“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Today was a day of trying to see just a few last things before leaving. And we were successful. First, we had our closing program at King's College, where we received our letters of congratulations for completing our courses and all that stuff. So we are official alumni of King's. Pretty awesome. Afterward, we headed to this place for lunch, like I said we would:

I had steak pie. It was incredibly delicious.

And, they had Sherlock photos and fan art decorating the walls:

The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was lovely. And then, of course, had to take a photo outside the door.

So that was a success. Been meaning to get there this whole time, and I finally made it. This afternoon, I went to Portobello one last time, did some final shopping, and got a large jelly donut. Good decisions. Then, we headed here:

More Sherlock photo opportunities.

It was exactly like it is in the show, it was fantastic.

This evening, I spent almost an hour in our garden. I've been putting off packing. I guess you could say I'm in denial. So here's where I'm going to get kind of sappy, just wanted to give you fair warning. I've successfully avoided this type of thing this whole week, but it has to be said. Here goes.
These past three weeks have been positively surreal. I have loved my time in this beautiful city, and this beautiful country. I didn't know that it would be this hard to say goodbye. I am incredibly excited to get back and see all of you back in the States, that's the great part of it all. But the sad part is that, with that, I have to leave this place that has been my home for the past three weeks. It's been all too long and all too short. Long, because I feel like I have been here for a long time, I'm not a tourist anymore (despite some of my photos), but, at the same time, the time has gone by at lightning speed. That probably doesn't make sense, but it makes sense in my head, so we'll go with it. I never thought that I could feel this much at home and this level of confidence in a country other than my own. This has been such an incredible adventure. And I am grateful for the sadness about leaving, because that means that I truly got everything I could out of this experience, and had a fantastic time. I'm going to miss many, many things about this city, and this country. But, if I didn't have to say goodbye, I don't think I would appreciate its full value. The above quote is from Winnie the Pooh, and I think that it pretty much sums it all up.This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I am so grateful that I got to have it. Grateful to all my family and friends who supported me in multiple ways to help me have this grand adventure. Grateful for my time here, and all the wonderful friends I have made.

In addition, I am incredibly pumped and excited to see all of you. I really am. Please don't mistake my sadness at leaving London as sadness for coming back to you all. The thought of seeing you guys makes me incredibly happy (like, Pharrell Williams happy). And, I will want to tell you all about my adventures, and you'll soon want me to shut up. When that happens, just drop me a subtle hint and I'll stop.
So, I think this is my last post. Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me these past 26 installments of my daily life. I enjoyed keeping you all up to date, and I hope you enjoyed reading. I'm afraid this all seems rather anticlimactic but the truth is, I don't really know how to leave off. There's someone who always knows the right thing to say:
"Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow."