My trip of the U.K began in London. It was possibly my favorite city I have ever been to. It has such a fascinating culture, what with the still existing monarchy contrasting the very relaxed, informal attitude of the people there. Plus the accents were cool and it was nice to be somewhere where they spoke English again. We had four days in London and we packed them full. We went on walking tours, toured a palace, saw Billy Elliot, went to the Christmas markets, went to Christmas services in Westminster Abby and St. Paul's Cathedral, etc. My favorite thing in London had to have been the Tower of London. If you are in London DO THE TOWER OF LONDON. They have these fantastic and hilarious tour guides that take you around and give you so much detail about the history of this place. It is such an interesting place and just so...English. You look to your left and you have the Crown Jewels, worn by the nobility with diamonds the size of a toddler's fist. Turn your head and you have the torture chambers and old prison cells. It is fascinating. And every night we would come back to the apartment we were renting and see my dad's friend who is living in London and looked out for us the entire time. It was so great to know we had someone looking out for us and to hear stories about my dad and my grandparents from when they were in high school together.
My dad's friend Sean was not the only stranger to show us undeserved kindness on this trip. My godmother Tracy has family living right outside of London so she gave them a call to see if they had any suggestions for me or anything like that. The next thing I know they are inviting me and my friend Mira to spend the holidays with them! But before we even got there we were shown kindness yet again! It was Christmas Eve and we were taking a train to their house when we realized...we were on the wrong train. We began to ask the passengers what to do when all of a sudden a wonderful lady comes over and tells us how she has a son our age and if he were in trouble like this he would want someone to take care of him, so we got off the train and she drove us to the correct location. That is true kindness: doing something for someone that can do nothing for you in return. I was never going to see this woman again and yet she took it upon herself to take care of us. It was a true Christmas gift.
I'd be lying if I said Christmas wasn't tough. I had been dreading it since before I came to France. I even considered coming home for the holidays. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it would be foolish not to take advantage. But although I missed my family more than I ever have this Christmas, it was one of the best Christmases I have had and one I certainly will never forget. When we arrived at Fay and Pat's house (Tracy's family) they welcomed us like family. Over the span of the three days we were there we laughed, we were spoiled, and we truly felt like we were with family. I will never be able to repay them for their kindness in welcoming two strangers in so they could spend the holidays with family. We were able to meet the entire family and even had our first celebration of Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. I felt like I was home. Their kindness touched me so deeply. I hope someday I have the opportunity to pay it forward and make someone else's Christmas bright as they did for me.
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