I don't recall how long it has been since Eka and I went on a
holiday break together. I guess, it must have been a couple of months
before I defended my PhD thesis, when we took off to San
Francisco...
So this time, we decided to head to London cos London is
a beautiful place to visit at this time of year, with all the
Christmas preparations in the stores and the illuminations on the
streets. This city truly embodies the spirit of Christmas, something
that we don't easily find here on the French Riviera.
We first stopped at St. James's Park cos it is a very romantic
spot. Whenever I was walking through that park, I could hear a tune
ringing in my head: 'Love, love, love, love, love, love,
love... There is nothing you can do, that can't be done. Nothing you
can sing that can't be sung. Nowhere you can be that isn't where
you're meant to be, it's easy!'.
The setting around us was awesome, the colours of the falling
leaves were breath-catching which, of course, induced Eka to take
pictures of funny squirrels along the way. :) Then the next day, we
walked from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge to Westminster Abbey
that we visited. This abbey is a Gothic church that was founded in the
10th century. The building enshrines the history of the British
nation. Many monarchs and writers have been crowned and buried
there. The soaring vaults, the eye-catching stainless glassed windows
and the mosaic pavement speak for themselves and remind us that
England was a great Nation and still is.
Before dropping by at Picadilly Circus, and indulging ourselves
over a couple of pints of beer in a typical English pub, we also aimed
at seeing the Crown Jewels but lining up in the cold and pouring rain
for more than one hour both turned us off. On Saturday afternoon, we
visited a friend of mine, Isabelle, who is currently enrolled in a
postdoctoral fellowship program in Cambridge. Unfortunately, the
weather was so miserable that we didn't get much of a chance to walk
around Cambridge and to visit some of the prestigious Colleges
there. But we did have a great time, talking over coffee and we
certainly plan to come back again another time, probably next spring,
to catch up with all the things we haven't been able to see.
Karine.
