LONDON

Wow, what a city.

Arrived late on Friday, hopped on the tube ("Mind the gap, please" is still in my head :), and met up with Leslie's roommate, Maggie. Maggie and six others from Catholic University are studying theatre in London this semester. Walked a little ways with her, and was commenting on the chic little flats on the side of the road (very My Fair Lady-like), when she turned into one. I still can't get over her flat- it was so quaint. Made coming home to Sugarwell Court feel like coming home to cardboard box haha Got to know her flatmates, lovely girls, and went to the supermarket for my go-to peanut butter, jelly and bread.

I woke up the next morning to beautiful sunshine, packed my PBJ and hit the streets, ready to see what London had to offer. Maggie was a wonderful tour guide, pocket map in hand, crossing streets like a true city girl (I still follow the green and red lights like a true Calvert Countian). London is just perfect. I was expecting NYC with a few red buses, and if I were to compare it to a US city, NYC would certainly be the most similar, but London is different. There's a relaxed buzz about it. It wasn't over crowded, but crowded enough to give me that tingly feeling in my stomach that cities do. I heard just as many French, Indian and German accents as I did British, which was really cool.

Looking back at my pictures, I can't believe that I'm the one who took them. It's unreal seeing with your own eyes things you've only seen in magazines and movies. My favorite was the Tower of London- it's so incredibly old, I got completely wrapped in the idea that at some point, Lords and Ladies were standing right where I was.

We passed a man selling 6 pound tickets to hear the Salzburg symphony perform Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and couldn't pass it up. The concert was held in a beautiful old church (beautiful old churches- I will really miss those when I return to the States), and was just wonderful. My knowledge of classical music is completely subconscious- I honestly could count the times on one hand that I've purposed to sit down and listen to a classical piece on my own. The appreciation I have for the genre is fully credited to my father. As a child, Mozart, Beethoven and the like were an after dinner tradition. Listening to The Four Seasons brought me way back. There was an image in my head the whole time; Vinny doing dishes, Andrew sprawled out on the floor over some map, Adrienne and me singing on the fireplace hearth, mom braiding Allisons long blonde hair before bed...not to get all Little Women on you...haha Either way, my thoughts were really with the Ackermanns, especially knowing that Andrea was in labour at that moment. Upon returning to the flat, I got the exciting email that Jolie had been born! The pictures of my family and the new little one almost brought me to tears. Okay. They brought me to tears. Jolie is beautiful- I can't wait to meet her. Born on March 12th, I think I will make her wait til the 13th to open my birthday presents, seeing as how it was 1am my time when she arrived :)

The next day, Maggie and I ventured into the city again for a Saint Patricks Parade. The weather was even better than the day before. (ps- this whole England being rainy thing is such a myth. *knocks on wood*) Trafalgar Square was covered in green. There was great live Irish music, and beers (sorry, ale) all around. Maggie and I sat on a fountain with our coffees (I'm only a forth Irish. Beer at 11am? I'm just not that hardcore.) and let the moment sink in. I think I've been bitten by the travel bug at this point; I can't see not returning to London a few more times in the future.

We did some shopping at Camedon and called it a day. Maggie and her flatmates had tons of homework to do before Monday morning classes. Their experience here seems quite different than mine, in that their classes are incredibly time consuming and challenging. Back at the flat, I expected them to all be hunched over textbooks and the like, and was surprised when instead they started to stage combat around the living room. Theatre majors. Gotta love em :)

The next morning I awoke and caught my bus home. Being an early trip, the bus had a total of 16 passengers, so I got my favorite spot in the back across the three seater. I laid out, turned my ipod on (Carolina Liar makes for a great travel soundtrack, I've found) and took in the sights of the beautiful English country side. Five hours later I was back in Leeds, fully satisfied with my trip. If you can believe this, I ate nine PBJs over the course of 2 and a half days...cheap yes. The most balanced diet, not so much. Made sure to eat vegetables last night :)