Loire Valley and London!

Since coming home from Dijon, I had forgotten how easy it is to travel around Europe. Train tickets generally aren’t too expensive, they’re fast, and they run extremely frequently. Needless to say, I’ve been taking advantage!

A couple of weekends ago, a couple friends and I took a day trip to the Loire Valley. We got up at an hour earlier than I care to admit and took a train from Paris to Tours, a city in the Loire Valley in close proximity to all the chateaux the area is known for. I visited the Loire Valley when I was living in Dijon two years ago, but regardless, it was really fun to go back! I had forgotten a lot about the castles I had seen, and I saw some new castles, too. It’s a beautiful area with lots of countryside. We were also able to do a wine tasting and tour at one of the local family-run wineries. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

This past weekend, I was also lucky enough to get to go visit one of my best friends from Colby in London! Conveniently, she had been visiting there on vacation, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to see her. It was so nice to get to be with her, and we saw some great parts of the city, too. We did some shopping in the Piccadilly Circus area and Harrods, had afternoon tea, rode the London Eye (my personal favorite activity. Amazing how high up it goes! You can really see the whole city.), saw the changing of the guard, visited the National Gallery, and were able to see a bunch of other classic monuments.

(For some reason I am having trouble getting the London pictures uploaded, but I will work on that!)

I had never been to England before, and I’m really happy I went! It was really nice to take a break from French and get to speak English for the whole weekend, too. It did feel slightly strange to be speaking English in a European-feeling place, though, which is perhaps why I came to the conclusion that London felt like a hybrid between an American city and Paris for me.

I’m back in Paris now and am working hard to start preparing for my finals in two weeks. Next weekend I’m thrilled to be heading back to Dijon with two Colby friends! I can’t wait to spend time with my host mom and program director, and visit all my favorite spots in the city I still consider to be one of my homes. I’ll update again soon! À bientôt !