"When A Man Is Tired Of London, He Is Tired Of Life"

Two years ago today, I was studying abroad in London, but only barely. I don't remember what day my last final was, but either way, school was now officially over (even though classes had finished at the end of March. You go, England!). My friends and I had finished at different points over the last several weeks, but finally everyone was "on the island." And some of us still had several glorious, school-free days left of London to soak up. I didn't leave until June 9th, which was the day they kicked us out of our flats. My visa expired a week later, at which point I would've been kicked out of the country, so I guess it worked out. :P

If you know me or my blog even a little bit, it's no secret that I miss London desperately. My time there was the best five months of my life. Even now, two years later, I can't find the words for it. So much of who I am now and what I've accomplished stems from my study abroad experience; it was my first time living in an apartment and cooking for myself, it was the first time I spent any significant amount of time doing things alone (because who cared if nobody wanted to go with me? I wasn't about to waste a day in London!), it was the first time I was in charge of all my own travel arrangements, and it was the first time I was involved with the Olympic movement. I feel like I really grew into myself while I was abroad, and it sure didn't hurt that I fell head-over-heels in love with the city. (Seriously though. If I could, I'd be on the next plane there. Wouldn't even pack. I'd just hit up Primark when I landed.)

It also didn't hurt that I happened to stumble into friendships with some of the most awesome human beings you could ever hope to meet.


:)

But all my blog posts from back in the day are mostly words. Words that I'm forever grateful that I wrote, because my whole experience is so well documented, but I really skimped on the pictures. So today we have a giant London photo dump! #sorrynotsorry (I could've easily included another several thousand, so be grateful I have some modicum of self control. You're welcome.)

I'm trying not to be sad about not being there, and just revel in the happy memories; not a single bad day in five full months. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't currently looking at these pictures and pretending the lump in my throat is due to my tea being too hot. (Tea with milk in it, FYI. British habits die hard.)

Silhouettes in Trafalgar Square
St. Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge at night
Trafalgar Square and Big Ben
3 Mills Studios
London 2012 Olympic Park - Olympic Stadium and the Orbit tower
View from Greenwich Observatory
The British Museum and Chinatown
Queen Mary, University of London on a snowy evening
Buckingham Palace
Queen Mary, University of London on a snowy evening
The Shard and Borough Market
The Natural History Museum
The Harry Potter Studio Tour, and friends!
Queen Mary, University of London on a snowy evening
The tube, Mile End station and South Kensington station
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at night
The Hunger Games world premiere and the maze at Leeds Castle
Queen Mary, University of London
Inside and outside of city hall
Queen Mary, University of London
Camping out for The Hunger Games world premiere
View of Canary Wharf from Mile End Park
Olympic Rings in King's Cross Station and Union flags on Oxford Street
London 2012 Ceremonies rehearsal
London 2012 Ceremonies rehearsal
Meeting former track star John Carlos, famous for the black power salute in Mexico City 1968
Mile End Road and the Gherkin at sunset
Tower Bridge and Big Ben
Friends
Friends :)

I love you, London. Never change.

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6 comments :

  1. Waaaaaaaah. Though I'm glad you have some great pics of queen Mary's campus, I definitely neglected those. And we did have ONE bad day- ParisGate 2012!

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    1. LOL that's true! But it was lovely before we got to the airport! And I blame that on Paris -- London is still untarnished. :)

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  2. I probably have said this more than once, I'm jealous of your study abroad days ... especially being there in the months leading up to the 2012 games! Thanks for letting me (& everyone else) vicariously 'be there' with you :)

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy my retelling of my study abroad tales! :) I have a whole lot more on deck for this summer (tales, that is. Not time abroad. Sigh), so get ready to do some serious vicarious traveling! haha

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