Articles in French Summer
Along the River Thames
The many bridges crossing the River Thames are all different. The Millennium Bridge is a modern footbridge steel suspension bridge leading to the Tate Modern, while the Tower Bridge, with its two massive towers, leads to the Tower of London. The architecture of the London Bridge is more straightforward but it is interesting to watch all the throng of office workers making their way from The City to London Bridge Station at the end of the day.
The Tower of London
Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress, the Tower of London, is actually more a castle than a tower. It is among all famous for being the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
The castle is made of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls, and a moat, which is now dry. Currently stored in the Waterloo Barracks, the Crown Jewels are one of the main attractions.
Oh-So-British
London was a great surprise to me. I had been to England many times as a teen, first by taking the ferry across the channel and later by the Eurostar train. England to me was buying “crips” with vinegar at Woolworth, taking double-decker buses across small cities, listening to Oasis (I liked them better than Blur) and bitching about the overall gloomy weather.
Art and Culture in the U.K
While the Louvre in Paris may be more famous, London also has awesome museums. We took the opportunity to visit the British Museum and the Tate Modern and I must said I was amazed by both.
One really cool fact: these national museums were both free, although small donations were encouraged. How cool! In Paris, museums are quite expensive and it adds up pretty fast.
The Tube
The tube, the subway, the underground… London wouldn’t be London without it, no matter how you call it.
I usually have a love/ hate relationship with subways: while they are often the most efficient way to get around in large cities, they also receive their fair share of bad press. Dangerous, crowded, dirty, expensive, claustrophobic… not all subways are nice to ride.
The London Eye
The last time I was in London, not including multiples transfers at Heathrow airport, was in 1998. I had never seen the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel set up in the capital to celebrate the millennium. It was high on my “must visit list”, for both the somewhat unusual character of the landmark and the view from the wheel.
Thanks for the Party... Eh!
Happy birthday Canada… from London!
That’s right: from France, we took the Eurostar (more on that later) and are now in London for a few days. And this afternoon, we stumbled upon the Canada Day celebrations in London, in Trafalgar Square — a huge (unexpected) party!
A French Market
There are two big markets a week in Nantes, and they are both very busy. French do love food after all.
Fruits and vegetables are not always cheaper than at the supermarket but people have their “petites habitudes” (customs) and they enjoy shopping at the same stalls weeks after weeks. They joke, taste the fruits, complain about the price and happily bag a few pounds of this and that. So-and-so has the best meat, so-and-so has the freshest bread etc.
