London Interactive Map
Below you will find a map highlighting major stopping points on my study abroad trip to London.
Important locations on walking tours and during the study abroad programming are highlighted in the map. There are also some additions to the map that I explored outside of the program activities. London has such a rich history, it's hard to go anywhere without seeing something with such an interesting past!
St. Giles Hotel
The St. Giles hotel is located right near Soho, which is where the cholera outbreak in the 1850s that we learned about during the course took place. This was where the whole group stayed during the week but we didn't spend much time here aside from eating breakfast and sleeping. The hotel was a great place to stay in a wonderful and convenient location in London. We walked to the Winston House only 5 minutes away most mornings to begin our programming for the day.
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The photo to the right is the outside of the hotel. My room was located on the second floor with a view of the apartments across the street; unfortunately I didn't get a city view, but my friend could see the London Eye from his floor. Every student had a roommate; my roommate and I got along very well, thankfully, and I think it is great to say I have gained a new friend from this trip!
University College London
We took a campus tour of the University College London (UCL) campus on Monday (Day 2) of our official programming. It was such an interesting experience to see an international college campus and compare it to our own in Indianapolis. The campus felt a lot different than IUPUI's however it was not quite a traditional campus feel either. It was like its own little community smack in the middle of London. The campus buildings could only be accessed from inside the campus boundaries and had pretty solid security measures in place for their students. With it being a city campus, it was still much different than IUPUI's, partially because of the historical architecture but also with how it was kind of blocked off to form its own community type feel whereas IUPUI is a much more public campus.
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I really loved the campus tour and it was such a great experience to see what a city campus looks like in London. While on the tour, I couldn't help but think how different my life would be if I grew up in London or if I took a semester or year to study abroad on a campus like UCL's. I am grateful for the experiences I have had at IUPUI and I would not change it, I just can't help thinking about what I would be like if I had a longer experience abroad. I have a feeling I would attend school there and never want to leave!
These two photos were taken during the campus tour. The one of the left was taken in their quad area and the second is a photo of their medical building, which is probably where I would spend most of my time as a pre physical therapy student if I went to school at UCL.
This photo depicts the BT Tower in London. A lot of UCL student dorms are found right below that tower. Our tour guide told us a fun story about the band Coldplay: they all went to school at UCL, it's actually where they met, and some people think that the lyrics "lights will guide you home" from their song "Fix You" are referencing the BT Tower light as you can see it almost anywhere in London and it would guide them back to their dorm if they ever needed it.
Above is a group photo at the gates of the UCL campus.
British Medical Association (BMA)
Our visit to the BMA was focused mostly on a discussion panel with a junior doctor and two other BMA professionals. We got to go further in depth about the structure of the NHS, discuss the junior doctor strikes that took place during our trip, and ask plenty of questions about various aspects of the NHS. The panelists provided great insight into the NHS and gave us a much deeper understanding of how it works when we previously only scratched the surface of the NHS during our pre-trip class meetings.
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If you would like to read more about my experience at the BMA, click here to view that day's blog post.
Above is a photo of Bryce and I sitting at the BMA panel discussion a few minutes before their presentation started. We got all dressed up professionally (I think we clean up nice!) and were so excited to hear and learn from the BMA panelists and junior doctor.
To the left is a photo of me with the BMA sign outside thee building.
British Museum
After our time at the BMA, we made our way to the British Museum to explore for a couple hours before they closed. This museum was absolutely massive and had so many interesting exhibits. We started off in the room where they highlighted different artifacts relating to the experience of life and death and what that means to different cultures throughout history.
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After spending some time in that initial room, I was most interested in exploring the Parthenon artifacts and the Japanese history exhibit. They also had the Rosetta Stone on display, which was incredible to see in person.
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This museum had so many opportunities to learn and I think I could probably spend a whole day there. One interesting thing that I noted on this trip is that most larger museums are free to enter with some paid ticketed exhibitions; there is very little barriers to learn in the museums because of this free admittance, something that contrasts many United States museums.
Above are photos from the Parthenon artifact exhibit with sculptures retrieved from Parthenon ruins. To the right is a piece from the original Rosetta Stone.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square was where we began our Pathologies walking tour on Wednesday (Day 3 of the program). This walking tour was lengthy, about 3 hours, but it was one of my favorite parts of the program. The tour guide was so engaging and knowledgable that the 3 hours went by so quickly.
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If you would like to read more about the Pathologies walking tour, click here to read that day's blog post.
Above is a photo of the Florence Nightengale statue, which was one of our first stops after leavng Trafalgar Square on our walking tour. I learned so much about Florence Nightengale and she was such an influential, powerful woman.
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To the left is a photo and Bryce and I at the fountain in Trafalgar Square as we waited to start our tour.
John Snow Pub
The last three stops on our walking tour included key places related to the cholera outbreak in the 1850s, which we read about in The Ghost Map. The very last stop was the John Snow Pub, which has the original site of the Broad Street water pump just outside. Pictured in this section is actually just a replica of the water pump, but the real site of the pump was only a few feet away. John Snow was integral to solving the cholera outbreak and through the steps and measures he took to crack the case, he is considered the father of epidemiology, which is the study and analysis of health and disease.
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Bryce and I stopped back at the John Snow Pub later in the week just to hang out and that was one of my favorite nights during the trip. We just sat and talked for hours in this historical pub and drank some good beer! I am a fan of low-key environments, which the John Snow Pub provided, along with a rich history in the public health and epidemiology realm.
John Snow Pub
Broad Street Water Pump Replica
The Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians was the location my cultural presentation group chose for our project. The college had a museum kind of woven throughout the building, which is what we documented for our cultural presentation. To the right are some photos of the Royal College of Physicians and if you would like to see more about our presentation, visit the "Cultural Project" page.
Big Ben and Westminster Abbey
Our trip to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey was part of me and Bryce's exploration on Sunday (Day 1 of the program) just before the program officially started that evening. We dropped our bags off at the concierge desk at the St. Giles hotel and immediately started making our way toward Big Ben. Westminster Abbey is right near Big Ben so it was an easy walk to that location.
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Fun fact: Big Ben is actually the name of the bell in the clock tower but the tower itself, which we often refer to as a whole as Big Ben, is called the Elizabeth Tower.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace was another stop on me and Bryce's walking trip to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It was a massive complex and so beautiful. No sighting of the royal family while we were there but it was packed with what I assume was mostly tourists visiting the palace.
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Sunday morning/afternoon was the time when me and Bryce hit most of the tourist hot spots so we had more time during the week to just walk around and explore the Soho area and other areas we wanted to take the tube (London underground train) to.
Winston House
The Winston House was our home base for the duration of our trip. We often met either inside or on the steps to the Winston House before most of our programming during the week. The Winston House is where the University of North Carolina (UNC) students study while they are abroad and due to some networking connections between IUPUI and UNC, we were able to use the space for our program activities and speaker presentations.
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The Winston House was just a little over a 5 minute walk from the St. Giles hotel. Although we were staying in a hotel, it felt a bit like walking to class each morning and that made the study abroad experience feel real and authentic with that class component and feeling.
Above is our last group photo on the last day of our programming. We are all wearing our IUPUI Public Health t-shirts, as this trip was through the School of Public Health at IUPUI. We are pictured outside the Winston House on a gloomy day, accurate for the weather in London all week!
