Friday evening was also bittersweet. Everyone got dressed up and cute for our final banquet. Before we left, we took a group photo and then smaller groups took pictures in Russell Square. Thankfully, our last night in London was a beautiful and warm(ish) one.
Flats C, D, and E
We took the tube over to Cafe Below, which was under a church near St. Paul's. It was a really nice place and the food was INCREDIBLE. We started off with bread and butter and broccoli soup that was in a shot glass. Next, I had squid, shrimp, and fennel salad. For my main, I had cod with potatoes and shrimp fritters. You really only need to see pictures of my incredible dessert. STICKY TOFFEE SPONGE CAKE WITH CUSTARD. So delicious. Probably the most delicious dessert I had while in Europe. And that's saying a lot.
Everyone tried not to talk about going home and how much we'd miss London, but it came up, of course. Ben made a little speech and toast to us, which was awkwardly sweet in true Ben fashion. He was such a great teacher to have with us in London. We hung around for a little bit, saying good bye to everyone, and then headed back. On the way back to the Tube stop, we were reminded of the incredible city in which we lived: St. Paul's Cathedral. I could feel myself starting to take these awesome landmarks for granted throughout the semester, but this night it was like seeing the cathedral for the first time.
The rest of the evening, everyone just packed and said their goodbyes to whoever they wouldn't see in the morning. Thankfully, I didn't have to say most of my goodbyes until the morning.
It was a pretty early wake up to get to the airport. Seven of us were on the same flight, so we took cabs to Heathrow. Before leaving, we hugged and said goodbye to everyone else in the lobby. It was a very strange thing; I was really sad to say bye to everyone, but it really is a "see you later." It hadn't really hit me I was leaving for good this time.
I got through security and everything very easily, and our flight left on time. There was a lot of turbulence, especially when we were landing, which was pretty scary. We made pretty good time, though, and the customs officer didn't even ask me any questions (which may or may not have been a good thing...).
Seeing my parents at the airport was so surreal. I immediately started crying, which I had known would happen. Thanks to Skype, I had at least been able to see their faces over the past few months, but nothing compares to physically hugging your parents. Of course everyone wanted to take pictures, and I was the only one who cried, so that was great...We loaded everything in the car and drove back to Richmond, where we immediately went to Mexico Restaurant. It was definitely everything I had hoped it would be. I got tired really early, and headed to bed.
I already miss London. This feels like a weekend trip and I'm going to be getting on a flight at a crappy airport and flying back tomorrow. But I know it's not. Just like arriving in London was an adjustment, so too will this be. I'm so excited to see all of my friends and hear all about their semesters. No words or pictures will ever be able to do my experience justice, but I have my memories and friends from the trip. There's not much more for me to say after what I said in my last post, or even at all. Living in London was an inexplicably incredible time. I'm already saving up for the next time I go. But for now, I'm going to enjoy everything Richmond has to offer, and make this summer a great one.
Cheers!
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