My last week in the UK has almost ended.  All I have left is today, then getting up very early tomorrow to fly home.  This means I have finished with both my classes and my internship.  

Wednesday night, I went to see the Nutcracker with some of the other girls.  It was performed by the English National Ballet at the London Coliseum.  The chosen theatre was the perfect setting and we had excellent seats.  The ballet was beautifully performed and enhanced by the live pit orchestra.  We all enjoyed seeing the Nutcracker in London, and it was such a perfect Christmas experience!  Now I’m even more excited to see it in Denver with my mother (“mum” as they would say here) next week.

When we exited the theatre, we saw crowds of police only a few minute’s walk away.  Apparently there was some protest, but it was ridiculous how many police were just all over the street like a swarm of ants.  The photo here doesn’t even begin to capture how many there were, all glowing in their “safety yellow” neon vests.  

Thursday was my last day working up in Tottenham—can’t say I’ll miss going up there!  I did a couple of free bottles of wine from work (a client had sent a huge shipment), which I’ve included in a photo because they serve as the best example of one of the cultural differences between working in the US and the UK.  Alcohol is so taboo in the US work environment, but here it’s not even an issue because it’s just such a regular part of the culture.  

Friday we all woke up to snow flurries (more accurately a snow/rain mix) but they didn’t stick or last, it was just really cold out all day.  I had my last day working in Covent Garden at The Hospital Club—definitely will miss this place!  It was a really wonderful last day and I realized how much I’m going to miss my supervisors.  We finished the work day with a toast over glasses of wine.

It’s all so strange that I’ll be home at the end of this weekend; I can’t quite grasp it.

Now that I have visited every nation (at least the capital city of each:  London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff) of the UK, I have to say that Wales is my favourite!  This nation is so beautiful and just one weekend gave me a clear idea of why England fought so many [literally] bloody battles to conquer it.  I spent my last full weekend in the UK in Cardiff (the capital of Wales—Caerdydd in Welsh) and surrounding areas.  I went by myself because I had two final reports to get done, and I knew those weren’t going to happen if I stayed with all my friends in London!  I had to get away to focus on the work.  I also had the most wonderful study breaks:  I’ve discovered how much I really love castles!  (And not just because I Capture the Castle is my favourite novel.)

Saturday I checked into my hostel and spent the rest of the day exploring Cardiff.  My hostel was so nice (ranked #1 in the UK and in the top 10 in the world); it felt just a like a bed & breakfast!  There were even towel warmers in the bathrooms, I still can’t get over that.  I walked through the park past Cardiff Castle (only in Wales are there just castles in the middle of town!!!) to the Victorian Arcades, explored city centre by foot, learned about Wales through natural history and contemporary art exhibits at the National Museum, then settled into a café in the arcades and was very productive.  In the evening, I met two other American girls at my hostel and went out with them for a late dinner.

Sunday I got to enjoy the awesome breakfast from my hostel and it really fueled me up for an adventure in Chepstow.  I took the train east in search of Tintern Abbey.  I have been enchanted by it since I read the Wordsworth poem and studied the Turner painting in a class last year, so this was definitely on my must-see list!  The train arrived an hour earlier than the next bus to the abbey, so I killed time by visiting Chepstow Castle.  This gave me great views of the area and was so much fun to explore.  The bus conveniently dropped me off right at the entrance to the abbey.  I wasn’t sure if the abbey was going to be worth the admission fee (you can see it from the road, but have to pay to explore inside the ruins), but I had come too far not to pay it; plus, it was only a few pounds.  I know the paintings are cool to look at, but they are nothing compared to what it’s like to see the ruins in person!  It was probably one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights from my whole semester.  After the abbey, I returned back to Cardiff the way I came and spent the rest of the evening being productive.

Monday was another morning with the awesome breakfast from my hostel.  I took the train to Caerphilly (pronounced “Ker-fill-ee”) and explored the largest castle in Wales!  It is second in size in the UK only to Windsor Castle, one of the official royal residences.  Once again, I was filled with glee at the chance to explore another castle.  Caerphilly Castle has a moat all the way around it and one tower that leans further than the leaning tower of Pisa.  The weather was completely goofy—pouring down rain one moment, then clear blue skies with loads of sunshine the next—so all of my photos are a little bipolar.  After spending about twice as long as I had estimated at the castle, I returned to Cardiff.  I walked down along the river to Cardiff Bay, then returned and collected my things from the hostel before catching the fast train back to London.  By fast, I mean speeds of over 120mph.

Wales is so wonderful!  I was sad that I had to leave, and that was only after exploring a small part of South Wales.  It’s difficult to comprehend that this nation is only about the size of New Jersey (actually a tad smaller) because it just felt so vast and beautiful.  I don’t know if the weather gets worse in the spring, but it was so cold and raining most of the time.  If I could fall in love with Wales with weather like that all weekend, that’s saying something!

Just like I promised, here’s some photos from Paris!  I definitely prefer the city in December.  We had an exhausting day on Saturday exploring all over the 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th, etc (city centre).  I used to be sad about missing Christmas on 5th but Noel aux Champs-Elysées was definitely better!  I can guarantee they don’t serve vin chaud at Christmas on 5th.  Sunday we climbed up to Sacré-Coeur for the spectacular view, then took the RER out to Versailles.  We finished our trip with a wonderful night at La Taverne de Cluny.  Unfortunately, it rained most of our trip, but isn’t that was makes Paris beautiful?  The city of light still has my heart!