England: Iris Bastiaens (Derivé)

Program: UW Global Launch in London, Academic Year

A few weeks ago, the cohort and I had the opportunity to visit the National Archives with our professor from UW–Madison. The archives are located in Kew Gardens, which I thought to be a beautiful little town. That is why I chose to revisit the area as part of my Derivé.

Brown bookshelves filled with an assortment of fiction books.
After a quick stop at Gail’s for a scone, I made my way to The Kew Bookshop. This was a rather lovely place to look around, especially due to the rain outside. I thought it was interesting to listen to the locals in the shop because they all came in looking for specific books. A boy who was about four years old even came in and asked an employee for a certain book.

After a stroll through the neighborhoods of Kew, I decided it was time to come back home to Kensington. This tube ride home might have to be the key part of my visit because my original tube via the District line was cancelled. The reason this was so important was because it allowed me to walk through the parks right outside of Kew to reach a bus station. This journey away from Kensington allowed me to walk through so many parts of London that I have not seen before.

Taken from the sidewalk, a street with cars parked on the left side and a variety of brown, white, and blue buildings on the right.
I then began to take a stroll through the streets of Kew. My first impressions of the area is that it feels like the countryside in comparison to London. This feeling of being in the country makes this one of the most relaxing areas I have been to in London. I believe this is mainly because the architecture reminds me of my family home in Westerlo, Belgium. I felt rather relaxed upon coming home.
Photo of Iris Bastiaens sitting in a field of flowers

Iris Bastiaens

Program Name: UW Global Launch in London
Major: History
Hometown: Wayzata, Minnesota

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