OBU in London #24 - August 10 (Kew Gardens)

Kew Palace

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

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!

Friday, August 10 – Kew Gardens

Weather forecast for today predicted rain for the afternoon.  So we swapped our schedule – went to Kew Palace and Gardens in the morning, had class in the afternoon.  Kew was about an hour tube and walk away – but the gardens were immense – 240 acres, including one of the world’s largest arboretums, with thousands of different species of trees.  I loved wandering through the various trees and admiring them.

One of the highlights in Kew is the Great Pagoda, a 9-storey Chinese-style

pagoda built for an 18^th-century Prince as a playhouse.  The pagoda has been restored in the past couple of years, and just this summer re-opened for public access.  Vanessa and I climbed the pagoda all the way up – a pretty good little workout.  There was a great view of the gardens from each floor, and especially from the top.  The only disappointment was that we weren’t allowed out on the balconies at any level.  The top floor didn’t have a balcony, but they didn’t even open those windows for us to get unfettered pictures.  Nonetheless, a worthwhile visit.  Loved the whole grounds!  I ran out of time before seeing everything there was to see.  Next year I’m looking forward to a return visit. 

View from the Pagoda top

 

Vanessa and I got lunch at a wonderful streetside bakery cart – focaccia bread, spinach & feta phylo, and custard tarts.  We enjoyed eating it on the way back to Pickwick.  There was a good bit of rain, some while we were at Kew, a big downpour while we were getting to the train station, and then some more rain on the final walk home.  Got back, taught class, supper, Colloquium, and then off to bed.