5 days in London.
That was all I had left when I got back from Poland.
5 days, and they were gone in the blink of an eye.
5
I went to class from 9-12.
I ate lunch in the courtyard with Jolene, and drank tea.
Our class visited King's Cross and St. Pancras Station; familiar sights for Harry Potter fans. I raided the gift shop at the British Library, then Jolene, Morgan and I meandered our way back to King's College, not without stopping to eat creamy Gelatto ice cream in sunny Regent's Square.
Jolene, Jamie and I dressed up fancy and went to laugh the night away from the front row of The Sunshine Boys, where I was so close to Danny DiVito I could have touched his big toe.
4
Famous English writer Brian Sibley (who has met Ian McCellan and the cast of The Lord of the Rings and wrote books on The Chronicles of Narnia and Winnie the Pooh) came to speak to our class, and afterwards several of us went to lunch with him at The Wharf by the River Thames.
Morgan and I joined Aaron and Baine for a trip to Covent Garden for last minute souvenir shopping.
Jolene and I stood like the Groundlings of Shakespeare's days in the yard of Shakespeare's Globe to watch a mediocre performance of Richard III.
3
We were supposed to have class from 9-12...
But instead we trekked down to Millennium Bridge where we had a spectacular view of the passing off of the Olympic Torch :)
I locked myself in my room all afternoon to work on writing essays for my final exam. For relief, I would run up and down the seven flights of stairs it took to get from the ground to my flat. And when I got too hot I would drink a cold diet coke and eat lemon drops in the courtyard.
I got all dolled up to attend the 2 and a half hour long Research Symposium where both Jamie and Jolene gave spectacular and stirring presentations!
Jolene, Jamie, Tanja, Savannah, Dr. Lares and I went in search of food and ended up eating yummy crepes
in Gabriel's Wharf that were worth every calorie :D
2
Woke up at 5:30 a.m., spent all morning in my stuffy room finishing and proofreading my final exam. Also booked my Helsinki hotel, and took a break to eat a scone and drink a cup of tea in the breezy courtyard.
TASTED FREEDOM AT 10:30 A.M. WHEN I TURNED IN MY FINAL EXAM!
And spent my free hours navigating my way through the Tube, meandering aimlessly through Regent Gardens with my ipod, sitting under a tree and reading Jane Austen's Persuasion, then making it back to the dorms just in time to meet Jolene and Tanja for one last English tea.
And spent my free hours navigating my way through the Tube, meandering aimlessly through Regent Gardens with my ipod, sitting under a tree and reading Jane Austen's Persuasion, then making it back to the dorms just in time to meet Jolene and Tanja for one last English tea.
Enjoyed the above mentioned English tea and the same darling bakery Jolene and I had eaten at on the day we first met. Today, though, I added a fruit tart to the mix-- and it was positively delicious.
Joined all 150 British Studies members for a cruise down the River Thames.
Sipped champagne and watched London slip past from the back deck, blew kisses at members of the Royal Navy, danced some jigs to an Irish band, stuffed my face with scrumptious BBQ, and sat in the boat window to wave at Londoners on the shore.
Got off the boat at 8, ran back to the dorms to watch the first 5 minutes of the Olympics opening ceremony on TV, then left with Jolene and Jamie to actually live the thrill of the ceremony in London itself.
And boy, did we live it.
No, we didn't see the ceremony, but we climbed onto the monument at Trafalgar Square and sang patriotic, American tunes with fellow BSP friends and a class of American Navy students also camped out on top of one of the infamous lions.
After our sing along session, about twenty of us hopped down from the monument (the Navy boys were total gentleman and caught us ladies, who were still in our dresses) and we went trekking down the street of London in search of a pub where we could watch the rest of the opening ceremony.
Well we didn't find a pub with room for us...
But we were recruited into a club called Piccadilly Institute where they let us all in for free and we danced the night away until it was time to watch Team USA enter the stadium on a big, overhead projector.
Considering the night an enormous success, Jamie, Jolene and I meandered our way back to Kings College, enjoying the crisp, London night air, and prepared ourselves for our last day in the incredible city...
Joined all 150 British Studies members for a cruise down the River Thames.
Sipped champagne and watched London slip past from the back deck, blew kisses at members of the Royal Navy, danced some jigs to an Irish band, stuffed my face with scrumptious BBQ, and sat in the boat window to wave at Londoners on the shore.
