I spent my last day today shopping with Hilary and her friend Stephanie. When I say shopping, I mean to say that I forgot my wallet because I conveniently have it packed away in my carry on bag, and so I followed Hilary and Stephanie around souvenir shops in Picadilly Circus and around clothing shops in Oxford Circus. I did happen to see Ruby and Amber outside H&M in Oxford Circus, proving once again what a small world we really live in. So I got a final goodbye in with Ruby before I leave tomorrow. That girl is incredibly sweet.
I came home for dinner, and had just barely missed Maggie. She left me a pizza and a note. I had been invited to go to a pub with Hilary, but I thought I would wait around for Maggie to return before going out, just in case I missed her tomorrow morning. However, it is nearly 10:30 and there is still no sign of Maggie. So instead, I have spent the evening watching TV. Hopefully Maggie will return before I go to bed...
At any rate, this is the final blog post from London, and so here is the moment we have all been waiting on bated breath for:
The 10 things I have learned in Europe:
1. When traveling by yourself around Europe, stay in a hostel. Hostels are like living in co-ed dorms at college, or like going off to summer camp. You get placed in a room with anywhere from three to eight strangers, and most of the people staying at the hostel are other students studying in other parts of Europe. What you all have in common is a desire to discover new places and try new things, and so staying in a hostel gives you the perfect opportunity to make new friends. In Rome alone, I befriended a teacher from Sweden, got free drinks with a group of girls from Georgia and Tennessee, discussed politics with a guy from New York, met a guy from California who had family in Tacoma and Seattle, and befriended the bar tenders who were from Romania, among other people. In Spain, I went to see a flamenco show with a girl from Calgary, and then went out for drinks and tapas afterword.
Traveling by yourself can be scary and stressful, especially when you do not speak the language. So the best thing you can do is find a good quality hostel and go hang out in the lounge or bar!
Finally, in closing, I have this little nugget of wisdom:
Visiting new places and seeing beautiful and historic cities is absolutely incredible. The people are frequently incredibly friendly, welcoming, and helpful to visitors, and there are so many new things to experience. It is so easy to fall in love with a place, and to enjoy every second of your time. However, at the end of the day, everyone still has one place they call home, and eventually home is where you want to return to. As warm and friendly as the people of Dublin are, as exciting as the city of London is, and as beautiful the country of Norway is, no place will ever compare to the beautiful blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, the majestic sight of Mt. Rainier, or the natural beauty of the Evergreen State. I am sad to be leaving London; I have spent the last two days thinking to myself "this is the last time I will do this." I will miss enjoying the scent of Liz's fresh fruit at lunch, I will miss Whitney's sarcasm, I will miss everything about Ruby, I will miss Hannah's brain farts in class, I will miss Susie's posh English accents, I will miss Maggie's chats. I will even miss the blasted Tube, and the crazy 80s patterns on the seats. I will miss hearing British accents everywhere, although you can't imagine how much I miss hearing American accents. But ultimately, I am happy to be returning home, because the fact is, no place on earth can compare to the Pacific Northwest. And let's face it, Washington kicks Oregon's butt!
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