Father's Day away from Daddy :(

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Today is Father's Day and I am countries away from my hero of a father. I am sitting here in bed listening to Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel and just now thinking about the subject I wanted to discuss.. Before I came to the UK I was so weary of how family oriented I am and how horrible it would possibly be being so far away from my family. Away from the safe hugs of my father and the loving gestures of my mother stroking my brown hair or commenting on how long it is. Away from listening to my little brother blow up those darn zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Away from seeing my older sister's bakery blossom or my brother survive the real world after his college graduation, which i am 20x sure he will be perfectly fine. I was afraid I was going to ache for my family because of how constant they are in my life or that homesickness would kick in just days after I have gotten here. I have yet to feel homesick because I am so comfortable here. I was afraid I would toss and turn because of the time difference or being so far from home, but I sleep straight through the night. This feels somewhat like a home away from home it's a strange feeling, yet I feel, currently, at peace and it's a wonderful feeling. My free-spirited nature is satisfied at this current time and I am happy with the scene change. I am able to wake up in the morning, look out the window and see large and magnificent structures of art and architecture. It's just breathtaking. I am constantly on a visual overload because of how perfect the scenery is.
I have been going nonstop and haven't had much internet access so this update may be fairly lengthy. That is if anyone is reading.... =/ Wednesday was my lazy day. I didn't do much. I have been walking close to 4 miles a day and wanted to rest my legs. That's the wonderful thing about Brighton, there is no need for a car- everything is within a good distance- 2 miles, that's a perfect walk!!
Thursday I took the train into London, checked into the Blair Victoria on Warwick Rd. and took a walk...I got to the benches close to Parliament, the London Eye was my goal, but my stomach started twisting the pain was unbearable. I had already walked 5 miles towards the London eye and it was probably another mile ahead, but if my pain was this bad I didn't want to chance being hundreds of feet in the air and it get worse. Too much rich food and no water. I was dehydrated and PMSing- bad timing I guess =) I went back to my hotel and rested the rest of the night, which was a good thing because a massive thunder storm rolled in and I would have gotten soaked. I woke up early in the morning and had some tea and toast with jam for breakfast, threw on my jumper (jacket) and headed out of the door. I had a lot of stops I needed to make before I had to go back to Brighton. First stop was the Parliament- BIG BEN! I sat down at a bench to tie my shoe and then looked up. Ben just slapped me in the face- it was right there and I had this feeling that was so overwhelming. I had come to realization that I actually did it...I made it to England. I made it to London. I finally was able to personally see everything England had to offer. I was no longer on American soil- I was the foreigner. I was the one with the accent and I was okay with it. After that I walked towards the London Eye, which was closed...that was okay. Moved onto the graffiti i found in a skate park....the walls and ceiling were covered. I loved it, so artistic. I then walked over the London Bridge. Past Modern Tate, the British Museum, and St Paul's Cathedral. I walked past Westminster Abbey and walked straight through Parliament Square. Decided to take a shortcut through Fleet Street (I was humming Sweeny Todd the entire time I was on Fleet St.). Made my way toward Buckingham Palace. Saw a short parade there- I'm guess the French Embassy was in town. After that I made my way back to the main street and took another shortcut through Kensington Gardens which were breathtaking. I was able to grab a few pictures of the Peter Pan memorial and the Princess Diana Memorial. Beautiful works of art. After I got through Kensington Gardens I was able to cross the street over to Exhibition Rd and pop over to the Natural History Museum, which was interesting. I checked the time and realized I had been bobbing around London for 8 hours and needed to get back to Victoria Station so I wouldn’t have to pay an extra £20 to go back to Brighton. (mainly because i lost £20 at the grocery store a couple days ago...) I had an hour to get to the station. I spent that hour completely lost in London. It started raining; I was hungry and was starting to get irritated with the maps being flipped. I was so lost, i wondered for 45 minutes. I finally found it and just barely caught the train in time. I took a taxi back home. My legs were so sore- i could barely bend them, my thighs were tight and burning. My calf muscles were cursing me for being so hungry for adventure. My poor feet were suffering the most. If they had a mind of their own they would have probably compared me to Hitler for torturing them so much. I bruised my right toe, but I didn't care- I was in London and I saw as much as I could and was satisfied with it all. I was able to take it all in. I didn't care if anything went wrong, just being there in the moment was what mattered the most. My heart was pounding with excitement the entire time...even getting lost was a mini rush to me. It was thrilling and that is what I crave.
Saturday and Sunday have been my rest days- my days to tell my body I am sorry for the past 30 miles i i have forced it to walk in the past 6 days. Even though i am sure the past 2 days aren't going to be much of an apology once it realizes I am going to Nottingham and Liverpool Monday-Wednesday. Nottingham will most likely be my drinking city. I haven't had much alcohol intake on this trip, but I am definitely planning to get a little messed up one night. Besides you can’t fully appreciate England and its people if you don’t experience their bars!! 😉

I think that is enough writing for me. My fingertips ache now lol...

Mad love to you America- I miss you.

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