But as much as I love my little London town, I think I'm ready to come back to the real world. I miss my family and friends and in-n-out. For some reason, everyone thought their lives should keep going while I was here so I feel a little out of the loop. It would have been awesome to have the world back home freeze and come back to everything exactly the way I left it. But I guess that was too much to ask?
Me and all the other people in my program have been kind of walking around in this dream-like state for the past week. We had a really touching testimony meeting on sunday and then finals and a a lovely day at Hampton Court Palace on wednesday. Unfortunately I think I'm finally palaced-out. I just sort of walked through and saw as much as I could as fast as possible I know, I know, that sounds like blasphemy and I'm sure two weeks from now, when I'm sitting in the Provo library wishing I had something to do I will be aching for those palaces! I also have a pretty bad sinus infection right now which doesn't really seem to be contributing to a whole lot. It would have been nice to have had more energy for my last week here but I unfortunately spent a lot of time resting. I just feel really tired and sick and my ear hurts :-( I think I need to stop complaining. Feel bad for me! Feel bad for me! I've spent the last 6 1/2 weeks in London!
Oh well. It's definitely better that I'm sick at the end of the trip instead of the beginning. That would have been killer. I think the only reason I'm sick right now is because my body finally gave up on me. It was like, hey chelsea, you've been running around non-stop, you don't sleep, you eat chocolate all the time, and I hate you. So take this. Thank you immune system for failing me in my final hour!
Anyways I guess I should start saying my last goodbyes to London... I still have a lot more I need to blog about but it'll have to wait until I get home and get my pictures off my broken camera.
London, you've been really good to me.
I'm going to miss the way everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. At first, it really concerned and terrified me but now it's been a good couple weeks since anyone's honked or cussed at me.
I'm going to miss the fact that everyone has dogs here, not wimpy little fluff rats, but actual dogs. And they run wild and free in the park looking happier than any other dogs on the planet.
I'm going to miss all the beautiful fashionable little children who dress better than me. I never saw a uniformed child that didn't look like he/she belonged in a J.Crew catalogue.
I'm going to miss my silent conversations with the squirrels. They would run right up to me and look at me with their expectant beady little eyes, then I'd shrug and they'd run away empty-handed.
I'm going to miss all the attractive well-dressed men. They were clean-cut, sharp, and totally strait. More please?
What will I do without the public transportation?
Who will I be without my comfy shoes, sun hat, and scarf?
Where will I go when I don't have a gigantic park directly across the street?
Where will I get my art/play/music/palace fix when I am gone?
I'm going to miss the way that every last building looks like it's haunted.
I'm going to miss the hundreds of musicians who play on the street and in the tube stops trying to make it in this crazy world.
I long for savory crepes, belgian waffles, eclairs, and baguettes.
I'm not going to miss the wind and pollen in my eyes, but I will miss the trees and flowers.
I'm definitely not going to miss the cigarette smoke (or the 13-year olds who smoke), but I will miss the way the river Thames smells as you walk across Millennium bridge.
Oh London...dear London...you have altered me to my very core. Don't you ever forget that we belong together. This is not the end, but the beginning. I will return someday with my millionaire husband and beautiful children to once more walk along Gloucester road with a baguette in my hand and a smile upon my face.
Until then, adieu.
I thought it would be fitting to close with a picture from my first night here...
I remember all of us wandering around completely clueless. We thought it would be fun to go to Westminster so we hopped on the tube, figured out our route then came out of the underground and there was Big Ben! I didn't even know these girls yet...this picture feels like it was taken months ago...
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