today was absolutely amazing.

We started out the day by going to visit Farmers Weekly. Started in 1934, "the magazine and its website www.fwi.co.uk provide news, market prices, technical advice, opinion and a range of vital interactive services for farm businesses of all shapes and sizes."

We had the opportunity to speak with the Editorial Development Director, Karl Schneider, and the Managing Editor, Emma Northam, about agriculture in the U.K.

After eating lunch at Farmers Weekly, we hopped back on the bus and drove to the U.S. Embassy. It was so cool to hear about the history behind this specific embassy, especially since the embassy only moved into this state of the art building in January of 2018.

We met with Steve Knight who works with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service. He gave us a brief overview of the role of the USDA's overseas office as well as some background on how agriculture in the U.K. compares to agriculture in the U.S. It certainly was nice to have my feet back on U.S. soil for a couple of hours!

Once we finished up at the embassy, a group of us decided we wanted to go see Westminster Abbey.

We arrived just in time to actually attend a service!

Having the opportunity to walk the floors where 39 Sovereigns were crowned and where 16 royal weddings have taken place was absolutely amazing.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures however the architecture and stained glass was absolutely beautiful.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts about Westminster Abbey is that there is a grave of Unknown Warrior. The grave contains soil from France and is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble.

(I couldn't take a picture but I did find a postcard!)

I think it is so cool that London has a similar monument to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C.

How special it is that both countries highly value their service men and women. How wonderful this reminder was as Memorial Day in the U.S. was only yesterday.

After admiring Westminster Abbey, our group took a short walk to the London Eye. Though we did not actually ride it (it is on my to do list before I leave!), we decided to have a traditional dinner of fish and chips. Well I had chicken and chips, but I feel like it is the thought that counts...

Once we finished dinner, we decided to find the closest underground station so that we could purchase our Oyster cards (a form of electronic ticket used on public transport).

Walking through London at that time of day was perfect. The weather felt just right, the sun was actually shining and I felt a sense of peace and happiness. Despite the crazy drivers and tons of people who were also enjoying London at the same time!

Though it took us a couple of tries of finding the correct underground tram route, we finally made it back to the hotel just in time to freshen up before having a group meeting.

We took turns sharing our favorite parts about the day and getting to know each other better as we prepare to spend the next 11 days together traveling across England and Scotland.

Tomorrow promises to be just as exciting and I simply cannot wait!

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"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." -Eleanor Roosevelt