Where is Paddington Bear?

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home! Missing my family today.

As much as I wanted to sleep in and veg out in front of a TV, we had a full day ahead of us after we returned to London. We started the day by returning to Soho and having brunch at The Breakfast Club. I really liked it. We had about a 20 minute wait at noon on a Wednesday. Our server was very friendly and I thoroughly enjoyed my eggs, pancakes, potatoes, and veggie sausage. Afterwards we walked towards Buckingham Palace. I've seen the exterior before, so it wasn't super exciting, but it was mildly entertaining to watch a horse drawn carriage leave (I'm convinced it was someone important...David Cameron, maybe? I waved just in case) and guards move around and change positions. While inside the gift shop, I realized I hadn't seen much merchandise for Princess Diana (as I wanted to get my mother something). The clerk said they'd been asked to downplay her at the palace (naturally) and to try some of the souvenir shops elsewhere (no such luck, minus a mug with a giant photograph of her).

We headed towards Parliament, which was really nice, especially since you get hit with it in the face as soon as you climb out of Westminster station. Several people were "oohing" as they ascended the stairs. We took a few pictures of Big Ben and then the real jaw dropper was the Abbey. I loved Notre Dame...it was gorgeous...but Westminster just doesn't even compare. I was just mesmerized by the fan vault ceiling of Henry VII's chapel, the fact that Elizabeth I and Mary I were buried right above one another, and the sheer number of memorials and/or burial sites of some of the biggest names in English history (Lord Byron, Oliver Cromwell, Rudyard Kipling, Isaac Newton, to name a few). It was completely worth the money, but I'm just bummed we weren't allowed to take pictures.

Afterwards, we miscalculated the time it would take to walk to the National Gallery and spent about an hour running through some of the greatest works of art done by the greatest artists. I couldn't contain myself seeing Van Eyck's The Marriage of Arnolfini, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, Hans Holbein the Younger's The Ambassadors, and my favorite one there, Monet's Bathers at La Grenouillère. If I could have a do over, I'd give myself two more hours to take my time and process everything.

We felt like trying Indian food and found a franchise called Masala Zone back in Soho that had many favorable reviews. It was really good. We each ordered a thali with chicken tikka masala, rice, and various chutnies and sauces. I also had to ask for garlic naan. I can't go to a South Asian restaurant and not have naan. Highly recommended.

It's funny how the next day was supposed to be way easier, and unfortunately, it ended up being just as hectic. We started the morning by taking a long train ride to Wimbledon. I have no interest in tennis (except for staring at Andy Murray), but it was nice to see the exterior of the facility. At this point we were famished, so we headed all the way out east to check out Borough Market.

It was awesome. I picked up a few samples from the market to nosh on (croissant, cheese, mushroom soup, and some paella). I felt like I could just eat there everyday. We ended up eating lunch (I know right, who's hungry after all that? This glutton.) at Tapas Brindisa, a Spanish restaurant. The staff was all Spanish, so it was a bit hard to follow their thick accents. I tried to say, "gracias" after the meal, but our server corrected me and said, "grathias". He asked if I spoke Spanish, and I said "un poquito" which is a lie. Being able to say "my name is Uzma" doesn't qualify as any level of fluency in a language, but he laughed. I tried to tell him I was from Texas and that we're used to hearing Spanish because we're near Mexico, but I don't think he understood. Speaking of languages, at some point I ended up standing on the tube with a couple speaking a beautiful language I couldn't put my finger on. It sounded very German, so I asked them. They said Swiss-German. They asked where I was from (I was carrying a large travel book), and then they decided I didn't sound like I was from Texas, and that they liked Texan accents. Sorry to disappoint.

After visiting the Thames to take some pictures of Tower Bridge, we returned to Oxford Street to do some shopping. IT WAS NUTS. I swear to God, I have not seen mayhem like this before. Driving or walking...there was no getting through. I was shoved and I shoved. It was a dog eat dog world.

Random observations:

• The English are ridiculously nice people. They went out of their way several times to offer very detailed directions and didn't look put out by it either.
• The train is crazy efficient. It's easy to figure out after a couple of tries. And, when a rude woman cut in front of me and took the passage through the station exit after I'd already swiped my Oyster card, a station attendant was very nice and easily let me through.
• Paddington Bear has changed and doesn't seem to be as popular.
• They haven't seemed to have banked off the James Bond or Downton Abbey hype either.