Got off the boat at 8, ran back to the dorms to watch the first 5 minutes of the Olympics opening ceremony on TV, then left with Jolene and Jamie to actually live the thrill of the ceremony in London itself.
And boy, did we live it.
No, we didn't see the ceremony, but we climbed onto the monument at Trafalgar Square and sang patriotic, American tunes with fellow BSP friends and a class of American Navy students also camped out on top of one of the infamous lions.
After our sing along session, about twenty of us hopped down from the monument (the Navy boys were total gentleman and caught us ladies, who were still in our dresses) and we went trekking down the street of London in search of a pub where we could watch the rest of the opening ceremony.
Well we didn't find a pub with room for us...
But we were recruited into a club called Piccadilly Institute where they let us all in for free and we danced the night away until it was time to watch Team USA enter the stadium on a big, overhead projector.
Considering the night an enormous success, Jamie, Jolene and I meandered our way back to Kings College, enjoying the crisp, London night air, and prepared ourselves for our last day in the incredible city...
Day 1
I waved farewell to all my favorite sites.
Rising with the sun, I ate a quick breakfast, got dressed, grabbed my camera and my map, and set out for one last walk through my beloved city.
And this one, I took by myself. Because all I needed for companionship was this splendid city I had grown to know and love over the short span of four weeks.
The sun shone gloriously and the wind blew just enough to help dissipate its heat. I walked out the door of our King's College apartments, bounced down the River Walk, crossed Westminster Bridge to gaze upon my dear, iconic friend Big Ben, was greeted by the jubilant ringing of the Westminster Abbey bells, walked through Parliament Square, then down Horse Guard Parade, watched the changing of the guard at Horse Palace, and bought a cheap, smoked salmon sandwich to eat on the steps of the National Gallery while central London buzzed around me. I wandered through the gallery and especially spent a lot of time gazing at my favorite paintings by Claude, Turner, and Monet, snacked on a yummy caramel cake and sipped on some free coffee, navigated my way through Leicester Square to Charring Cross Road where I ducked in and out of used book stores (and bought one too many books), ventured into Foyles, London's largest book store, and explored all five floors and the treasures held there. I crossed over to Oxford Street, hunted down the Handel House Museum and toured the peaceful, hidden home, stumbled into Posh London and tiptoed through the back doors of yet another spellbinding cathedral, then made my way through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens where I enjoyed dinner beneath a tree in the lawn of the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Thinking I still had time before meeting Jamie back at King's College, I wandered into Harrods Department Store.
My jaw dropped. My eyes went wild. I had never seen so much glamor in my life.
And of course I bought a honey colored, stuffed bear, because that is the same department store where, many years ago, Alan Milne and his wife Daphne bought a teddy bear for their newborn son, Christopher Robin.
When I finally emerged from the most stunning department store on the face of this planet, I realized I was out of minutes on my phone, late in meeting Jamie, and the tube was ridiculously packed so I was walking/running back to King's College. Along the way I passed Buckingham Palace one last time, passed through Parliament, and across Westminster Bridge, and down the River Walk-- the most fun part of it was I never once had to pull out my map!
I got back to the dorms just in time to wave six coaches, packed with 150 melancholy British Studies students, away on their journey out of the city and home to America.
Because I had flown into London on my own, I was also flying out on my own, so I got one last night to bask in the joy of the splendid city.
And what better way to say a final goodbye than with a ride in the London Eye, with the city sprawled below me and so many inches of it covered in my footprints.
That night, after our ride in the London Eye, Jamie and I bought hot chocolate just like we did on our first night there, and stood at the rail of the River Thames to gaze at Big Ben for as long as possible.
It was 11:15 p.m., and he chimed at us to say, "Hello!"
We threw a penny in the river, and made a wish.
With the cool, London wind blowing our hair across our faces we reminisced on the times we had shared there.
Then it was time to say our last goodbyes to the city.
As we began to walk away, we kept turning and looking over our shoulders to take in the sight of the grand, glowing, iconic clock one last time...
and just as he dissappeared from our view, his bells began to chime.
"Wait, Jamie!" I said, and together we jumped up on a bench as Big Ben ushered in midnight.
"He's telling us goodbye," Jamie whispered.
And in stillness we listened to the last song we would hear of London's great time keeper.
On Sunday morning I hauled all of my luggage out of the dorms, through Waterloo Station, onto the Picadilly Line and rode the hour long journey to Heathrow Airport.
