Once I was on the plane back to London, I was really psyched. While in Lisbon, I had made plans to see Charlotte, Anna, and Al again in addition to the two Manchester ladies. I had to hit the ground running though... I only had 4 full days.
I landed Saturday night and got to Chris and Renate’s house as soon as I could. We had dinner and I told them about my panic attack from that afternoon at the hotel in Lisbon which in retrospect, was pretty funny. I took a quick shower, slapped on a cute outfit, and was off to East London to meet Charlotte and her friends for some drinks and a party. Charlotte met me at the tube station around 11pm and the first bar we went to was kind of dead. We chatted about Lisbon and her new job before deciding to go to the party that her boyfriend was at.
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| The only photo I have from our night out... |
We got to the party around 1am and saw that it was in full effect. Charlotte and I snooped around the apartment before settling into the kitchen to meet people and grab a drink. It was there that I remembered why I hate group living and massive out of control parties. The floor was so sticky from spilled booze that my flip-flops literally stuck to the floor and I had to pull my leg up with force to get them unstuck. Also, a mouse ran across the feet of a guy we were chatting to.
Check please! Charlotte and I decided to go grab some late night food. It was around 3:30am and after our ridiculously healthy snack of fried chicken, I opted to head home via cab. The sun was coming up and the sky was lighting up with the most incredible pink color I had ever seen in a sky. (Stupidly, I didn’t get my camera out. I think I didn't due to a combination of being tired and fried chicken coma.)
Charlotte got me settled in my taxi and sent me off. The driver informed me that a road on the way back to Notting Hill had been closed, so we’d have to take the long way. I wasn’t bothered -- we had already settled on a fare.
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| A not so close up pic of Charlotte, Chris & Renate |
On Sunday, Renate, Chris, and I all got into the car along with a picnic lunch and we drove off to Charlotte’s new apartment in Highgate. I brought all of my stuff with me because I was going to spend the night there with her!
A few hours later, we’d had a lovely lunch in the park and had explored the grounds a bit. We took some photos because I realized I had seriously neglected taking any thus far in London. We all piled back in the car and Charlotte and I decided to go to a bar near Notting Hill to watch the World Cup final with a bunch of her friends. Chris and Renate generously offered to drive us to the pub so we didn’t have to take the tube.
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| My view for the World Cup finals... not so great. |
We got to the pub and met up with Charlotte’s friend and the gang she was with. Turns out Charlotte’s friend is dating Sinead O’Connor’s son, which Charlotte whispered to me when we were at the bar getting our beers. That was probably a bad idea on her part, because instinctually I began singing “Nothing Compares 2 U” and had to shut myself up any time he came near me. I don’t think he caught on.
A few hours later, the World Cup finally had a winner, but sadly not the one we were rooting for. With our heads hanging a little lower than when we'd arrived, we made for the tube station and found that 2 of the lines were shut for evening work, and we had to take the most out of the way, backwards approach to Charlotte’s flat. Ah, public transportation... it never fails to entertain.
Once finally home, I called my ladies in Manchester and ironed out the specifics for my trip there the following morning. I hung up with a huge smile on my face: Off to see my friends from Rio!!!
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