Shannon à Bordeaux

A6

By Shannon MacLeod

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The best part about my teaching experience in Bordeaux had to be the school holidays. My contract began on October 1 and by October 26, I was on holiday for two weeks celebrating All Saints' Holiday. There is also a two week break for Christmas Holiday, Winter Holiday, and Spring Holiday. These two week intervals where I wasn't teaching gave me the opportunity to travel. Money was tight, but I was able to take some amazing trips to see other areas of France and other countries in Europe.

For All Saints' Holiday I went to London. I looked online for the cheapest way travel to London and it was cheaper to go by train and return by plane. So, I left on the train from Bordeaux at 2p.m. My train was scheduled to arrive at Lille, at the north of France at 8 p.m., but in typical French fashion, the train was 50 minutes late. I was to catch the Eurostar to travel by Chunnel to London at 8 p.m., which left me 5 minutes to run from the TGV (the VIA Rail of France) station, pass through customs, and run to the Eurostar Station.

Luckily, on the TGV there was a man from London and knew exactly where to go, so he said, "Keep up and I'll take you exactly where you need to go."

I made it to the Eurostar just in time. I was so excited to travel by Chunnel, but in the end I was extremely disappointed. It was nothing but a dark train ride. I arrived at Waterloo Station in central London at 10:30 p.m. where my friend Liam was waiting. I met Liam last summer at Camp Walt Whitman, where we both worked as camp counselors, and we decided to meet up seeing as he is from England.

At Waterloo Station, we hopped on the Underground. This was a pivotal moment, because it's such a cliché to "Ride the Tube" and to hear the woman on the intercom say "Mind the gap", because there really is quite a large gap. From Waterloo Station, we went directly to Piccadilly Circus. We came out from the Underground and in front of us was Piccadilly Circus. Another big London cliché I was able to experience. Our hostel was behind the large flashing Sanyo sign, we just had to cross a street and we were there.

Crossing the street in the UK proved to be quite dangerous for a Canadian girl who is used to driving on the right hand side. Only after I was nearly killed by a double decker bus did I look down to see painted on the road "Look right" at all crosswalks, these come in handy because it's very confusing.

I was exhausted after a long day of sitting on a train and running for other trains, so we went to a little pub near our hostel, had a pint of Guinness Red (only available in the UK, which is a shame), and went back to the hostel and slept.

The next morning, we rose bright and early and went exploring. We walked to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, one of London's museums with works of art by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh. The great thing about museums in England: they are free. You can experience some of the world's greatest works of art at no cost.

From Trafalgar Square, we walked through St James' Park, the beautiful park and gardens in front of Buckingham Palace. The roadway leading to the palace was lined with the Union Jack flag and the Saudi Arabia flag, so we thought something must be going on. We waltzed right up to the front gates and waited. Sure enough, something was going on, the king of Saudi Arabia and Queen Elizabeth II herself were leaving in a golden carriage to ride through London. Even though Liam lives just outside of London, that was his first time seeing her. I saw her in Sussex and in London.

Next we walked along the river Thames and headed towards the London Eye, a big Ferris wheel. The sun was starting to set when we stepped on, and when we were at the top we were witness to one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever experienced. The sky was a kaleidoscope of pink, purple and gold, with the silhouettes of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and downtown London.

The next day, we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, where I had a photo opportunity with my main man Tom Jones, live and in the wax.

Afterwards, we hopped on the Tube to Waterloo Station and we caught a train to Liam's aunt's house in Reading to pick up his car.

Liam drove me to Oxford, where I met up with my friend Gord, a Mount Allison University graduate now attending Oxford University. Gord gave me a 10 cent tour, I saw The Eagle and Child, a pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to hang out, and many of the buildings that were used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies.

Around 2 a.m., Gord walked me to the bus stop to catch the Gatwick Express, a bus to take me from Oxford to Gatwick Airport.

I was back in Bordeaux at 8 a.m. (including time change). After four days of traveling, très chargés, I was ready for sleep, and about a week later, to get back teaching.