Last Day

I couldn't have asked for a better last day. I spent all day Friday with Khala! When I woke up (before 11 am mind you, which is an incredible feat for me) I decided that I wanted to go for a run, so Khala took me to Kensington Gardens. The weather as beautiful and Khala and I had some bonding time. It was fun! In the meantime, Rabia went to Westfield mall to meet a friend, which she rather enjoyed.

We had lunch at the apartment with Nana and then headed back out again. We went back to the Globe Theatre because while I was away in Rugby, Khala managed to get a hold of £5 standing tickets for a French production of one of Shakespeare's comedies, Much Ado About Nothing (or in French: Beaucoup de Bruit Pour Rien).




(The Globe again)




(Me inside the Globe)




(Seats in the Globe)

Though we had to stand for 3 hours, we both thoroughly enjoyed the show. As it turns out, we had the best seats (well, spaces) in the house. We were up close to the stage and could see everything. The seats that cost much more were actually uncomfortable (I tried them out the day we did the tour) and had obstructed views.

The French language sounded beautiful - I understood most of what the actors were saying because they spoke in colloquial French. Good thing I had some practice in Paris first!

The comedy was in traditional Shakespearean form. There were misunderstandings, miscarried letters, and of course WEDDINGS. It was funny even to those who didn't understand French because the actors were so expressive. The actors spoke SO clearly too, which helped with my comprehension.

After the show, we decided that we absolutely needed afternoon tea, especially because it was my last chance for a while. Afternoon tea and tea in general are very important to English culture; the UK drinks 165 million cups every day!

As we were walking along the Thames in search of a good place for tea, I spotted someone that I wasn't expecting...Jennifer Lawrence, the star of the Hunger Games movie. I stared at her as she walked by, but it happened so quickly that I didn't have a chance to snap a picture. She was just out walking with a friend. I guess she isn't as well known over here. To confirm that it was actually her, I consulted Google. I found that she is indeed in London visiting her boyfriend. I was 1 foot away from one of the biggest stars in America! Yay!

After all of that excitement, Khala and I headed to Le Pain Quotidien for English tea (how ironic). We had spent the day blending English and French culture - why not continue the trend?

Even though Le Pain Quotidien is a French place, the scones were excellent! We walked through Covent Garden for the last time and had dinner in with Nana and Rabia a few hours later.



(A lovely scone)

After dinner Rabia and I went shopping...for chocolate that is (the best kind of shopping!). We loaded up on Malteasers, Dairy Milk, Twirl, Smarties, Minstrels, and more. British chocolate is the best! And they don't make Dairy Milk and other British chocolate the same in the states, so we had to stock up.

I can't believe I've been to London, Edinburgh, Rugby, Stratford, and Paris all in two weeks. I've had the best time and am sad to leave London now, especially because it is Jubilee weekend in celebration of the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee (marking her 60 year reign). I've never seen England looking so patriotic! Oh well - I need to get home to have my own celebration - I graduate in 4 days!

Now our bags are packed, we've said goodbye to Khala and Nana, and we are sitting in the airport waiting to board our flight. Not to be corny, but these two weeks have really flown by. Don't worry though, I'm already planning my next trip back!

Time to sign off. Until next time...Cheers!

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C'est la vie à Paris!

I remarkably woke up to my 6 am alarm - I was so excited to go to Paris! Rabia, Uncle Azhar, and I had to catch a train, a tube, and Eurostar to get to "la ville d'amour," but it still felt much easier than flying. It only takes two and a half hours to get to Paris by the Eurostar train - it is so simple! Yet another reason to love traveling in Europe...

Our hotel was right by the Eiffel Tower in the Invalides area. We first decided to walk to the Champs-Élysées, an extremely touristy boulevard that leads up to Napoleon's victory arch, The Arc de Triomphe. We had a nice lunch and a people-watching session on the Champs-Élysées at Café George V. It's impossible to go to Paris and not spend a good few hours watching passerbys.



(The famous Champs-Élysées)




(In front of the Arc de Triomphe)

I was desperate to revisit Sacré Cœur, a beautiful basilica in the Montmartre quarter. We had a fair bit of climbing to do to reach the basilica on the top of a steep hill, but the church interior as well as the views from the top were stunning and breathtaking.



(Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, and Sacré Cœur montage by Rabia)




(Me and Uncle Azhar at Sacré Cœur)



(Beautiful View)

I remembered from my last visit that Moulin Rouge was nearby. After walking miles through the back streets of Montmartre and asking several locals for directions, we finally found the famous night club. The Montmartre area used to be very artsy, but is now full of artists and tourists alike. Manet, Degas, Renoir, Picasso, Dali, and van Gogh all lived and painted in Montmartre at some point in their lives.



