Lie back and think of England

As much as I am ready to go back to my LA life, I still don't really want to leave England. However, because I've had such a wonderful time, when I need to, I can lie back and think of England and all the quirky, fun, ingenious, beautiful, historical, unique things about this place that I have tucked away in my memory. Thanks to modern technology, I can post pictures of some of those things here. Feel free to use these images and "lie back and think of England" any time you need to.
          To start, there are the tube stations. This one is very well known as it was used in Harry Potter and it is near where I was staying. Bye-bye King's Cross/St. Pancras station. (Not St. Pancreas, but I called it that anyway.)

I will also miss how sanely sized their warm beverages are here. You don't see the Londish walking about with Venti quadruple shot lattes. I took a picture of my Americano next to my nearly finished glass of Rose so you can see the size of the cups. (Btw, Rose is the wine of sophisticates here. And, it tastes yummy; I'll be looking for some good, dry French Rose when I return to LA tomorrow.)

Also to be missed will be the general sanity of society here. One example: Every few blocks, there are bikes that can be rented, self-service, for very cheap. Rent a bike at one location and return it to another depot--they are everywhere so you needn't fear. Can you imagine something like this in LA? I didn't see tagging or any form of abuse on one single bike in any of the the bike depots I passed daily. Very civil, indeed.

I will also truly miss the commitment to and care for dog poo here. The English love their dogs and love their doggy walks, but they will not tolerate poo on the sidewalk or in their parks. They encourage snitching on poo offenders. Read the small print at the bottom:

I love their shops and pubs and their titles. I don't think any commentary is required here:

The ads in the tube are charming and enlightened:

Okay, so admittedly, I am not a fan of the foxes. They creep around at night, and I was way too afraid to get up close to one and snap a picture. I even screamed as I walked by this stuffed one at a market:

This may seem a little strange, but I will really miss the doors here. They are all so cared for, so welcoming that it made me love the people behind each of the charming doors I saw even though I never met them. Don't you want to knock on this door and have tea with the people inside?

And finally and most profoundly, I will miss the friends I came to love over this extraordinary month. Here are just two of them:

Even though I started this blog because I was an American, a broad...going abroad, I am going to continue it when I get home because I've been broadened (not literally; although, that is very easy to do in England because there are many yummy treats here). I've been expanded soulfully and psychologically, so I think I will have more to write about in the days to come. Stay tuned. Thanks to all who read my adventure and came along in spirit. XOXO