England revisited

After the Femund Race was over I took a few days out to go back to England to visit, for the first time since I left last September. It was with very mixed feelings I went, but for the most part the days turned out really great. I met with dear friends and got to catch up in person rather than via fb or skype, which was great. Also, I really enjoyed being back in London again! I also took a Sunday to go to Canterbury and visit my church and see some friends for lunch afterwards; absolutely worth the while!

Having tea with a friend somewhere in Central London. While I had just left 20 sub-zero degrees and heaps of snow, it was nearly spring in London when I got there. Quite a change. Also the contrast between the Norwegian wilderness and the global urban metropolis was quite large, though I must say I love both.

Not quite the selection to chose from in the town where I now live, but seeing it all again in London was lovely. This is from a place where I and my friend S had a long-lasting lunch together; both 'proper food' and cake dessert and then another cup of tea were enjoyed before we split again... It was one of those days you just want to last forever; both the company and the surroundings were excellent! We saw lots of people looking in through the shop windows and dream of what to have; we prided ourselves in actually going in to enjoy it, for a change! Last year we used to meet in the area every week and often walked past here, so it was time to do something about that longing ;-)

S and I also went to see a van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Getting in was a strenuous experience! However, the design of the exhibition was ... well, not to my liking, so I left it quickly and sought shelter in the RAA cafe instead, after telling S where I was going. She joined me after a while and completely shared my experience of the exhibition. We agreed it's probably better to see most of it at the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam anyways. That said; the cafe and its food selection was amazing and surprisingly good, so we enjoyed spending time here too! Not a complete waste of money, in other words, although in hindsight I'd have rather not bougth the ticket in the first place.

Having a break in St. James' Park. Yup, definitely spring coming. It was nice, but I was happy to know that when I returned to Norway it'd probably be winter for another while yet.

While in Canterbury I had abot two hours to spare between two dates, so I took the bus to Whitstable and stayed at the beach for a while. When living in the UK this was a source of comfort for me once in a while; now it was still pretty but all I could think was "I'm SO glad that I live by the coast now, and an even prettier seaside than this!" Guess that means that I'm happy to be back in the Arctic again, which wasn't really a surprise. That said; the hours spent in Whitstable were great, tranquil and beautiful. Too bad I had to leave so soon, really.

Eventually I went all the way home to Norway, in fact.