If I were to go through all the things I miss about London, you wouldn't want to read this, believe me. So I'll shorten it down to a few essentials, a small ode, if you will.
...the tube. The musty, dusty, Underground that always got me from point A to point B, that went on strike too much and always rerouted my already 45 minute commute to church every Sunday. I miss you.
...Hyde Park. Whoever thought I would actually miss, I mean legitimately miss, waking up and two hours before 9 o'clock class to run. Congratulations, Hyde Park. You did the impossible. And by doing so have made it terribly boring and monotonous to now run on the track every day. So, thanks, I think. Anyway, I miss you.
...Westminster Bridge. I never imagined being so attached to a bridge. A big piece of metal spanning the world famous Thames, a mere convenience to get from Westminster to South Bank, right? Wrong. I could argue with you that it is the most beautiful place in London, despite the garbage that litters the bank directly in front of the old county courthouse. The breeze off the muddied water the blows your hair around, Big Ben, gonging down at you every hour on the hour, the Houses of Parliament majestically demanding your eye, dominating the river side with its presence. Jubilee Gardens and the London Eye on the opposite side of the River Thames, bustling with people and booths. The traffic rushing by, red double deckers and black taxi cabs, all on the wrong side of the road. I miss you.
...Tesco gummy worms. There have never been, and never will be anything like the gummy snakes you can buy at Tesco. period.
...Trafalgar Square. The National Gallery was my second home during my months in London, and I spent an ample amount of time riding the Northern Line to Charing Cross and popping out above ground on the square, the Gallery looming above me, and the fountains flanking the monument lightly misting my face and clothes. The paintings always waited patiently for me to discover them inside, allowing me to stare in awe as I compared them to my textbook prints. (to which there really is no comparison, by the way.)
...plays. What am I going to do all semester without £25 tickets to see the best shows around? Wicked, Phantom, Les Miserables, even the small, two man ones like The Woman in Black (by far the scariest play I have EVER seen) That fairly cheap, delightful source of entertainment is greatly missed, though I must say, I can't wait for some Divine Comedy tech shows to happen...free and hilarious.
Mostly, I just miss London. I miss being surrounded by its captivating hubbub and never ending streets and shops. I miss walking down the sidewalk and being asked directions to Portabello Road or the nearest Underground stop, and the best part was that I knew. I knew where these people wanted to go and how to get them there because I lived there, right there, in London. It was my, by playground, and I miss roaming around in it every day.
But I am back in Provo. And while the small college town cannot even be compared to the complex city that is London, the company can. I love being surrounded by my friends that I reluctantly left behind when I began my European excursion, and I love adding to them an assortment of others that I met half way across the world. I'll miss Europe, and London, and the family unit that came together there, but I look forward to my future years at BYU...and, of course, a return to my English stomping ground one day.
We'll always have London.
