London - 6 Feb 06

6 February 2006, Monday

I did return to Oxford Street to buy a jersey. I ended up getting an England one. It is sweet. I will definitely sport it once it gets warm out.

I started a letter to Kate yesterday. It was nice to sit for a while and think of things to tell her that I had not already told her on the phone. I also finished looking at my calendar for the week she is here. I started laying things out for a one night, two day trip to Paris. I just can’t imagine breaking that surprise on her. That will be unbelievable for her. If the one night stay doesn’t work out than we will do a one day rush through the highlights of Paris. I figure in two days we could see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and maybe a couple other things. There was a while there that I was thinking about going to Prague for spring break, but I don’t really want to go with a crowd, and besides, I would rather dedicate that money to the time with Kate, and toward the trip to Paris. I do believe I will return to Europe again, and I have to remind myself of this when I feel like I am not going anywhere. That thought is ridiculous because I live in London, and I am going to Paris, Scotland, and the Middle-Freaking-East to see Guy. I am going to see a lot. After being in Europe for a while it will be particularly nice to see a whole new region of the world. A crazy opportunity. Too tired to go on.

The England jerseys are my favorite shirts I own. I went back before I left and bought one more for myself and one for my dad. I should have bought more. I can’t find an England jersey for less than $70 anywhere. I didn’t pay half that much for a couple of them over there.

My trip to Paris with Kate was my only trip to mainland Europe while I was overseas. Many students I knew took two trips to the continent and some even more, but my trip to Israel was the monetary equivalent of three round trips into Europe from London. For a while I felt like I was missing out on these opportunities to go places when I was the only one in London and everyone else I knew was in Spain, Italy, Germany, or watching a live sex show in Amsterdam while eating space cakes. Okay, so I wasn't jealous of the fourth destination, but it was a real destination for most Americans I met over there. After I went to Paris and Scotland, and as my trip to Israel approached I felt that I had spent my money well, and I realized that the biggest adventure was always going to be living in London, and it was.