Une Rousse à Toulouse: London Calling

What. A. Weekend. Good friends, good food, amazing sites, fabulous art. What more do I need? I was in London from Friday until this morning and I can honestly say that it was one of the best weekends of my life. For whatever reason, I absolutely fell in love with the city. It's a mix between what an American city feels like and what a true European city feels like and I think that's why I like it. It combines the two worlds into one dynamic whole.

Where do I even begin? I won't go into every single detail of what I did these past couple of days because I feel like the photos showcase that much better than my words can, but I will go through the gist and some highlights.

Saturday was let's walk all across London and be tourists. Mike and I started out at the Tower of London where we got to see the CROWN JEWELS and then crossed the iconic Tower Bridge to continue our walk along the Thames and see the sites. In typical London fashion, it rained on and off all day but it was truly a welcome break from the heat of southern France. We walked over Millennium Bridge and saw St. Paul's where Diana and Charles got married, and then eventually walked to the London Eye and Big Ben/Houses of Parliament. Talk about icons of London. I took around 600 pictures this week and I would say a solid 200 of them are probably of Big Ben. Other highlights of the day: seeing Westminster Abbey (I stood where Kate stood as she got out of the car! Ah!), 10 Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace to name just a few. I never realized that you can't actually walk to Downing Street. There's a huge blockade to prevent crazies from attacked the prime minister. Who knew! The day began with Starbucks and ended with Chipotle. Two things I cannot get in Toulouse and that I miss very, very much. Well done London.

Sunday's theme was shopping and parks. We began the day by going on the London Eye which was incredible. The weather was perfect which is rare for London and I think I took like 200 pictures just here alone. It's amazing to see London from up in the sky. Then we took a stroll through Kensington Gardens. It's amazing how this beautiful park is in the middle of London. You feel like you're in a different world. It's not like Central Park where you can see the buildings around you. Here I honestly felt like I was in the country. The crisp fall air and colorful leaves also enhanced the beauty of the park. How lame was that last sentence? Whatever. We explored Notting Hill before going to Harrods and grabbing lunch. Notting Hill was great because there was this quirky market on Portobello Road plus I got to see all of the movie locations. If you're ever in London, it's definitely a neighborhood to check out. We had afternoon tea after lunch which was so lovely. Warm, buttery scones, I mean what's not to like? We spent the evening shopping along Oxford St. and then it was time for dinner. The night ended by watching Downton Abbey live. When will I ever be able to do that again? Amazing!

Monday was all about the art. I was solo yesterday so I went to four museums. Started out at the British Museum, where I was the first person in the Parthenon Sculptures gallery. I got to spend a couple of minutes with the Elgin marbles alone which is an experience I will never forget. If you have no idea what I'm talking about you should google the Elgin marbles because they're fascinating both artistically and politically. After seeing the Rosetta Stone (casual), I headed over to the National Gallery. I was freaking out here too for several reasons. First of all, the National Gallery is located on Trafalgar Square, and in Trafalgar Square is the fourth plinth. In case you have no idea what I'm referring to, the fourth plinth was originally constructed to be the base for a monumental sculpture but there wasn't enough money to finish it, so it stood empty for a long time until the city of London decided to use it as a place to display contemporary art. I was also freaking out because I studied the Sainsbury Wing of the museum in class last semester so to finally see it in person was incredible. Final freak out, and this is the big one, was that I got to see with my own eyes Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding. If you don't know anything about this painting you should drop what you're doing and read about it. It's absolutely fascinating and it's an extremely important work in art history. I have been reading or writing about this work for years now so to see it in the flesh was so overwhelming. I stood there for a solid 10 minutes just taking it in. The best was when people would leave the gallery and I could be there alone. I'm such a nerd. The next museum was the National Portrait Gallery to see all of my royal friends in paint form, and then I headed to the Tate Modern. The Tate houses my favorite types of art so I spent a solid chunk of time there, reading all of the didactic text, and slowly making my way through every gallery. On my way to eat the most incredible fish and chips for dinner (I mean I had to, I was in London) I walked over Millennium Bridge and got an amazing view of London at night. I ended my time in London by seeing Les Miserables in the West End. My god. It was the most amazing theatrical experience I have ever had. Top of the list by far.

I apologize for the cheesy title of this post but come on, I had to. And now photos: