Speaker A
Do you know what we say in French? Better late than never. Last year, I travelled for a few days to London by train.
A French vlogger visits London to attend a language journal launch, explore the city, and share cultural observations with vocabulary tips.
Key Takeaways
- Traveling by train from France to London is practical and environmentally friendly but can be costly.
- London has many cultural and practical differences from France that can be disorienting for visitors.
- Language learning and cultural exploration are central themes of the vlog.
- The British Museum is a highlight for those interested in ancient civilizations, especially the Rosetta Stone.
- Despite enjoying London, the vlogger prefers the quieter, less crowded environment of France.
What the video covers
- The vlogger traveled from France to London by train to attend the launch event of a language learning journal called Fluentish.
- She shares her travel experience including taking the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel and initial impressions of London.
- The video includes a voiceover due to microphone issues during filming.
- She describes differences between France and England such as time zone, currency, electrical sockets, and driving on the left.
- The vlogger shows her outfit for the formal launch event and describes the international atmosphere there.
- She spends the next day writing in a café and visiting the British Museum, focusing on the Rosetta Stone.
- She purchases souvenirs including a book on Egyptian hieroglyphs and a Rosetta Stone key ring for her mother.
- The vlogger reflects on the crowded and expensive nature of London compared to Paris.
- She encourages viewers to download a PDF with vocabulary and expressions used in the vlog.
- The video ends with her expressing happiness about her trip and returning home to France.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Travel to London
- 00:29Vlog Overview and Technical Issues
- 01:18Purpose of Visit and Train Journey
- 01:50Arrival and First Impressions of London
- 03:06Getting Ready for the Launch Event
- 03:31Outfit Description
- 04:27Launch Event and International Atmosphere
- 04:54Plans for the Next Day
- 05:49Exploring London and British Museum Visit
- 06:32Souvenir Shopping and Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
I filmed a lot, but when I got home, life, work, and procrastination caught up with me.
Speaker A
In short, the video you are about to see was shot in December 2023, in a Christmassy atmosphere, and even if I'm one year late, I wasn't going to forget to say: Hi hi hi!
Speaker A
Welcome to a new vlog. Today I'm in London for a few days, and I thought I'd take you with me.
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This is a vlog that's going to be a bit special because I've had a few technical problems.
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Oh yes, let's talk about technical problems. I had a few problems with my microphone, and sometimes the sound didn't record.
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That's why I'm recording this voiceover. So get comfortable, don't forget to download the PDF containing all the vocabulary and expressions used in this vlog.
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Turn on the subtitles if you need them. And let's start! Why did I go to London?
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To celebrate the publication of my friend Jo Franco's journal. She created a journal called "Fluentish," which is specifically for language learning.
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So she organised a presentation evening to launch the journal. Did you know that you can take the train to London from France?
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To do this, I took the train from Bordeaux, and then I took the Eurostar train in Paris, which goes directly to London under the English Channel.
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The English Channel is the sea between France and England, right here. So, yes, the train is practical, it's environmentally friendly, but can we talk about the price of espressos?
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€3.20 really. What's more, when you go through the Channel Tunnel, you can't even see the fish. Yep, disappointing, I know.
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When I arrived at London station, I took the underground to get to my hotel and discover the shoebox, err, no sorry, the bedroom I'd rented for the weekend.
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It's true that it was a bit expensive, but at least I escaped the bedbugs.
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And that's priceless. After that, this is me telling you things and thinking that my microphone was working.
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I think I was talking about my first impressions of the city. In fact, it wasn't my first time in London or even in England.
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And yet, I still found it quite disorientating, in other words, I found it very different from France, even though we are neighbours.
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There are lots of things that differ from France: the time, England is one hour behind, the currency is the pound and not the euro, the electrical sockets are different, and especially driving on the left.
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I almost got run over several times because I was looking the wrong way before crossing the road.
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And I've never felt so much adrenalin when crossing a pedestrian crossing. But all that doesn't matter because...
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It's almost evening time. It starts in 30 minutes. I'm almost ready. I've done my make-up and changed my clothes too.
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You can see that I'm sparkling here because, for tonight's event, we had to dress up a bit and wear formal clothes.
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I'll show you what I've chosen. I have absolutely no light to show you what I'm wearing.
