These last couple of days have seemed so surreal. Yesterday, the new couchsurfer came to Alix's and she's from New Hampshire. She had met a guy from LA in the hostel so we arranged to meet up and surprised him with a picnic in La Place de Concorde and sat in the lounge chairs in the sun. We then got a bottle of wine (me a smoothie since I don't like wine) and went to Luxemburg Gardens just south of the city centre. Just what we talked about in the gardens has made me realized how much I've grown over these last couple of weeks, obviously as a new traveler and as a person in general. An experience today really tested my limits of patience, but I'll get to that later. In the park we just ... read more

I arrived in Paris this morning. Thank the good Lord there was a native French dude on the bus next to me. He helped me get to where I needed to be. I was extremely overwhelmed. I didn't sleep well on the bus and I was really groggy. We went into a near hotel and got coffee and croissants. It woke me up and I was able to take the Metro to Anvers to meet my new host. In the meantime I was taught the rules of French and how to pronounce some of the words. I've been running around saying everything out loud. I feel like a 5 year old that just learned how to read. So I met up with Alix, she's such a nice girl and we headed out and she showed me ... read more

Today has been a lazy day. I also just lost my entire blog due to a break in the internet connection so I'm now retyping a shorter, condensed version of the previous. I left Fran's yesterday to go to a new host up in Enfield. It was a sad departure. She was such a wonderful host with an amazing daughter. Good times were had between the other couchsurfers and her family. I can't thank them enough for their hospitality. Especially hot chocolate in bed = I'm now in the Enfield area. I ate at a wonderful African restaurant last night and stuffed myself with delicious food. It's like a sub-cultured experience. A different culture inside an already new one. I was able to contact my family last night. My aunt passed away a few days ago ... read more

Short printed skirts with black tights and crazy driving. I spent my first day out and about yesterday. I’m so glad I have this oyster card so I can just get on random buses and trains. I got on the train to Waterloo and then got off and voila, there was the London Eye and everything downtown. I took photos for about half an hour (typical tourist, I know) and made my way over by Parliament and Westminster Abbey, which is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could have gone inside but there was a worship service going on at the time. I feel pretty comfortable in the area I’m staying but once I got to the city centre I was more aware of my surroundings. I saw a boy get pickpocketed in front of my and ... read more