The last two days have been spent getting our initial bearings around London. This goal alone has brought us on many exciting adventures. We’ve now navigated multiple modes of London transportation including Tube, bus, and ferry. From each of these, the views have been sensational. Yesterday, we began the day seeing the city from the open roof of a double decker bus and graduated in the evening to the famous Tower Bridge which took us over the Thames and gave us a stunning view of the skyline. The 50 degree outdoor weather in the bus and boat has provided us with a lovely break from the Iowa winter. However, we did get to experience a good old fashioned London rain yesterday. Most likely, the first of many.

To break from the weather and give our clothes a chance to dry, we’ve spent valuable time indoors at places such as the British Museum and Westminster Abbey; two stunning institutions with a wealth of history to offer. It’s in these places that we’ve engaging in some of the most thought provoking discussions on everything from the ethics of museum collections that house non-Western cultural artifacts to the social and economic inequality of Lord Byron’s London that persists into modern day. Coincidentally, a Brexit demonstration taking place outside of Parliament was occurring as this discussion took place. Understanding the ways in which history not only connects to but persists into modern day has been one of the biggest learning objectives of the first two days.