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We can try anyway. I chose a sequinned shirt. It's a little transparent. Sequins are these things here.
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Small, shiny, metallic discs. Then, underneath, I put on a tank top. A tank top is when you have thin straps like this.
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This type of garment is called a tank top. It's different from a T-shirt, which has longer sleeves.
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I have two necklaces here. Can you see them? Two gold necklaces and trousers, I'm wearing a pair of trousers in this style, made of cloth, with large gold buttons on the side.
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They're navy blue, not really black. The trousers are navy blue and the top is black.
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And now I'm off to the party. It was really great. There was an international atmosphere that I love.
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There were a lot of people there to celebrate the launch of Fluentish, Jo's journal.
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Well done to her, even if I'm a little late in saying it. And I'll leave you the link to the journal in the description if you'd like to buy it to track your progress in French.
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As usual, at this kind of party, I was among the last to leave, but this time I didn't hang around too long because I wanted to make the most of London the following day.
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So, the plan this morning, is to go and have breakfast, to take my journal and go and write in a café.
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I'll try to find somewhere nice. And this afternoon I've booked a ticket, a ticket for the British Museum.
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That's kind of my plan. The aim is to at least see the Rosetta Stone.
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That would be cool. And then I don't really know what I'm going to do with my day.
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But there you go. And take a look. Incredibly, the sky is blue today! So my day began in a café where I had a coffee, while writing in my diary.
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It's a moment I love so much. I'd really like all my days to start like this, but they're often much more intense.
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Then I wandered around London trying not to get run over by red double-decker buses, which wasn't as easy as you'd think.
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And then I went to visit the British Museum. I love everything to do with ancient civilisations, and so I really enjoyed the British Museum, even if it's true that many of the works on display are claimed by their country of origin.
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And the Greeks, I think you know what I'm talking about. Of course, I couldn't resist a selfie with the Rosetta Stone, the superstar of the museum, and I ended my visit with a visit to the souvenir shop because I didn't want
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to leave empty-handed. I went to the shop thinking: "I'll be able to buy my Christmas presents here." And in the end, I bought gifts for myself instead.
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I didn't find much for my family, but that's OK, I'll find something elsewhere. So I bought a tiny little beetle like this because I thought that it was very pretty.
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So I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I really like it.
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I also bought a book called: "Write Your Own Egyptian Hieroglyphs." Because I don't know, I think I got a bit excited and I'm starting to think of myself as an Egyptologist.
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But at least, understanding how the hieroglyphic system works really interests me. I haven't really studied the subject yet, but from what I understand, it works in a way that there are pictograms, drawings which are called pictograms and they have a function of either,
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one pictogram equals one word, or one pictogram equals one sound. In general, the pictogram represents the sound of the first letter of the word.
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For example, I'm not sure that it's exactly this, but let's imagine a pictogram in the shape of a head.
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I think it was pronounced "res," I'd have to double-check but, as the first sound of the word, is the "r" sound, then the pictogram represents the "r" sound.
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I'll tell you more once I've finished it, because obviously I've not yet mastered the subject.
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And finally, I bought a little key ring like this, shaped like the Rosetta Stone.
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This one is a gift, though. I'm going to give this one to my mother because her dream is to see the Rosetta Stone, and she hasn't seen it yet.
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So, if she can't see it in person, I'll give her the key ring. After that, I went to eat at a restaurant for my last evening and the next day, it was the day I returned to France.
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So obviously I couldn't finish this vlog without making my country proud and complaining like a Frenchwoman.
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I'm very happy to be going home. London was very cool, but it's a city that's a bit intense.
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I find some of the same problems I don't like in big cities, that there are a lot of people.
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The streets are crowded and things are expensive. There are a few too many people for me.
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I find this to be the case in London, perhaps even more so than in Paris.
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But in any case, I had a great time. I'm really glad I came, but I'm really glad I'm going home too.
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Thank you for watching this video. Don't forget to download the PDF containing the vocabulary and expressions used in this vlog.
Speaker A
And I hope you've enjoyed this little vlog from London. See you soon!
Topics:London travelFrench vlogEurostar trainBritish MuseumRosetta Stonelanguage learningFluentish journaltravel vlogcultural differencesFrench in London
