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There is much to be said about Paris, and especially about the Louvre. Napoleon’s ideals about conquering Europe may fall under debate, but the impressive feat that is the Louvre will not. I have been to many cities and seen many museums, but none like this.

Aside from the fact that you can stand in front of world-famous pieces like the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and of course the Mona Lisa, you have to realise that the Louvre itself is a work of art, an architectural wonder in ever sense with intricacies and embelishments that depict the true nature of its contents. You’ll find no traces of modernism here, everything is ornate, everything is artistic no expense is spared in making the experience a humbling one.

I could spend years in this place.

A word of advice for all your low-budget travellers, don’t take the local trains across two countries. Spend the extra cash and take either the Eurostar or an EasyJet flight. Trust me on this one.

We went from Paddington to Charing Cross with little pains, aside from the normal tube-ridding experience. Then we missed the first departing train to Dover, so we were off schedule the whole day, causing us hour-long layovers in Dover, Calais, Bulogne-Ville, and Amiens before finally reaching Paris-Nord.

Once arrived in Paris, and after accepting the fact that we are useless at French, we went a-walking to the Tour Eiffel. Cmon, we had to.

I love how in the US, Charles Darwin is an infamous and controversial character of science and many midwestern states have banned his writings and indeed his theories. Yet in Britain, they put him on the money and the Natural History Museum in London is practically a monument to his work. This is why I live here.

For the record, the NHM in NYC is much better (at least based on my childhood memories, which in general are quite accurate).

Plastic blue whales?…really people.

Shopping with the sisters on High Street Camden, in all its glory. The freaks and goths and punks and that lot are prevalent. We, however, were on a vintage binge, or at least search. I managed to find one shop with good mens clothing, but nothing seemed to fit and the sisters were in a rush too. The cold didn’t help our efforts, as Mischa and Johanna both have some sort of bizarre finger problem that causes them to freeze even indoors.

Showing Mischa London by before Christmas. She wasn’t terribly impressed, at least not today.

Frost is rare in Surrey, lucky for us. Snow will not likely fall any time soon. And yet it is winter in England. The trees have shed their leaves and the wind threatens our fingers and noses with its penetrating, and somewhat mischievous chill. The grass is still green, and rugby is still played at the weekends. So far, we’ve escaped the worst that December rain can dish out.

Lately, I haven’t been up to anything of consequence. Outings to London are rare, visits the Union, growing more seldom, my tendency to carry a camera, fading. My time has been spent largely with books, and in front of the TV, often at the same time. I suppose I can’t blame Winter or TV for my recent lethargy, but that has been my state of late.

The end of term kept me busy with an essay and a few presentations in rapid succession. My research has slowed down, but I feel confident it will be renewed in the upcoming weeks and shopping trips to the Capital, and to Paris, especially with Mischa alongside. I hope to spend my break paying some attention to the D&AD briefs and my own drawing, as well as getting some working done on my project, and its ever-evolving nature.