We are here (1)

When I was in London as the daylight was waning and my energy was quickly retreating, one of the last spots we wanted to hit was the London Bridge, if only just to sing that song on it. 
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So after venturing out of the underground tube station we started searching for the bridge. We didn’t want to ask locals because we were tired and we’d spent all day asking locals questions. Plus, all the surrounding buildings clued us in on its close proximity (London Bridge Hospital, London Bridge Ice Cream…)
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Eventually our brains registered that we’d been on the bridge since exiting the tube. While the other sites we saw that day were rushed and packed with tourists, the bridge was serene. I didn’t hear the traffic or the chatter. I felt the air coming off the Thames; I felt the sunlight sneaking under the horizon behind me, and the wind blowing my hair into my face. 
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Lindsey, Laura, and I stood on that bridge until it was empty and we started to shiver. We’d only been in Europe for four days and we’d decided to take on one of its biggest cities with little planning or safety nets cushion our experience. At that point, we weren’t even sure how we were going to make it back to our Worcester home three hours away. 
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Until that moment, in that breeze on the bridge, it hadn’t felt like I’d gone anywhere despite all the hours I’d spent on buses, trains, planes and coaches. We’d been so wrapped up in following our maps, reading street signs, and looking for the things we’d only seen on postcards that we’d forgotten to look up and realize where we were. 

That is, until Lindsey turns to us, smiles and proclaims, “We’re Here! We. Are. Here.” Following this she launches into one of her famous rambling diatribes about tutor history and what not…
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It was then that despite my lingering jet lag, my tired feet and growling stomach, I knew that this trip wasn’t about seeing all the famous places I could or buying I-heart- London t-shirts, it was about collecting experiences in places I don’t know with people I’ve just met. 

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My reaction was delayed, but I didn’t react eventually. 

I am here. And I am excited.