Before studying abroad, I never thought I would be traveling so much around Europe. This passed weekend was Easter weekend, (Happy belated Easter everyone!) which meant students had Monday off as well. So basically, I had a 4-day weekend to explore any place in Europe. I decided to visit Portobello Market, Big ben, and even Buckingham Palace. As you probably already know, I went to London this weekend, and it was awesome! I definitely recommend visiting London at least once in your lifetime.
So, I arrived in London on a Friday morning. The first thing I did in London was probably a really American thing to do, but I was basically obligated; I went to Chipotle. Okay, maybe I wasn’t obligated, but it was well worth it.
Big Ben
After settling into our Airbnb, we decided to go out and explore the city, without really anywhere to go or do. I got to see Big Ben, Parliament, London Bridge, and even the London Eye. I was really surprised to see how many tourists were out and about, especially since it was still winter season. I did not have the chance to get on the London Eye, but I’m sure it would have been worth the 2-hour line.
Borough Market: BREAD!
Saturday morning we woke up pretty early to go to London’s world-famous markets. The first stop was at Borough Market, which is a huge farmer’s market with lots of small little food shops. Of course, we spent about an hour just taste-testing all of the food. I loved the variety and diversity of this market. I could walk one way and try Paella, and walk another way and try Curry.
Spanish style Paella
After spending the entire morning eating amazing food, we decided to go to Portobello market, which is an antique market. Portobello Market is basically an entire street of just shops of all kinds. This is where you go to find some vintage clothes, teacups from the Victorian era, and even vintage cameras. Of course, I could not afford most of the items for sale on this street, but I did buy a teacup set.
It started raining (what a surprise), so we decided to get some coffee while remap our plan of touring London on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We decided to take a tour around London through the bus, which was well worth it. We saw Hyde Park and all major tourist attractions.
On Sunday Morning we decided to head to Westminster Cathedral for an Easter morning Mass. Afterwards, we had reservations at Bea of Bloomsbury’s for some afternoon tea. We were completely soaked when we arrived for our tea, but the tea was well worth running in the rain.
Buckingham Palace
We had the rest of the day free, so we decided to pay a visit to the infamous house where the Parent Trap movie was set in. This house was really nice, located right outside the SOHO district in London. Afterwards, we also visited Abbey Road, famous for the Beatles album cover. We got to see Abbey Road Studios as well, but could not go in, as it was a Sunday. London was great, but I wish I had more time to visit this awesome city.
Abbey Road
The week after Easter was a bit boring compared to my weekend adventure. I was in Montpellier all week witnessing the manifestations the students were putting for the “Loi Travaille” (workers law) that is being disputed now. What I know about this law is that nobody likes it, and it is currently waiting to pass, or not, and eventually become a law. The university was closed briefly, and public transportation was scarce.
Yesterday night (Friday night), I spent my night with my host mom at a classical music concert in St. Guilhem le Désert, which is a mountain town built in the 10th century with medieval architecture. The concert was in the local Basilica, and included the original organ from when the church was built. It was really refreshing listening to an instrument from hundreds of years ago that fully works today. I loved this cute little village, and I hope to return soon to explore. À la prochaine!
Basilica