A Final Goodbye!

Welp, I think this is going to be my last post (at least for a while) given that the purpose of this blog was to talk about my year living abroad in London, and that's now come to an end. Leaving London this morning was so much tougher than I thought it would be when I moved here a year ago. Or maybe I just didn't really think it through. Either way, I admittedly got choked up as the plane took off from Heathrow and I said goodbye to a city and a year that I loved. What was it that made this city so special you ask? Well, since you asked..... I'll tell you! ;)

Can you imagine.....

... a city so vast and wide that it takes over an hour to get from one side to the other but you still can't see a skyscraper outside in most neighborhoods, and every neighborhood is different?

... picking up groceries at your corner market (commonly referred to as an Off License here) and having the counter clerk know you by face and trust you enough to tell you to bring him the extra pound you owe him tomorrow?

... walking down your street daily and seeing the buzz of people going through the street market to decide which local vendor they want to try today, and then grabbing their lunch along with a pint at the pub around the corner before returning to work and knowing you can eat this delicious food every day for less than a fiver?

... being able to see something as old as the Tower of London and historically significant as Buckingham Palace and as modern as the Tate Modern all in one afternoon?

....your local pub being around since 1833  - Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden - and the one that stood there before it since the 1700s? (Ok, it's not MY local, but it's one I've frequented and quite like!)

... going on "friend dates" the first weekend you arrive in a new city having no idea who these people are, only to find out they will become some of your closest friends? And making friends from all over the world (literally! Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Russia, Saudi Arabia) who welcome you into their group no-questions-asked and invite you to everything they do?

... going to 4 different countries in one months for less than £1000?

... having so many options for unusual things to do: fancy-dress parties where people actually dress up in something other than 80s attire, pop-up themed bars every season, secret cinema, late museum nights and ice skating in front of the Tower of London?

... going out on a Friday night - not to an antiseptic bar with blaring hip hop and 22 flat screen TVs, but to a warm, glowing British pub, with dark wood floors and a welcoming atmosphere where you can hear your friends talk and enjoy their company?

... riding the tube every day and hearing accents from North England, London, Ireland, Scotland and foreign languages that you can't even begin to identify and realizing how big the world is and how lucky you are to be able to experience so much of it?

.... a city where the West side is full of charm and history (and maybe a little stuffy but quaint just the same!) and the East side is vibrant and trendy with new bar concepts every week, and knowing that every week you get to decide which "city" you want to immerse yourself in?

...having your choice of 4 huge beautiful Royal Parks that you can take a run in that you know will be beautifully landscaped and prettier than almost any (with the exception of Central Park and Golden Gate) you've seen?

... walking through the hustle and bustle but instead of feeling a push from a rude, hardened businessman (or woman) you see wonder on everyone's faces as they realize they are in such a great city as LONDON!

This is the city I've fallen in love with this past year. It's the city I will remember with fondness for years to come. It's the city where I've traveled more than I have in my entire life and seen more live music than I have in any year before. It's the city where I was fortunate enough to take a full year off of my stressful job to be able to take a step back and see more clearly what I want to do next in my career. It's the city where I finally did something I've wanted to do for a decade, and proved to myself I could (and would) do it. It's where I've fallen in love, and made friends who will last for another decade (and longer if I'm lucky)! There are so many things and people I'm grateful for.

People who have cooked food for me when I was feeling like a broke college student...

And played hookie from work to spend a day together before I moved home....

And celebrated with me at my going away party, making me feel special and surrounded by love...

So thank you to all of you. I will miss you all dearly! Please come visit me in the States!

xx (finally I suppose I will adopt the popular double-cheek 'kiss kiss' as my closing)

~Kirsti