I saw London and I saw France.

Unfortunately, no underpants were involved.

The first most exciting part of these particular trips was seeing familiar faces and spending time with my family. My best friend since first grade, Yasmin Sinclair, was studying abroad in Paris while I was in Cyprus. I couldn't have planned that out any better if I tried because she made my Parisian visit significantly more affordable/comfortable than if I had to do a hotel/hostel stay. Yasmin and her room mate Yodalis were excellent hosts and surprisingly informative tour guides when time permit. When I arrived, I was on spring break and they were still in school so there were some times where I was left to explore on my own. But nonetheless Yodalis is well versed in her knowledge of Le Jardins du Luxembourg and Yasmin should have been on the payroll at Versaille.

What I know about Luxembourg and Versaille
1. Yodalis told me that Marie Medici who was married to Henry IV had the palace at Luxembourg built because she hated living in the Louvre. She was from Florence and she wanted a castle that reminded her of home, so as soon as her husband was assassinated she acquired the property at Luxembourg and built herself and ideal place to stay.


Funny Story. Well, at least I thought so...

After the Luxembourg tour, Yodalis and I went shopping around St. Germain. We went to Les Galleries Lafayettes (words cannot express the magnitude of fashion within that building. I spent an hour in the shoe department alone and could barely say anything else but "Wow.") and while we were in there I bumped into some students from Morgan. Accidentally bumping into people you know on the other side of the world is the coolest feeling ever. Then we hit Les Champs-Élysées, which is like a 5th Avenue in Paris. Stopping here was really important for me because when I was a little girl my Dad used to sing me a song called Aux Champs-Élysées to put me to bed.

Anyways, by the time we finished our window shopping spree, we were rushing to get home to Yasmin who had been out of class for a while. Now the trains come realitvely quickly in France (3-5 minutes waiting time on good days) so there never is a need to rush into a train that is about to depart. Well, Yodalis and I must have thought we were back in NY because when we saw the train on the platform we took off running to make it through the doors. Yodalis was in front of me and once she got onto the train she didn't even look back at me and before I could jump in the doors started closing. I freaked out and tried to pry the doors open with my hands and some people on the platform were helping me. Yodalis had people inside the train yanking too but the doors would not budge. At all. So I let go but it clamps shut so fast that my fingers get caught in the door and the train is about to pull off. Now I'm screaming because I don't want my fondest memories of Paris to be tainted by the ones of me being in the E.R. getting my fingers sewed on. The train gods must have sensed my struggles and they allowed me to safely remove my hand before the train pulled off. I got on the next train that came 3min after and Yodalis was waiting for me at the next stop. We died of laughter alllllllllllllll the way home.

2. Yasmin told me ALOT while we were roaming the ornate hallways and manicured grounds of the Palace of Versailles but my favorite story of all time has to do with this speck of a statue in the background of this picture.
Make it bigger, zoom in, put your glasses on, get a magnifying glass... the point is you can't see it because it's ALL THE WAY on the OTHER SIDE of the garden. Now why would Louis XIV go out of his way to put the statue so far away from everything else? To make sure that when he made it to that part of the garden on his daily walks he had something nice to look at? SIKE. As Yasmin tells it, King Louis asked a famous Italian sculptor to come to the palace and work on some pieces for him. The sculptor made several items for the King but none of them were to his taste. Instead of having the sculptor keep trying, the King pretended to like a random one to end the process. He liked it so much he put it where no one could ever get the opportunity to like it as much as him. How rude.

In London, I was able to link up with people from both side of my family. My maternal grandfather's brother, Uncle Lloyd and his wife Auntie Lottie live in Greenford and I stayed with them Thursday night and Sunday night. They are the cutest little couple ever and even though it was their first time meeting me they treated me like on of their own grandkids. We cuddled up on the couch and watched British soaps together and they even gave me my own room. My maternal grandmother's brother also lives in Greenford, not too far from Uncle Lloyd's house, and he was kind enough to take me over there to visit. Uncle Kenneth is suffering from Alzheimers disease but he heard I was in town and he remembered that I was coming to visit. That made he happy. His daughter Donna also knew I was visiting and she rushed over with her daughter Imani for a brief little family reunion.

My cousin Kathy, from my Dad's side, met me at St. Paul's Cathedral and we spent the whole day together. We had too much fun running around considering she was 7 months pregnant with her son at the time. We shopped in Oxford Circus, where I fell in love with the store River Island (the clothes are amazing and they're having a sale right now; sale + international shipping = regular price but so what! indulge!) and got extremely overwhelmed by the 5 story Top Shop on Oxford Street... I was literally in there for 2 hours and couldn't buy anything because there was too much fabulousness to choose from. Kathy was actually shocked by how in awe I was of the retail selection because apparently English people prefer to go to the states to shop. I strive for the day I can jump on a plane and go to London strictly for a shopping trip. Putting that on my bucket list mmmmmrightnow.

