London

London never fails to impress. Walking through the city is really traversing 6 continents. More often than not, the people striding by speak a strange and unrecognizable tongue. Convenience stores offer food products that make me wonder not only about their main ingredients, but furthermore "Who buys this item so frequently that it must be sold next to the Coke and Hobnobs?" Hobnobs are crumbly and delicious biscuits (cookies) that help make life perfectly complete. The package notes that HRH the Queen prefers them at tea time.

Everyday interactions seem magnified. For example, buying a coffee is more than ordering. It's buying a coffee in London. I love riding on public transport in London. It's not walking; it's exploring. It's not sleeping; it's an exhausted, temporary loss of consciousness. Enough people have lived there long enough that practically every borough, building, and brick has a notable history. Hotel rooms come equipped with tea kettles. Credit card machines function exceptionally quickly. This list could quickly become a dissertation of details. Suffice to say, one would not fall bored. One could possibly develop claustrophobia and blisters.

Our first day there, Caroline and I tackled Covent Garden and Oxford Street. We chuckled at street performers. We were elbowed by ladies with shopping bags. We marveled at the diversity of items possible to buy from 21st century Eliza Dolittles-- clay portrait sculptures completed in 30 minutes, reptiles coated in clear plastic, wine bottles melted down into cheese plates, clocks made from CDs.

That night, Caroline's parents took us to eat in a pub named the White Bear. It dated from 1609 (or some similar impressive ancient annum) and had a fireplace large enough for whole cows (not that there was one there). I feasted on Steak and Ale pie with mash, veg and Banoffee Pie. Very tasty British food. Banoffee is a portmanteau for bananas and toffee.

The next morning, I met the Wesley crew at John Wesley's Chapel for the 11am service. Seeing them brought nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes! We got to spend the whole day together and part of the next. The choir was on a tour for their Spring Break and performed Sunday evening at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. The Hall is this huge and amazing building right across from Westminster Abbey. It hosted the first UN meeting in 1946. It sits directly on top of the District Line. They built it guinea by guinea in the 1800s. The guide said a guinea was worth a lot back then.

We climbed to the almost-top of St. Paul's Cathedral the next morning. What a blustery view! The very top had to be closed due to weather conditions. Coincidentally, England was having their once-a-year storm while we were there. A serious one. 80 mph winds in the West. So, the sky spit on us on and off throughout the day. But that's normal in Northern France.

It was really hard leaving them at Tower Hill and taking the Eurostar back to Lille. It's hard leaving London under most circumstances, but especially when it means parting from friends and returning to work in groggy Valenciennes. While seated on the train hurtling 120 mph towards France, one of my teachers sent me a message saying I didn't have to work the next day. What a pinnacle of irony. The next day I was understandably depressed and didn't get out until around 6 pm.

Fortunately, Wednesday, Jen, Nina and Drew saved me with a short road trip to Amiens, but that's another post.