Soles and Sleeves

This excursion ended up being myself, along with two fellow brunette Americans, and the two of them both wearing denim jackets, what are the odds! It took a lot of will power to stay away from the water, a place I gravitate towards any chance I get... We were a mere two blocks away but I resisted!

I'm positive we looked mega touristy, considering we almost got hit by cars a number of times, carried a London travel book, and stopped at a touristy souvenir shop.

My life in London has begun to settle in.

What better time to give you a peek at where I am, where I'll be, and what I've learned thus far!

And no worries, I don't cry in this one ;)

Believe it or not, this summer I did actually do some work. I wanted to share some pieces with you, but for a reason or two (OK- well because my sister is pregnant but we weren't out of the woods yet about telling everyone) I waited. So as I sit procrastinating cleaning the other half of my desk and the miscellaneous items left to unpack in my closet I came across my notebook from this summer and decided to share. I'll do just a couple at a time so I don't overwhelm my readers! Ha!

I've been back in the states longer that I'd like to say, and it's been rough. My heart, while some of it is happy to be home, pieces remain in London. I miss it all so much.

  A massive part of the hole in my heart is my friends. I was hanging out with them EVERYday for three weeks!!! That puts a friendship on the fast track, and you kind of surpass all the little stuff and go straight for best friend(s). I shared experiences with these girls that no matter how much I could explain it to even my BFFL, it wouldn't be the same. It's pretty uncomprehendable, to be quite honest. I am a changed person because of these girls, and having them not around is really tough. Going from hanging out with 5 (or 6) other girls from noon until midnight to now hanging out with my dog all day and occasionally going out and seeing people is crazy. Granted, here it's not as easy, mostly because my best friend (unfortunately) doesn't live on the opposite side of the wall.
  Also, I've definitely noticed I've put on a pound since being back. I'm not walking anywhere, and while in London I walked everywhere. It's excruciating to go out of the house here because of the heat, and since our AC was messed up for the past week +, it's been excruciating just doing nothing. I'm not a fan of the heat, in fact I'd say I hate this heat. I curse the day(s) I ever wished it was summer. BUT, in London, I found the weather to be ideal. It wasn't hot and it usually wasn't too cold (until the sun went down). There was always a breeze blowing, which did wonders for my hair in pictures, and I just found it all to be perfect. and I miss it.. a lot.

Lots have changed lately. My friends left, and that's been super sad. We went to high tea before and that was fun. But they've left now :(

I met up with my family on Saturday morning. We went on a hop on/hop off tour of the city. Then we took a little cruise on the Thames. We walked around a bit, saw the palace, Trafalgar square, The Royal Mews, and some other places. Including a picnic in Hyde Park.  We also had a delicious dinner at this Italian place called Zizzi.

Sunday, we went on the London Eye. Lots of the tube lines were closed (partially) for routine maintenance so we had to do a big go-around and FINALLY got there. It was really neat. We walked around the South Bank, got some ice cream, then went to Hyde Park and looked at the Prince Albert monument, the Peter Pan statue and the Princess Diana memorial fountain. I wanted to catch the final game of the Euro cup in a pub, and we needed to get there by 7 to get a table- but we didn't finish all the other stuff until after 7:45, so it was basically POINTLESS to go attempt to go in one, much less eat. We tried anyways, until we eventually headed back and looked for places around where we were staying. We came across one pub just down the street from us but it was minutes after 9 and the pub kitchens close at 9. So we were out of luck, and we just went back and ordered some pizza/ate left overs.

Katherine, Brandi, Kelli, Lizzy, Lindsay, & Me

Wow, the past three weeks have FLOWN by. This has been one of THE best experiences of my life, and I owe a huge part of that to these girls. They are some of the most beautiful people I've ever met. We've laughed, cried, smiled, scowled, danced, cuddled, sang, Pimmsed, borrowed clothes and shoes, and shared this incredible experience together.

Pimms & Parliament

Yesterday my friends and I (minus Kelli) had signed up to see 'Wicked' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. But, before that we had plans to go to The Amazing Spider-Man premier in Leicester Square (with KellI!).

