Well I cannot say that I am tired of neither London nor of life, so that must be a good thing.
I am tired, however, from my last weekend in London. It seems so final to say that - my last weekend. All these questions have begun to pop into my head when I remind myself of my little time left here: Did I make the most of it? Is it everything I thought it was going to be? Am I going to regret not doing something when I leave? The answers to these questions have always turned out in my favor though. Yes, I feel like I have done everything I've wanted to do in London. I have had a great experience here, and I've learned a ton. I have been working really hard and I feel like my internship has taught me some crucial skills to start my future career on. I have come to really love London and I feel at home here now - I don't feel like a foreigner or a tourist. I know the city quite well and I feel comfortable here.
But at the same time, I know my allotted time here is almost done, and I am coming to peace with that fact. It has been strange to watch all my friends here leave already, so I have been feeling that my turn is approaching slowly but surely. The packing process started last night (and then it seemed like an impossible task so I stopped soon after I began). The weirdest thing to me is that I move back to school in 18 days - where does the summer go??? This summer has really just flown by. But I am so excited to go back home to my friends and family who I have missed terribly!
I filled my last weekend with London activities. I took my Friday morning easily, sleeping in and enjoying my day off. Then in the early afternoon, Tilly texted me because she got off work early and was wondering if I wanted to meet up. It was perfect timing, because I was about to go to see a Picasso exhibit nearby. The afternoon was awesome - wonderful works by my favorite artist with my brilliant British friend. After taking our sweet time in the exhibit, we stopped at a shop on the corner nearby and grabbed milkshakes for a mid-afternoon treat. I hope I can see Tilly more before I leave; we talked about some potential activities for this week that I'm really looking forward to, I hope it all works out!
Tilly outside the Picasso Exhibit
Saturday was quite the Royal Day Out! We are very lucky to be here during a rare season - the short time that Buckingham Palace is open to the public. We bought tickets earlier in the week to go to the State Rooms and the Royal Mews. We were in the earliest group, which helped a lot with the crowdedness! After a thorough security check, we were given audio guides and were let into the Palace.
Outside Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is absolutely beautiful. The chandeliers were to DIE for!!! One of the first places you go inside is to the Grand Staircase, where one can't help but feel royal walking up these steps of splendor. We also saw the Throne Room, a grand dining room, reception halls, drawing rooms, gallery rooms, and a large exhibition called The Queen's Year which laid out many of the Queen's most popular annual events. We also got to see some of her amazing dresses and royal garb from her long reign, which was amazing!
The Grand Staircase
The Throne Room
The end of the tour brought a delightful stroll through the Queen's garden, which was another amazing sight. It was such a refreshing amble, transporting visitors from the crowded hustle and bustle of city life into an oasis of green. It was just what we needed :) Then we toured the Royal Mews, as recommended by my parents. After seeing Buckingham, it wasn't as cool as I expected, but it was still awesome. The Royal Mews are where they keep the royal carriages and horses. The best parts were seeing the carriage Princess Diana took to her wedding and the Golden Coach used for every coronation ceremony. We also got to see 2 royal horses!
Our future home.
The Queen's Garden
The Royal Mews
Our royal day continued with a train trip out to Windor to visit another royal dwelling, Windsor Castle. To me, it wasn't as cool as Buckingham, but it was much bigger and there was much more to see, so it was well worth the trip! We got to see St. George's Chapel, the huge doll house that was a gift to Queen Mary, and many state rooms. I also saw my first British Guard of the trip - the famous ones that can't move. I was really scared to go up to him and take a picture!
State Room
The King's Bedroom
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
I was really scared to take this picture.
At night we had a going-away party for the program at a Hawaiian-theme bar. It's weird to think that I will be going home soon and will no longer be going to funny little London bars and pubs tucked into every corner available. I will definitely miss that. We went to the Hawaiian place for a while then back to a nice restaurant/bar right by Nido so that we wouldn't be far. It's always fun to go out with the girls!
Pretty friends
Awkward arm - always a classic.
Then it was Football Sunday! The program got us tickets for the second day of the Emirates Cup, which was 2 soccer games in the brand new Emirates Stadium. What an experience it was to be at a European football game! The first game was AC Milan vs. Olympique Lyonnais, and the second was Arsenal (an English team) vs. Celtic (Scottish) - and it was quite a riot! Arsenal and Celtic fans showed us a good time, bringing all the spirit they could to the game. Arsenal won, so it was fun to be there at such an exciting game (it was the final of the cup, and Arsenal won the cup). At the game, we enjoyed foot-long hot dogs (on baguettes?) and got Emirates hats. It was really exciting.
Outside the Emirates Stadium
A for Arsenal
Football
And so went my last weekend here. As another work week begins, I am starting to come to terms with my pending departure. How sad it will be :( Tonight, I met up with Tilly to go see Danton's Death, a play about the French Revolution. Tilly rocks, I'm so lucky I met her. I am trying to make the most of my final days here, so stay tuned for the final installments of my adventures in London.
