OBU in London #20 - August 6 (High Tea @ Kensington Palace)

Vanessa in the Great Hall @ Kensington Palace

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England 

Throne Room

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Royal Medieval Games!

Monday, August 6 – Kensington Palace!

OBU in London High Tea Table

Slept in a little bit this morning.  Class until an early light lunch.  Then to Kensington Palace to tour and then enjoy High Tea in their Pavilion Tearoom. 

The Palace itself was a pleasant visit.  We heard nice short talks on the State Apartments upstairs, and

Yummy Tea Treats

then there was a very moving display about Queen Victoria on the first floor, focused particularly on her romance with Prince Albert.  That was the highlight of the Palace Tour for me.  I didn’t make it to the exhibit on Princess Diana’s fashion – many of our students loved that! 

High Tea, however, was the REAL prime attraction.  The 18 of us (minus Arsid) were seated in a side room with only a few other guests.  The team menu itself was very delicious – five types of sandwich fingers, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and three desserts – a Victorian sponge, a cheesecake, and a fruit & chocolate mousse.  But the highlight was how much all the students enjoyed the experience.  They all had tea – although Emma ended up drinking a pot of coffee too – and were chatting

Casey House demonstrating proper
tea-drinking form

and laughing quite through the tea.  We stayed for almost two hours, just to enjoy the fellowship and conversation.

After tea, back to Pickwick.  We had Colloquium before supper, as no one was hungry yet.  Another good day filled with blessings.  You are good, Lord. 

Vanessa & I in the Kensington Palace Gardens