BBC Building

Even before THAT, I had class. We did our typical thing and we got done really early. This Thursday we have presentations. For that presentation, we had to do this thing where (with a partner) we get on at the nearest bus, ride it 12 stops, turn left when you get off the bus, when you pass a man wearing glasses, you turn around and take your next left, etc.... So since there was an odd number of people (we have 8 in the class and one was absent) myself and two other girls went ahead and got this done. It was really neat, but slightly scary. We got on the bus and I suggested we get on it going a certain way, thinking that would lead us to the center of the city.... But I was wrong. So i'm 0/2 on getting directions correct via bus, so I've since given up that right. We ended up near the BBC buildings at one point, and being a DBJ major, I fangirled a little bit on the inside.

Ello there!

Yesterday we went to Primark. It was incredible!!! The most I spent on something was £10!!! I got 2 maxi skirts, an AWESOME pair of leggings, a pair of flip flops to wear back and forth to the shower, two shirts, and nail polish. I think that's all. But it was incredible shopping. And what they say about the lines is true. I did take my shirt off (I had on a cami, no worries) and tried on a shirt in the aisle. We also forgot about the size differences here and so we weren't able to try on pants because that line was too ridiculous.

Then we went to Forever 21 and a couple girls got some stuff. On our way back to the tube station there was a crepe stand, so naturally as any human being with a stomach would do, we stopped and got some. I got the regular, which has lemon juice and sugar. Brandi got Nutella and bananas, Lizzy got Belgian chocolate, and Kelli got a regular crepe. They are delishhhhhhh!!

After we chilled for a bit we went to Wagamamas for dinner. I got Chicken Ramen- don't let the name fool you, it's much more expensive than Wal-Mart ramen :P I ate the entire thing with chopsticks!!

Lindsay and I eating with chopsticks!

As some of you may know, 'flipping the bird' here is a little different than back home. Rather than the middle finger, here they do the pointer and middle finger, either open (like a peace sign) or closed, with the palm of your hand facing you. It is said that this (the closed finger) came about when England was fighting against France at the Tower of London. The bows could be shot a certain distance and when an archer was captured by the French, they would cut off those two fingers, thus rendering him useless. So, when the British were prevailing, as kind of a "nanny nanny boo boo" they would put those two fingers in the air, as to say "ha ha, looks like you're gonna die now". Pretty cool, huh?

So I went to the Goat Tavern with my friends Lizzie, Brandi, Kelli, Lindsay and Katherine. I chickened out and didn't get fish n chips but I DID get another British staple, some eggs, ham and chips (fries for all you American folk). BUT---- I did try a bite of Brandi's fish and it wasn't half bad!

We also all got this DELISH drink called Pimm's. Its the greatest drink ever!!!!! I'm (we're) obsessed.

After the pub we came back and all ended up chillin in mine and Kelli's room (she's my roomie) for a good bit. We're planning to go to Harrods tomorrow and shopppp. :)

Look for another update tomorrow!

Cheers

Well. I arrived.
Friday was a busy day. I had to clean, finish packing, go to the bank, go to my moms office then go to the airport. My sister met us there too and we had lunch and had a jolly good time. Then I went through security and all that jazz. MY dad was flying from Pennsylvania to Fayetteville and just so happened to have a lay over in ATLANTA at the same time I was waiting to board my flight. I was so happy I got to see my daddy before I left. I ran up and gave him a BIG ole hug and even cried a little.

So I'm finally headed off to London tomorrow. After 10+ years of begging and dying to go, I'm finally going. It's surreal and hasn't hit me yet.

Last night my mom and I took B to give him to his pseudo-mommy for the next month. He seemed to do well and she was very nice which really put me at ease.

I went to the bank and deposited some shopping money- cha ching! I'll help London's economy, fo sho. :P

So I've got most everything packed.. And currently my suitcase is .5 lb under the limit. But thankfully I still have an empty carry on that is willing to welcome some spare articles of clothing, all while leaving room for new articles to accompany me home.

I can't believe it's almost here. I fly out on Friday!!  eeeek!! Tomorrow my family and I are meeting my daddy half-way to have lunch with him and spend some time with him before I jet off, which will be really nice.

It's all still surreal that I'm leaving in a matter of days!!!