Studying Abroad in the French Riviera: London... Some call it "The Smoke"... I call it "The Perfect Storm!"

So right off the bat... I am sure you are wondering what exactly I mean by my oh so clever title of this blog post. Well... "The Smoke" is an old term that people used to call London because it's so foggy and smoggy! Probably not the part you were wondering about.... but I'll get to the second part soon. This lovely story all starts with... bet anyone from Antibes could guess... A STRIKE! Oh how the French LOVE to screw over people's travel plans by striking... has happened many times to almost all of us. Our Easyjet flight from Nice LUCKILY only departed a half-hour later than intended, which was extremely lucky, considering normally we are not so lucky. Some people's flights were cancelled completely... but our flight was not one of those.

One of my great friends that I have become close with here in Antibes, Gianna, took me under her wing for the weekend, showing me around London, and most importantly, knowing all the greatest places. As we set off into the fall night from Nice, we met a few friends who were also heading to London the same weekend. The short two hour flight was very quick, as we all were able to talk and have fun. When we landed in London, our first mission was to get Pounds. Darn England isn't using the Euro (which is failing, so that's probably a very good thing) so we had to convert our money to Pounds.

Instantly, as we landed, I noticed how different London was compared to the rest of Europe because.... EVERYTHING WAS IN ENGLISH!!! Ohhhh it was a glorious sight!!! I didn't have to think at a million miles an hour to try and figure out what people are trying to say to me... magical!!! We took a bus from the airport to Baker Street (yes, the one in Sherlock Holmes... it exists) to catch a different bus that would take us to Gianna's sister's house. The great London weather had set in as we were riding the bus from the airport, so when we got off, it was raining. Lucky for us, the bus we needed next came almost instantly! We hopped about the double decker red bus (yes, once again, they do exist... and are still used... those things are EVERYWHERE)... as we went upstairs to the second floor, we found ourselves front row seats to see the beautiful city. When we arrived at the house, we got off, and walked into the door... we were SO close to the bus stop, it was CRAZY!!! Once inside, it was about 1am and we were exhausted, but we stayed up to visit with Gianna's sister and friends, before hitting the hay.

On Friday morning, I woke up early (as always) and got us going to get sight-seeing. Gianna took me EVERYWHERE in London. We went to Oxford Circus, Picadilly Circus (LOVE that name), and Camdentown. Camdentown was by far my favorite place of the three. Here, is where I found that London was the perfect storm. Why? Because London is the PERFECT mix of Europe, and the United States, all in one city! It is absolutely fantastic!!! Camdentown had the weirdly and oddly dressed people that you never see anywhere else anymore... lots of markets, shops... all of different type! I can't even explain all the different things that were in this part of the city! It truly was something I had never seen before. After Camdentown, Gianna and I met some of her friends for Nando's, which was very fun. I got to hear a true London accent, as well as experience great chicken... something that I don't have often when out to eat in the riviera. After dinner, we went to go to a festival called "Winter Wonderland", but unfortunately by the time we got there, it was closed. Instead, we headed to a pub to get some tradition Cider, which is apple tasting beer... DELICIOUS!!! After our cider, we headed back home, to get some good sleep for Saturday.

I once again, woke up quite early Saturday morning for some sight-seeing. But... by accident, I fell back asleep and we woke up quite late. We got up, showered, and headed out to have a true Mexican lunch. This Mexican food was probably the best Mexican food I have ever tasted (or maybe I just wanted Mexican so badly that I wouldn't know if it was bad or good... but I will guess that it was really really good instead). I had REAL drinks (grasshopper and mojito... made correctly I might add)! After our big Mexican meal, it was 4pm... YIKES!!! We had to get MOVIN'!!! So we ran to the Tube (also know as metro, subway, or train) and went to Buckingham Palace. We took a few pictures, admired the guards, and ran off to the Tube to go see BIG BEN. We saw many things as we walked towards Big Ben from the Tube. We were even so lucky as to hear the lovely sounds Big Ben makes when the clock strikes the hour! After... we had seen all the sights we wanted to see, and headed off to Harrods to see how gorgeous it was all lit up and see Gianna's friend. Harrods is like the Nordstrom of London! After Harrods, we headed to meet some other friends and go to "Winter Wonderland" for the second time. This time, when we arrived... it was open!!! BUT with MILLIONS of people... darn it! We waited in line, and got in. We walked around drinking hot chocolates, mulled wine, and ciders... ate some great food, and looked around the market/fair! It was very festive and gorgeous! We spent a lot of time there, before heading back to the house to change clothes to go to the Rave. The Rave was realllllyyy fun! We went to a club that had FOUR different DJs, and each was great! We got home a lot later than anticipated... but oh well! We got two hours of sleep before waking up for our flight back to Nice. We didn't mind much, we just slept the whole plane ride back.

Now that I am back from London... I can't get back into the swing of speaking French... ooops! I guess I left it all in London! ... I loved London, it may have been my favorite city... I can't decide! It was the perfect storm however, and that was just magnificent to see!!!

I am painfully typing this next sentence, as I can't stand to say it... but I will not be taking any more trips before my departure back home! I know I have seen almost everything I have wanted, here in Europe, but it is still so bitter/sweet to say! There are a few places that I missed seeing and wish I could have... but I will be back! Those places will be off the checklist... eventually! But for now, it's study time for finals! I finished class on Monday, so now I have a little over a week before my finals... which I am trying to study for... and trying to enjoy my last days here in the Riviera... a very difficult task that I am not equally succeeding at (more the enjoying part than the studying part)!

I am home in ELEVEN days from this day... SOOO very weird to say that! But I can't wait to be home... however I am FULLY enjoying my last days here!

Love to all my family and friends!!! Can't wait to see you all in just over a week!

I will be sure to blog about my entire experience before I stop blogging all together! So there will be only ONE more blog to read after this...

God Bless!!!