24 Feb-1 March

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~Douglas MacArthur

I arrived in London a bit early. I was couch surfing with a 52-year-old named Sylviane…my first couch surfing experience ever! I had to meet her around 9:30pm. So I decided to go to a pub nearby. I had a pint while reading my lonely Planet book while Americans talked about their sexual experiences in the background (I found it hard to concentrate).

I finally met Sylviane (who did not look anything like her picture). She was an older woman that certainly did not act old. Sylviane lives near Old Street tube station in Hackney. This place is in the centre of all the most happening clubs, pubs, and bars. That night, she took me out to this comedy club where we got to know each other a little more. She is originally from Champagne, France, and moved to London 32 years ago to teach French and be a life coach. We had a lot of fun but we got home early since I was very tired.

The next day, I decided to tour Trafalgar Square a bit. I went to the National Museum (more art, which I loved!). When exiting the museum, there was a tour group that sounded interesting, so I joined them and followed them around. With the tour group, I got to see Big Ben, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. I then walked around towards Tate Modern (an incredible museum filed with abstract art), took the Millennium Bridge, and made my way to the financial district.

I met with Sylviane at 8pm for supper where she introduced me to one of her Brazilian friends (Alexander) she met through couch surfing. Sylviane was in love with Brazil (she travelled there 6 times), and had many Brazilian friends. Alex was a 27 year old looking for a job in London because he loved it so much. After supper, we went next door to this lounge where we met some other friends of Sylviane. The night ended early (at 1pm). Sylviane and I walked back home where she gave me a little walking tour (with explanations) of the neighbourhood.

The next day, I asked Sylviane if I could do my laundry at her place (it was going to be my first time EVER)…but…she offered to do it for me (mixed with her laundry). So even up to now, I still have never done a load of laundry in my life… That afternoon, I took a two walking tours: one of the history of Sweeney Todd and where his barbershop may have been if the legend were true, the other was the walking tour from my book, Lonely planet.During this tour, I went to the Museum of London learning about its history.

That night, I met up with Zahra, a friend I met when I was in Chile. We met up at this wine bar where she introduced me to her friends, and we went out to this lounge afterwards. Zahra had friends of friends that joined who were German. One of which introduced herself to me. Her name was Svenja. Out of all the people I met during my trip so far, I think I had the most chemistry with her. We had a lot of fun talking about anything and everything. She had a very contagious smile with a piecing on her lower lip (very hot!). The night ended early because no one liked the music in the place and everyone was too lazy to go somewhere else. Again, that night, I walked home (since I was living in an awesome location!).

Saturday morning, I made breakfast for Sylviane and I. We learned about the differences between the French and the Quebecers. Later that afternoon, I went to visit the Tower of London, London Bridge, and Greenwich (pronounced Gre-nich…I was corrected many times!). On the ferryboat towards Greenwich, I got to see the pub where Dickens lived and the history of the London Dockland. Before going to the Royal Observatory (where Greenwich Mean Time is), I went to the Naval Museum and learned about the history of Lord Nelson, known for his historic battle against Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar.

On my way back, I went to see London's O2, Buckingham Palace, and got to see London (near Westminster tube station) at night with lights over Big Ben and the London Eye.I met with James and Becky at 7pm. They were the cute couple I met in Bolivia, and later bumped into in Chile. We went to the pub where they had their first date and reminisced on both my trip and their long honeymoon of six months.

After about 3 hours, we parted ways, deep down I think we all knew that was going to be the last time we would ever see each other. I then decided to go meet up with Alexander. He invited me to this place called Jazz Bar. Jazz Bar was a very ghetto bar. Alex warned me many times watch out for my pockets and not to leave my coat anywhere. Alex introduced me to one of his Brazilian friends who was roughly the same age (I forgot his name). These guys were funny because they went out for one purpose and one purpose only: pick up British girls.British girls are known to be a little more promiscuous and that is why I think they were having such a great time in London.That night, thanks to Alex, I met this beautiful redhead named Michelle. We had a lot of fun dancing and partied until 4am. At that point Alex had left me, and I was in the place alone.

When leaving the bar, I realized that someone stole stuff from my inside pocket of my coat. Good thing there were no cards and nothing really valuable except a little Bolivian change purse that I received from Eugenia. That really upset me because I loved that change purse. That night, Sylviane had asked me if I could find another place to stay because she had a friend from Bristol coming to sleep over (she planned this before and had no idea I was going to stay this long). Since I did not, I decided to pass an all-nighter. I went to the Waterloo station (got there at 5am), and waited until it opened at 5:30am. I slept in the station until 7am. Then, I decided to go to Westminster abbey for mass.

This was the only way to visit Westminster Abbey for free: if you pretended you were going for worship. Morning service was at 8am. I had Holy Communion (with wine!), since I did not want to be taken as a fraud…I then went to an Internet café until 12pm. I got back and Sylviane and I watched movies together. She had a night out with her friends while I prepared my bags (I was leaving the next morning). When Sylviane came back, we said a long goodbye. It was really weird, because we had become so familiar with each other, I felt like I knew her for so long. I did not once feel like she was 52 years old. She was so young at heart and I guess that is why I got a long with her so well. I will miss her…