Pounds and Perfection

March 7, 2010

And our break is over… I’m anxious to get back to London and my own bed and all my crazy roommates. We all traveled to pretty different places (Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Morocco), so it will be interesting to hear others’ crazy spring break stories. I’m actually looking forward to getting back to class. So much more to discuss now that we have traveled a bit outside of London.

I loved Hastings. All those south coast English towns are so charming and peculiar and Hastings had a bit of everything we were looking for in a relaxing weekend. We walked and sat around the beach quite a bit, shopped way too much, ate at cafes and pubs, met some locals, and traveled around by train to a few other seaside towns. I feel very relaxed and ready for my hectic, busy schedule in London once again.

Favorite part of this little trip? The prices! Everything was so cheap outside of London. Seriously, I didn’t expect Top Shop to ever be so cheap! And an entire English breakfast, tea included, for only 4 pounds? Ah, what a relief to not worry about every penny. I guess the pound is down after some debacle in Parliament, so the exchange rate wasn’t too bad either. What a great weekend for Kelly’s wallet and closet!!

Hal and I are currently sitting on the train back to Charing Cross Station in London after a bit of a hitch in our travel plans. Apparently, they were working on the train station in Hastings, so we had to catch a bus to a nearby station. We sat on top of the double-decker bus in the very front, saw some great English countryside (it looks just like Wisconsin…), and wondered where the hell we were. Tiny English town after town, winding tree-lined narrow roads, and too many sudden stops encompassed that journey. Every time I’d get settled to sleep for a few minutes, the driver would break to let another car pass – the roads are so narrow in the country two cars barely fit alongside at once, let alone a big bus – or a huge branch would scrap again the top or side of the bus. And it was so loud! Scared the crap out of me every time. Napping was a bust, but before I knew it we were at the train station! I just love trains!

Hal and I are planning what to do when we get back in London. Laundry is first on the list. Ugh. And then possibly a run. We’ll see. This week we hope to go to the London Transport Museum sometime because I have to give a presentation on the Tube next week!

I’m also mentally planning for Mom and Grandma to come in less than a month! I keep thinking of things we need to do and I write them all down in a post-it note on my computer. So much to do, so little time! It is going to be great. And absolutely crazy!

Also, I realized before spring break that I’m going to be Europe for three weeks at the end of my program rather than two like I previously thought. How did I mess that up? I’m debating whether to spend the time here (when I’m going to get an extra week to just bum around Europe?) or change my flight and come home early. I just don’t know how I’ll feel at the end of this, so it is really hard to plan now. Knowing me, I’ll probably leave everything for the last week just when all of my finals are and papers are due…

Well, that’s it for now. Be back after a busy Sunday evening and Monday!

Love,
Kelly