December 30, 2011

cheating on paris

Is anyone else sick of hearing about my thesis? I sure am. So instead I'll post some pictures showing what I did when I had a visit from one of my best friends and took a mental break from writing (which I paid for later, but it was totally worth it). My friend, Kelsey, came in October which last time I checked felt like a week ago but apparently it is the end of December now. What happened to November? I'll never know. Kelsey was here for ten days, and for three of those days we headed off to London by train - something I've never done but always wanted to do. Whenever I have a chance to travel, I usually try to go as far away from Paris as possible but I thought it was time to get my tail over to London because with only a two hour train ride, there are no excuses for never having traveled there before. It only took an afternoon of walking around for me to feel guilt-ridden about my love for a city other than Paris. I love new cities but it usually takes a couple of days for a new place to grow on me, followed by a day where I learn to appreciate it and then one where I'm ready to go. Not the case with London! Maybe I've watched too many Hugh Grant movies in my lifetime but there wasn't a thing I hated about it. British accents, pubs on every corner, reliable transportation, a language that felt like home and a civilians who understood the concept of personal space and avoided body checking people on sidewalks. Bravo, Londoners, bravo.
doing a great job at being tourists on the bus
Westminster neighborhood
Westminster Abbey - no royal wedding but Kelsey was still happy to be there

Westminster Abbey
The moment I fell in love with pub food.


shopping at Harrods...we could afford things in the gift shop only
The Lion King at the Lyceum Theater. Never thought I would enjoy antelopes and hyenas prancing around on stage so much
The London Eye
Tower Bridge, not to be confused with the London Bridge (which we did)
Big Ben. It was big.
cupcakes and shopping all in the same store! fitting rooms first, cupcakes second.
Me, the Queen and Buckingham Palace
next time you complain about being bored...
British Parliament
And of course we spent some time in Paris hanging around. Kelsey signed us up for a few new things that I had never done so it was fun to be a tourist with her in my own city. We got to see Paris by night on bikes and also had an amazing wine tasting + lunch at a local wine bar. 
bikes, bikes, bikes
rocking the neon yellow vest quite nicely
before i narrowly missed a pole and three people
wine tasting
and eating
kelsey and her long awaited hotdog in a baguette
sushi night at my place
yes, there are three desserts for 2 people.
Practicing her french at the Louvre
Leave it to Kelsey to find a homeless cat in the cemetery...
...that would not leave us alone
Awww. Another great visit from another great friend.

1 comment:

  1. I check your blog every couple of weeks and am so excited when I see a new post! London looks wonderful, and Kelsey seems like a great person to spend 10 days with!!!

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