Alright, so maybe I've been a little lazy about my last entry. What can ya do.
On our last day in London AND Europe, Jeff and I were TOTAL tourists. We woke up early and went to Leicester Square to get discount theatre tickets for Les Miserables. We wound up finding a guy who sold us 2 tickets for 40 pounds. And the good part was, it was only like 20% shady, so I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off! Anyway, we went straight from the ticket place to the London Eye. We weren't sure if we'd be able to get on because the line had been rediculously long the previous times we'd walked by, but the wait was only 15 minutes, so we did it! It was pretty cool, except for the fact that in our capsule there were these 3 extraordinarily obnoxious teenage girls (imagine that) who were pretty much convinced that the world revolved around them (or in this case...the London Eye revolved around them). Not exactly a good time, but we made do.
After the London Eye, Jeff and I headed over to a part of the city called Camden Town, supposedly the city's biggest flea market/street vendor area. And it pretty much lived up to its expectations. The shops were EVERYWHERE...there was so much stuff! I worked my bargaining magic a few times :) A lot of the stuff in the shops and vendors and whatnot were a little bit scary...there were a lot of...how you say..."hardcore"-like things. Not quite my style, but still tolerable.
Anyway, Jeff and I came back to our hostel to drop off our things and have dinner before our evening of theatre. Jeff had been wanting fish and chips the entire time we were there, so we walked into the small town area by our hostel to eat at one of two fish and chips places, but we couldn't find either one! Unfortunately, since we spent so much time looking for the places, we wound up having to sprint to the theatre and ate the fastest dinner of my life at this random McDonald's that just happened to be right next door.
Les Miserables was not exactly my cup of tea. I can only hope it is a lot better in the United States...if not, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, because it wasn't that great. Jeff, however, LOVED it and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.
The next morning (the 4th), we got up early and headed to the airport. We got on the tube line that went to the airport, but halfway there, they started having technical difficulties with the doors (they weren't closing) so we had to get off and wait for this other random train. When it came, it was so packed that getting ourselves on was work enough, never mind the luggage. We made it to the airport though, and were welcomed with open arms to an hour and a half wait just to get checked in. Awesome. Then, we got past security and whatnot and were welcomed at our gate with an hour and a half delay. Awesome.
When we finally got to Detroit, I wasn't really sure what to do. I was so excited to be home but at the same time my mindset was that I'd be here for a few days and then pack up and go to the next place. Being home is awesome. I don't start work until Monday, so I've got about a week to just sit and relax and try and become un-jetlagged. It's been a good time.
Europe was pretty much the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me! I learned a ton about myself, but also a ton about other people and the way I interact with other people. I'm really excited to go back to school and experience all these changes in my normal social context (geez, I HAVE been studying sociology).
Next summer...I want to go back...Germany, Czech Republic, Austria...we'll see what happens :)
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