There And Back Again

I'm back!

What an incredible trip! When my final plane ride was done (all in all spent over 14 hours on the planes just yesterday, ugh) and landed back home here in Seattle, I was happy but felt so...misplaced. I still feel a bit misplaced. London made such an impression on me--the second I got there I felt really at ease, like I belonged there. It is now my favorite city I've been to (more wonderful than Rome, in my opinion). It's so hard to put your finger on it, but that city has such a life and vibe to it that just can't be found anywhere else. Some day, I'd like to live there.

We ended up not seeing Blackpool, unfortunately, due to mucho time constraints. Saw London, Edinburgh (which, and I'm sure I'll get flogged for this, I didn't care for at all--but maybe that's due largely in part because I visited it right after glorious London), York, Liverpool, Bath, and back to London for a final night. Even with 4 days in that city, I still feel like I barely scratched its surface. And Liverpool was awesome! A lot of folks back home warned me against visiting it, but it's a really charming city. Lively too.
I took loads of neat pictures on my journey, only a few of which I'm showing here at the moment (don't want to break the Blogger). This one is taken from the London Eye, looking down at the cab below ours on our qwest to get to the top. We went on it at dusk, which was spectacular!
Not many souvenirs, just couldn't afford it. But, in Edinburgh, I spied the *coolest* Carvela heeled oxfords and....I caved. I've been looking for the perfect pair of shoes for Fall and Winter for a long time, and when I saw these ones, I had to get them. They were ridiculously priced, but, as a wise friend from work advised me, I ignored the little pound sign and thought of the price in dollars. Worked pretty well ('til the credit card bill comes, naturally). I'll post pictures as soon as I dig 'em out of the suitcase...
That's all for now. I have to mentally prepare myself for going back to work tonight (ugh). I'm looking forward to digging into the paints again! I feel like I've been away from them for ages. Thank you everyone who posted advise and well-wishes for my journey across the pond. :) I love you all!