The Best Experience of My Life So Far

So I left for London and Dublin on February 14th, and I had quite the adventure. Let me give you a play by play of my days:

Saturday, Feb. 14
So I met up with my friends Kathleen, Madelyn, Michelle, Kelsey, and Ana at the airport in Nantes and we had a good wait before getting on the plane. Unfortunately, I had to throw away my new and last bottle of lotion because I was only doing carry on luggage. I almost had to throw away my hair product which would have ruined my life, but another friend who flew with us let me put it in her suitcase. Phew!! Ironically enough, the British kids I met last week were on the same plane as me! We talked a bit and took some photos, they were really cool and I hope I get to see them again someday. I mean it must be fate that we met again right? Or just chance perhaps. Who knows. So we flew on Ryanair which is super cheap, and it shows. They sell duty free perfume and lotto tickets during the flight. Nothing is free- not even the water. And they sold random things like Pringles and doughnuts. The plane landing... I give it a 3.3. haha it was not graceful. And they played this funny trumpet sound to celebrate arriving on time. Customs was a good walk from the gate and the customs guy was a pain. We had to fill out these forms indicating a bunch of info like our passport number and the address of where we are staying and where we live yadda yadda. The guy at customs made me show him all of my ticket and host information as proof, and I had to indicate the purpose of my visit in just the right way- he corrected me twice! After that not so brief encounter, I said farewell to my new British friends. We found an ATM with free withdrawals but of course things never run smoothly. I was only able to take out 50 pounds (which still put a major hurt on my money supply. Our flight came into Gatwick which is about an hour away from the center of London, so we bought tickets for a shuttle bus and merrily rode on our way. One of the first things I saw as we approached the city was a Starbucks, and we all got excited!! How strange right? Well it was something familiar which comforted us haha. I also saw a huge billboard of a a naked rugby player diving for a ball in a Powerade ad. It was quite strange and the ads were everywhere! There was this baby coughing up a storm on our bus, and we joked that we were all gonna get bird flew! It was quite funny yet slightly sad :) Anyway when we finally arrived at the shuttle stop, we had to take the tube to Borough station. It was really quick and easy- way better than the El in Chicago. We had to buy an oyster card which is the transportation card that you swipe to use the tube its much more efficient and cheaper because a single ticket on the tube is 4 pounds. Its a strange system but whatevs! Finally we got to Dover Castle Hostel and Bar. The receptionist was quite attractive. We paid for our room and received our sheets and keys and what not. We had to make a deposit for everything! Want a towel? 5 pound deposit. Want a key to your room? 25 pound deposit or leave your passport. Want to borrow a dvd? 10 pound deposit. It was nuts. We would make jokes like "Oh, you need toilet paper? Well that'll be a 5 pound deposit." So we are on the top floor where there were 10 beds that were bunked. Co-ed of course. Thankfully I was on the bottom cause I don't do the top (of a bunk bed guys, don't be gross, haha) So we got settled and explored the bathroom and showers we'd be using for the next 4 nights. The bar was nice, and we even got a free drink (schnapps or soda). Go figure, they were out of schnapps all week. We went back to the receptionist and asked him about some good places to eat. He gave a few suggestions, and we ended up picking the Chinese food place (aka the furthest place from the hostel that he suggested) But it was 4 pounds for a lot of food, so it was totally worth it. We all thought it was odd that we were eating Chinese food in England, but it was really good and hit the spot. After dinner, we returned to the hostel, made a plan for Sunday, and went to sleep.

