London

Brunches, musicals and runs along the thames

My experience

As some of you may already know, London is my favourite city in the entire world. I first went there when I was 19 for three weeks as part of a school program aiming at improving my English. I was host by a family and attended English classes in the morning while I was free to wander around in the afternoon. I fell in love with this city right away and so I decided to renew this experience the following year with the same program. I then went back a couple of times on holiday and I finally got the opportunity to spend four months there to do an internship as part of my first year of Masters...

So during four months I worked as a Marketing officer in a small theatre offering drama / dance / music classes to children and young people. It was such an inspiring place. It was small and wonky yet all colourful and cheerful. There were children and teenagers everyday everywhere in the theatre giggling or screaming or crying (yes that's acting guys!) so happy to be here, it always put a smile on my face. My co-workers were also very joyful and fun, we worked listening to Adele and eating ice-creams or biscuits. There was so much life and passion within this place, it just made my experience wonderful and I learnt so much.

When I wasn't working I either was running along the thames (I was so OBSESSED with running at that time) or out and about with my friends. I didn't spend a single day home. With or without my friends, I explored every nook of my favourite city mainly walking or by bus - I love double deckers so with no particular destination in mind I would often just hop on a random line and settle at the top of the bus to have a good view and a good angle to take pictures. I then stopped randomly at the end of a nice street which name inspired me and explored it while listening to Oasis or The Beatles (I know I'm so cliché). I took so many pictures. I figured out myself in one of those pretty and perfect white houses with a coloured door so many times. And I promised myself I would come back there for good one day.

HOLLAND PARK MEWS

REGENT'S PARK ROAD

I lived in a very nice area of North London, near Hackney and very close to the city centre too. I stayed with the loveliest family and was the (almost) next door neighbour of Kit Harrington aka John Snow from GOT (yes true story, and yes I have his address but no, I'll never give it to you).

Some of the highlights / best memories of my experience in London are...

• Running along the thames amongst cyclists going back home after a big day of work.

• Being part of London's hectic life and truly feeling like a Londoner (I still feel like one if I'm honest).

• Drinking English breakfast tea all day everyday (as well as eating Victoria Sponge cake).

• Saying 'brilliant' to everything.

• Living in a very cool neighbourhood where a celebrity was my next door neighbour.

• Going to a new museum every weekend and not having to pay any entrance fee.

• Being called 'lovely' by everyone.
  

There are so many things I love about London. First of all its elegant architecture. Class and elegance emanate from its palatial buildings and houses and the city always looks gorgeous even on dull weather days. I love the fact that we can see History within the architecture (like in French big cities). It has remained very picturesque in some parts but it's also a very modern and lively city and that mix works out really well. London is full of contradictions or I should say cohabitions: not only it is obvioulsy a very cosmopolite city but it's also a city where everyone can find its place no matter what their and activity age are – young professionals, families or retired people have good reasons to live there and they make London full of life and so interesting. I love the essence and the atmosphere of this city, it's hectic but not stressful like in Paris. Plus I've always felt like there are so many possibilities and opportunities in London (even with Brexit!).

London definitely has my heart.

ST PANCRAS STATION

KENSINGTON

British people

They're my favourite people and it's NOT ONLY because I'm in love with their accent I promise. I just find them fascinating, so classy, mannerly and cultured. The image that I have of a typical British person is someone who's clever, discrete, they speak well and have good manners – just a better version of Parisians! I guess I tend to idealise them sometimes because they're obviously not all like I imagine them.

The biggest differences between England and France

These 4 months in London were my first time being away from home that long. Even though I knew London before that it's really at that time that I started noticing some differences...

I think what struck me the most when I arrived in London for the very first time was fashion. I mean, fashion in London is something else. I wouldn't know how to define it actually, simply because there's not just one type of fashion that defines London. Everyone wears whatever they feel like and no one is afraid of judgement because nobody is judging anybody on how they dress. And that is something REALLY different from France where everyone feels forced to follow one type of fashion.

Unlike French girls or women who don't wear a lot of makeup and who don't go for risky fashion choices, British girls have flashy lipstick and smoky eyes while wearing crop tops without bras and mini shorts and fishnet stockings and big colourful boots. They wear it with pride. They are proud and confident about themselves and that's so amazing. I remember wishing to be like this one day when I was in the middle of Shoreditch. But unfortunately 5 years later, I'm still too French...

Obviously food, supermarkets and eating habits are ones of the biggest differences for a French person. As in Dublin, supermarkets in London are smaller and the quality of the food is a bit inferior as the one in France (yes, even in Waitrose folks). Unlike us, British people don't eat at certain hours of the day, they eat breakfast in the morning (or not) and then they just nibble during the day (crisps, sandwiches or chocolate bars around 11am and then 3pm) and have dinner SO EARLY (like 5pm sometimes!!). You'll tell me it's a real English thing anyway but I feel like it's even more present in the UK.

Let's now talk about night life and going out... Ok, there are so many great pubs, bars and night clubs in London (my favourite being Koko in Camden town) where the ambiance is definitely much better than everything I knew in France since then but... If you don't know a promotor then you'll have to pay a pricy entrance fee to enter any club (often around 20£ at least) plus to enter most clubs, you have to be dressed appropriately (dress and high heels) otherwise they'll refuse to let you enter. Also know that, unlike France, clubs close at 3am or 4am at the latest. But again, in London people start partying very early, sometimes just after work in a pub which we don't do in France (do we?!). This is just different than what we're used to but you adapt easily especially when you realise that kind of night life is similar in other English countries (Australia and Ireland). I actually like that way of "partying". Going out early in a pub, having a beer or two (cider for me) and then have pub food before going to a club or just staying in that same pub to enjoy the live music or just the friendly ambiance until it closes.

Eventually I'd like to end up the differences thingy with a similarity: culture or more specifically, the place that takes culture in London and in big French cities. Unlike Sydney or Dublin where I missed going to the theatre or where I was sometimes disappointed by some museums, London is definitely the best in terms of culture, just like France. But while we have ballet shows they have West End shows, while we have Le Louvre, they have The British Museum and while we have Molière, they have Shakespeare. So it's the same but different.