london, london take me in.

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Those of you who know me best are acutely aware of my obsession with going to Amsterdam. I have always called it my "Mecca", meaning a place where I have been striving to get to and thought it would make me feel right at home. Here is a little background on this issue that has become most dramatic and obsessive-Over the years I have changed paths multiple times searching for a place where I felt I was "supposed" to be, or dare I say...where I would feel I "belonged". This desire to find this place has led me down many different roads, continents, and schools-the number of schools I have attended is far too embarrassing to name, but I will say I have made it to double digits. I just cannot stay in the same place for more than 6 months. So long story short I had convinced myself that Amsterdam was the place for me. I dreamed of its canals, bicycles, and cobblestone walkways often. There have been attempts on my own part to make it over there in the past few years, all of which were disappointingly unsuccessful until, alas! I decided to study abroad in Europe. This decision got me one step closer to my dream...that was until I went to London, England.

I think London is my Mecca, this I realized even before I hit its shores. On the ferryboat ride over, watching the cliffs at dover beach slowly appear, while listening to the Beatles on my ipod I knew I was going to fall for London. So perhaps I didn't need to go to Amsterdam anymore, or rather I eliminated the option all together when I spent ALL of my money at Topshop?

Either way London felt like home. The people, the fashion, the tube, the pubs, the accents, I could go on and on forever about London. Don't get me wrong, I meant every lovely word I gushed about Paris, but London is a place I could really live, it gave me a really good feeling inside and the random rain spells didn't bother me one bit. It is home to all the most beautiful boys and girls, you can't compete with their style because they just look soooooooo good. Out of all the 10 countries I visited I must say the London girls do it best, always out in their highest heals, red lips and a double dose of confidence. London style and spirit inspired me everyday, oh and Topshop changed my life. I have been an avid online Topshop shopper, plus I had visited the New York and Spain Topshops, yet nothing can compare to when you come up the Oxford Circus tube stop and there, right in front of you, is three levels of bliss. It was huge, if you didn't grab what you liked right away you would never find your way back to it, ooooh myyy I could have bought everything in that store. After 5 hours of "Topshop Bliss", my friend and I were ready to pass out...but of course we went back the very next day to spend more money that we did not have.

Oh yes and I was able to see "Chicago" preformed one night as well as "King Henry IV" at Shakespeare's Globe. Lovely, lovely, lovely performances.

I didn't ever want to leave London (I am already trying to rearrange my entire life to get back there as soon as possible) and I had planned to stay in Europe after the academic part of the trip ended and my friends left, but after a series of crisis's back at home and in my wallet, I realized it was time to come home. I didn't tell anyone I was coming back early, maybe that is selfish, but I really just wanted a few days to settle in and wrap my mind around the past two months.

Since I had changed my original plans (to stay longer, visit the Mecca that may not actually be my Mecca) I wasn't able to get on the same flight as my friends. To be perfectly honest I was exhausted academically (there really is such a thing as "museum exhaustion"), emotionally and physically. All I wanted to do was get on that plane, not talk to anyone and get home. Yet as it always happens I end up talking to strangers, this time because I mistook my new seat partners personal headphones as the AirCanada free of charge headphones (it was embarrassing for both of us when he had to ask me for them back). We ended up chatting a lot and I learned that he was also a University student, only he was from Iran and coming to Canada to visit his family. I also learned that he was in love with a girl who his family and friends disapprove of, I know exactly how that feels. This boy from Iran, and me from Canada surprisingly had a lot in common it seemed. We talked about love and life and traveling and drank many miniature bottles of red wine, making toasts to our lives and our loves. I am glad I ended up chatting with this boy, I really hope everything works out for him.

I always said I would live in Europe one day, perhaps I still will, but after visiting 10 countries over there this summer I realized how much I love Canada. I really missed rooftop patios downtown Toronto, grapefruit martinis at the Reservoir, dancing at the Tattoo Rock Parlour, Blue Jay games in the sun, and the best burgers and beers in the Distillery District. Yes, there are lots of good things here, I just need to realize it more and try to stay put for once. Oh, and I must say how polite Canadians are as I have come to discover. Just the other day I was in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market picking up a few essentials and I noticed that every time my bag hit someone or I stepped on someones toes we would both immediately apologise and smile. My experience of stepping on an Italian mans expensive leather shoes in Rome was not quite the same as this.

So am I upset that I came home a little early? maybe just a touch, but I know I will make it to Amsterdam one day, and I hope/pray that I will make it make to Paris and London. Plus, coming home early afforded me the opportunity to see a friend walk down the isle, say goodbye to another friend before she moved across the country and to sit on my back porch eating cherries with my little brother when he was sad, that I would not trade for travel.