Sunday, Feb. 15
So we woke up pretty early and all got dressed. There were only 2 showers on my floor, so I waited for a good while. Our hostel provided breakfast for us which included two pieces of toast with jam or butter, a bowl of corn flakes, and tea or coffee. After breakfast we walked a good ways till will finally got to the Thames River and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, and the Parliament Building. It was incredible. We took a bunch of photos and crossed Westminster Bridge to see Westminster Abbey where all the royals have their coronation. We had to pay to get in, and the tour wasn't cheap, so we just looked around the outside and then walked around. Of course we did the British phone booth photo! We saw 10 Downing street where the Prime Minster lives which is gated and hard core guarded, Horse Guards Parade, and St. James's Park. Kathleen, Madelyn, and I made a Starbucks stop to indulge in our American bad habits ( well Kathleen resisted because she goes home next month for her sister's wedding) and the three of us took the original bus tour which I totally recommend. It is a hop on hop off double decker bus tour that takes you all around London. They have 5 different tour routes you can hop on. The entire tour takes 2 hours. Because its the winter season we got a 48 our deal that let us hop on and hop off for two days. Normally it only lets you do one day I think. And we got a free river cruise ticket for the Thames tour. So the bus took us nearly everywhere we wanted to see including but not excluding St. James's Park, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, Covent Garden (where Eliza Doolitle meets Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Fleet Street, St. Paul's Cathedral (Mary Poppins! anyone...anyone?), London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Shakespear's Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Sherlock Holmes Pub, and Piccadilly Circus (aka London's Time Square) It was incredible! I was so overwhelmed by the amount of history I learned about. Our tour guide was cool and really funny. He told us about the London Fire and pointed out where Michael Cain, Dame Judi Dench, Chris Martin/Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebs live. We saw the famous hotel where Elizabeth Taylor spent her 5 honeymoons. We saw so much I don't think I could possibly share it all with you but I wish I could. It was quite the experience. We were freezing the whole time and huddled together but we were determined to stay on the top of the bus for the best view of everything . Our tour guide showed us the monument tower made in memory of the London fire that destroyed the entire city and he told us that the fence around the top of the tower was added because of the large amount of people who committed suicide off of it in the past- Crazy isn't it!! We also saw where they filmed part of the Duchess. The name of the building escapes me at the moment but its kind of a big deal in London. We passed the City of London School where Daniel Radcliffe and Pettyfer went to school- they are well known British actors for those who aren't in the know. The HMS Belfast is this huge ship with massive guns on it that sits on the Thames. Oh and We passed the Waldorf Hotel- the guy who helped design the rooms in there also designed some of the rooms on the Titanic. Oh and the Tower of London was intense. I really wanted to go in but again tickets are a fortune. So I got to see the outside of where Guy Fawkes, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Thomas Moore were some of the many to be held and put to death. So during the tour, we passed a lot of theatres in London's West End. I saw a sign for a play called THREE DAYS OF RAIN starring James Mcavoy. I nearly freaked out and decided that I had to see it regardless of the cost. After the tour, we found a cool place called Costa Coffee where we warmed up and had a teeny weeny lunch. Mine consisted of the best triple chocolate muffin of my life and an incredibly huge small hot chocolate. New flavors of chocolatey goodness just kept on unfolding. We went to the same MacDos twice that day cause that was the only free bathroom we could find it was pretty funny. The three of us went to the box office to get tickets to see a show. Luckily tickets were only 25 pound for the THREE DAYS OF RAIN on Monday so Madelyn and I bought them. Kathleen's friend who was also in London already got them tickets to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Mads and I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar square while Kathleen met up with her friend. We saw some really amazing and historic paintings, including some that we had studied in our Art History class in Nantes! When the museum closed, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant called the Silver Cross. We ended up sitting at our table for like 15 minutes before we gathered that we had to place our order at the bar. The food was great! I tried some of Mads' fish and chips, and I had this chicken kebab meal with rice. We tried to make it to the Jack the Ripper tour but we missed it and decided to walk around before heading back to the hostel. We got great night shots of St. Paul's Cathedral where the Feed the Birds scene from Mary Poppins takes place. We got great shots of the Tower Bridge and the London city at night. It was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe I was there...in London!! It was all like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. We crossed the Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames. Its the most beautiful city I've ever seen at night- granted I haven't seen Paris at night yet but... We got some amazing pictures of Big Ben and the Parliament Building with the reflection in the river. My feet were dying at that point but I still loved it. We got majorly lost on the way back to the hostel which made our arrival all the sweeter.

