Saturday, October 12 - Sunday, October 13
During my last day in London, it was really sunny!!! I went for a quick run around Hyde Park (my new favorite running spot) and then took the tube to Leicester Square where I ate some brunch. I'd treated myself to last minute Book of Mormon tickets (a matinee), so I made my way over to the theater around 2pm. I really loved the play! The music was amazing and I found the play so engaging. I could also probably talk for hours about the many subtle (and not so subtle) messages of classism, racism, sexism, and so much more. I've never been a fan of South Park, but I have to admit that the writers are pretty genius.
I walked home from Piccadilly Circus (all the way down the Main Street of London, past Herrod's, etc.) and ate dinner at an cute little English pub near my hotel. Eating by myself doesn't bother me at all (not that it really ever did) but I've actually come to really enjoy it...I like the space to just think (or not) and read. I'm really going to try and bring back this tradition to my life back in Chicago.
Then, this morning (Sunday) I woke up, packed up and checked out of my hotel, grabbed a quick breakfast, and took the tube to the London train station to board my Chunnel. My Chunnel ride was painless, lovely and so easy. It took about 2 hours and took a nice tour of the French countryside on our way into Paris.
My transition to Paris wasn't quite as smooth, but it was definitely a comedy of errors. First, I had to find a way to call the woman meeting me at my apartment, but my iPhone wouldn't let me make calls. So, I had to purchase a "SmartCard" and use the payphone (seriously, I don't think I've used a payphone in a solid 15 years). I finally got in touch with her and made my way down to purchase my train ticket to hop on the metro. After waiting in line for 20 minutes, turns out the machine wasn't taking credit cards and I didn't have any euro coins (only coins, no bills for those machines)....blah blah blah. SO, I finally used some made up French to find the correct train and made it to the apartment. It's off this adorable side street (Rue de la Huchette) in the Latin Quarter. I unpacked, got settled and headed outside for a walk along the Seine. It was a totally perfect fall Parisian afternoon...sunny about 60 degrees. I walked around for about an hour and grabbed an early dinner. I'm going to head to bed early tonight so I can wake up tomorrow and be a true tourist all around Paris!!
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