So, after much deliberation, I think I enjoyed Paris more for its history and really attractive and tall French dudes, but I liked the efficiency and practicality of London.

The crackle of a croissant

On Tuesday we headed out to see the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. I wanted to buy all the books, but ended up settling on two and had them shipped. At this point in time, my backpack was pretty much saddled to capacity (or so I thought). We then took a cab to the Musee d'Orsay with the friendliest cab driver we'd encountered in Paris. I enjoyed the museum, but not as much as the Louvre. Obviously it's much smaller, and it was really cool to see some of the most famous Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings (Van Gogh really didn't skimp on the paint). I think my favorites were all of the Renoirs. I could've stared at the Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette for an hour. I also loved the little man at the coat check who out of the blue said to me, "I love Obama!" The best part of our late morning was sinking my teeth into a crunchy-on-the-outside-but-oh-so-soft-on-the-inside croissant from a random boulangerie near the museum. Heaven.in.a.pastry.

Our next stop was what I'd come to Paris for - which oddly enough isn't even in Paris - Versailles. I felt like a kid receiving presents for Christmas, Hannukah, and Eid all at the same time as soon as the palace was in plain view. I mean, this was the court of Louis XIV. LOUIS THE FREAKIN' FOURTEENTH. This was the mac daddy of all imperial palaces. This was where the revolutionaries overran the palace guards and accosted Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. This was where the treaty to end the Great War was signed in 1919. I just couldn't even. I still can't. We saw room after room of (some only historical recreations) of the opulence of the French monarchy. I lost track of how many portraits and sculptures there were of Louis XIV and how many battle scenes there were of Napoleon. We would've taken a tour of the gardens, but there was some construction happening and it was pretty cold.

Words of advice to international travelers: do something about that expensive smartphone that's always in your hands. Being without any texting or calling capabilities (unless you have WiFi) is problematic, especially when your train doors shut before everyone you're traveling with has gotten onto the platform. It may take a long time to be reunited. And it may involve your friend finding a cafe with wifi to send your sister back home a Facebook message so that she can text message you in Paris, because yours is the only phone that can receive and send them.

We had just enough time to take a nighttime cruise along the Sienne. As nice as it was, it was ridiculously cold. And to be honest, I know several people said it was a "must" in Paris, I felt like it was just "okay". Yes, we got great views of the Eiffel and Notre Dame all lit up at night, but if one doesn't have time to take a cruise, it's not the end of the world.

We then headed back to Gare du Nord and I made two observations.
French customs worker: Bounjour! Come back and see us!
English customs worker: Where are you going? Why? For how long? What is your departing flight? Who are you really? What's your favorite color?

I'm exaggerating slightly, but not all that much.

And some general observations:

• There's a 50% chance you'll run into someone in the service industry who doesn't speak much or any English. Some signing works.
• The trains aren't as easy to understand as the Tube in London. They don't announce stops to you either...you just have to be on the lookout. Also, see the aforementioned premature door closing situation.
• There's no concept of saying "excuse me" to get by or to apologize to someone for a wrong. This may be something that's common outside of the U.S. though.
• You have to pay to use the bathroom, even if you're a paying customer. But I think that's a continental thing.
• Finding other Americans in a sea of mostly Asian tourists is like a breath of fresh air. You'll exchange pleasantries like, "Oh, you're American too!" or "Where are you from?"
• I can pass for different races...I was asked if I was French and Brazilian(?).
• You'll end up saying merci so much that you'll feel the need to say it even when you're back in an English-speaking country.
• The seagulls are nuts. They dive bomb at you and kaw like it's the End of Days. Hitchcock would be so proud.
• French men are really attractive. Like really. And tall.
• Despite what most people said, I found most of the Parisians we encountered to be very friendly.

Bounjour, mademoiselle

Paris, France in two days. Is that even possible, you ask? Yes, but it's going to be crazy. I mean, crazy. We began our journey at about 5 am...yes, you read that correctly, to take the Eurostar train into the continent. I'd make comments about experiencing the Chunnel, except I was kind of asleep, given the ungodly hour. It's a wonder I slept at all with the American teenagers in front of me giggling about scrapbooking their Paris trip with stickers from Hobby Lobby. Sigh. And yes, that totally would've been me ten years ago.

