Ive Fallen in Love

This weekend I fell in love. Everyone expected that in Italy I would meet a really attractive Italian man and fall in love, but as it turns out, my true European love is London. Five of my friends and I went there, the most wonderful city ever, and spent Friday through Sunday seeing everything. If the sterling pound were not twice as strong as the dollar, I would have called JCU and said "um....withdraw me from my classes. Im staying" but thats not the case. Three of my friends left on Thursday night, while one other girl and I left Friday morning early early. We had to wake up at 3:00 to catch our flight because the airports are all far away from the center. When we arrived in London, I already felt like I was at home - the city just fit me perfectly - in a way I cant explain. Of course, everyone told me I would love it this way before I went, and they were right (congratulations to Mom, Dad and Lindsay).
We started out on Friday and through the course of the weekend we saw Westminster Abby, Big Ben, the London Eye, the Aquarium, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace...the list goes on. Mostly, we hit all of the major buildings and additional areas like SoHo (where two of my friends tried to go get their noses pierced but failed) and Chinatown. I really enjoyed the theater district and the area near Chinatown all the way to the London "Time Square" which were all so full of life. We spent some time in a park in Hyde Park (not the actual Hyde Park, but another one) and also ate at a really wonderful Japanese restaurant called Nobu which was started in London. My friend, Alexa, and I are obsessed with sushi so she went crazy with it. On Saturday morning, we went to a great little breakfast place and had a "typical English Breakfast" which was absolutely to die for - I had forgotten what a good breakfast tastes like since Italians only drink coffee for breakfast (they might have a cornetto, too). I was thrilled with the accent, which I've always wished I had, and it was magnificent hearing everyone speak in English and not having to think of how to say simple phrases. The funny thing is that I actually found myself evaluating how I would say something in Italian, forgetting that I didnt have to! Oh, and we made several trips to Starbucks for their holiday blends, because lets face it, Im addicted.
London was freezing cold - much colder than Rome - but I was prepared with a big jacket and the air was crisp and refreshing. In Rome, I sometimes feel like the cigarette smoke and smog and general pollution takes over, but in London it was incredible how even being in the center of the city had a very country-air type of feeling. I never felt overwhelmed by industry or by urban traffic. There are huge parks in London everywhere, and I especially loved one of them which had lots of lawn chairs out, provided by the government, for people to sit in! We joked that, in Italy, they wouldnt last two minutes without disappearing and then reappearing on someone's back porch...how true it is.
Even though my feeling in London was significantly more positive than anything Ive ever felt in Italy (especially, Rome), I dont regret my choice to go to Italy to study. In fact, I applied to several schools in England but decided ultimately, that I would gain the most from a study abroad experience by going somewhere completely opposite from the U.S...and I was dead on in my assumption. Italy is nothing like the States, which goes in and out of disappointing me and thrilling me, but no matter what else it is, it is unique and new 100% of the time. I can really see myself living in London one day or for a while, and Rome is somewhere that I can only live in short term, but its definitely been worth the experience Ive had to come here. Ive learned infinitely more about myself in Italy than I could have learned in England just for the nature of the place. Italy has the potential to teach more because its so different from what I know and identify with.
I loved London because it is the perfect mixture of what is wonderful about Europe and America, but without the negative elements. I felt so at ease and so happy - I could have spent so much more time there, but I suppose now I have an excuse to go there again soon!