Sea Life
Some might say the additional London trip is the best thing about the Explorer Pass, but I'm not sure everyone will agree. Visiting the Brighton Sea Life is usually a thrill for the students, where you'll be able to experience life on the sea floor though a glass tunnel. You'll meet turtles, sharks, rays, sea horses, octopus and much more. I'm so much looking forward to going with you. :-)
/Emma
Excursion to Hastings
I guess more than one of you STS students, have been spending hours, days or perhaps weeks on trying to decide what course town you want to go to. When I was 14 I had a hard time making my mind up between Hastings and Brighton. Finally, I chose Hastings and I must say my love is still divided between the towns. Brighton is cool and alternative and feels a bit more like a big city with all I require when it comes to shopping, while Hastings is calmer, still got great shopping and entertainment, but also a fantastic Old Town, where everything's incredibly cute and you really feel the long history of the town. The Hastings area has been inhabited since the 600's and was once called the Kingdom of Haestingas.
If you have chosen Explorer Pass, you'll get the chance to compare the towns yourself. If you'd like to visit cute and weird shops on narrow streets, and want to experience some time-travelling we can take you to George Street and let you explore Old Town. We can also climb West Hill (or go by lift) to get a stunning view over Hastings and the English Channel. Up there you'll find the 1000 years old castle ruin and the smuggler caves used in the 1700's, and if you want to visit the castle or go into the caves we'll arrange that as well.
If you prefer shopping in more modern settings you should stay in the town centre, which is also a very pleasant area. There is a shopping centre we can show you, as well as classic shopping streets for pedestrians with shops such as Debenham's and Top Shop. You could also go to the cinema if you want to or spend some time on the beach (bring your swim suit!).
As you can see there are several things to see and do, and the leaders are there to help you find what you prefer. You will get more details about the excursion when we're in Brighton, to get the most out of it, and, who know's, maybe you want to go to Hastings on your next language trip.
/Emma
If you have chosen Explorer Pass, you'll get the chance to compare the towns yourself. If you'd like to visit cute and weird shops on narrow streets, and want to experience some time-travelling we can take you to George Street and let you explore Old Town. We can also climb West Hill (or go by lift) to get a stunning view over Hastings and the English Channel. Up there you'll find the 1000 years old castle ruin and the smuggler caves used in the 1700's, and if you want to visit the castle or go into the caves we'll arrange that as well.
If you prefer shopping in more modern settings you should stay in the town centre, which is also a very pleasant area. There is a shopping centre we can show you, as well as classic shopping streets for pedestrians with shops such as Debenham's and Top Shop. You could also go to the cinema if you want to or spend some time on the beach (bring your swim suit!).
As you can see there are several things to see and do, and the leaders are there to help you find what you prefer. You will get more details about the excursion when we're in Brighton, to get the most out of it, and, who know's, maybe you want to go to Hastings on your next language trip.
/Emma
Going to London
As you probably have read on the STS homepage or in the catalogue already, you all will go on at least one excusion to London. Those of you who have ordered Explorer Pass will go to London twice and you might wonder about the difference between the included trip and the Explorer Pass trip.
The included trip is more of a sightseeing trip, when we'll try to show you as many interesting places in London as possible. London is a huge city so we won't show you everything, but among the popular sights are Queen Elisabeth II's home Buckingham Palace (seen above), Trafalgar Square with the more than 50 meter tall Lord Nelson Monument, Picadilly Circus, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. You'll get an sense of the fantastic London atmosphere, but the day will be intense, especially since London is hosting the Olympics this summer. As you might understand, there will be hard to squeeze in much shopping, if any. If we're lucky we'll have time to buy some souvenirs, before we return to Brighton, tired and happy.
The Explorer Pass students do not all love shopping. Those who do, will just love to spend hours at Oxford Street (left picture) or Camden Market, but if you prefer other kinds of experiences perhaps Madame Tussaud's with wax copies of celebrities like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears or Robert Pattinson is more tempting. It's also possible to visit museums (many are for free), London Eye or perhaps Covent Garden with it's street performers. What we'll do on this excursion, we plan together in Brighton and everybody doesn't have to do the same things.
The days in London passes quickly, and you will perhaps get a feeling of not having had enough time to experience everything you had wished for. This feeling is likely to come back everytime you leave London for the rest of your life. Exploring London is a neverending story - and hopefully you'll get the chance to return many times.
/Emma
The included trip is more of a sightseeing trip, when we'll try to show you as many interesting places in London as possible. London is a huge city so we won't show you everything, but among the popular sights are Queen Elisabeth II's home Buckingham Palace (seen above), Trafalgar Square with the more than 50 meter tall Lord Nelson Monument, Picadilly Circus, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. You'll get an sense of the fantastic London atmosphere, but the day will be intense, especially since London is hosting the Olympics this summer. As you might understand, there will be hard to squeeze in much shopping, if any. If we're lucky we'll have time to buy some souvenirs, before we return to Brighton, tired and happy.
The Explorer Pass students do not all love shopping. Those who do, will just love to spend hours at Oxford Street (left picture) or Camden Market, but if you prefer other kinds of experiences perhaps Madame Tussaud's with wax copies of celebrities like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears or Robert Pattinson is more tempting. It's also possible to visit museums (many are for free), London Eye or perhaps Covent Garden with it's street performers. What we'll do on this excursion, we plan together in Brighton and everybody doesn't have to do the same things.
The days in London passes quickly, and you will perhaps get a feeling of not having had enough time to experience everything you had wished for. This feeling is likely to come back everytime you leave London for the rest of your life. Exploring London is a neverending story - and hopefully you'll get the chance to return many times.
/Emma
Young Victoria in Brighton
Have you seen Emily Blunt in the film Young Victoria, that won an Oscar in 2010. If not, you should try to see it immediately. Brighton was actually one of the filming locations and that for a good reason. Victoria became the Queen of United Kingdom in 1837, at the age of 18, and visited Brighton for the first time the same year.
On the picture you see the Royal Pavillion in Brighton, the former summer recidence of her two uncles King George IV and King Edward VII. It's built in Regency style, an exotic, oriental fashion popular in the days when King George IV was still just a prince and wanted to spend as much time here as possible. Well it wasn't exactly the Victorian style. She called the Pavillion "a strange, odd, Chinese-looking place", which might be true, but nevertheless she returned here twice. In 1942 she made some refurbishing so it would be suitable for her little family (she had only given birth to two of her nine children by that time), but since it was never really her style and some people saw it as a waste of the state's money to have built it from the start, she sold it to the town of Brighton in 1850.
Thanks to Queen Victoria it's now open to the public (and thanks to George IV it exists at all). We'll take the Explorer Pass students on a tour inside, to see how the royals lived in the beginning of the 1800's. It's well worth the visit, but the park outside is also a lovely place for picnic with the STS group. Click on the picture and have a look around.
/Emma
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