You could barely see the green grass glimmer on the wide expanse of Hyde Park this weekend because of all the crowds of people basking in the sunlight.
Everyone was tanning. Biking. Reading. Drinking. Picnicking. Some even took a dip in the pond, usually reserved for ducks but hey, I’m not going to judge someone else’s fun in the sun. Even Kate Middleton, Will and their new puppy were spotted strolling in Hyde Park. (SPOILER ALERT: Royals – they’re just like us . . . but royal).
On Saturday, Sunday and even a little bit of Monday, I found myself in a sun coma in Hyde Park, nestled beneath a tree that offered me both shade and rays of light that perfectly bounced off my sunglasses. I had the perfect view of the pond, a veranda and dogs. With cider, a book and good company, I found myself paralyzed. Stuck in a moment that I never wanted to escape. Life seemed, for a moment at least, to stand still in the unusually warm haze.
If this past weekend had a soundtrack, it would definitely include Belle & Sebastian, “500 Days of Summer” and Disney tunes because nothing ever tops the feeling of being sun-kissed, especially in one of the greatest cities on the planet.
Sun. It’s more rare here than it is in Boston (but thankfully not as cold). Usually, a traditional portrait of London includes bleak, grey skies and relentless rain.
“You guys are lucky – you’ve got some summer weather early!” said my professor to the class, as we were unfortunately sitting inside instead of sitting outside.
“How about this weather?” asked the man out loud on the elevator to work.
“Can you believe the sunshine?” asked my colleague.
No. No I can’t. But my California self was more than ready for this. The only problem I ever had about London was its weather and now that it’s perfect . . . I have nothing critical to say.
Oh, sunshine – how you tease me.
In Los Angeles, you mock me for how pale I have become after life in New England.
In Boston, you hide until finals week – when you know I can’t play until work is all done.
And now, in London, you make me never want to go to work, study or leave this city.
But alas, Wednesday marked the one-month countdown until the end. Gulp.
What is it about weather that changes people’s moods so much? Rain is usually what makes me reflective but it seems, in a strange twist of events, sunshine’s what has got me thinking. Every time I do something now I keep thinking “this could be the last time I do this in London.”
Everyone abroad gets frantic that they want to do everything and go everywhere and meet everyone (in fact, that was my first tweet while abroad. #embarrassing). The problem with this is we book trip after trip not realizing that England, London even, has more than enough to offer. Hence my bucket list.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to check off items from the list I created at the beginning of the semester – a mix of touristy things like the London Eye and local clubs like Cable (which is under the London Bridge – and yes, it’s as cool as it sounds). I love lists – you can ask anyone. So naturally, I follow this one religiously.
One of these lovely list items was to go to Stonehenge. Guess what? Stonehenge is literally rocks. Rocks on rocks on rocks. Sure you know that going in – but you expect rocks the size of Egyptian pyramids. Rocks that are as majestic as Mount Rushmore. Nope. Nevertheless, I took pictures (even jumping ones) and left knowing something else was crossed off the list.
People at work keep asking me what’s left and I really just want to say, “What isn’t?”
In the last two and a half months, I’ve travelled to four cities across Europe. Yes, that’s real life. After this program, I will go to two more countries, so add eight more cities.
But I don’t want to leave London with regrets that I didn’t get to see what I wanted to see or that I went away for the weekend and missed the beautiful weather that London bestowed upon us. After all, aren’t I studying in London?
Sometimes I wonder if the bucket list is limiting me. Sometimes I think I do things just to take pictures of me doing things. But other times, I just take a look back and look at everything I’ve done and think about everything that lays ahead.
Here’s to the final 30-day countdown and going beyond the bucket list.
Saba Hamedy is a College of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences junior, Fall 2011 editor-in-chief of The Daily Free Press and now a weekly columnist. She can be reached at sbhamedy@bu.edu.
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