Monday, Feb 16
Kathleen and I rode the London Eye which was so exciting!! We had a 360 view of the city and it was unbelievable. I'm so glad we got to do that. We met up with Madelyn and took our free Thames river Cruise. It was great because the sun was making an appearance that day. It had rained a bit the day before. Our tour guide was quite the joker and we once again learned a lot. The Thames tour was a lot shorter but we covered a lot and got to go under the London Bridge. After that we got a bit turned around and we tried to grab an original tour bus but a protest march was holding up traffic so we just picked a reasonably prices place to grabbed lunch. It actually turned out to be great! After that we caught a bus to the Globe Theatre while Kathleen peaced out and went to Harrods (aka the most intense department store in the world- Macy's who?) The Globe was everything I thought it would be and more. It is a replica of the original which was actually commissioned by the American director and actor Sam Wanamaker who died before construction was complete. It isn't in the exact location of the original because that property is already occupied, but it is designed almost exactly the way it was during Shakespeare's time. The only major difference is the fact that the floor in the pit is cement instead of nut shells due to health codes- but they did put nutshells in the cement to make it more authentic. The reason the floor was covered in nuts before was because they would cram 1000 people in the pit and there was no way for people to get out to use the bathroom so they would just go right there and the nuts would absorb the mess and make the smell not as bad. The open air roof is thatch and the entire theatre structure is made of wood- not a bit of metal- even the pegs are wood. The stage is gorgeous!! Our guide explained that they only do performances in the summer due to the weather and that the plays are audience interactive as they wood have been during the period. People would talk during the show and say things to the actors. The nobles who sat in the balcony(Juliet's balcony) on stage would arrive late and stop the play to inquire about who the characters were by directly addressing the actors. People in the box seats would throw there orange peels and food in the pit, the people in the pit would throw it at the actors, and the actors would pick it up and throw it back in the boxes. Our tour guide told us loads of interesting stuff like this. Seeing it and learning about it there is far more informative than what we learned in class at school!. We walked around the exhibit connected to the theatre a bit, but there was so much to see and so little time! After the Globe, it was time to go see THREE DAYS OF RAIN. We walked through Soho to get to the Apollo Theatre- Madelyn had to drag me through there because there were so many interesting shops to see! The play was incredible!! I loved it so much! James was top notch. He's even better on the stage than he is in films. The set was subtle and very creative. The first act follows Walker, his sister Nan and their oldest and dearest friend Pip as they sift through the mysteries that their dead parents left behind in their father's old apartment. My favorite line has to be when Walker (Mcavoy) shouts, "I feel like Hedda Gabbler" when he burns the notebook his father left behind with all the answers at the end of act one. I was one of maybe 6 people who laughed at this because you have to be a real theatre nut to get the humor there. His character was so funny, sharp, thoughtful and very Mamet- esque. I have to give props to Nigel Harman who probably gave the best monologue I've ever hear. I wished I was a boy for about 5 minutes just so I could actually try to pull it off like him! James was great, but Nigel rocked it! Second act follows their parents years earlier. James plays his father and he has the cutest stutter ever! Downstage there is a path that functions as a sidewalk outside the apartment and they have actual rain water coming down in this act. It is so awesome! I was like "Now I remember why I love theatre so much!" The dynamic between the characters was addictive. Every inch of the space on the stage was used to perfection. I give it 5 stars!! I totally would go see it again if I could- it was that good not just because of James but because it was such a good story. A family drama- what most plays are about( at least the successful ones). After the show, I waited at the stage door and got to meet James!! He signed my playbill, talked to me a bit and even took a photo with me (he totally put his hand around my shoulder) I nearly died, but I kept my cool till I walked away. He was so nice, incredibly gorgeous (human flaws and all), and his scottish accent tickled me pink! I asked him what character he played in Beauty and the Beast the musical and he told me Billy somethingorother (I forgot the last name ironically) I then asked him if he sang, which of course he did. I had all these thought provoking questions I had wanted to ask him but that was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I thought saying "I loved you in Penelope" would be too fan obsessive of me. The rest of my night I had to remind myself to breathe! I wanted to call everyone I know but I was still calm enough to realize how bad that idea was. Needless to say, I went to bed a happy girl!