As soon as we arrived in Paris, we hit the ground running. If you're ever in the city, the Paris Museum Pass is a must. Every travel blog I've read complains about the horrendous lines at all the major tourist attractions. I couldn't tell you about them because the Pass eliminated that problem. We asked the first cab driver we could find outside of the Gare du Nord station to take us to the Notre Dame, but he simply said, "No" and drove off. I mean, a simple "no" would've sufficed...acting like I'd asked if I could scalp you was a bit much. We got to the Notre Dame and it turned out to be everything I'd imagined. I finally got to see Abbe Suger's flying buttresses (ha, butt) that I've been teaching about for over seven years. Afterwards we ventured across the street for some coffee and croissants and discovered that some Parisian cafes are simply tourist traps.

Inside the nave

Look at that base.

We then headed to the Louvre. We had come prepared with a list of things we wanted to see, which was helpful, but the museum was super overwhelming. I felt a mild case of ADD coming on as I flocked from one piece to the next. It's too crowded to contemplate the works and we were in too much of a rush to make other things happen. I don't know what my favorite piece was. I had little interest, or rather time, to check out the ancient art, but seeing some of the old Assyrian lamassu sculptures as well as remnants of Persian temples were pretty exciting. I mean, how did a lowly high school teacher from Texas suddenly get to be in the presence of artifacts that are five thousand years old? Oh, and that's me in front of David's The Coronation of Napoleon. Please don't judge the sweater wrapped around my waist. It was easily 80 degrees in the museum.

We then took a stroll from the Place de la Concorde (where the guillotine beheadings occurred during the revolution) down to the Arch de Triomph on the Champs de Elysees. The famous street itself was pretty underwhelming. I think it could've been the result of a festival that was happening on most of it. The views of the Arch as we approached it were amazing, but climbing the structure itself was possibly one of the worst experiences of my life. Obviously I need to be in better shape, but there was a small moment in the dark stairwell when I wondered how bad it would be if I just gave up, sat down, and just lived inside forever, thus shaming the soldiers whose memory the structure honors.

The last site on our list for the day was the Eiffel. I had my doubts, but once I noticed the number of little old women and small children making their ways to the top, I figured it would be worth it. And it was. Unfortunately, the Pass doesn't help you out with the Eiffel, but the waits weren't too bad. The view was breathtaking (for its beauty and because it was ridiculously cold). Afterwards, we finally checked into our hotel, which I can't recommend enough - the Select Hotel. It's right next to the Sorbonne and walking distance from Notre Dame. We were so tired, the thought of staying in and falling asleep early was very appealing, but we forced ourselves to walk around a bit and have a mediocre dinner at a leeeeeeiiiiissssuuuurrrreeellllyyyy pace. The American in us could not handle this.

Stay tuned for Day 2 in Paris...books, Bonaparte, and a boat.

Pip Pip Cheerio...I'm in London!

When my place of work said they'd take away our three-day weekend in October in favor of a full week off in Thanksgiving, I thought they were mad. How could we, teachers and students, go without some extra time off from Labor Day until Turkey Day? The answer is, it doesn't matter, because I'm traipsing around in London and heading to Paris tomorrow.

I've been to London before...twice, actually. Once to celebrate my first birthday (good times I have no recollection of I'm sure) and another time when my family was en route from uprooting ourselves from Saudi Arabia to move back to Texas. That was in December. It did not bode well for us desert folk.

Aside from the usual flight delay mayhem, panic over being "wait-listed" when we were supposed to be confirmed, and a few unhelpful Delta employees, our travel experience was actually quite smooth. The flight crew was one of the best I've ever experienced. The moment we got off our flight, I expected to see Paddington Bear and Harry Potter paraphernalia hemorrhaging out of the city. This has not be the case so far.

After some quick freshening up at Chateau de Uzma's Auntie, we took to the tube (after topping off our Oyster Cards...I feel so British right now) to checkout the gateway to all that is wonderful and magical, Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. My first thoughts: London is kind of like fancier America and these stations are DART stations on acid. After 45 minutes of standing in line, we were able to take our picture with the infamous Potter props. I loved that the photographers running the tourist spot were just as into it as the dozens and dozens of nerds in line.

So many nerds.

But here's the cutest one.

We continued our nerdfest by heading to Baker Street to see Sherlock's "home". My hopes for a Benedict Cumberbatch sighting were dashed.

We then headed out to Soho to meet up a former student studying abroad at Oxford and then walk around Carnaby Street, with all of its shops and restaurants. It was really pretty, seeing as how everything has been done up for Christmas already. Just eerily quiet. I feel like such places back home blare carols from loudspeakers on the street. Random notes: London is way more cosmopolitan than I remember it to be. Like way more.