Day 9: The last day in London

     For our last day, we decided to stay in London and explore some more instead of trying to go somewhere else. We slept in again, exhausted from the previous days, and woke up in time to have brunch. Kayla wanted to take us to a place called "The Breakfast Club" in the central part of London by the marketplace.
     This restaurant was like the European version of Snooze here in Colorado. I loved it so much, and I prepared myself to spend a lot of money to eat a large meal. I order Huevos Rancheros (London style) and a stack of three pancakes with berries. The coffee and the meal was amazing, and I was so stuffed that I had to unzip my skirt a bit to be able to even move around.
     After our meal, we went to the marketplace and looked at all of the vendors, but soon decided that we wanted to make it to the Tower Bridge before the day was over. This bridge 'towered' over the entire city and was so massive. We got 99 ice cream cones, and planned where we would go to next while admiring the bridge and its surroundings.
     We had high tea that afternoon at a place in Covent Garden, and I realized why Europeans did this. It was so relaxing. I drank Earl Grey tea, and ate the pastries and sandwiches that we were served until I was once again stuffed. We sat there talking and laughing, and I felt so blessed to have such great friends that I could explore the world with.
     After high tea, we decided to go to Hyde Park and watch the sunset, since it wasn't that far away. As we sat in the grass surrounded by other people who had also come there to watch the sunset, I felt a pang of sadness. Our trip was coming to an end. Although I was ready to be back in America, see my family and be surrounded by familiarity, I didn't want to leave this place.
     We went back to Holloway Road and I bought chocolate bars from Sansburry's and we got meat pies from Pieburry Corner. As you can imagine, I gained a few pounds from this trip, but the food was so good not to indulge myself. We went back to Arsenal station and our Airbnb and ate the meat pies in our room. We did not want to say goodbye to Kayla, but I felt so much better knowing where she was and seeing how happy she was.
     All three of us stayed up for hours talking and laughing, and we decided that it was time for us to go to sleep if we wanted to catch our flight back home the next day and not be exhausted.
     I went to sleep that night feeling full of experiences, and so content with this trip. I had seen all the sights I wanted to see, and I reminisced on the past nine days of my life. I knew that this wouldn't be the only time that I would visit Europe, and I decided in that moment that the next time I came back, I would stay for much longer.
     I felt like an entirely new person.