London: Mind the Gap

I've been meaning to write about my amazing trip to England, but I've been so busy trying to see everything in Paris!  Last weekend, I spent 5 days in London, where I stayed with Becky, a friend/roommate from Madison.  We took the Eurostar train from Paris on Thursday night, dropped our bags off at Becky's flat, and then went to a fun Irish bar in the Soho district.  Being in London was like a huge breath of fresh air.. in addition to seeing a familiar face and speaking English, I noticed the city has a much different atmosphere than here in Paris.  The people are a bit more considerate and friendly.  For example if someone bumps into you on the metro in Paris, he or she will usually glare at you.. in London, such person would turn around and say "Pardon me, I'm sorry!"

On Friday, while Becky was in class and most of my roommates from Paris went to the town of Bath, I got a feel for the city myself by walking through Hyde Park and shopping on Oxford Street.  Two of my favorite stores are River Island and Topshop, both of which I believe are only located in England and Ireland.  I spent a little time in the British Library, which houses original written Beatles lyrics, original compositions from Mozart, Purcell, and Mendelssohn, the Magna Carta, and rough drafts of Oscar Wilde's work.  In the afternoon, Becky and I walked to Trafalgar Square and spent time pondering the works of Monet and Van Gogh in the National Gallery.  We then wandered down towards Big Ben and the London Eye, both of which were gorgeously lit up at night.  The night ended in true British fashion: we ate a traditional English dinner at a pub, and then went out once again in the Soho area, which is always bustling with nightlife.

We started out Saturday with a quick trip to Buckingham Palace, and then rode the tube to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern art museum.  Some of the art here was quite questionable (examples: a mirror, some random sticks, and a piece of paper glued on the wall) but there were some pieces by Picasso and Liechtenstein that I really enjoyed.  We sampled food at the nearby Borough Market, and then walked along the river to the Tower Bridge- one of London's prettiest sites, in my opinion.  We then met up with Megan, Greg, and Natalie and saw a matinee West End (Broadway) performance of Chicago.. it was amazing!  Just yesterday, I found out that the same time we were at the show, Prince Harry was eating dinner TWO BLOCKS away from us... I was freaking out!  Later, Becky and I went out to a posh bar near Liverpool Station for her friend's birthday.

On Sunday we started by taking the tube to Kensington Palace, right in the middle of Hyde Park.  I then did a hop-on hop-off bus tour, which I really enjoyed because the guide told us lots of interesting facts about all the famous places around town.  I got off at Tower of London, and was the only one of my roommates willing to pay 15 pounds to go inside the tower- SO worth it.  The tower has so much history, and I was able to see the royal crowns and dresses, such as the what Queen Elizabeth wore for her coronation.  They also showed the armor and swords of past Kings.  The entire tower has so much history, and once you pass inside the gates, it's basically a city of it's own (with it's own post office).  I next ventured over to Westminster Abbey, the site of the future royal wedding.  I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount of money to go inside, but if you go for a service or mass, it's free- so that's what I did.. I went to an Evensong service, which they invite people from all countries and religions to participate in mass.  It was amazing, hearing the choir and organ echo off the walls of the greatest church in the English-speaking world.  Sunday night, we went to a bar to watch the Packers win the Superbowl! Everything about that night was great- watching the game, eating great food, and meeting lots of people from Madison studying in London.  Two of the guys I met were originally from Oconomowoc, which was interesting and fun.  After lots of craziness and celebration, we returned back to Becky's flat around 3 or 4am.

Even after the late night, I was up and out the door at 9am to get in some last sight-seeing.  I went back on the hop-on/off bus to Picadilly Circus and then walked to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard ceremony.  After watching the guards march and the band play, I went to one of the greatest stores in the world- Harrods.  I spent some time in there, and then went across the street to TopShop, a famous London store owned by Kate Moss.  Then it was time to catch the Eurostar back "home" to Paris.  The weekend was a much-needed break.. it was great to see Becky, and I loved being able to speak English! Not that I can complain about living in Paris...

Can we just eat our way down the street?

This past Tuesday, we started classes at ESCP.  If we thought the 75 minute "power-lectures" at Madison were long, it's nothing compared to the 3 hour classes here.  Luckily I know a few people in each class, so I can talk to them during our (much need) breaks.  We will have much less work for these classes, which is a refreshing change of pace from last semester!

On Thursday, we went to Club Mix, one of the nicest nightclub in Paris.  The doormen are very selective about who is let into the club, so you have to be young and dressed up.  The club is huge, and exactly what one would expect when picturing a European rave: lights flashing everywhere, bars, loud techno music, and everyone dancing.  The best part is this club is free on Thursday nights for international students, so we didn't have to pay anything to have an amazing night!  We will definitely be back soon..

None of my roommates nor I have classes on Fridays, so a few of us went inside Notre Dame.. the last time I went there was with my Aunt Jane, so re-visiting it brought back a lot of fun memories.  We then met up with Greg and Natalie for coffee/hot chocolate and walked over to Ile Saint-Louis, one of two islands in the middle of the Seine river.  This area is so cute, and for numerous reasons.  First of all, very few tourists know about the island's charm, and there are no busses or metro stops.  The best part of Ile Saint-Louis, however, is all the tiny specialty shops.  We searched for an ice cream shop recommended by travel guru Rick Steves, and instead found tiny shops that only sell chocolate, toy puppets, scarves, stationary, and candy.  It seemed like the closest one could get to shopping down Harry Potter's Diagon Alley.  Natalie asked if we could just eat our way down the street; every shop sold delicious food.  We then headed over to the Odeon area in the 6th arrondissement to an Italian restaurant also recommended by Rick Steve's, and then across the street to an American bar, The Frog and Princess.  That really is the bar's name..

Saturday, we met some friends in the Latin Quarter and walked through the Luxembourg Gardens to Luxembourg Palace.. it was gorgeous even with the fountains iced over, but I can't even imagine how beautiful it will be in a few months when it is warmer and the flowers start blooming.  We then headed towards the Eiffel Tower and ate lunch at the cutest bakery/cafe with a mural painted on the ceiling.  Our next stop was the Hotel des Invalides and the Army Museum, where we saw Napoleon's tomb.  I have seen his tomb before, but I had forgotten how beautiful the whole building is.  Napoleon's tomb is basically a 2-story high wooden coffin, and there are apparently 5 coffins inside it.

It was warm and sunny on Sunday, so I walked along the Seine for a good two hours.. it was so relaxing! I then went to le Musee d'Orsay, a museum that was closed due to a worker's strike the last time we were in Paris.  I had been wanting to visit this museum for weeks, and finally decided to go by myself as my friends were busy.  Personally, I liked this museum better than the Louvre, simply because it houses the impressionist pieces (my favorite type of art).  I spent 2 hours walking around viewing art by Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, and sculptures by Rodin (one of my favorite sculptors).  My roommate Jen turned 21 the next day, so we all went out for dinner, dessert, and then to a karaoke bar next to Notre Dame (until 4am).  All in all, a very fun day and night!

On Monday, (Jen's birthday) everyone else had class, so the two of us wandered to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.  We followed Rick Steve's detailed walking tour and spent a good hour finding the graves of Jim Morrison, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and Gertrude Stein.  It was a very tranquil walk, and many of the cemetery's graves are more like tiny chapels dedicated to a single family.  Visiting the cemetery isn't a must-see for visitors, but it's an interesting place for someone living in Paris for 5 months (aka me).