(Moulin Rouge)

We went back to Invalides, almost climbed the Eiffel Tower, decided against it when it started to rain, and settled on a boat ride along the Seine. It was lovely even though we were surrounded by camera-crazy tourists because we got to see Paris lit up at night. Even though we walked all day, Rabia and I stood outside at the front of the boat for the whole ride, soaking in the marvelous views.



(Eiffel Tower - day and night)

We had a really late dinner (how French of us) at 11 pm after the boat ride to reenergize for another full day of sightseeing and fun.

The next morning after a quick pastry (literally the best croissant I have ever had), we decided to tackle the Eiffel Tower. We climbed all the way to the second level, which is equivalent to 43 flights of stairs. We're pretty fit, eh? There are no stairs to the third level (thank goodness...), so we took an elevator to the top. The view of course, is spectacular.



(Pâtisserie)




(Proof that we climbed the stairs!)




(It's a long way up)



(A view from the top)

After exerting ourselves climbing the Eiffel Tower, we decided that we deserved second breakfast. I was brave and tried my first ever café au lait, which I found truly disgusting. I think it was just too strong. It tasted a little bit better when I added sugar. What made the breakfast délicieux was the café éclair I had with my coffee. Yum!

Our next stop was the Louvre - a must-see in Paris. We only allotted enough time to see the Devon wing, which is the most famous because it has the Mona Lisa in it. I was more taken with other paintings. I absolutely love the sculpture at the top of the stairs to the Italian section of the wing. It is called Victoire de Samothrace and is stunning. I love the detail of the draping fabric.



(The famous lady in all her glory)



(Victoire de Samothrace)

The paintings and sculptures were outstanding as was the architecture of the Louvre. It was wonderful being surrounded by such beauty, but frustrating to weave in and out of tourists who only rush to see the most famous paintings. Though I have been THAT tourist before too, I still find them annoying.

Do you recognize these paintings?





















(This last painting really intrigued me for some reason...it's called Scène de déluge by Anne-Louise Girodetde Roussy-Trioson and is about a man struggling between the past (his father on his back) and the present/future (his wife and kids)...I love the colors and emotion)











(The lovely Louvre...)

We were utterly exhausted after walking the Louvre, so we sat down for lunch before continuing our sight-seeing trek. We passed several Animaleries filled with the most adorable puppies in them as we walked along the Seine. This was odd because what Parisien has room for a large dog in a tiny apartment (the puppies do grow you know...)? Regardless, it was a cute distraction.

Norte Dame was next. I prefer Sacré Cœur, but Notre Dame is undeniably impressive as well. After seeing two churches, I needed to appreciate a new religion.




(Notre Dame)

Determined to see something new, I figured out the route on the métro to get to the Mosquée de Paris (the Mosque of Paris) in the Latin Quarter. I was so excited to go because it was a part of Paris that I have never been to. Another bonus was that it wasn't very touristy.



(Exterior of the Mosque of Paris)

I enjoyed seeing the mosque, but it made me want to see more elaborate mosques; I would love to see great mosques in other countries such as Turkey or Morocco.




(Minaret)




(Interior of mosque)

The Latin Quarter, so named because university students there used to communicate in Latin before the French Revolution, is home to la Sorbonne, a top-notch university and several science and natural history museums. It has a gorgeous park in it called Jardin des Plantes, which is full of lovely roses. There was even a menagerie in the park, so we got a glimpse of baby kangaroos...adorable.



(Rabia in the rose garden)



(Baby kangaroos!)

Time was running short, so breezed through a toy market on the way to the métro station to get back to Invalides. The métro in France is so nice and clean (in comparison to the London underground). It is also fairly easy to navigate. I was quite proud of my navigation skills, actually.

I was desperate for a crêpe, so I rushed back to a crêpe stand by the Eiffel Tower, while Rabia and Uncle Azhar went to a café for a drink. I was dumb because there are better crêpe places closer to the hotel, but I couldn't find the kind I was looking for. I almost made us late for our train home, which made Uncle Azhar panic ever so slightly (even though he is a really chill person to travel with). We made it just in the nick of time (I knew we would...) and made it back to London by 10:50 pm.

We said goodbye to Uncle Azhar and took the underground back to South Kensington with Khala. What a day! We managed to get through Paris at breakneck speed, but the trip was definitely worth it. And it was so fun hanging out with Uncle Azhar.

I loved speaking French for the two days and can't wait to return to Paris. Next time, I will explore more new areas and try new things. Maybe I'll even try escargots...

