I left London in 2006 when my working holiday visa was ending, it had been a fruitful stay and one that allowed me to experience a lot more in life. Life without intermet, washing machine and proper shower... and then living together with one of my best friends (Angela), with the ex-boyfriend and then a random romantic encounter to exit my stay. I didn't leave London quite happily and so this return is almost like a refreshing change. I have certainly accepted things that happened years ago and at the same time, I feel as if I have never lived there before and was back again as a tourist.
The most important part of my visit was to spend time with my friend whom I see once a year or two when she's back for holidays. We used to live in London together... It was a valuable experience as we slowly got used to each other's quirks and accepted each other as time went by. We are now closer than before and always have something to laugh about. I also managed to hook up with people I miss, unfortunately some were not around and I didn't have enough time to see more.
London Terminal 5 is impressive, and because I had a domestic flight from Aberdeen, everything couldn't be smoother. I just had to wait for my luggage and there I went, off to the tube station. I saw Angela during the wedding but we didn't have time to catch up, and so London was the only chance we would have some quality time together. As Angela worked on the weekdays, I found myself prowling the shopping areas of London, one after another, ended up with more and more shopping bags day after day. It was not the same like 5 years ago where I was on a budget and could not buy things as I had to leave the country with as little as possible when time was up. Silly me didn't realise that I could claim VAT back with my shopping and I ended up spending 500 pounds without getting any tax back! It was winter sale, and I have to say the deals were pretty awesome and was worth it even without the VAT refund.
I visited Borough Market, St Paul Cathedral, walked on London Bridge and saw Covent Garden again with Glyn, the man who ruined my tart. Glyn and I had a complicated history but we are friends and I really appreciate him taking me to the market and showing me around. He's like my London A-Z, he seems to know London better than I did after living there for 2 years. We had a laugh about the past, and we still look the same after 5 years after we managed to spot each other at the tube station.
Angela and I had a couple of late night shoppings and a cupcake baking session. It was lovely just being able to do things together. We cursed the cold weather as we rushed from shop to shop down Oxford street. We ate our cold sandwiches along the way just so we could save some time. We spent lots of time in TK Maxx fussing over which to let go so we could reduce the damage in our pockets. We shopped in Sainsbury like we used to grocery shop years ago. We had my favourite PAUL chocolate cake for dessert and rhubarb pie topped with vanilla ice cream for breakfast. On the last day, she brought me to Petticoat Lane, Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market. It was pretty brief as we had to get back by mid afternoon so I could leave for the airport. We ate, shopped and fell in love with the vintage stuff and all the good bargains we found. I love markets and this gotta be one of the best. We really enjoyed ourselves! It was sad when I had to leave. It was the first time I saw Angela teared... she never did when any of us was leaving.
As I said "Goodbye" to London, I said "Farewell" to my old memories and brought back the happy ones with me this time!
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