Day 34: Memories To Hold

River Boat Tour on the Thames

St. Paul's

Waking up on my last full day in London, I was filled with a mixture of nostalgia and an already established  intense desire for return. I was determined not to get too sad today so decided to fill my time with some last minute sightseeing. 

 Despite an aggressive and ambitious sightseeing schedule over the last 5 weeks, there were still so many places on my list I had yet to see, but time was up. I would have to pick only one or two for the day. It was an unusually warm and sunny day, so I decided the river boat tour on the Thames that I had been flirting with for all these weeks was in order. It was time. 

Happy to be in the sun!

With suitcases nearly packed, I grabbed my sunglasses and a purse full of coins I needed to use up and headed for the Westminster Pier.

Tower of London

Taking my final walk to the tube through Highbury Fields, I tried to breathe in every detail I saw, memorizing as many moments as I could to take home with me. There were no weight restrictions on these memories. I tried to remember the vibrant yellow cups of the daffodils against the almost astro-turf green of the grass, the sound of stroller wheels along the sidewalk, the clanking of chains around dog collars, the arc of tree branches, the rumble trucks on adjacent streets, all of it.Walking across the street towards the Highbury and Islington underground station, I took my last Metro newspaper from the now familiar news man, and swiped my Oyster card along its entrance gates for the last time, a pang of sadness welling up with each of these final acts.

Such a tourist!

Arriving at Westminster Pier, there was already a long line, after all with weather as good as the one today who wouldn’t want to be on a river boat down the Thames! The copper glow of Big Ben and Parliament glistened behind me as the slow turning wheel of the London eye rotated in front.  German, Spanish, French and Chinese accents surrounded me and a group of school children bounced up and down in place excited for the trip ahead. I took my seat on the top deck next to an elderly woman who was also traveling alone. She was on vacation from Australia visiting her nephew who worked in the Australian Embassy. We exchanged stories on where we had gone and what we had seen on our last few weeks of touring London and swapped tips on when best to avoid lines and crowds and how to get early tickets.  We took each other’s obligatory pictures by the boat’s railing and then we were off.

The Tower of London

Final lunch

It was already nearing noon, so the sun was high in the sky. The top deck was full and the crowd was enthusiastic. It was nice to feel the sun on my face after so long despite the slight chill that was still in the air. 

The boat made way as the Captain gave a commentary on all the landmarks along the way. As we turned away from Big Ben towards St. Paul’s Cathedral the entire splendor of the City along the Thames was so poignant in that moment that I unconsciously said out loud, “God, I love London.” To which my new found travel companion from Australia replied, “I have a feeling you are going to miss it very much after five weeks.” And she was right. I really was.

My lunch companion

Marble Arch in the Background

Seeing the city from the river made it difficult to decide which bank to look at at in any given moment. St. Paul’s on the right, Tate on the left, The Gherkin on the right, The Globe on the left, back and forth, back and forth. I felt like I was watching a tennis match of historic landmarks, where one bank’s serve was outmatched by the other’s return the further down we went.  It was one of the happiest moments of the entire trip sitting atop the deck of that Thames river boat. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my last day.

The Gummy Family

The boat docked at the Tower of London and I disembarked. I decided to take the boat one way and walk back the other.  I wanted to see the city on foot for as long as my feet would let me. The plan was to walk to Hyde Park, pick up lunch on the way and have a picnic. I hadn’t seen Hyde Park yet on this trip so I set off. I walked along the streets of Oxford Circus doing some window shopping. The streets were especially crowded on this sunny lunch hour. The smell of freshly made waffles with ice cream from multiple street vendors was almost too much to resist, but I did. I wanted to be really hungry by the time I reached Hyde Park to savor my last lunch.

I found a Pret a Manger a block away from Speaker’s Corner and bought a tuna Panini and a soda. This was going to be a great lunch and my last one in London. I perched myself atop a little grassy hill that looked straight onto a magnificent, suspended horse head sculpture! I was mesmerized by the sheer engineering and dynamics of such a sculpture to even be erected let alone the beauty of its design.It was quite inspiring to look at.

I was quite content to spend my lunch with him. Behind me a small crowd had gathered around Speaker’s Corner to hear a man speak about the war in Libya and what was the US and the UK doing in there anyway. I wasn’t in the mood today for politics, so I didn’t listen too intently. Today was a day of sentimental goodbyes and last-minute memory hoarding, there would be plenty of time to debate the constitutionality of the US involvement in Libya when I returned home. Today was about creating the memories I would hold.

Spring in Hyde Park

I photographed some of the flowers and sculptures in the Park and then lay down on the grass. I purposely kept my iPod at home on this last day. I wanted to hold on to the sounds of London as much as I wanted to hold on to its sights.  I must have taken a much longer stroll through Hyde Park than I expected because the next time I looked down at my watch it was already time to head over to the pub to meet the gang. It was to be our team’s farewell drink. 

The Marlborough Arms on Torrington Place right next to campus was a lively and loud, but classically beautiful, English pub. Marie had already arrived and we were lucky to have procured the last remaining table by the window. I went to the bar and ordered a Bulmer’s Red Apple Cider with ice, I was getting really good at ordering apple cider at pubs now, and headed back to Marie. As my birthday was only a few days away, Marie had sweetly brought us all fancy chocolate and strawberry pastries. 

Let them eat cake!

Marlborough Arms Pub

We celebrated my birthday yet to come with pints and pastries and laughed about the comic interludes of our group’s work over the last five weeks. The warmth of the alcohol rising to my cheeks, the sweet licks of custard on my lips, the laughter of Marie and Anna in my ears with the view of a beautiful English pub down the street from campus on the final day of exams before Spring Break behind them, were almost too much happiness for one single moment to fit in, but it did.   

Birthday cakes for me?! Yay!

Sitting in that corner table by the window next to Anna and Marie, celebrating my birthday in the country I was born, awaiting the rest of the crew to show up, was a moment brim-full of joy and beauty and one I fixed in my memory to stay.

We ended the evening with hugs and goodbyes and everyone walked their separate ways. I thought I would have felt lonelier in that moment walking away from all of them, turning my back on my final walk away from campus, but somehow I didn’t. 

I was undoubtedly sad, but tenderly so. I had made some meaningful friendships on this trip and ones that would not soon be forgotten. Swiping my Oyster card on its final run at Goodge Station, the cool night air behind my back, I made way for the warmth of the underground below.  I was glad I spent my final day in London on a solo farewell in the day with the warmth of friends at night. It was the perfect balance.  

Priceless.

 I wasn’t sure if I would ever see Anna or Marie or the rest of the group ever again, but I sincerely hoped I would. We had planted the seeds of friendship and what remained now was to watch it grow, watered with the hope that one day it would. 

I'll miss you guys!

Holding on to the rail as the train departed the platform, I closed my eyes letting my body to sway to the moving carriage, fluidly letting go, grabbing on tightly to the memories I would hold.