Bonjour à tous! Long time no see! It's been a busy few weeks here in France. It seems like ages ago, but last weekend I was in London visiting friends from Notre Dame, and I fell in love with the city. Although I was only there for roughly 48 hours, I got a good feel of the people and places of London, and it's somewhere I definitely need to revisit (or live!). Here's the SparkNotes version of my weekend:
- English, everywhere! It was a nice break from constantly switching between French and English; communication was much easier. And I cannot get enough of the British accent.
- The Tube is a wonderful thing - except on Sundays when half the stops are out of service and you end up having to take a 57 pound cab to the airport and make your flight with fifteen minutes to spare......travel nightmare.
- Hostels are great. All young people, all from different countries visiting London for different reasons. So cultural. I recommend St. Christopher's Inn near London Bridge; it was in a young, trendy area and had all the amenities for a weekend trip!
- The Saturday Portobello Market is where I officially fell in love. Little vendors lined the streets and the coolest of people wandered around the enormous area. And the food...so many vegetarian options; I was in heaven! It had a serious hippie vibe with street performers, daisy headbands and locally grown food (and probably some plants too if you catch my vibe..) - I enjoyed simply surveying the crowd and people-watching while we sat and ate veggie-filled burritos and drank fresh-squeezed juice. The three hours we spent there were not even enough.
- The sights of London are great and all, but I was happier spending my time following the river and seeing the locals in their natural habitat. We were lucky to have beautiful weather, so everyone was outside playing music, running, shopping and drinking (guess there's no open containers law). I cannot wait to go back to London and see even more of the cool, diverse city. Who knows, maybe after college I'll just hop on a plane and move there for good.
- English, everywhere! It was a nice break from constantly switching between French and English; communication was much easier. And I cannot get enough of the British accent.
- The Tube is a wonderful thing - except on Sundays when half the stops are out of service and you end up having to take a 57 pound cab to the airport and make your flight with fifteen minutes to spare......travel nightmare.
- Hostels are great. All young people, all from different countries visiting London for different reasons. So cultural. I recommend St. Christopher's Inn near London Bridge; it was in a young, trendy area and had all the amenities for a weekend trip!
- The Saturday Portobello Market is where I officially fell in love. Little vendors lined the streets and the coolest of people wandered around the enormous area. And the food...so many vegetarian options; I was in heaven! It had a serious hippie vibe with street performers, daisy headbands and locally grown food (and probably some plants too if you catch my vibe..) - I enjoyed simply surveying the crowd and people-watching while we sat and ate veggie-filled burritos and drank fresh-squeezed juice. The three hours we spent there were not even enough.
- The sights of London are great and all, but I was happier spending my time following the river and seeing the locals in their natural habitat. We were lucky to have beautiful weather, so everyone was outside playing music, running, shopping and drinking (guess there's no open containers law). I cannot wait to go back to London and see even more of the cool, diverse city. Who knows, maybe after college I'll just hop on a plane and move there for good.
Especially after the disaster of getting to the airport last Sunday, I was absolutely ecstatic to land back on French soil. The beginning of April marked the half-way point of my time here; I only have two more months to spend learning French and immersing myself in the culture. I am pleased with my progress so far, but I also need to take every opportunity offered to me to meet more French people and make more memories.
Bonne journée tout le monde, et à bientôt!
Bonne journée tout le monde, et à bientôt!