When it's bittersweet

Light, liberated - like you can finally close your eyes and take in that huge gulp of fresh air that you've just been longing to take. The Friday afternoon that we'd been waiting for (for what felt like forever) finally came about and with the sudden onslaught of freedom we felt like caged animals being released into the great big city that is London, all with only one thought in mind - so much to do, so little time!

No matter how little time there is, there's always time for a quick stop in Chinatown for a meal. One phonecall to Ju Vern and 30 minutes later, we were on the bus, heading towards Chinatown for some hor fun in Wong Kei, probably the restaurant with the cheapest hor fun around at only 3.50 GBP a bowl. For the price, I daresay that they're pretty generous with the crispy roast pork. With Ju Vern's craving for beef noodles satisfied and me delirious from the end of exams, we set out to tackle Oxford Street.

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After a Saturday spent out and about (and meal times all messed up) we decided that it was time for dinner at midnight. With a little arranging and strategising, we managed to pile into Dominic's car (yes, all 8 of us) to go on a food-hunt (it's really quite a hunt in London at that hour).


"Okay, I'm definitely ordering something with bacon in it because, well you know"
-Anusha, on her last round of McDonald's in London for four months-

Where else would we end up but at good old McDonalds, where it's free McFlurries all around?

"I am a bag"
-Sapna, trying to stay out of sight when we heard police sirens on the road-
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There didn't seem to be a more appropriate place to have breakfast at on Sunday, the day we were to leave for home, than Central Cafe. 5 minutes walk from halls and affectionately known as "little cafe", it's a cosy place run by some really nice people, with music-themed photographs lining the walls. We stumbled across it after a particularly difficult paper back in January and it has been our little source of after-exam comfort ever since.

Anusha's baked potato topped with bacon, avocado and pesto.

My spinach, olive, onion and cheese omelette.

Reasonably priced, the food is pretty good (the omelettes are a favourite), and the portions are big - you can see why we keep going back. They have some nice Turkish dips and sauces that go really well with everything and at no extra charge, too.

It was a little surreal sitting at the table at breakfast, with our usual orders of ginger beer and coke, knowing that it would be 4 months before we would be back again.

Leaving London was a confusion of emotions. As we pulled away from the halls, with Dominic and Kuhan standing out in the rain, waving goodbye, I couldn't help but feel a slight pang of sadness. On the somewhat silent ride to the airport, a part of me was excited at the prospect of coming home and the other desperate to take in the sights as the rain went away and the sun came out again.

But really, with more than one place she can call home, could a girl get any luckier?