The Final Countdown

To my chagrin, after Barcelona it became apparent that my time in London was rapidly coming to an end.  My laundry pile in the corner grew exponentially, and my food supply dwindled down to granola crumbs.  Believe me, it was all quite depressing!  To top it off, I was caught in quite a pickle: should I spend my last weeks in London prepping for final exams or roaming around this amazing city?  Don't fret, that pickle lasted about ten seconds.  The solution: I was to artfully balance studying and exploring.  Let's get to it.

On Friday, I was able to knock off one last museum from my list:  The British Museum, which was apparently named the 5th best museum in the world (how they judge that, I don't know).  I did think it was pretty cool, though!  I saw the Rosetta Stone, the key to the deciphering of hieroglyphics, and a very interesting exhibit about counterfeit money.  

Not your average museum, huh?  

The next morning one of my flatmates and I woke up early and walked two miles down the Thames, past the Borough, to find a local bakery that makes the world's most amazing and  elusive doughnuts.  St. John's Bakery only makes doughnuts from 9-11 am on Saturday mornings, so there was no time for kidding around.   We were women on a mission, and you could imagine our delight when we succeeded.  We each snagged both a lemon and a custard doughnut, and they were FREAKING fabulous. 

We go nuts for doughnuts.

When my stomach returned from its nirvana, I set off for Euston and wandered towards the Camden Market, a famous hub for hipsters.  I purchased super cool shorts for 15 pounds that satiated my never-ending attempt to always look "more British."  While in that area, my boyfriend and I checked out the gorgeous Regents Park, which was in full bloom.    

So many shops, so little time! (Don't worry, I am up for the challenge.)

Sigh.  Finally it is springtime in Regents Park.

Small mouse in front of *quite* a large flowerpot.

Mine eyes have seen FLOWERS!

On Sunday I spent the majority of my time studying and preparing my essays for final exams.  This may sound boring, but it did relieve some stress knowing I made big strides in finishing my work.  I did my studying at the BFI Library, a study space connected to the film institute on the South Bank.  This environment is perfect: quiet, with ample Wi-Fi and a muffin café right outside.

The studiousness continued on Monday, but not without a little fun!  To celebrate our last day of class (and the gorgeous London sun), some of my friends headed to an outdoor beer garden.  We cheered the amazing, once-in-a-lifetime circumstance that brought us together, and we celebrated finishing 75% of our college careers.

Smiles all around.

With four of my beautiful roommates.

I spent the rest of the night studying, but I took a break the next morning when I fulfilled a dream of my dad's: going to Wimbledon.  I'm not the most enthusiastic tennis fan, but I still loved it (get it? Like love, the tennis score?!).  The area was quaint, the tour was fabulous and the museum was really cool.  As an added bonus, our guide was quintessentially British, and that charmed me:)  As part of the tour, we got to take some fun pictures on Centre Court and behind the media desk. 

Following in my mama's footsteps!

Centre Court, where all the magic happens.

When that excursion ended Tuesday afternoon, I retreated back to Central London to (you guessed it) study.  But when I took my first exam on Wednesday, I was really pleased with how it went:)  Before hitting the books in preparation for the next day's exam, a few of my flatmates and I lounged in the sun under the London Eye.  We soaked in the rays and ate ice cream cones, unable to believe how close summer was.  Only two more days of exam cramming, luggage packing and general exhaustion stood between us and the pure bliss of summer.  

Tanning the back of your calves is very important, in case you didn't know. 

We could only afford to be reflective for so long, because there was still so much work to do!  That night I packed up the majority of my clothes and souvenirs.  Let me tell you, that was a crazy feeling.  

The next day I had my history exam, and I'm pleased to say that one went well also.  Plus after the test, I grabbed a roommate and went to Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, crossing yet another sight off my London bucket list.  The celebration was Anglican, so of course we didn't connect with it as much as we would have if it were Catholic, but I still enjoyed hearing the beautiful choir and seeing the gorgeous church.  (We also felt quite savvy, because unless you attend a service at St. Paul's the entrance fee is upwards of 20 pound!)

Studying for my final exam (Macroeconomics...blargh) was one of the hardest things I did all semester.  Every fibre of my being told me to do anything but study, including packing, running, and throwing away the 240 wine bottles our apartment had accumulated this semester.  What does 240 bottles look like, you ask?  Let me help you imagine:  

Clifton Fadiman said, "A bottle of wine begs to be shared."  We in 201 concur wholeheartedly.

Now you're probably thinking, 'Wine bottles? Give me a break, C.  That is not intellectual or cool, which contradicts everything you have been all semester long.'  But let me introduce a new spin on a stereotypical college picture, okay?   These wine bottles are a representation of the time our flat spent around our kitchen table getting to know each other.  So many friends were met over those bottles and such great conversations were shared.  I think these bottles show how our flat was different from the others.  Instead of coming home and asking each other, "How was your day?" we could go, "Hey, did your theology professor up your grade?" or "Hey, did your sister like the care package you sent her?"  We really invested time in getting to know each other, and that's a lot considering there were twelve of us!  So yes, as goofy as this myriad of wine bottles looks, it represents our love of fun and our love of each other.  

As you can imagine, carrying those bottles down six flights of stairs took FOREVER.  Also my arms wanted to fall right off!  So luckily I became tired enough to devote a few hours for some Econ review.  The studying really paid off on Friday, as turning in that exam at 3:30 was potentially the greatest feeling in the world.  Immediately I headed to a rooftop bar in Covent Market with two of my roommates to celebrate.  We headed home, finished packing and began the laborious task of eating all of our leftover food....so naturally, I was in heaven.

On top of the world (or at least on top of the bar).

Simply, Covent Garden is way too cool for me.

Around 11 we headed to the South Bank to check out The Prop Store, a makeshift bar created by the National Theatre entirely out of its old props.  How cool is that?  We danced for hours, and to top it off, we stopped by the local grill on the way home to indulge in our last order of cheesy chips ever :(  I question, how is possible for something to be that bad and that good at the same time?

One amazing semester, countless new friends.

When we came back to Conway, we had one thing to do: clean.  In three hours the rectors would come to take away our ID cards and help us load onto the bus.  It was a reality were were unwilling to accept.  In our hearts we were never leaving.

Cheers and I'll see you on the other side of the pond,

C