We have reached the end!

After 3.5 weeks abroad in Europe, our final destination was a quick day back in London before flying home. Of the six group members remaining, I was one of two who had spent five days in the city prior to leaving for Oxford and Shrewsbury. So while part of the group took out across the city to explore some of the sights, I took it easy and enjoyed some downtime in a coffee shop and spent a lovely afternoon with a blogging friend.

We all did spend a lovely evening together in the city and then in our purple (yes purple) hostel before we bid farewell to the continent. Sarah and Bet did stick around for an extra day, however. You should check out Bet’s posts about their literary tour here and here!

Ok, for the final time, here are some of the highlights! (Beautiful cover photo courtesy of Sarah!)

Instead of driving, we thankfully took the train from Oxford to London. Beautiful! (Photo courtesy of Sarah.)

Once we arrived, we pulled out our Oyster cards and made our way to our final hostel which was…

PURPLE. Purple beds. Purple curtains. Purple lighting. Purple sofas. Yes.

After dropping off our bags, we went back into town where I had the total joy of finally meeting Kathryn from London Bakes in person! We spent a lovely afternoon together walking outside, and then cozying up in her parents’ incredible flat overlooking the city. She was a complete delight! Now I only wish she lived closer!! :)

We had trouble finding an open restaurant that evening since it was New Year’s Day, but ended up at The Sherlock Holmes. It came complete with a sectioned off “historical” room with creepy manequins. But the food was great!

Finally we came back to our hostel and went downstairs to the “bar” (aka basement) for a little WiFi time. I’m pretty sure we were the oldest ones there by about a decade. It was definitely a little more hostel-ish than we were thinking…

Finally we woke up early the next morning and headed to Heathrow. And then to JFK…

And then home to Kansas City. I’ll say it — there’s no place like home. It felt SO good to be back. :)