all things have to come to an end.

well most things. my time in london makes the list.


our last full day in london. we made it a good one.


it started justifying not runnng. we have become quite good at that. reasons to not run today: it was our last day, we were sleepy, and why would we want to not end with our "goodbye london" run?


the day really started with H&M. cali hadnt been yet, and they had forgotten to take one of the security tags off so i HAD to go back (not like i wanted to or anything). we picked up caroline on the way, and cami ran and caught up with us. being the great friends we are, we had forgotten to tell her when we were leaving. devil. but two skirts, one pair of pants, and a cardigan later- i left H&M a little poorer. but it was all perfect, especially for EFY! which is tomorrow! bah!!!


sweetheart moment of the day: while we were gone shopping, Elly checked me into my flight for me because i would be gone at the 24 hour mark. how sweet is she?!


comment of the day: walking home. talking with cali and how the world is our playground. shopping bags in hand. "no, my closet is my playground" have i gotten too many clothes. yes.


after H&M it was home to change (for cali) and then off to the orangery to end our time here with a traditional english tea. at which none of us got tea. dont tell- but i havent had tea the whole time i have been here- fail? yes. but the orangery was wonderful and delicious. and what did we eat for lunch you ask... cake.

cali, cami, and i at the orangery. photo cred. elly.

its okay to drool.

most decadent cake of my life.

what would the orangery be without pictures. photo cred. calianne jex

trying to pay was interesting when you are all trying to get rid of change. we sure had a lot of coins in the pence form down. sorry waitress.

cali and i were exact opposites in our outfits. blue skirt. khaki skirt. khaki top. blue top. blue purse. light brown purse. brown hair. blonde hair. after all opposites attract..right? we were bound to be friends.

this little guy was the funniest, and made me think of Eliza (efy style). he was just perched on a hedge looking out over the gardens. i tried to get close, but was scared he would attack me, and he ran away before i could. 

then it was home to change (again- yes it was a very changing day in our lives) and back to the park with more in tow to go for a bike ride around hyde park. they have these wonderful places you can rent bikes and then return them to other locations around the city. genius, right? and we had been meaning to go the whole time we have been here- so we had to go on our last day! problem. there were 7 of us. why problem. well the first place only had three bikes, the second place was broken, and the third only had two. quite the dilemma. so we split off. carolyn, preston, and amber went to ride the carousel, and cali, cami, ashlee and i went back to the first place in hopes of there being more bikes. and we were the luckiest! there were. not so lucky though. we couldnt get the machine to work. we finally got it to work, but then couldnt figure out how to get the bikes out. we figured out you needed a code, and then werent strong enough to get them out. 15 minutes later, and with the help of a random man we had our bikes and were ready to go. the ride itself was wonderful, except i was feeling the long run. cami was a little speed demon, and cali was an amazing photographer while riding. we rode to the exact opposite side of the park before realizing we should return them before the half hour is up and we have to pay more. we had a fun walk in front of us, but it was a grand ole time. cami and i talked about our plans for the fall. so fun. but it was amazing how slow walking is in comparison to biking and even to running.

trying to get the machine to work. 

we finally got our bikes. phew.

our wonderful bike ride in the park. ps there are only parts that bikes can go, so it was an adventure finding a route. also cali has mad picture taking abilities while riding her bike. amazing.

walking home.

we ran. they didnt. lost them at the cross walk. this is a normal occurrence in london. side note. pedestrians never have the right away. even if you are crossing a side street better make sure no cars are in a 50 foot vicinity. 

then it was home to check out of the apartment. which really just consisted of a lady coming and telling us to take out our trash before we go and seeing if anything needed repair.


last night in london. what do you do for dinner? crepes at hampstead! soo yummy. i had to stick with asparagus and cheese because it was soo good the first time. by body wasnt the biggest fan of the high amounts of butter but it sure was scrumptious.

waiting for our yummy crepes.

they are sooo good. and soo messy. and by messy i mean, dripping butter. aka dont get it on you because it will ruin things. no worries we made it through with no messes.

 we had to end it with a show. its only fitting for a theater study abroad. the winner for the last show in london. and the last show was...

before the show.

the show was grand. we started by playing musical chairs because we had obstructed view, but eventually we got to a spot where we could see most of the stage. and i just love the  spectacle that is phantom. the chandalier crashing, the boat ride. what they can do on stage is amazing. this was my third time seeing it, yes third. excessive. a little. but i have learned to have really low expectations and then you will love the show. i ruined myself by seeing the movie first, and there are things you can do with film that you cant do on stage- so its good to not expect them to. favorite songs from the show tonight: wishing you were somehow here again, masquerade (it had been stuck in my head for days), all i ask of you- oh brother the list goes on and on... 

our starting seats.

funny story of the night: walking home we saw a waggamama's sign to which i said to cali something along the lines of wag-your-mama. her response. "i'll wag my mama all the way home" (hello this little piggy). my response. "no you wont". challenge issued. challenge accepted. so cali wagged her "mama" all the way home that night. walking to the tube. on the escalator. on the tube. did she get weird looks? you bet. did people ask her if she needed the loo? yes. did i laugh? you betcha.


funny story number two of the night: what do you bring home people from london? a cute shirt, maybe some royal wedding memorabilia. nope. i bring them the best part of london. CHOCOLATE. after doing many price comparisons- tesco was the winner. so i walk in. grab the box. yes the entire box. 24 galaxy bars. dear family i love you. and take it to the front. the guy at the register looked at me looked at the box and back at me. side note: tesco is a small convience store- not a like cosco. you dont buy in bulk. so there he is looking at me. he then goes on to pat his tummy and say "youre going to be fat like me" i died laughing. and then quickly explained that they were for people back home. he just looked at me. so if you see me in the fall and i am 300 pounds- you will know why.

yum. yum.

the rest of the night consisted of saying goodbye to people- and avoiding going to sleep to try to beat that nasty thing called jet lag. keep your fingers crossed. tomorrow is going to be a long day.