Six hours later, when I was sitting on the plane and it began to lift into the air, I pressed my face against the window and let the tears flow freely. In my head I was begging the plane to put me back down, telling it I wasn't ready to go yet.
But it took me away to Helsinki, Finland where I spent the night at a lonely hotel, and then began the last leg of my trip back to America.
What I guess was 48 hours after listening to Big Ben's goodbyes (but who really knows with all the time changes!), I was hugging my mom, hugging my dad, hugging my grandma and grandpa...and I was home.
Yet there will always be a piece of my heart that is still in London, and one day I'll go back to fetch it.
Rising with the sun, I ate a quick breakfast, got dressed, grabbed my camera and my map, and set out for one last walk through my beloved city.
And this one, I took by myself. Because all I needed for companionship was this splendid city I had grown to know and love over the short span of four weeks.
The sun shone gloriously and the wind blew just enough to help dissipate its heat. I walked out the door of our King's College apartments, bounced down the River Walk, crossed Westminster Bridge to gaze upon my dear, iconic friend Big Ben, was greeted by the jubilant ringing of the Westminster Abbey bells, walked through Parliament Square, then down Horse Guard Parade, watched the changing of the guard at Horse Palace, and bought a cheap, smoked salmon sandwich to eat on the steps of the National Gallery while central London buzzed around me. I wandered through the gallery and especially spent a lot of time gazing at my favorite paintings by Claude, Turner, and Monet, snacked on a yummy caramel cake and sipped on some free coffee, navigated my way through Leicester Square to Charring Cross Road where I ducked in and out of used book stores (and bought one too many books), ventured into Foyles, London's largest book store, and explored all five floors and the treasures held there. I crossed over to Oxford Street, hunted down the Handel House Museum and toured the peaceful, hidden home, stumbled into Posh London and tiptoed through the back doors of yet another spellbinding cathedral, then made my way through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens where I enjoyed dinner beneath a tree in the lawn of the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Thinking I still had time before meeting Jamie back at King's College, I wandered into Harrods Department Store.
My jaw dropped. My eyes went wild. I had never seen so much glamor in my life.
And of course I bought a honey colored, stuffed bear, because that is the same department store where, many years ago, Alan Milne and his wife Daphne bought a teddy bear for their newborn son, Christopher Robin.
When I finally emerged from the most stunning department store on the face of this planet, I realized I was out of minutes on my phone, late in meeting Jamie, and the tube was ridiculously packed so I was walking/running back to King's College. Along the way I passed Buckingham Palace one last time, passed through Parliament, and across Westminster Bridge, and down the River Walk-- the most fun part of it was I never once had to pull out my map!
I got back to the dorms just in time to wave six coaches, packed with 150 melancholy British Studies students, away on their journey out of the city and home to America.
Because I had flown into London on my own, I was also flying out on my own, so I got one last night to bask in the joy of the splendid city.
And what better way to say a final goodbye than with a ride in the London Eye, with the city sprawled below me and so many inches of it covered in my footprints.
That night, after our ride in the London Eye, Jamie and I bought hot chocolate just like we did on our first night there, and stood at the rail of the River Thames to gaze at Big Ben for as long as possible.
It was 11:15 p.m., and he chimed at us to say, "Hello!"
We threw a penny in the river, and made a wish.
With the cool, London wind blowing our hair across our faces we reminisced on the times we had shared there.
Then it was time to say our last goodbyes to the city.
As we began to walk away, we kept turning and looking over our shoulders to take in the sight of the grand, glowing, iconic clock one last time...
and just as he dissappeared from our view, his bells began to chime.
"Wait, Jamie!" I said, and together we jumped up on a bench as Big Ben ushered in midnight.
"He's telling us goodbye," Jamie whispered.
And in stillness we listened to the last song we would hear of London's great time keeper.
On Sunday morning I hauled all of my luggage out of the dorms, through Waterloo Station, onto the Picadilly Line and rode the hour long journey to Heathrow Airport.
Six hours later, when I was sitting on the plane and it began to lift into the air, I pressed my face against the window and let the tears flow freely. In my head I was begging the plane to put me back down, telling it I wasn't ready to go yet.
But it took me away to Helsinki, Finland where I spent the night at a lonely hotel, and then began the last leg of my trip back to America.
What I guess was 48 hours after listening to Big Ben's goodbyes (but who really knows with all the time changes!), I was hugging my mom, hugging my dad, hugging my grandma and grandpa...and I was home.
Yet there will always be a piece of my heart that is still in London, and one day I'll go back to fetch it.
