From Tours, I took a train to Paris and then transfered to the Eurostar train. The Eurostar is the train that goes under the English Channel. It was my first time taking this train and I was excited. You can leave Paris and arrive in London 2 hours later. Many people use it to commute to and from work. This ticket cost me about $100 (77 Euros). You don't even realize that you are under the Channel until it goes dark, but then in a flash, you are back out of the tunnel and in England.
In London lives my friend, Agnès, and her husband, Serge. Agnès is from Guadeloupe and I met her during my time in Tours, France. She is a scientist and works in a lab in London. Serge is from the Central African Republic and he met Agnès at the church in Tours. They were married in March 2009 in Paris. I am so happy for them and I am so excited for what God has in store for them.
During the days, I would go into town and check out London. I got to see all the sites and check out the museums. I would often return to Trafalgar Square where they were doing a type of live art. They removed one of the statues and are doing a presentation. They choose people to come and stand on the plinth for an hour at a time and that person can do whatever they want. I would go to the square to just see what people were up to. The name of this event is One & Other. It is still going on until October 14, so check it out. I would also check out Starbucks and Subway (I really miss Subway). It was nice to just take a little while and sit, drink a Frappuccino and play Sudoku.
I was privileged to see "Les Misérables". It was my first time seeing it. I have never read the novel ... it hurts being a French teachers and having never read it. It was Agnès' first show in the West End. The performance was great and the stage was awesome. The stage was very multi-purposeful. That was definitely a high-light in England.
Saturday, Agnès had a get-together with her colleagues from the lab. They are from all over; one from Greece, Germany, New Zealand, some from France, Belgium and other countries. The funniest part about it all was the shopping experience. I went with the French-speaking group to the store. It was great to see their interactions with the English. We got meat at a butcher shop and I ended up helping out to get what was needed. The whole day was nice and I was able to interact with her coworkers. I spoke to the German in German and he was impressed. So I must not be as rusty as I think I am.
On Sunday, we went to Agnès' church, El-Shaddai International Christian Centre. The church meets in a hippodrome and the pastor is from Zambia. It was a good time of worship and being in an English-speaking church.
I left England on Tuesday morning and I headed for Paris for a 24-hour "layover" before heading on to Brussels.
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