I’ve traveled to London five times since NYE 2007 for one reason — to spend time with the welcoming, fun, tight-knit group of friends I’m fortunate to be a part of.
Before I left for Oz, I promised the Londoners I would visit on my way home. Nearly a year later, both the Aussie road trip and my visa were approaching their ends, and I needed to book a flight somewhere out of the country. When I received an invitation to an engagement party in London for late summer, the decision was made! I would return home for a few months and then have a mini-vacation visiting some of my favorite people in the world.
This time, going to London wasn’t a vacation for me. Instead, it felt like going home.
Home hasn’t been the same since I returned from Oz. I’ve changed, people have changed, and Charlottesville has changed. I never expected time to stand still, but I’m also pretty sure there’s no going back to the way things were before. I’ve been living in Charlottesville for the last four months, but it doesn’t exactly feel like home anymore.
London, on the other hand, embraced me in a way I’ve been craving since I boarded a plane in Sydney four months ago. I wasn’t on holiday, I was simply spending time with good friends. It felt like 16 days instead of 16 months since the last time I had seen many of them. It felt so natural to be there celebrating Caz and Dunc’s engagement, Pam’s birthday, and Kev and Gemma’s new home. It felt effortless to talk for hours over shared meals. It was as if I lived there and we hadn’t skipped a beat in the 2.5 years since my last trip. And several of the group said it too — “Heather, it just feels so natural for you to be here. Doesn’t seem like you had to cross an ocean to be with us.”
The happy couple
Some of the group at Green Park
In addition to reuniting with the group, I also reconnected with a few friends I’ve met elsewhere in the world!
Julia and I met on a 6-day Outback trip over a year ago!
Steve and I are both UVA alums
Anna and I met in Sydney (and are bonding over macarons here)
And I FINALLY got to meet Jayne and Chris after being friends online for over a year!
Now that I’m back stateside, I’m working a few jobs on a part-time basis while I figure out where in the world I want life to take me next. Thankfully I don’t have to wait to afford travel again in order to see the Londoners — 2 or 3 are making their way to the US in the next 6 months for a visit, and I can’t wait 🙂
Next week I’ll begin sharing the first in a series of posts about how living in Australia for a year has strongly influenced how I would like my future to unfold. Get ready — you know brevity is not one of my strong points!
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It’s a great group and it was fantastic seeing you, good times were had by all and there will be many more to come 🙂
I can’t wait to fly out there and see what it’s like on that side of the pond! As well as sample some great food and places with you.
It’s great that so many people were able to take time off or come out in the evenings! And of course there were events both weekends 🙂
Glad you and Shel (and maybe JB) will be visiting Cville this year.
Hey do Caz and Dunc need a wedding photographer? I do like people with good names 🙂
It’s amazing how easy the internet has made it to stay in touch and remain close with people that you are oceans away from in real life. I know experts seem to think that the internet is bad for human beings, but I honestly think it’s amazing to be able to stay in contact with people you love that live far away.
I don’t know, but I’ll ask them 😉
I made my first online friend in 1997 and have met some incredible people online ever since. I’m so thankful for the people that have come into my life that way!
I can definitely relate to catching up with old friends in another country and it feeling like coming home. Doing my tour of the US in 2009 with Fallon, it was really nice to catch up with old friends from Korea – first in Portland and then in Phoenix. The latter person traveled up from Albuquerque just for the occasion.
Glad you had fun and glad you’ve got friends with traveling for 🙂
I have friends in Oz that I’d love to come visit — gotta start playing the lottery! Or working on a plan to get Zumbo, SMH, and Qantas or VAustralia to sponsor that Macaron Day visit. You’ve got some pull somewhere, right?! 😉
Sooo jealous you got to meet J&C!!! Friends are SO worth traveling for!
It was so great to meet you in real life Heather and Andi I can’t wait to meet you one day too 🙂
I’m excited that I get to have a personal tour of Islington next time I visit. Really looking forward to spending more time with you!
I can’t believe I finally got to meet them! When am I going to meet you and Kyle?!
Awww Im so glad you felt embraced and loved like nothing had ever changed before. It is really the most amazing feeling in the world. That is how I am with my girlfriends I know with them no matter what it will feel that way, now about the rest of my friends I have no clue. It saddens me that its been hard for you back home, but I can imagine. Being gone a year is a long time. I hope it gets better. Im glad you had a good time in London!
I wish I could recreate that feeling more often. I really feel so different.
Thinking of you living it up in Spain!
So glad you were able to see all of the Londoners once again & so glad I got to meet so many of them in Dublin! Now if I could just get Robin to change the dates of his trip to Australia – so sad I’ll be missing him! 🙁
Talk to Zumbo and bring me to Oz! 😉
Come with me next time I go to London 🙂
So so so long ago it seems when we first started talking and swapping ideas about your trip to OZ and you connecting me with your friends in London.
Was great to finally meet up and swap stories face to face mate. Let’s not leave it to long before we meet again.
Just a shame I couldn’t see you, Jayne, and Justin again! There will be more visits to London, of course, but I know there will be more to Oz…just don’t know the when. Wherever we see each other again, I hope it’s not too far off either.
Completely agree! So happy that you had such a wonderful time in London 🙂
Couldn’t agree more Heather, I felt like 14 months hadn’t even gone by after I returned back to Oz, same old crap! Just want to be allowed to stay in Orlando forever, that to me feels like home and that’s where all my friends are 🙁 Stupid visa laws!
Brevity is overrated. Can’t wait to hear what you have in store lady!
I agree O:-) 😉