Paris was great because it was fun seeing all of the Fulbrighters again. Sasha and I shared a great hotel on Boulevard St. Michel. By pure chance, the hotel was just 5 minutes from the Sorbonne , where our meetings were held and was next to the restaurant the commission to took us to eat one night. The meeting was pretty good and I believe that my and Sasha's presentations on the regions inspired others to come visit us. (We both agree that in many ways we are lucky to not be living in Paris.) There were also some pretty interesting discussions on diplomacy, women's rights, immigration and of course the sciences. It was cool to see everyone's thoughts on France after being here for a while. Mostly, Paris was great because Sasha and I had so much fun together, like usual! And it was nice having someone around when my bank card was taken from me by my bank's ATM the night before I left for London. Luckily, I had Sasha to lend me some money and a credit card (thank you Mom and Dad).
Off to London I went...
And guess who was waiting for me when I arrived to London's Victoria Station after a flight and long bus ride? If anyone knows her you would be shocked but it was Maresa!!! We practically attacked each other with hugs on the busy sidewalk. She looked so London trendy it was kind of shocking. (No more mesh shorts.) But I suppose now she has to fit the part. We then proceeded to navigate the hectic Victoria Station to buy me an underground card and go back to her gorgeous apartment next to Primrose Hill. Another shocker, she knows how to use the underground! She actually looks at maps!!! I was so proud of her.
It was a beautiful day and after
we arrived at her very nice apartment I proceeded to take on the role of mom and wash all of the dishes in their apartment (after eating of course). She was sick and I think her and all of her friends are a little exhausted from their fast-paced London lifestyles. They seem to sleep and nap a lot during the day, so I used that time to explore Regent's Park which is right across the street from her apartment, Baker Street (where Sherlock Holmes "lived") and Abbey Road. I also went to an English book store!!!! It was so exciting and I wanted to buy everything. Luckily, I managed to restrain myself. We all culminated the weekend together by watching the Super Bowl! It was the most American thing I've done in a very long time. I didn't really even know who was playing and I suppose I didn't focus on the game but it was on TV in the background while I chatted with people. The whole weekend was a little bit bizarre because it was like college all over again but it was strangely comforting. And since Maresa was sick, she did not feel the need to go out and party while I was there, which is more fitting to my laid back lifestyle.
After going to sleep at 4 am on Super Bowl night, we woke up so that all of the girls could go off to work for the day. Maresa showed me the super chic neighborhood where she works and then I proceeded to walk through all of London to Victoria Station (my departure point). I don't know why I decided it would be great to traverse all of London with no map, my backpack and a time schedule but it ended up working. (Sometime I really need to go there with a guidebook, or at the very least, a map.) During my walk I stumbled upon many of the landmarks that makes London famous. The following are 2 videos that capture a little bit of my confused experience walking around London.
Finally, I am back in Dijon. And I need to try to do work. So I will return to that task. Until next time...
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