Tuesday, Feb 17
Kathleen left for Paris with my hair product safe in her suitcase! Phew! I was on my own that morning as I rushed to Harrods to see if they had an Estee Lauder because I ran out of eyeliner cartridges (I thought I had an extra one but 'fraid not!) Luckily they have everything in the world at Harrods so I was cover there. It was actually cheaper there than it is in the states, and you can pay in Dollars there. I did some exploring of the intense department store for a while before I decided to force myself to leave in order to avoid spending more money. I went to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and found it to be very anticlimactic for all the hullaballu people make about it. I mean it was cool, don't get me wrong, but people get there like an hour ahead of time to watch these guards walk around for 45 minutes. The bands played random songs like the theme song from Indiana Jones, The Lion King, "Thunderbirds" and WICKED. A couple of Royal Carriages left the Palace which was exciting but I have no idea who was in them. Could have been the Queen, could have been the Royal dog walker. The Guards aren't as still and stiff as the American soldiers are. They were talking to one another, fumbling with things, and they weren't always perfect. They seemed more relaxed and cool. I think I like it better that way because it makes them seem more human. And they had the coolest uniforms! Buckingham Palace wasn't that impressive actually. Not after all of the chateaux and other castles I've seen. Meh. It was cool none the less. I ran into some girls from IES her were in London too which was random! We caught up and then I headed to the Tate Modern to meet Michelle. We saw some intensely modern Modern Art and I was disgusted with what passes for art these days. We also saw some disturbing things that I want to forget! So I've decided that I'm going to bend a bunch of paper clips, throw them at a canvas, toss some paint on them, call it THE FURY OF FEMINISM and hope that they give me a million dollars for cause seriously...seriously... My 3 year old cousin could have done some of the stuff I saw. There was one cool exhibit where this artist had a bunch of metal bunks with a book chained to each one and this huge, weird, creepy spider thing filled with white eggy things in a clear globey thing hanging from the center, and a screen showing the final scenes of 23 different old movies, a huge apple core, and a bunch of other strange things. It was the coolest thing I saw besides some of the Picasso and Salvador Dali works. Michelle and I went to platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station so I could take a picture. It was so anticlimactic!! Its just a brick wall with half a luggage cart sticking out of it and a sign saying Platform 9 3/4. So we dragged our melancholy and tired butts over to the British Library where I saw the Magna Carta, original notes by Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, The First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, original song writings of the Beatles...etc tons of historic and epic works! There was also a small exhibit on Darwin which was cool. That night, I went on Jack the Ripper tour through London. I won't get into all the gruesome details but I learned a lot and I'm all the more intrigued. That guy was vicious! Still nobody knows who he is!! After the tour, I spent my last night with Michelle, Kelsey, Ana, and Madelyn at Young Founder's Arms- this cute cafe and bar on the Thames that has small fires by tables outside and blankets for people to cuddle under the stars and by the river. It was a nice way to spend our last night there.

Wednesday, Feb 18
Kelsey and I went to see the famous Peter Pan statue in Hyde park, and we ran into 4 girls from IES randomly!!! It was hilarious. I heard someone call my name and then I saw this girl running towards me ready for a hug! It was Mathilde- our Conversation Club leader. She's french so of course she spoke to me in French. I had been so relieved to have a break from brain overload of French upon arrival in London, and I wasn't read to go back to it yet haha. Anyway, we walked around with them a bit before parting ways. We saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which was actually pretty blah. I expected more I guess. It was just a huge flat, hollow circle of concrete with water spouting ou. It looked like an elevated sidewalk with vertical sprinklers installed. We walked through Hyde and Kensington Parks a bit and headed back to the hostel to collect our things. We took a train to the airport and left for Dublin. The flight was super short and the customs guy was much nicer although the walk from the plane to the exit took like 15 minutes. We caught a bus to O'connell Street, got a bit lost and finally found our hostel - The Bunkhouse. This was much nicer! Using the internet for the day cost a euro opposed to London where it was a pound for 30 minutes- ridiculous. Anyway the bathrooms were much nicer and the breakfast was awesome( Irish Sausage- which I could actually stand to eat- one egg sunny side up, ham, toast, beans, cereal, and tea) But my bunk bed was right next to someone else- literally it was like one ultra bunk bed- and the guy next to me reached for me in his sleep. It creeped me out and I literally slept on the edge of the bed to avoid his arm and his snoring. That night we ended up eating Chinese again because that was the only place serving past 9. All I can say is I refuse to eat Chinese in Italy! Oh and there was an Irish film festival going on in Dublin which was ultra exiting!! The receptionist at the hostel told me the Colin Farrell was there!! So was Clive Owen!!! Oh and two girls from IES were stying in the same room with us!- It really is a small world when u run into people from school everywhere in Europe!