We also went to Brixton because I was dying to see where all the Jamaican people lived. True to its reputation, as soon as I stepped out of the train station I heard someone blasting Vybz Kartel from their car. Felt like I was in Flatbush! Brixton was super good to me and I was able to get my hair done and even got a plate of Saltfish and Fry Dumpling to take back to the hostel. Probably the best day ever.


The second most exciting part of these trips was being able to get around the cities on my own. Both Paris and London have FABULOUS subway systems that are easy to navigate and ran through the heart of the cities as well as the outskirts. Major plus is that you get service while under ground, so you can call your mate and let 'em know when your approaching the station instead of having them wait outside for ya. Paris metro was WAY more affordable than the tube but everything in England is grossly overpriced so that was expected. God Bless my Auntie Lottie who accidentally bought me a weekly tube pass because she thought I was staying in town a while longer. Though I was visiting with friends and family in both cities, I had ample opportunity to travel on my own. But the most random//risky independent travel experience I had was in Paris.

So as I said before, Yasmin and Yodalis were in school and my last day in Paris I had to take myself to the remaining tourist attractions I wanted to see. My Mom was adamant that I visit

her favorite place in the city, so I borrowed some maps and made my way to Sacré-Cœur. A beautiful church with a breath-taking view of the city, Sacré-Cœur began being built in 1875 and was opened in 1919. The name translates to Sacred Heart in English, and the church is in dedication to the Sacred Heart of Christ because the French believe he saved them in the Prussina War. The view is so beautiful because the church is 500 steps and several levels above the street, so the day you choose to visit, wear good shoes and have some water handy... or take the easy way out and ride the Funiculaire up the hill. I walked up, dodged crafty street vendors ("If you vote for Obama why you don't want to buy from me, my sister?" ... what does my vote have to do with the friendship bracelet you're weaving? Oh. Alright.), slipped once or twice and broke a sweat. By the time I made it to the top I had to catch my breath before I got to take in the sights. My camera was broken at this time and all I had was a little Kodak camera that I bought across the street from Notre-Dame. I sparingly took a shot or two of the view without me in it but then I needed someone to help me out. No sooner than I made the "I wonder who could help me out" face, did this little middle eastern man pop up and offer to take the picture for me. We started talking after the photo shoot and he told me his name was Mustafa, he was only in town for one more day and he too was sight seeing solo. He offered to go to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower with me. Not wanting to be alone in the city, I said sure!

Mustafa is a pretty decent guy. 28 years old and originally from Algeria, he was studying finance at a school in Lyons. Though he came from humble beginnings, Mustafa speaks four languages - Arabic, French, English and a dialect exclusively spoken by his village at home. He was TOO happy to practice his English and knowledge of American culture with me. While we were walking to the Louvre he called a friend in Algeria just so I could tell her that he spoke English well. He listens to a lot of "classic" American music like The Beatles, Elvis, Phil Collins and he was disappointed when I told him I don't listen to those artists, "Don't all Americans LOVE them?" Strangely enough, in this era where it seems as if the world is angry with America, Mustafa confessed that his biggest dream in life is to move to the states. All day, our conversations were sprinkled with his underlying fire to get to America. "My last dying wish is to go to America. I would give my kidneys for a flight to the U.S. I would trade my grandmother just to see the Statue of Liberty." When we were walking he was literally mumbling under his breath "I want to go to America. I want to go to America." Over and over again.

Overall, he was good company but a few things stressed me out...

1. He could not afford to get into the Louvre. How do you venture out for a day of sight seeing and not have the money to get into the sites?! He ended up waiting outside for me and I went in to see the Mona Lisa by myself. She is ridiculously tiny in person and there were like 100 people crowded into the room trying to get a picture. I'll develop mine soon. While I was in there, I bumped into the same Morgan Students who I saw at Les Galleries Lafayettes. It felt so good to see people from my HBCU on the other side of the world, again!

2. When we left the Louvre, he could not afford to buy himself a 3euro crepe and I ended up buying him lunch. And then this man had the nerve to be trying to sweet talk me while we were eating. Sir, there is NOTHING cute about this. You're broke. And I'm too kind to let you starve. Case closed.

3. By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower, Mustafa must have lost all his God given sense. "Can you make me one kiss? I never kiss an American girl before!" o_O Excuse me? So you thought that you were my escort for the day and as payment for your company I should swap spit with you? Back up. And everyone knows the term is FRENCH kissing!! Why would you want to kiss an American girl in France instead of getting the genuine experience?! By now he had fallen in love and told me that when I become his wife he will call me his illness because when I am ill he will be ill and when I am well he will be well. Bit of a hard concept to grasp but that is the best explanation I can give you so bare with me.

But yeah... London and Paris in a nutshell.