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England

Day 1 -Thursday, July 8, 1999

We boarded our airplane and we were off in a flash.  Chantal Carey It had a little TV on the back of the head of the chair.  Everyone had their own remote control. Laura Hagen We played games, watched movies, it was pretty cool!   Amanda Fuentes

Well, Samantha (my buddy) and I are having a great flight and we are enjoying our coloring “Pooh” books and colors.  Right now it is 5:00 pm – Texas time.  Soon will come dinner, and then we are official on London time.  I can't wait!  I will remember to write down everything I do & see, or even feel, so that my tour report will be the best one ever.  Rachel Cleveland

For dinner I ate beef with noodles.  My buddy kept on stealing my pillow.  Samantha Lau

The adults said Lights Out but all of the first time Long Tour girls could not go to sleep no matter what they said.  Alyssa Harrison

This was an overnight flight and we were supposed to go to sleep but me and Alison stayed up all night watching October Skies . . Shhh don't tell.  Marissa Reyes

I sat beside Darbo and Chantal.  On the ride there they were just talking, talking, talking the whole time so I couldn't sleep any.  I only got like an hour of sleep so when I got there Jet lag really hit me.  Stephanie Fisher

This morning we woke up at 5:00 London Time (only 2 hours after the time we went to bed 9:45 our time)! Megan Starkey

We got up from our 1 hour “nap” around 5:30 am (London time), so we were just a LITTLE tired.  We had breakfast, (isn't plane food so yummy?)   Lindsay Power
 

Day 2 - Friday, July 9, 1999

Checking in at Gatwick Airport Megan Starkey, Catherine Weber, Caitlin Kramer and Jennifer Holland

We arrived in London at 6:45 and got all of our junk off the plane.  Stephanie Darbo We all picked up our bags and groggily we pushed along.  Besides our own suitcases we had to carry a box each on our carts.  Samantha Lau Ruth had trouble turning corners and she kept running into walls at the airport.  Megan Starkey We arrived in London and had to go through customs and a passport check.  We met our Ambassador Tour Escort.  Her name was Lynne.  Brittany Trobaugh

One of the places I've always wanted to visit was London, England.  All the history and buildings!  They were so! Beautiful.  Abby Satterfield

Did you know, the Beefeaters in the 1800’s used to test the meat for poison before the Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes ate it.  Chantal Carey Back in Medieval Times, executions and trials were very unfair.  The justice system was based on superstition, so you were most likely guilty.  Executions were mostly held in front of large, cheering, drunk crowds.  Lindsay Power

Texas Girls' Choir at the Tower of London with Tower Bridge in the background

Texas Girls' Choir Officers pose with the Beefeaters
Abby Satterfield, Alice Priddy, Ruth Bryant, Jennifer Holland, Marissa Reyes
Chantal Carey, Stephanie Darbo, Valerie Burton, Alyson Johnson, Caitlin Kramer

We stopped at Buckingham Palace to see the guards in their fuzzy hats change places with different guards.  Sara Pitts The guards wore a really big Bear skin hat – it must have been at least 2 ½ ft. wall – I mean it was big.  Jennifer Holland

The Texas Girls' Choir at Buckingham Palace

Then we checked into our hotel.  We looked around in such amazement.  Then we got settled in and sighed with relief, BEDS.  Amanda Fuentes

The girls wait in the lobby for their room assignments

Day 3 - Saturday, July 10, 1999

Back Row - Amanda Fuentes, Sarah Miller, Lindsay Power,  Samantha Lau, Karissa Torrez     Front Row -  Jennifer Mitchell, Alyssa Harrison,  Brittany Trobaugh, and Laura Hagen

It was beautiful there.  Kings and Queens would live there.  We saw the Crown Jewels.  There was a sword that belonged to King Henry the First.  The sword was bigger than me.  My oath.  Alyssa Harrison We got to see a movie about the Crown Jewels.  It was cool.  Brittany Trobaugh They (the Crown Jewels) are so pretty.  I can't believe that people wear those on their heads because they look so heavy, and I bet they are. I know that my head would hurt after wearing them.  Alice Priddy

We first visited the “big ravens”, then the Bloody Castle, the beautiful Crown Jewels, after that we got a group picture, headed to the gift shop, then left.  Catherine Weber

We saw the famous black ravens.  The Legend is, if the ravens fly out of the tower, the monarchy will fall.  Laura Hagen

In the 1600’s the Kings said that there should always be six Ravens on the grounds at all times. Chantal Carey

There was a stuffed animal – a beef eater bear that I took a picture beside.  Samantha Lau
On the Royal guards (beefeaters) uniforms is the symbol E II R.  The E stands for Elizabeth, the II stands for the second, and the R stands for royalty.  Kathryn Kuczaj

 The Underground, Tower Hill Station
Jennifer Holland, Catherine Weber
Valerie Burton, Megan Starkey, Caitlin Kramer, Ruth Bryant, Sara Pitts
Winter Vasquez, Katheryn Kucjaz

After that we went back on the tube and rode to Westminster Abby.  We took lots of pictures and also had a group picture.  Laura Hagen

The Group On The Tube Joe Klein, Marissa Reyes, Samantha Lau, Lindsay Power,  Kade Stevens, Mrs. Reyes, Abby Satterfield, Megan Starkey,  Jennifer Holland, and Catherine Weber

The Texas Girls' Choir at Westminster Abby

(Beauty and the Beast is) a story of a young woman and a prince who is trapped in a beast’s body because of a spell.  All the things in his castle are all alive like his clock, his candlestick, his china and the hutch.  Sara Pitts I have never seen a play like that.  The special effects were so real.  It almost felt like you were part of the play.  Laura Hagen

The props were beautiful and the characters were really funny!  There were real fireworks on the stage and boy were they loud.  Megan Starkey

I like the part where the Beast changes back to a human.  Karissa Torrez

We had lots of fun!!!!!  We even did choir choreography to all the songs. Ruth Bryant

The play had a few extra songs in it that were never heard in the original movie.  I didn’t buy anything from the gift shop but they had watches, shirts, bags, and song books.  It was quite entertaining.  Samantha Lau I bought a really, really nice program back with a lot of great pictures, the costumes and everything.  Stephanie Fisher When it was over we took double-decker buses back to our hotel.  Lori Kreger After the show we went back to the hotel on the “tube”.  And got ready for bed.  Alison Johnson

Debi and Layne came in our room to help Rachel Tyler and Chantal clean-up!  When they did they ate some of Chantal’s food pack!  Rachel Cleveland
 

To continue with the England part of
the tour, Click  Here  for Day 4
To visit the other countries
click on the flags below.