Thursday, Feb. 19
Our first full day in Dublin was pretty chill. Kelsey went off and did her own thing like she did in London. Madelyn, Michelle, Ana and I walked past Trinity College and checked out the National Library of Ireland. We learned about the History of Ireland and saw a really cool Yeats exhibit. He created his own religion and he was definitely a playa playa with the ladies. He went from Maude Goode to her daughter- they both ended up rejecting him in the end and he got married at 52 to a 24 year old. His life was very interesting to say the least, and they had a lot of originally drafts of his works. I also saw his Nobel prize medal! We headed over the St. Stephen's Green and took pics. Then we all parted to do our own things. I walked down Grafton street and checked out some cool stores. Then I went to Temple Bar (a famous area in Dublin where all the cool pubs and shops are). I checked out the Joy of Coffee and had the best blueberry muffin ever!!! I went to the filmbase and grabbed some stuff on films in the area and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. Later I went to the Ireland Film Institute and checked out some really cool movies and film books. There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I resisted and met back up with the girls. Madelyn lost both of her gloves in London and I lost one of them on the tour bus, so we went to this store called Accessorize and bought some glittens!! I've always wanted a pair. Then we went to the bus/train station to inquire about tickets to Belfast for the next day. That evening was a bit of a messy affair with the Belfast tickets- monetarily speaking- but everything got straightened out for the most part. We were supposed to eat dinner with Kelsey and the two girls from IES we were co-habitating with but we couldn't find the pub and we ended up eating at Farrington's Pub. It was hard to find a place that was cheap, but this place was almost reasonable. The food was great! I got an Irish beef lasagna with bolognaise sauce and tons of cheese! The pub even had live music playing which was cool. Thankfully, my bed mate didn't reach for me this time so I slept pretty well this time around.

Friday, Feb. 20
The 4 of us sans Kelsey took a train to Belfast early in the morning and met up with Madelyn's friend's Irish boyfriend Phil. Phil drove us around hs university and took us t get food at Subway of all places haha. We saw the two big yellow cranes David and Goliath that helped make the Titanic. Then he took us to the Giant Causeway and the cliffs on the shore of the ocean. It was incredible There were these hexagonal, tall rocks that we climbed up. The waves were crashing against them and it was beautiful just to sit their and watch. It is called the giant causeway because of a myth about a Giant in Ireland who challenged a Giant in Scotland to fight. They threw rocks in the ocean to make a pathway but didn't finish. The Irish Giant even cut off his hand and threw it in the ocean to up his challenge. The rocks were scary at times, and we climbed pretty high for photos. We then walked up the cliffs a ways and saw some sheep. It was beautiful. Phil and I were wondering why no one has made a film there yet. Perhaps I'll be the first! He then took us to this beach area were there were cool shops and the best ice cream place in Northern Ireland apparently. It was pretty good actually! Northern Ireland is incredible and driving through it was so amazing. We saw so many farms and fields and different trees. Life was all around us! It was totally unlike the countryside in the states. It was soo green! We had dinner at pizza hut ironically and Phil took us back to the train station to go back to Dublin. (we covered his gas money of course although he didn't ask for anything) He was probably the nicest guy I've ever met and a pretty entertaining tour guide( the fact that he was a movie buff was a plus). Us girls all agreed that we wish more guys were like him. When we got back to the hostel, we had to move to a different bedroom which was annoying but at least it was a room of all girls and I didn't have creepy Mc creeperson next to me anymore. But I had to sleep on the top! bummer. Oh well

