London - Study Abroad Addition
For those of you who don't know, I am spending my semester abroad in Paris this Spring! Two weeks here, and I am already loving all things Paris. Here on Summers in the Ardèche we thought that we would create a Study Abroad section on the blog. During the next 4 months I will post short guides and summaries of some of the trips I will be taking!
I am taking courses at The American University of Paris in the 7th arrondissement - I get to walk by the Eiffel Tower everyday on my way to classes! Having school at the heart of the city means that I can explore after classes most days. With this Study Abroad guide I will post updates about Paris as well - warning though, I am no expert. Just a student exploring Paris!
While the majority of my time is spent in Paris, I think part of the 'study abroad' experience is all about traveling to other cities and countries. This past weekend I did just that! Although I have visited London many times before, there is something different about visiting a foreign city with college friends. We definitely felt like adults figuring out the Underground and planning our days out, but it was an amazing experience that gave me a taste of what other trips were going to be like.
Two days was in no way enough time to visit London, but my friends and I made it work. The weekend flew by because we had done so much, walking 20,000 steps each day - shout out to my friend's FitBit!
Below are some photos of London that I took, as well as some suggestions of amazing places to eat and visit.
Neil's Yard is a quaint square with a couple of restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. The bright colored buildings make for a great photo, and the restaurant Homeslice has the BEST pizza I have had in long time. After filling up with some lunch, we walked to Covent Garden and then hopped on the tube to visit Big Ben.
After seeing most of the major tourist sites we headed over to Borough Market - this is a must see if you are a food lover. Unfortunately we arrived about 30 minutes before they closed, so we were not able to take our time walking through the stalls. But I would highly suggest going! We finished the day by walking through Carnaby Street, right behind Liberty department store, and stopping at Shoyu Ramen for dinner.
Sunday morning we woke up and started our day early. We were leaving later at night, but still wanted to make the most of our last day. First up was breakfast (noticing a theme of food throughout this trip??). The Breakfast Club is the way to go if you love all things pancakes and eggs. Expect a line out the door, but it was worth it. Try one of there locations that is in a less busy area (for example avoid the Soho location, an hour wait!) you may have more luck with the wait time.
Next up was Camden Market, one of my favorite places! Again another place that you can spend all day at, just get lost in the many stalls and you are bound to stumble upon some weird and unique things. Great place for vintage shopping as well! We randomly found Cereal Killer Cafe and thought it was a good time to stop for a snack - again with the food...This place is amazing - I know judge all you want - but this place has a killer selection of cereal. The whole cafe has a 90's theme going on, throwing it back to being a kid. Super cool concept and I would at least suggest you go see it!
We finished up the day with some shopping and dinner at Bill's. The weekend was amazing, and I left wanting to visit again. Hopefully I will pay London a visit in April or May.
Stay tuned for the next study abroad update!
Post and Photos by Margaux Henderson
