We traveled on the Eurostar train from Paris to London on July 16 to head to our new home for the next week at the University of Roehampton. There were quite a few in our group who had never been on a train before, so it was a unique and enjoyable experience overall. We are really getting the hang of moving around these cities and getting accustomed to the public transportation systems. Many of us remarked on how well done the public infrastructure was in both Paris and London, while also comparing it to some of these systems we have at home.
The journey was a smooth 2.5 hour trip, starting in one big city, through the northern French countryside, through the Channel Tunnel (about 30 miles), and dropping us at St Pancras station in London. The University of Roehampton is on the outskirts of London, about 45 minutes away.
The next day, July 17, we had class at the Library on campus, with a nice lunch break in Roehampton. It was a nice recovery day after a few non-stop days in Paris and traveling. We had great discussions in class about what we experienced over the last few weeks both leading up to the trip and while in Paris. Ilima Long, PhD student in Political Science, also did a presentation for us on some political foundations and historical comparisons amongst United Kingdom, France and the Hawaiian Kingdom, which provided us great context for our visits over the next few days.
Up next tomorrow….National Archives at Kew!