Sunday June 28th, 12:21AM (GMT)
I've made it to my first destination! After a nerve-wracking two and a half hour delay, during which we were kicked off one plane and put on another totally different one, I'm currently sitting about a 5 minute walk from the Chalk Farm tube station, next door to Primrose Hill.
Initial thoughts on my next two weeks: Mark and I have no idea what we're doing or what we're in for. My friend Mark Patterson, who graduated Northwestern with me and is finishing up a masters program here, is my host while in England and my co-traveler through deepest darkest Europe. He picked me up at the airport (note to self: figure out an address to use as a "home" for my custom's form - passport control doesn't like the rather ambiguous "London" as a destination), and after a couple minutes mutual catching up and joking, we took the tube to the north west section of London near Camden Town.
I'm crashing at Mark's aunts for the next two nights, wonderful people that they are. It was Mark's aunt's birthday, and so Mark and I, the aunt, her husband, and their two daughters all went to the Duke of York's theatre to see a production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. Riveting stuff, and Mark's extended family are huge fans of the theatre, which makes it a lot more fun.
A couple quick notes on England, and then on our itinerary: Beer here flows like water. I've had two or three separate beer servings in the 8 hours I've been in this city, as well as the opportunity to have wine and port. I love it. Also, people seem to stay out and eat a lot later than I'm used to: rolling around the city with Mark after the play, it was 11:30pm and people were still just sitting down to eat dinner. Also, everyone plays soccer, which is awesome. Mark and I went out for a quick toss of the frisbee and the entire park was filled with kids and adults of all ages and skill levels kicking the ball around. There were 5 year old kids who would dribble circles around me. No wonder the US always sucks at soccer.
Tomorrow's plan: Long run in the morning through Regent's Park, then Indian food at some point and a long day of planning stuff. Also, the US is playing Brazil in the finals of the Confederation's Cup, so we have to head to a bar and watch that.
ITINERARY UPDATE: It seems as though Mark and I will be taking the ~90 minute EuroStar train over the channel to Paris on Monday morning! Anyone with Parisian advice, please let us know! We currently have one friend who graduated with us in MMSS in 2008 working there, so we're going to hit her up as well.
We'll probably spend a couple days in Paris, and then are currently thinking of Brussels as our next stop.
I hope everyone is doing well. Good night!
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5 comments:
are you seeing elisa?? tell her i said hi! also -- for good paris stuff, contact janet. she lived there for like 6 months, i'm sure she might have something to tell you if you need more suggestions. :)
Hi love--paris the land of wonderful food and wine, walk to sacre coeur, drink cafe latte and eat pastries on the left bank outdoor cafe's, a trip to versaille, unbelievable, and at the risk of irritation--a quick tour of the louvre and the museum that houses the impressionist and all of rodin's scrulpture, email your cousin sarah canner who lived there on and off for 10 years, the chunnel train will be amazing--ahhhhh the memories, oh yeah steak tartare
love mom
bruce said go to bakeries in paris and take pictures--love dad
newyorktimes article in travel section-frugal paris, I will send you email with suggestions
copied from article or send you article
love mom
My favorite stuff to do (I studied abroad in Paris last fall!):
Walk around Montmartre, and climb the hill to go to the Sacre Coeur (entry's free!)
Climb Notre Dame all the way to the top, if you aren't too afraid of heights, and chill next to the Gargoyles, especially the famous one called "Le Penseur"-- "The Thinker" (not the Rodin statue)
The Louvre is cool, but the Pompidou is much better. Check that out as well as the neighborhood next to it-- the old Jewish quarter, full of beautiful old buildings and an interesting museum.
There's also an enormous quasi-illegal flea market if you take the porte de clignacourt line (it looks pink on the map) aaaaallll the way north. It's called the "Puces de Clignacourt" (the flea market of clignacourt) and it's a great way to buy cheap souvenirs and awesome leather jackets.
Go to a Cafe in Montparnasse! It's on the lower bank and was frequented by artists and writers for centuries. La Rotonde, for example, was Hemingway's favorite.
My favorite park was actually relatively unknown-- Buttes de Chamont, or something like that, which should appear on the upper right hand side of the map. The neighborhood (the 19th or 20th) isn't ideal, but the park is the most beautiful I've ever seen in my LIFE, including a gazebo, hills, mountains, caves, waterfalls, a stream, some swans... the works. Perfect for a summer afternoon.
And lastly, check out the Tuileries in front of the Louvre, a beautiful public park with amazing works of art! Also a great place to eat a Pistachio ice cream cone (3 euros) in front of a fountain, overlooking the pyramids of the Louvre.
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