Last day in Europe

I spent my last full day in London at museums, learning about British humor, and watching a film starring one of my favorite television characters of all time.

I started out at Kensington Books. I absolutely love little book shops, and this one sure didn't disappoint. I browsed for quite a while (and if you ask the employees, probably an annoyingly long time) before reminding myself that I needed to actually finish the books I brought with me.

Studying up while I'm here.

Later, I headed to the National History Museum, and then made my way to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I got my fill of dinosaurs at the National History Museum, and then looked at art and fashion from various periods at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I also sat near the wading pool in the courtyard and people-watched (that might sound more creepy than it actually was).

Pretending I'm in Jurassic Park.

The highlight of my time at the museum was meeting a new friend. As I was leaving, he approached me to take a survey, and somehow that led into a discussion of global politics. Although he was English, he had lived in the United States for several years, so he had an interesting perspective on American political attitudes. We chatted for at least an hour, and after having been traveling on my own for the last few days, it definitely felt nice to have some human interaction (especially because he was very kind and quite interesting and insightful).

For lunch, I ate at a place called Squirrel, where I had a delicious quinoa salad. I could feel myself getting healthier just by being in there.



I ended the afternoon/evening by going to see David Brent: Life on the Road. David Brent, from the original The Office, is one of my favorite television characters of all time. Since the show ended in the early 2000s, I figured I was left to watch my collection of DVDs if I wanted a David Brent fix. However, I while I was walking through London, I passed a city bus bearing an advertisement for the new film. I couldn't believe it, and I instantly looked up times it was showing!

I walked about two miles to a theatre, and it was definitely worth the walk. I got some popcorn (which is much less artificial-tasting than popcorn at American movie theatres), and plopped myself down to watch the film. I practically had the theatre to myself, so I didn't feel like a complete fool for laughing loudly.



I was certainly glad I got to see the movie in London as I don't think it is even having a theatrical release in the Untied States.

The next day I had to say good by to Europe, and I had a flight to JFK, followed by two more flights home to Detroit. My flight from JFK was pretty painless. Although, I made the mistake of booking my connection back to Michigan through LaGuardia. Oh, and did I mention it left the next morning? Because, yeah, it did. Note to self: don't ever do that again.

My first flight landed at night, and since LaGuardia doesn't open until the morning, I figured I would spend the night in JFK. So, I parked myself at the food court and put my head down on a table and tried to get some rest. Much to my dismay, I was awoken by an employee pounding on the table (two inches from my face) and screaming at me that I couldn't sleep there.

Ah, welcome to New York! Where else in the world does customer service include almost getting your head punched?

So, I decided to move to the ticketing area and camp out there. I didn't have much luck sleeping there either because there was a fire alarm that went off. All! Night! Long! Not even exaggerating.

Plus, around 5 am, a random guy plopped down next to me (on the right), and started hitting on a woman sleeping next to me (on my left). First, of all, it's probably not a good idea to try to kick game to somebody who is not even sitting next to you (and requires you to yell over someone else). Second, it's an even worse idea to hit on someone who is sleeping.

Finally, I decided I had had enough, and I took a bus over to LaGuardia. Other than the terminal being packed and having to wait in a really long line for the bathroom, it wasn't too bad. I think I was even able to sleep a little bit on my flights.

After I arrived in Detroit, I noted that it felt somewhat surreal to be home. Whenever I travel for more than two weeks, it seems less like a vacation and more like a move. And that's certainly what this felt like.

As I gathered my bags, and waited for my ride home, I couldn't help but reflect on my adventure. Feeling droplets from an Icelandic waterfall hit my face, attempting to drive a stick-shift on muddy, one-lane roads, trying new (to me) Hungarian food, falling asleep on a Norwegian train, laughing hysterically as we walked down Oslo's streets, being absolutely awestruck by the beauty that is the Grand-Place in Brussels, and feeling such delightful nostalgia in London...these are all feelings that photos simply cannot capture.

I smiled to myself and thought of one of my favorite quotes:

"Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." - Ibn Battuta.

I am feeling so very thankful for this adventure. And, of course, I can't wait to plan my next one!