Home sweet home, eh.

All folded

I should have captured a 'Before' picture. Essentially, a clothing bomb went off in my room. I sorted through and unpacked all my travel clothes, then decided my closet was a wreck so I took out, sorted and re-folded those clothes. Shopping in London was great. I keep forgetting that the conversion is much more painful over there though. 1.8x our dollar, last I checked. 

It's nice to be home. Though on the plane I was started to feel nervous, almost as if I didn't want to be back, even though throughout the trip I had many instances of wanting to be home.Weird. At any rate, I love being back, I do miss the fact that the weather in London was warmer. I like it there, I really do. I've only been 3 times now, but it gets better and more familiar each time.

My Aunt's place. The garden, a work in progress.

Sadly though, our camera got forgotten in my aunt's car as we exited to get check in our luggage.This was extremely heart breaking for me. I was actually looking forward to sorting through the 1800 photos and editing my favorite picks of the bunch. ;____; Oh well. More time to do the work I promised to people. 

I'm happy to be home and I'm ready to rest and get back to Canadian life. I like not standing out, what with my Canadian accent and all. My cousin Tim was sure to point out how I pronounce my 'outs' and 'abouts', or rather, 'oots' and 'aboots'. I'll miss life in London. Who knows though, I might just end up there in the future? 

Country Hopping

It's been about 6 years since I was last in London. Still as bustling as ever, but I love it here all the same. 

The traveling has been nice. I got to London at 6:20AM local time, running on 1 hour of sleep with a full day of plans ahead. Got picked up by my wonderful aunt who drove us to Oxfordshire for the next day and a bit. Our first big tourist location was Blenheim palace, where Winston Churchill lived. Beautiful place. The area of Oxfordshire is quaint, peaceful and just all around an eye full of gorgeous greenery.

I'd rather not type out all the details of the trip, but this past weekend we have been in London, and are now finishing up in Greece. I've only now started to head into "vacation" mode. It's harder for me than most to just relax, leave my worries and stresses at home and enjoy myself. My mind works somewhat obsessive compulsively, in a very intense manner, so surrendering thoughts is hard. 

Suffice it to say, I did get a bit homesick. I know, what a baby. It's not that I haven't done trips like this, I've been away longer, I've been further away too. I've felt more at home in Hong Kong than I have in London. I was blessed to hang out with my friend Michelle, living in Dublin, visiting London for the weekend. Seeing a familiar face in s foreign country feels so comforting. Very similar to finding an oasis in the desert, to be sure. We chased pigeons, touched squirrels, took a trip over to Trafalgar square, St. James park, and around Piccadilly. All around a very lovely afternoon.

Being reunited with my older cousins was so good. A very sweet reunion indeed. They look as if they haven't aged since we last saw them, but us kids certainly shot up. 

I've taken around 800 photos since Friday and cannot wait to sort through them, edit them and then upload them all when I'm home. Working only with a 18-55mm lens is challenging, I don't get the shots I want all the time. But all's well. 

Greece has been pleasant. Well, more than pleasant. It's been beautiful, the sights have been more than amazing. Pictures are boring in comparison and can only serve as reminders of the feelings I felt when I saw the places depicted in each image. I find photos are extremely personal things. 

I can't wait to be home. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed my time away and my time seeing different worlds..but there is no place like home.