Sixth Form Trip to the States

On the first Monday of the half term, we arrived at Heathrow bright and early to catch our 12pm flight to Washington. The in-flight entertainment was excellent, and we were able to watch critically acclaimed recent films such as Priscilla and Barbie! After we’d checked into the hotel, (and adjusted to the time difference – we were five hours behind the UK) we went to a restaurant for some classic American burgers and fries. We all slept well and enjoyed the delicious breakfast bar in the morning, featuring some incredibly thick pancakes.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we explored multiple areas of Washington with our wonderful and informative tour guide, Christina. Due to the rain and snow on the first day, we had the area around the Capitol building almost to ourselves, and took some great pictures! We also had the privilege of wandering around the beautiful Library of Congress, the Washington Monument, and the many museums the National Mall had to offer. We also had some quite unique experiences; we were taught how to line dance by someone from Washington’s only LGBTQ+ dance organisation! Moreover, we popped into plenty of iconic American stores, like 7-Eleven. We were lucky enough to be in the Supreme Court as they were deciding whether Trump was eligible to run for President in this year’s election or not – truly a landmark decision.

We were travelling on a train to New York for most of Thursday, but we received a great tour of Times Square and the surrounding streets once we arrived, as well as lunch at the brilliant fried chicken store Raising Canes. Then in the evening we headed to Madison Square Garden to watch an ice hockey match. The New York Rangers beat the visiting Montreal Canadians 7:4, and we all screamed so loudly we almost lost our voices. Some of us even ended up on the screen! Then on Friday, we went on a cruise around the Statue of Liberty and did some hardcore shopping in Times Square. Mr Loveday had a huge surprise for us in the evening – we thought we were going to watch a movie, but he had actually booked tickets for us to see Hamilton on Broadway! It was absolutely incredible seeing it live and being in ‘the room where it happened’, so to speak.

Sadly, Saturday was our final day, but we went out on a high. We went on a very informative civil rights tour in the snow around Harlem and then did some more shopping in stores like Sephora, Target and Barnes & Noble. We then headed to Newark Airport for a mildly gruelling overnight flight and arrived back in the UK at 9am. We had an absolutely amazing and informative trip, and I on behalf of everyone who went would like to thank Mr Loveday for organising something unforgettable (and for carrying all our shopping bags when we were late to see Hamilton). I will definitely go back to America again someday!

Nina
Upper Sixth