London

I loved London! C'était magnifique!I saw Les Mis, saw As You Like It at the Globe, rode the London Eye, visited St. Paul's Cathedral and climbed to the very top (528 steep steps), attended a service there, had a picnic in Hyde Park, took a tour of Parliament, visited Windsor Castle and St. George's Chapel, toured the Roman Baths, visited Stonehenge, toured Westminster Abbey,spent hours in the British Museum, ate at Wagamama, and visited the V&A. Oh, and I alternated between pretending I was Harry Potter and Peter Pan. And now I am glad to be back in Paris!

Four of us went to see Les Mis the first night. We got 60 pound seats for 27.50 an hour before the show. It was awesome. Javert had a magnificent voice. Marius, on the other hand, had some wobbling and over-enunciating problems. But that didn't keep me from thoroughly enjoying the show! It was also neat to have an extra perspective on the setting since I'm living in France.

Outside the Globe Theatre. This production of As You Like It was easily the best play I have ever seen performed. And I am never going back to just reading Shakespeare after seeing it live. A funny little anachronism: a couple helicopters flew over us when we were watching the show. Also, I saw four people who were standing on the floor pass out.

Inside the Globe. I was really close to the front--standing room on the floor.

Dani and I rode the London Eye. It was very fun. We got a great view of the city, and it was especially great since we went around sunset. However, I do think that Paris is prettier. (And overall, I think I like Paris better--but I do love London nevertheless!)

I just have to throw this in here. There are some truly odd people in both London and Paris. These two particular gents were by the Thames, and they seemed to be making a pretty decent amount of money.

On Thursday, three other girls and I took a day trip (there was a bus group that we booked it with) to Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge. That was one of my favorite days. Windsor ended up being my favorite of the three places we visited. We got to see a ton of the rooms inside the castle and lots of artwork. Also, I want to be British royalty.

At the Roman Baths. I was hoping for more Jane Austen-ness and less Roman-ness on this part of the tour, but that's okay. I'm learning so much on my study abroad about all sorts of things.

I would love to come back to Bath and spend some more time there. We got to do some walking around the city, which is roughly the same population as Rochester. It looked like a fun place to explore.

Stonehenge was interesting. Pretty much all you can do there is walk around a wide perimeter and visit the gift shop. And there's a road VERY close to it! It was so weird.