I'll be home for Christmas....if only in my dreams.

Mom, Dad and I spent the past week exploring England! My last weekend at Cambridge was very similar to my first. Visited Homerton, walked around the city, went to the market, tried to find Great St. Mary's (this time, we actually found it), went in the same Cambridge stores, and went back to Pink Floyd's Grantchester Meadows! This time, no goose attacks, now cow attacks probably because instead of walking, we drove (so nice to be in a car). We ate lunch at the Red Lion again. Mom and Dad had their first experience with poppers - we had quite the scare, couldn't find Mom's toy magnifying glass for a while...After we finally found Great St. Mary's, we climbed the bell tower. Too many flights of stairs to count (probably about 7, let's be real) and a lot of maneuvering later we got to the top and had a beautiful view of the city. Afterward, we tried to go into King's College, but unfortunately BBC was filming the men's and boy's Christmas special. And by tried, what I mean is went inside until we were asked to leave. Then we went to a Christmas Candlelight Service at the Baptist Church in Cambridge to really get into the Christmas Spirit!

On Monday, after saying good bye to Pete and the Avimore, we drove down to Goudhurst, near Kent. It was amazing! Goudhurst is exactly like every Christmas Village I've ever imagined. On top of the hill is the old church - built in the 11th century- then there is the vicar's house, the butcher shoppe, the sweet shoppe, the general store, the news store, and a couple restaurants. We stayed in a Coach house (still don't really know what that means) on Lidwells Lane with a beautiful view! I had my first attempt at making mushy peas, but with no recipe and no idea what to do, made peas that were, in fact, mushy, but definitely did not make mushy peas. We went to the Butcher Shoppe for fresh fruit, vegetables and milk every day. It was great, the man behind the counter actually added up all the goods by hand!

Dad got a lot of practice driving the rest of the week. On Tuesday we went to Canterbury Cathedral; on Wednesday we went to the Castle at Leeds, where Anne Boelyn and Henry the VIII lived; on Thursday we went to Hever, which was so cool! It is the house that Anne Boelyn grew up in, so we stood in her bedroom as well as Henry VIII's! All of the castles were decorated for Christmas - Leeds had a fairy tale theme with the alligator and clock, fairies, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Hever had a mini Narnia inside. Then, we went to Winston Churchill's home, Chartwell. The house was closed, but the outside and grounds were beautiful. Then it started snowing before we left Goudhurst.....

On Friday, we drove to London, where we thought we'd be spending the next three days. Turns out, it's more like the next nine days! There are maybe 3 inches of snow on the ground and Heathrow has now been closed for 3 days. Thirteen-thousand people have been living in Gatwick airport waiting to make flights home. London is insanity right now! Luckily for us, the flat we've been staying in was available for the rest of the week, so we have a place to stay and a lot longer to explore the city. Must be positive!

Notting Hill is one of my favorite movies, and we are staying in the middle of Notting Hill! We've run to Hyde Park, been to the travel bookshop, been to Portabello Market, the next step is spotting a blue door and Hugh himself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. On Friday we went to Oxford Street to see all of the shops and Christmas lights - some of the displays were a bit intense, but most of it was gorgeous!


On Saturday we went to the Beatles tour. The tour was led by the number one (I will most certainly let him have that title) Beatles Fan. Read for yourself: http://www.beatlesinlondon.com/Richard.htm. Unfortunately it started snowing and as Richard had to take a train out of London he cut the tour short. But, since we have so much time left on our hands, we can either go back on Tuesday for the rest of the tour, or explore more ourselves! Then we went to Portabello Market, where we met up with a friend from school, which was so fun! The market is almost two miles long and really fun to walk through! Not going to lie, was playing Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone in my head the whole time...

On Sunday we tried to go to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. The crowds were unbelievable! We caught a few glimpses of what was going on inside, but couldn't see very well. Was almost just as fun to watch people pushing each other through the crowd. Then we went to the Towre of London where we saw the crown jewels, lived any young boys dream (lots of guns, swords, soldiers) and then continued to stalk Anne Boelyn by going to the place she was kept prisoner and eventually beheaded. Went home early to attempt to pack (somehow my belongings seem to have quadrupled), but turns out we don't need to for six more days...

I know the title is completely dramatic, but that's sort of how it feels! Am thinking positive thoughts about no more snow and a flight home next week, but in the meantime- getting to know London as well as I can!