Cheers, London

The time has come to say goodbye to London.

Cue sadness and disbelief.

It honestly feels like just yesterday I was prepping for my flight to London, being all anxious to leave, not sure what was ahead of me.. even though I knew it would be good, I was still scared. And then came my first day in London: spent at the British Museum, sitting in Starbucks and people watching, shopping on Oxford Street, and wandering into the "times square" Picadilly Circus. My move in day at the dorms: meeting all the kids on my floor, who were so welcoming and who I will definitely miss. The feeling I had that first week of utter joy, excitement, "life is awesome."

Even though the initial excitement wore off, the "life is awesome" feeling has consistently remained. Even those days I did nothing but sit in my room and talk to friends online... I was still in London, I had either just returned from a great trip or had plans for an upcoming adventure... my life has been unbelievably great these past 4 months.

4 months are already over?!?! This can't be true!

I just returned from a walk down to Westminster/Big Ben with Jackie. Had to say my final goodbyes of course. Oh Big Ben, I will miss you. That London skyline is just so majestic.. you can't beat it. And also say my goodbye to St. Paul's Cathedral... probably my favorite building in London. I haven't even been inside (one of the many things uncompleted on my to-do list), but I still just love it oh so much.

I keep reminding myself that I'll be back to this city. How could I not? It's treated me so well. It's been my home away from home.. so much so that sometimes I even forgot I was in London. The area I live in isn't next door to Big Ben... so it's not like I have "London" staring at me in the face every day. But, when I did get downtown to see those landmarks... it was the same magic all over again. I feel like a tourist even to this day... as of tonight, STILL snapping photos of Big Ben. But anyway, I quickly adjusted and turned one of the world's most prominent cities... into my home.

I've conquered the underground system.. and learned to love it. Hopefully it will help me also conquer NYC's subway system... something I've always dreaded.  But, I haven't conquered which way to look when crossing the road. I still look left, then right. Ah well, at least I won't have to re-learn America's system.

This week I had planned on crossing so many things off my London to-do list, whether it be seeing something for the first time, or re-visiting it. But, with all this royal wedding hubbub, I didn't get to much at all! Kind of a bummer...

Didn't attend an Evensong/go inside St. Paul's, didn't get Indian food at all in 4 months (London is known for Indian food!), didn't go inside Harrod's, didn't get English teatime, go to Regent's Park or Natural History Museum... blah!! I should've made more of an effort to do these things. But, I can't complain.. the things I did do this semester make up for it all. And ending everything with a Royal Wedding and front row at Buckingham Palace? That tops everything. Like, what a way to end a semester. Wow.

I plan on doing a few more blog posts when I return home and have time to reflect, if you will, on my semester. The highs, the lows.. the goods and bads. my favorite cities, favorite trips, etc. etc.

Why am I blogging? I should be finishing up some last minute packing. I'm at that standstill where you're basically all packed, aside from a bunch of miscellaneous items you don't know what to do with. My bags are getting pretttyyyy heavy. Let's cross our fingers that they are within the weight limit.

Welp. See ya soon London. It's been fun. And I'll miss you more than imaginable.

But, get me home to my amazing bed, my precious Jessie, home cooked meals and being on the same continent as my best friends and family.

BITTERSWEET.