A bientôt, Paris! Je vais revenir :)

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From Oxford to Oxshott

Today we left Rugby for Oxshot to stay with Uncle Azhar. We stopped in Oxford on the way to meet Divya, one of our friends who is an Ellis alum. It was so nice catching up with her and hearing about her adventures in England. She has been studying abroad at Oxford for 6 months - I'm jealous.



(Reunion with Divya)




(Gorgeous Oxford)

She took us into buildings that are not accessible to non-Oxford students, which was so cool. The streets are brimming with tourists, but inside the gates of Oxford it is mostly empty with only a few small groups of Oxford students enjoying the lovely weather by picnicking on the immaculately mowed lawns.



(Rabia and Divya)

After hanging out with Divya, we grabbed lunch from Pret à Manger (their carrot cake is to die for!) and hopped back into the car to get to Oxshott, where Uncle Azhar, Auntie Heather, and our cousins Jathan and Jamie live.

We spent some time with Auntie Heather and the cutest dog in the world named Chloe before Jamie arrived from boarding school to say hello. We all took Chloe for a walk in the woods. She is so cute and frisky and loves to chase squirrels.



(Chloe, the dog)

Unfortunately, Jathan is in Morocco playing in a tennis tournament so we didn't get to see him. Jamie had to go back to school after a couple of hours, so Uncle Azhar, Auntie Heather, Rabia, and I went out to Strada for dinner.

We came back and had an early night so we could get up early in the morning to catch our train to Paris. Oh là là!

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Stratford-upon-Avon

After a weekend of family and fun, it was time to focus again on my senior project (though I could argue that I spent the whole weekend immersed in English culture, which is true).

We drove to Stratford-upon-Avon with Uncle Azhar to see where Shakespeare was born and grew up. We met our cousin's other grandma (who we all call Nanny) there.



(Us with Nanny by the River Avon)

Nanny lives right by the town centre and was more than happy to show us around. Stratford-upon-Avon is BEAUTIFUL. The river Avon flows through a lovely park and the town itself has cute little Tudor houses, shops, and taverns. The names of the local stores and restaurants come from Shakespeare's imagination, which was exciting for me to see.

One of the restaurants we ate at was called "The Food of Love," which comes from Twelfth Night ("if music be the food of love, play on"). There was a dress shop called Cordelia (character from King Lear) too. My favorite was a boat company called each of its rental boats after a female character from one of Shakespeare's plays - Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Ophelia (Hamlet) were present!




(We love the park and river:)



(Rowboats on the River Avon)

We started at the Holy Trinity Church to see where Shakespeare was baptized and later buried. Anne Hathaway, his wife, was buried next to him. We walked around the town and saw the outside of the house where Shakespeare was born. We had to drive out of the town centre to see other important sites, including Anne Hathaway's cottage.



(Holy Trinity Church)



(Shakespeare's grave)



(Can you see Shakespeare's bust on the left?)



(Outside Shakespeare's birthplace)



(Anne Hathaway's cottage)

Nanny recommended that we all go inside Mary Arden's Farm (also outside the town centre), which belonged to Shakespeare's mother's family. The farm still works today - we got to see sheep, cows, horses, pigs, and bunnies. Rabia was disgusted, but I liked seeing all of the animals, especially in the proper English countryside. The pigs were very smelly though.



(Mary Arden's Farm)




(Uncle Azhar loves animals)



(Gross...)

We learned that the people who originally turned the farm into a tourist attraction picked the wrong building as Mary Arden's house. When they consulted records from the past, they learned that she lived in a different house on the farm and only occupied a few rooms at that. We actually made the same mistake and thought the first house we toured was Mary Arden's, but later found the real one.


(Inside Mary Arden's real house - look how low the ceilings are!)

The house was cute, but the ceilings were really low. Nanny was impressed with how resourceful people were back in the day with their woven baskets and spinning wheels. Thank goodness we have modern technology.

We had dinner back in town right by the park. The weather was beautiful again - we've been really lucky here. At 7:15, we went to the theatre to see the RSC's (Royal Shakespeare Company) production of Julius Caesar. It was set in modern Africa, but the Shakespearean language was the same. Though the seats were uncomfortable (I guess the RSC really wanted the theatre to resemble the Globe), I enjoyed the show. The acting was brilliant and I loved hearing Shakespearean language in an African accent.




(Yay Stratford!)



(Theatre we went to see Julius Caesar in)



(Inside the theatre before the show)

After the show, we took Nanny back to her place and drove back to Rugby. It was such a lovely day - now that I know Stratford-upon-Avon is so close to Rugby (about 45 minutes), I will definitely come back next time I visit!

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