London

I'm sitting with anticipation in a flat near Holland Park, London. Greg is kind enough to open his home to us. While we wait, we look up London bus tours and head to the local french bakery for chocolate croissants. When John arrives, we head to Portobello road where bronze is in full supply down this collectors' lane. This street alone might have been all I needed to fall in love with London.

We head to Abbey Road to reenact one of my favourite album covers. Cars honk and people scream out of their car windows for us to keep on moving. The photos don't turn out the way we want it to and both guys dare me to continue walking back and forth with them, posing for photos and exchanging turns with all the other tourists posing their way across the world famous zebra crossing. It is both a horrifying and terrific experience.

One morning, J and I watch the changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. We buy our seats on the Big Bus Tour and stop to visit the Tower Bridge, the Shard, the Tower of London and Big Ben. We taste our way through London stopping at pubs for lunch and eating Indian and Turkish flavours for dinner. 

It is our last night and our stomachs are bursting from steak and truffled mac and cheese. I receive a phone call from the states in anticipation of my move. It leaves us both feeling worried and anxious, a feeling that has chained our minds for some time. Then, we realize that we didn't print out our next morning's train tickets. After some thinking on J's part, we walk to a nearby hotel to beg for their printer after they not-so politely refused over the phone. Our footsteps and panicked accusations pound quite harshly as we walk towards the hotel. London air is colder than we thought it would be. The begging works and within minutes, the e-tickets are in our hands. J pulls me to the side where we take a moment to reset while sitting and talking quietly on the curb. It is a reassuring moment for both of as we talk beyond tomorrow's train ride and prepare ourselves for the answers waiting back at home.

Pam  xx