So it took Kels and I over 15 hours of travel on multiple trains, planes, busses and metros but we finally made it back to London. It felt so good to be back in the place I started this adventure. As I arrived I just had that great feeling that I get in this city. After this past 5 weeks of hit and run travel and then our long travel day all we wanted to do was relax. ....hence the photo of us laying in the grass. We decided London was our holiday from our holiday. We were staying with my wonderful friend Helly, her boyfriend Wil and their flat mates. I had never been over to Helly's while I was living in London but had heard about it. Now you all know how I love vintage stuff so this old but charming place was right up my ally. It even had one of those victorian toilets with a pull chain (modern plumbing though). They set us up in the spare bedroom and it was just perfect.
Now even though we were in relaxed travel mode we still wanted to explore. The first day I took Kels over to Richmond where I had been living. We just walked along the river and did some people watching. It was a beautiful day so there
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| London Bridge |
were lots of couple out paddling around in boats. Now I am sure in theory this was a great idea. The guys would pack up a lunch, take their lady out in the boat and impress her with how romantic he was. Unfortunately for most of these guys it did not end up that way. Rowing a boat is apparently much more difficult then it looks. Most of the guys were seriously struggling, barely getting the oars in the water and not really moving. One guy almost dumped the boat over when he tried to stand up and move closer to his lady in the boat. It was quite entertaining to say the least. The evening was spent with the family I nannied for during the first 6 weeks of my trip. It was so great to see the kids again and spend time with the parents. I still can't believe how lucky I was to meet such a wonderful family that has become so dear to me over such a short amount of time.
Our next day we had a bit of a lie in and then headed into town. Kels had been told about a great design museum by her brother so we were going to check it out. Along the way we stopped off at the London bridge to take a few photos. The design museum turned out to be a really cool place. They had a
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| Crystals.... |
whole exhibit about the Olympics and Paralympics and how design has influenced all aspects of it from clothing, to equipment and even the actual site. It was really interesting. Especially the stuff about the Paralympics. I had no idea about all those events and how it all worked. The other exhibit they had was involving Swarovski crystals. I am not a fan of crystals and bling really but this was incredible. They had different designers create installations exploring the future of memory in the digital age. I loved looking at each one and how differently the designers had explored the meaning and what had inspired them. I also found a really great book in the gift shop about
remaking old clothing into new clothing...Ideas!
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| Olympic Park |
The other event we decided to take on was the Olympic park. I had been while I was in London but could only walk around the outside. Since the Paralympics were going on while we were there we figured we would give it a go and try and get into the park and maybe an event. We tried to get tickets online but couldn't so we just headed to the park and hoped for the best. As we walked in toward the security check point there was a guy asking to see tickets. Before we even got to him he said, with a huge smile on his face, "Are you guys trying to breach security?" Of course we said No...we just wanted to know if there was any way to get tickets into the park or to the events. He told us unfortunately you had to buy them
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| Park Live |
online but then after a short pause he reached in his pocket and pulled out 2 park tickets and gave them to us. Apparently someone who wasn't able to go in that day handed them to him and said to give them to someone who needed them. Lucky us!!! As we walked towards the park we were so excited. It was the first time either of us had been to any sort of Olympic events. Walking through the park you could just feel the energy of the games. It was so electric but also relaxed. The venue was beautiful and so well organized. We tried to get tickets to some of the events that were still happening but were unable to. Instead we walked over to what London called Park Live. It was basically big rolling hills of grass with a huge
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| One Eyed Monster |
big screen TV in the middle where you could watch events live. It was so fun to watch the events and know that they were happening just a few feet away in the venue. London also did a great job with making it a green venue. Many of the buildings were made of very natural or reusable materials. There were no regular rubbish bins everything was divided into all the different types of recycling. The best thing was people were actually using them. I saw numerous people standing at the bins dividing all their rubbish into the appropriate spots. Now the only thing about the London Olympics that I wasn't so keen on was the mascot. I don't really know why they decided on the one they did but it's kinda freaky. I mean a one eyed monster...come on. I did hear stories about little kids at the games being scared of him which I can understand. Anyway, if that's the only bad thing I think they did pretty well. Ending up inside the park was such a unexpected treat for us. Watching an american athlete get a medal and hearing our anthem played is something you don't get to experience very often. I feel quite lucky that I was a part of this great event in one small way. When we were heading home from the park reality started to set in a bit. The trip was almost over. We tried not to talk about it but it was one of those inevitable things we would eventually have to face up to. We enjoyed a nice night with Helly and Wil. The next morning I walked Kelsey to the bus stop and said good bye to her. So Sad!!! She was flying back to Boston to start her new adventure and I was left in London just the way I started this trip...on my own.
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| Leaving Europe behind....for now |
I spent my last day just soaking in the sun at Hampton Court Palace and then had dinner out with Helly. Wil joined us later and then Lauren stopped by also to drop off some stuff I had left with her. The next morning there was some quick last minute packing then off to the airport. I don't think it all really hit me till I was flying into San Diego that this was really over and I was back. So many thoughts...What is it going to look like being back in this place but with all these experiences behind me.
As I write this sitting on my best friends couch I am not really sure how I feel. I am so happy to be back and have some stability but still even with that I am overwhelmed. Having the choice to really do whatever I want is amazing but also scary in the same breath. I also really miss Europe. I absolutely loved it over there. When I was asked what do I miss the most about it all I could think to explain it is I miss the lifestyle. Not the lifestyle of being a traveling tourist but the actual living lifestyle in the countries. There is just something about the way they live over there and the feeling when you are there. It's a tough thing to explain. I guess as I move into this next chapter back here in the states I will have to find a way to bring that feeling into my own lifestyle here.
As I was leaving London I was thinking that a door was closing but I suppose that's not true....I just have to open another one here and see what happens next. This is not the end just another beginning with more adventures to come!
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