You want to hear my exciting news, don't you?  I have now written 100 single-spaced, typed pages about my adventures in England!  Wow--that's enough black ink to fill one very boring book!   Too bad I'm not a cleverer writer. . .

Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you all on wading through my lengthy descriptions for such a long time, and I thought you'd be interested in hearing exactly how much you'd digested.  Huzzah!  Know now that, if you put your mind to it, you could wade through 100 pages of the most plodding textbook on earth.

And now, if you're up to it, here's my latest addition to "Erica's Adventures: The Novel."  Day 42 couldn't make up its mind.  It wasn't sure whether to rain or to shine, and I don't blame it one bit.  I dropped Dylan off at the airport that morning, and I wasn't sure whether to rain or shine myself.  Dylan and I had planned on taking the tube to Heathrow airport until we realized that the tubes don't open until 5:30, the journey takes two hours, and Dylan's flight left at 8 AM.  Oops!  Jeanette saved us at the last moment by offering to drive.  It was so good of her! 

We arrived at the airport around 6:00, and Jeanette sprinted back home (she had a busy day!) while Dylan and I waited in the check-in line.  Things were horrendous at the airport that day, and poor Dyan didn't end up checking his luggage until 7:30 or so.  I was worried that he would miss his flight, so I rushed him up to the security line and told him to run for all he was worth!  We didn't have time for any sort of a proper goodbye, so we just gave each other one hard squeeze and that was that.  I could tell that Dylan was feeling emotional, though, and my eyes were blurry as I strained for a final glimpse of him as he rounded the corner.  He disappeared, and I just stood in one place for awhile, feeling my aloneness acutely.

Finally, I gathered myself together and headed for the Heathrow tube station.  After paying three pounds for a ticket, it took me about an hour just to reach central London.  I really had nowhere specific to be, so I just wandered about London all morning.  I grabbed a roll at Tesco for breakfast, purchased a box of chocolates to give to Jeanette as a thank-you gift, and then rode listlessly from place to place on the top of a double-decker bus.  Finally, I spotted a stationary store and figured that I should buy a card to go along with the chocolates.  I also discovered a London guidebook in the store and was able to figure out a couple of places to visit.  I hopped on a bus afterward feeling like I had a bit more direction for the day.  I wrote a thank-you card to Jeanette and her family as I rode.  Once I'd finished the writing, though, I looked out the bus window and realized that I was in a section of town I'd never seen before (Maida Vale, or something).  I wandered about the streets for awhile, discovered a pretty little church, almost got run over by a truck, and then hopped on another bus that felt like it was going in an interesting direction!

Luckily, that bus dropped me off at a tube station that took me exactly where I wanted to go:  Temple tube stop.  By this time, I was actually enjoying myself and feeling a little guilty about it.  I snapped some photos of the gorgeous old buildings in the area and visited the Somerset House (which I've been trying to find for almost two weeks now!).  The Courthauld Art Gallery at Somerset House is free on Mondays, so I wandered around the building trying to find the entrance.  I can't believe I've never visited Somerset House before; it's a gorgeous old palace that has stood on the North side of the Thames for centuries.  The inner courtyard is especially breathtaking--beautiful statues and fountains are surrounded by towering white walls.  And the art gallery was thrilling!  It's basically a smaller, less imposing National Gallery.  It contains some of the most famous paintings of all time (Van Goghs, Picassos, Monets, Manets, Degas, Renoirs, Raphaels, etc.) and the rooms are beautiful (they look just as the rooms in a palace should!).  I kept turning around to share my excitement with Dylan and then remembering that he wasn't there.  :-(

After visiting the palace, I decided to ride the bus again I reached. . .something.  I know I went somewhere else after Somerset Palace, but I can't for the life of me remember where!!!  Sheesh.  Must not have left too deep of an impression.

Eventually, I rode home on the tube and arrived at Richard/Jeanette's house around 3:00.  I gave Jeanette her chocolates, answered some e-mails, taught Corinne a piano lesson, and then ate dinner with the family (salmon casserole).  Afterwards, Corinne and I watched the BBC version of "Persuasion" (I love the book and I adored the movie, too!) while I chatted online with Kati.  Kati and I ended up talking until 1:30 in the morning, and, because I'd been up for 21 straight hours that day, I was literally out as soon as my head touched my pillow.

So there it is:  My first day without Dylan.

P.S.  I just remembered where I went after I visited Somerset Palace!  I rode the tube to the Bank station, and then went through the Bank of England Museum.  I was actually very impressed by the place; although there were a lot of displays geared towards children, I learned a lot about money in the UK.  I never knew, for instance, that there used to be 240 pennies to the pound until England moved to a 100-part system in the 1970's.  It was at that point that things like guineas and shillings and crowns began to disappear.  And I wasn't aware that the current Bank of England was built after Sir John Soane's one story bank was demolished.  The modern Bank of England is two stories high, but it is still based on Soane's plans.  The museum also had a lot of visual displays.  I enjoyed it very much!