Saying Goodbye to London

It's hard to believe we are leaving London tomorrow morning and heading back to Spokane... and back to reality. :) 

I was reading through some of the old blog posts last night, and I was overwhelmed when I realized how many amazing things we have been able to do and see in our five months here. We really have been so blessed and fortunate to experience so many incredible things. And even though it took a lot of money, sacrifices, and support for us to be here, I know we'll never once look back and regret our decision to come. 

We thought it would be a fun way to reflect on our time in London by coming up with a list of the 10 Best Things and Worst Things About London, although I'll admit that it was much harder to come up with bad things than it was to come up with good things. :) Jordan helped me with these, so they are from both of our perspectives, and in no particular order. We'll start with the negative things first. And just so you know, the most obvious negative to London was not having our friends and family here! :)

10 Worsts of London

1. Rush Hour on the Tube - Jordan experienced this more often than I did, but it gets really old really fast! Just when you think there is absolutely no possible way another person can fit inside, ten more people force their way in... which makes for some awkward and uncomfortable situations.

2. Weather - The daily weather forecast in London is rainy, cloudy, sunny, windy... it is always changing and totally unpredictable! You definitely don't move to London for the weather!

3. Everything is so Expensive - We finally had to give up trying to look at £1 being $1.50 for our own mental health. Everyday things you wouldn't really think of, like maple syrup (a tiny bottle for £5) or going to the movies (each ticket was £11), really start to add up fast!

4. Size of our Flat - Two hundred square feet. Need I say more? This was especially interesting when adding visitors to the mix. :)

5. Tourists - After being here for a few months, you kind of become snobby about tourists because they are always the ones holding up lines, getting caught in the doors of the tubes, and stopping suddenly in the middle of crowded sidewalks to take pictures of everything. And not to mention, going out in the city on weekends became almost unbearable because of the crowds.

6. Doing Everything More Often - We think it's because of the small living space, but you end up doing everything way more often. For example, washing the dishes (usually twice a day), taking out the garbage (at least once a day), and going grocery shopping (usually 2-3 times per week!)

7. Not Having Our iPhones - Okay, this sounds lame, but hear us out! There were so many times in London when a GPS would have saved our lives, or having the internet would have made life a thousand times easier! 

8. Apartment Living - After having our own house, we're not huge fans of living in an apartment! The noise combined with losing our internet at the worst possible times was not fun. Although I didn't mind not having to do yard work. :)

9. Drinks are Different - Jordan noticed right away that soda in the UK is totally different, and not in a good way! We found out later that they use more sweeteners over here. I, on the other hand, was bummed because the selection at all the Starbucks over here was seriously lacking! :)

10. Service at Restaurants - Jordan calls it "service with a frown." We never realized how spoiled we are in America because in the UK service is not a high priority -- you see your waiter when you order your food and when you need your check, and never in between! Another weird thing is that restaurants here don't let you just order drinks or just order a dessert, they make you order a meal even if they entire restaurant is empty. 

And now for the good things about London! And we want to make perfectly clear that we are in no way trying to bash Spokane. Seriously! :)

10 Bests of London

1. Plays/Theater - We were able to see quite a few musicals while we were here, and we absolutely loved them! It is so fun to have the London Theater as an option for evening entertainment. And they make for great date nights! :)

2. London as a Hub - London proved to be the best departure point for traveling around Europe! We never would have been able to do each trip we did individually coming from the U.S. with such factors as cost, jet lag, etc. The flights and train costs over here are insanely cheap, and the time change is never more than 3 hours.

3. Watching Manchester United - Whether in a pub or at Old Trafford, the game and the fans of Man U were a spectacle to behold. They really are passionate about soccer over here, and it was easy (and surprisingly fun for me!) to get caught up in!

4. Parks - We have a theory that since very few people have their own personal back yard here, London compensates by making their parks huge and beautiful. We loved grabbing sandwiches and our books and heading to a park for the afternoon!

5. Walking - We have learned to love walking. :) We still laugh about the fact that in Spokane we have a Zip's restaurant two blocks away from our house that we always drove to. In London, we walk almost EVERYWHERE! Our definition of "a walkable distance" is anything under an hour... one way. :)

6. Markets - London has an amazing variety of markets that are all completely unique and show off its strikingly different areas, which we came to know as the "real London." The markets really make you realize how London has a little something for everyone.

7. Shopping - Neither of us are huge shoppers, but the shopping here is unmatched to anywhere we've ever been! If I had a limitless credit card, I could get in some serious trouble. :)

8. No One Cares - This might sound strange, but in London it seems like the priorities of appearance are much different (and better) than in the U.S. You rarely see huge buff guys or fake-tanned women. People just seem more "real" here. Everyone dresses to how they think is cool, and no one cares or judges your fashion sense. 

9. Pubs - The pub scene in London is not like the bar scene in America. We really enjoyed the chill, homey atmosphere from the pubs here, and not to mention quality food for really cheap and a place to just go and hang out or watch a soccer game. 

10. Big City Life - In London there is always something to do or something going on. There are always people out and about no matter what time of day or night it is. It was a nice change to live in a city that always felt alive!

We have been packing and cleaning like crazy the last couple days, and we are definitely ready to come home. We both think it will be a mixture of being sad and excited tomorrow when we get on the airplane, which I think is a good thing. We will be sad to leave London, but at the same time we are so excited to be home and see our family and friends, and of course Maggie! :)

Check out all our luggage! Go ahead and get a good laugh while picturing us dragging all this 1/3 of a mile to the tube station...

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers during our 5 months in London. We can't wait to see everyone! Our flight leaves London tomorrow morning at 11:05am (which is 3:05am Pacific Time), and we get into Spokane at 10:00pm. Needless to say, it's going to be a LONG day!! Please say a quick prayer that we have a safe flight.

Last, but not least, we want to say a special thank you to Josh Dietzel for living in our house and basically maintaining our lives while we were gone! Also, to my parents for taking care of our dog, Maggie! We really could not have done this trip without their help, and we are forever grateful. We are also thankful to everyone who took the time to come visit us while we were here -- each trip was so memorable and meant so much to us!

I will probably post once more when we get home to let everyone know that we made it safely. Other than that, CHEERIO FROM LONDON!