America: home of the free and land of the iced coffee

8 countries, 14 flights, 3 currencies, uncountable hours on trains and at airports, an entire bank account's worth of money, and an explosive amount of new memories--it has been an absolutely fantastic semester abroad.

The majority of the last 2 weeks spent in London was taken up by exams--after all of those weekends traveling or wreaking havoc around the city, I was reminded that I actually am a student here, and that requires some studying.

Of course, it at first left me with a sour taste in my mouth--here I am in the greatest city of the world, for only a few more days, and I'm studying the endocrine system rather than perusing the Christmas markets. But then, I decided to look back at what I've done these past 3 months and I (grudgingly) realized that all of this fun can't just come with absolutely no work.

This semester, I laid on the beaches in Portugal, took a night cruise down the Danube river in Budapest, visited an English vineyard, hiked through the rolling green hills of Ireland, shared a bottle of champagne with my boyfriend on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower, went on a culinary tapas tour of Barcelona, whizzed around Pisa on a bike for a day, fed carrots to wild deer in the Scottish Highlands, ate so many fresh bagels from the oldest bagel shop in London, street food from some of the best markets in the city, all with people that mean so much to me--friends from college, Greg, friends from Malden, friends I met here while abroad. And this is only a small bit of all of the wonderful experiences I've had these past 3 months.

It's been a wild ride in Londontown and the 7 other countries I've been lucky enough to visit throughout this semester. So, thank you Northeastern for giving me the opportunity to live out this dream life for a while, and a special thank you to my parents for giving me the means to do it and being supportive of my desire to travel. And thanks to all and any readers that stuck along to hear out my entire story!

I'm back in the USA, and I'm actually very excited--back to the land where a biscuit is not a cookie, 'pants' do not mean 'underwear', and most importantly, where coffee actually tastes good (sorry, London, you can't get everything right I suppose).

Last days in London

With the relief of exams finally being over, the realization that we would all soon be leaving actually sunk in. 

On Wednesday night, I took a study break to have Christmas dinner with my flatmates. 

We exchanged secret Santa gifts and Christmas crackers, in true British style. 

I had been so engrossed in studying that I hadn't really given leaving much thought--but when I finished exams on Thursday, I was suddenly struck by how sad it would be to leave.

Thursday evening, we all went out to eat with Anna and her mom, who was visiting her in London that week. They were going to be leaving for Nice, France the next morning and wouldn't be back until after Tori, Kathleen and I left for Boston on Sunday. 

To celebrate, we went out for tacos and margaritas. It was a lovely night that didn't end in sad goodbyes but rather bummed-out see you laters. 

Friday and Saturday were spent exploring our favorite parts of London again (and packing, of course). 

It's been a blessing to be in London these past 13 weeks and as sad as I am to leave, I know that some day I'll definitely be returning. 

Camden Market & Central London

Terenzi and I started his second day in London at Brick Lane for some delicious bagels.

Next, we made our way over to Camden Market in Northern London to get lost in its winding roads and tiny alleys.

Fish pedicure, anyone?

Next, we hopped on the tube and headed over to central London to walk around Leicester, Piccadilly, Trafalgar, and the surrounding areas.

He gave the lions a shot and climbed right onto their backs--much more graceful than my attempt at getting up there!

We then took a stroll around Regent Street, Oxford Street and Carnaby, where London was buzzing with happy shoppers loading up on Christmas gifts!

Of course, we needed to take a break for a hot second. BK to the rescue!

The lights in London at night were absolutely dazzling, as were the sights.

We even caught a bit of the Southbank Christmas market, and this awesome rendition of the Game of Thrones theme seen below.

After a bit of recuperation, we stopped in at Wetherspoons to enjoy our last legal night together until we're both 21 back in the states.

Cheers, London, it's been fab!