Fish and Chips

I've just returned from a FABULOUS four-day weekend in London.
I LOVEEEE London. I was SO sad to leave, I think because I realized how much I miss speaking English...mainly just to strangers. For example, this girl on one of the trains in London had the same ipod as me so I said "nice ipod!" Then a little discussion ensued about how not many people have our type of ipod and how our ipods were the same color and everything. If that situation had happened in Belgium I probably would have pointed at the other person's ipod and then at mine and been like "HAHA". and that's it. because I don't know how to say things are the same in French. Although I AM getting better at French. I can actually pick up words from people's conversations and get the general gist of a lot of advertisements in the metros! C'est bon!
But back to London, this trip was especially fun because on top of getting to revisit some of the sites in London (after our family vacation there in 2000), I got to see our old neighbors, the Bultemas, AND my friends Nick and Paul from Villanova. I also got to add to the list of sites I didn't get to see the first time.
Upon arrival in London I rode on the London eye (which was JUST built when I was there before). You can actually order champagne to drink while you're up in the air getting a bird's eye view of London, although unfortunately we missed that memo.
Another new site that I LOVED was Saint Paul's Cathedral (Early each day on the steps of Saint Paul, the little old bird woman comes- sound familiar?) We actually attended Palm Sunday mass there! We got about halfway through the mass before I realized that some of the mass parts were out of order...because the church is ANGLICAN! It's almost exactly the same as Catholic mass though- that's why I didn't notice. Thank you Henry the VIII. The inside is still GORGEOUS, and there was also an all-male choir ranging from little boys to adults and they were extremely talented.
The other place I didn't see before was PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS at King's Cross Station. The platform is really not made into a big deal. In fact, it isn't even between Platforms nine and ten but between eight and nine. It is only because I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan that I spent 30 minutes of my precious time in London trying to find the platform. Which any real Harry Potter fan MUST visit, even if it isn't technically in the right location.
Of course, I also revisited familiar sites, including Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, and the Tower of London. It was all beautiful, complemented by very cooperative 60 degree weather with only a few minor showers.
Overall a VERY successful trip.
I have now been in Belgium for almost 3 months. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!??