Flat Stanley goes to London!

Flat Stanley was flattened by a bulletin board one day at school, which would have otherwise been tragic, but it meant that he could travel in an envelope and take part in great adventures everywhere. Kelsey sent him to her Auntie Ris with his story. He went with her to London.

Flat Stanley meets Auntie Ris

Flat Stanley is happy because the Red Sox beat the Angels the night before he and Auntie Ris went to London. Here he is with Wally the Green Monster!

Flat Stanley went to work with Auntie Ris. Their flight to London was at night, so they could go to work for a few hours before catching the airplane. Auntie Ris works on a computer all day, which Flat Stanley thought was pretty cool.

Flat Stanley read up on things to do and see in London, England. He couldn't believe all the famous places they were going to see, and was so excited to meet people from another country.

After a 6 1/2 hour flight from Boston that landed at Heathrow Airport in London at 7:15am, Flat Stanley took the subway from the airport to downtown London. In London, the subway is known at the Tube. This is the Piccadilly Line. You can see on the map where the stops on this subway line are, next to Flat Stanley.

The first thing Flat Stanley did after having breakfast at 10am, is to go to London Bridge. Remember the song about it falling down? London Bridge used to have houses and stores on it about 200 years ago, which we think is the one they wrote the song about. Now it's just a big flat bridge. The guy holding Flat Stanley below is one of Auntie Ris's best friends. His name is Dave, and he met Kelsey and Caelin when they were really little. He also went to Paris, France with Auntie Ris and their Nana a few years ago. He lives in England and has been to America about 15 times.

This is the view from London Bridge. The church dome you can see is Saint Paul's Cathedral, which is the second largest cathedral in the world, next to Saint Paul's in Rome, Italy. This is where Princess Diana got married! Also, during World War II, it survived major bombing in the area. It was designed by a famous architect name Christopher Wren, and built between 1675 and 1710. There has been a cathedral there since 604 AD.

The next thing we did was to walk to Leadenhall Market. Harry Potter movie scenes were filmed here in this beautiful marketplace.

The next day, Flat Stanley went to Covent Garden, which is a famous marketplace in London. London is famous for fog and rain, but this was a beautiful, sunny day, which meant no umbrellas were needed!

That night, Flat Stanley got to ride in a London taxi! This is Paul, who works with Dave at a bank in London. He thought Flat Stanley was pretty cool!

The next day, Auntie Ris, Dave, and Flat Stanley went to the city of Bath, which is famous as a resort town with hot springs. Hot springs are streams that come up from the ground and flow to the surface of the earth. They have hot water, and people believe they are healthy so they like to bathe in them. The Romans lived in England, hundreds of years ago, and built a temple here in 60-70 AD, almost 2000 years ago. The first King of England was crowned in Bath in 973AD, but by then the Roman temples disappeared. In the 1700's, Bath became a resort town, a lot like Saratoga, because of the hot springs. Rich people would vacation here and bathe in the hot springs, relax, and have a good time.

This is Bath Abbey, a cathedral in Bath. On this site, the first King of England, Edgar, was crowned, in 973 AD.

This is the altar at Bath Abbey.

This is the inside of Bath Abbey. Isn't it beautiful?

This sign shows that the first King of England was crowned at Bath Abbey.

This picture shows the remains of the ancient Roman Baths. Auntie Ris put her hand in the water. It was hot!

This picture shows Flat Stanley in front of one of the underground hot springs. Isn't it amazing that they're still there after hundreds of years?

This is Auntie Ris and Dave in the city of Greenwich, just east of London. This city is famous for astronomers who studied the stars, learned how to mark time with clocks, and the location of the Prime Meridian. Look at a globe to see where the Prime Meridian is! All of the world's time is measured in relation to Greenwich Mean Time. For example, if it's 12:00 noon in Greenwich, it's 7:00am in Massachusetts.
The reason they worked so hard at their studies, was to help ship captains be able to figure out where they were when they were sailing across the oceans.

This is Flat Stanley and Auntie Ris at the monument that marks the Prime Meridian.

Flat Stanley, channel-surfing. He's tired after a long day! They have funny accents on TV in England.

On the last day in London, the weather was excellent again! This is a famous street called the Strand. You can look on a map from 400 years ago and find this street on it.

Flat Stanley wanted to call home, but because he's flat, he had a tough time opening the door on the telephone booth. Not only that, but the money is different than in America (we use dollars, and they use what they call pounds), so he had a hard time figuring out how to make a phone call home. Most American cell phones won't work in England, and even if you have one that works there, it's expensive!

This is a famous square called Trafalgar Square. That big building is the National Art Gallery. Trafalgar Square has big fountains, lots of pigeons, and lots of tourists with cameras.
In America, a million people go to Times Square in New York City to celebrate New Years' Eve. In London, this is where the people come to celebrate.

This is Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Nelson was an English war hero who died at war in 1805. The whole square is named for the battle he died in, the Battle of Trafalgar.

Flat Stanley finally got to visit Big Ben! Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside this famous clocktower, which is attached to the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is a branch of the government of England, similar to Congress in America.

This picture shows the Houses of Parliament, where the government works.

This is an entrance to the Underground subway, better known as the Tube, which is the big subway system that serves London.

One of London's newest landmarks is the London Eye, which is one of the tallest Ferris Wheels in the world. It stands at 443 feet tall, and has great views of London. Auntie Ris was there in 1999 when they put it up. It was flat on barges in the river, and they pulled it up with huge cranes, very slowly, only a couple of feet each day. It was only supposed to be up until 2005, but it's so popular it will remain there for many years to come.
The name of this river is the Thames River. It has always been important to London for transportation and businesses that rely on shipping. Today it also has many tourist boats so you can see London from the river. They also have really nice walkways on both sides of the river.

Flat Stanley at Buckingham Palace. This is where Queen Elizabeth lives. She has been the queen of England since 1952.

The guards at Buckingham palace are famous too. Here's Flat Stanley with a guard in the background.

Flat Stanley with a statue of a famous person Auntie Ris has never heard of. He thought it was a cool statue though, so he wanted a picture. It was taken at the end of Jermyn Street, which is a famous, very, very expensive shopping street. We didn't buy anything there.

Flat Stanley then went to Piccadilly Circus! This is very famous in London. It's kind of like Times Square in New York, because it has all the lights.

Flat Stanley at the pub where Auntie Ris used to work. This is where she met her friend Dave. The pub has changed many times since she worked there, but Flat Stanley still wanted to have a picture of the place where she worked for a summer when she was in college.

After all the fun in London, it was time to get on the airplane to go home! The airline is Virgin Atlantic, and Auntie Ris and Dave use it almost every time they go to visit each other. It was Flat Stanley's first trip overseas! It was very exciting for him, and he had a great time, but it was time to go home, hop back into the envelope, and make his way back to Cheshire, MA so he could tell Kelsey and Caelin and all the kids at school about his adventures. (Did you know that there is also a county named Cheshire and a county named Berkshire in England? Lots of Massachusetts counties and towns are named after English counties and towns!)
Flat Stanley learned that the best thing about big vacations away from home is learning all about famous places and foreign countries and new things, and seeing the way other people live in another country. He also learned about how people from other places think about our country and how we live. The best thing he learned, though, is that home is a wonderful place no matter where you live, because that's where your family and friends are.