Saturday, Feb 21
Kelsey and I went back to the Yeats exhibit because I didn't get to see everything. She peaced out pretty quickly and went to the cliffs at Howth. I then went to the National Museum of Ireland and saw some pretty cool stuff. They found really well preserved bodies from 400BC-200BC in bogs! They were gruesomely killed and the scientists think they were sacrifices. Some of the bodies still had hair and teeth and well defined fingers and skin! It was incredible! I wanted to get a few things before I met up with Madelyn so I left the museum pretty quickly and searched for a claddagh ring because that was at the top of my to do list! I never wanted to buy one in the states because I always knew I would make it to Ireland someday and get one. Its a ring with hands of holding a heart with a crown on top of it. If the hear faces inward, it means you belong to someone. If the crown faces inward it means you are single. There's more to it than that depending on which finger you put it on but I'm not going to get into it. Google it if you're interested. Afterward I went to the Temple Bar outdoor book market. One of the book sellers was extra friendly and flirty which was funny! He was adorable in that Irish book seller guy kind of way until he started talking about the female midget who used to stalk him and even got a hotel for them. He suggested a bunch of books to me, and I bought an Irish fairy tale book and a historical fiction book. I finished my English books already and every time I try to read Harry Potter et Le Prince de Sang-Mêlé my head explodes! I met up with Madelyn at the Winding Stair( The name of a Yeats poem and also an Irish bookstore). It was the 4th Irish bookstore I went to that hadn't heard of Herbie Brennan or his books which is odd since he is an Irish author. We saw a major protest going down O'Connell street, and we ducked into a souvenir shop where we both got real cheap t-shirts. Mine cost 5 euro! We made our way to the Guinness Factory and got distracted a few times by Christ Church Cathedral and The Brazen Head pub aka the oldest pub in Ireland. It took us forever to find the entrance to the factory and we met these girls outside who sold us their tickets for 5 dollars each- rather than 11 dollars inside. We quickly accepted but realized we might have been scammed. We weren't and we totally got in. It was so cool! There were 7 floors of information on Guinness. Arthur Guinness paid 47 euro for a 9000 year lease on the property that the Guinness factory owns. Guinness is made of hops, yeast, barely, and water. They use the same yeast that Arthur Guinness used when he first created the drink. We got to see how it is made and check out the old machinery they used to use. They even gave us a small taste. We saw how they made the barrels and they had a lot of information on the adds. 1 in 3 persons in Dublin made a living off of the Guinness Factory in the early 1900s. They really took care of their workers and even provided them with housing and medical. "Guinness is Good For You" there cartoon toucan would say. Doctors even used to prescribe it for patients because it lifted their spirits and other things I can't remember but isn't that wild?! i watched some of the adds, and they are hilarious. They used cartoons a lot. "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Guinness!" was the slogan. The company even made a film in Africa staring their main commercial actor Michael Powers. Anyway when we finally reached the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor, we got a 360 view of Dublin and a complimentary pint of Guinness. I finished the whole thing! It was tough cause I'm not a beer drinker but it was a part of the tour experience. Pints are so big! Guinness is very filling! I dunno about it being good for you though haha. Well after the Guinness Factory, we went to dinner at this pub called Madigans. I had an Irish stew which was really good!It had leeks, lamb, mashed potatoes, carrots and some other veggies. My taste buds were thanking me for this new discovery. We then went to Temple Bar were music performers play in the streets all over. We saw this Spanish group, oddly enough, paying instruments and singing. These old Irish guys started dancing in the street, it was ridiculous! I loved it! For dessert we went to this gelato place were I got the best strawberry sorbet and nutella gelato ever!! It was a great finish to our last night in Dublin.

Sunday, Feb. 22
The next day we got up extra early and caught a bus to the airport. On the plane I met a cool French girl named Floriane who gave me a free metro ticket and told me where we need to go to get to the train station. We rode on the shuttle bus to Paris together and chatted/napped some. The 4 girls I traveled with and I took the metro to the Montparnasse train station. On the way there, I saw Le Tour Eiffel for the 1st time. It was stunning even in the gray haze of the morning. I can't wait to visit Paris properly. The houses and architecture are amazing! There's nothing like it in the states. We tried to get out tickets changed for an earlier train but it was really expensive, so we ended up waithing for 6 hours- with 4 other girls from IES that we ran into. It was a painful wait but it made the arrival home all the sweeter. We rode first class cause that was cheaper with our student discount card and it was ultra nice!.

Now I'm home, well I'm back in Nantes anyway, and I'm so glad to be able to wear different clothes and sleep in my own bed in my own room! It was an incomparable and unmatchable experience. I love London and hope to one day live there. It is the best of Europe with a few American things thrown in which make it easy to adapt. I love the accents and the history and of course the theatre! Well, now that I've given you all a blow by blow of my current adventures- bon nuit!