Part 2 of 3:
On February 13th, I completed my last final exam at 11am and raced back to my apartment to grab my pre-packed backpack and head to Gare du Nord to catch my 3pm train to London. C walked me to the metro station on the way to her last exam and was making fun of me the whole way. Not only did I look like a total tourist with my sleeping bag strapped to my backcountry pack, but I was heading to the station a good 3 hours before departure. I had been anticipating this moment for months, and when it finally came, it was all I could do to keep from actually sprinting to the platform. It would be worth buying a Eurostar one way ticket just to go spend time inside the Gare du Nord station. Upon passing through security I entered the Anglosphere—English spoken everywhere—a nice familiarity. After checking in, I planted myself at a table, ordered a Diet Coke, and whipped out a magazine (the first I had looked through in months). Without mandatory reading or essays biting at my conscience, I sat perfectly guilt-free and awaited the boarding call. Thinking back, this is one of my favorite moments of the last few weeks. Never have I enjoyed free time so much, I suppose I have Sciences Po to thank for that.

The next 2 ½ weeks were spent trekking around England. The great part about being a junior in college is that I have five different friends studying in different parts of the UK right now, so lodging was free of charge and I got to spent serious bonding time with great friends. Part one was spent in London with Marsha, one of the most motivated and energetic people I know, and a vital part of my high school clan. She toured me around her London, taking me to monuments, Middle Eastern and Indian restaurants, the opera and, of course, shopping.

Four days later, I was on the opposite coast in Bristol visiting Sarah J. Sarah is basically my German sister and it is her family that I have stayed with in Munich twice already. She is a permanent student in Bristol (not on exchange) and so I got to see the university life of the town. We spent a lot of time hanging out with her friends at dinner, out for cider, and wandering the town. We took a day trip to Bath, something I never would have seen on my own, and one of the highlights of the whole trip. The Roman ruins were unbelievable—just one more reminder of how young the U.S. is.

An early morning train took me up the coast to Lancaster where I spent a few days with Jamin, one of my best friends from CU. Lancaster is a far cry from London, further off the tourist trail but its university influence and coastal location made it a place where I’d love to return. Jamin had the brilliant idea of renting bikes in the countryside, and after our taxi stopped a half mile from our destination, “Patty’s Farm Barn”, because the tide was covering the road, we knew that this day was not going to be ordinary. Six of us walked the remaining distance only to be greeted with bikes, air pumps, water bottles and maps (with the nearest pubs marked in ink). Our 4 hour ride took us along a rocky, windy and STUNNING coast, through hedge-lined pastures filled with sheep and cows, through a marina, and to a great pub where we washed down lunch with Guinness and finished the last leg in the sunset—returning to find that the water that had previously blocked our path had retreated almost beyond visibility. At the end, we all agreed that it was one of those perfect days that come out of nowhere. I got along with Jamin’s friends immediately and after 3 short days, I wasn’t ready to leave.

Scotland was another entirely different, but incredible, part of my trip. Sarah M is a friend from high school, a coworker from my summer at Ink!Coffee and one of my favorite hippies. It just so follows that my trip to Edinburgh, among visits to the main attractions and numerous pubs, would include a tour of health shops, a co-op, an alternative music club and a café that played movies in its pillow lined back room. While Sarah worked on a paper, I took a morning trip to Rosslyn Chapel (you know, the one from the DaVinci Code? Ha!). After six months in one of Europe’s “most beautiful cities”, I think I am qualified to say that this chapel was one of/if not THE most beautiful building I have ever seen. At 9am on a Wednesday morning, I was the only person inside and got little too spooked to go past the 6th stair down into the crypts. It’s OK, I’ll be back, this time with back up.

My final leg brought me full circle back to London to see Tina, who is the high school friend that I never have to worry about because each time we see each other it is like we had never parted. This time around, I got to see Tina’s London—low key and very reflective of a college student’s life, the perfect compliment to my tired body and depleted bank account. I was invited to go to Cambridge for the day with her school group. I now understand why people work their entire lives to go to this school. The town is gorgeous and the traditions run deep. I was tempted to buy a 70 ₤ monogrammed v-necked sweater to pretend I was a true student but knew that I could never pull it off. Like trying to fit in with Parisiens—I need a serious course in grace first.