back into the swing of things

Getting back into the swing of things at home is such a strange thing to do. We both woke up yesterday fairly early and it was strange to not get ready quick and get out the door to go explore something. Instead we were headed to the familiar work. Both of us felt weird driving because it's been a week and half since we've done it. No wonder city drivers are so bad because they never drive! Ha just kidding! I would love not to drive. Even with the horrible dollar value, it was still cheaper for us to have a 7-day tube pass than what it would be for both of us to drive both of our cars to work for the week. Indy...when is our public transportation coming???

We had no food in our house so we ate out for lunch yesterday. As we were waiting in line at Subway and watching them put together subs, Pat said I just want something healthy. Subway is considered healthy here in the "States" and we were watching people load all the fixings and junk on them. And sadly, we drove to Subway instead of walking. Already we jumped back into the Indiana mindset. We discussed this and decided we needed to change some things.

It's amazing how a trip can put things in perspective for you. Again, it's not like we went any place exotic but certain cultural norms in London were very appealing to us. The diversity, the organic foods, recycling, the fact that people choose to live in smaller spaces so that they can afford holidays, that normally you get 4-6 weeks holiday (vacation) time and public transportation is everywhere. The women wear little makeup but yet still look beautiful. The amount of overweight people equals just the tourists, with the occasional spotting of a guy who's spent one too many days in the pub drinking and eating fish and chips.

We loved Paris as well but if we had to choose we'd live in London. Paris was fun and we did enjoy several things of their culture. But I felt out of place because the opposite goes for Paris women. They may not wear a ton of makeup but they are done up to the nine. They all were wearing the latest fashions and looked like they stepped out of a magazine. I felt out of place in my jeans, torn up shoes and a jacket I had been wearing almost everyday. Parisians seemed much more rushed and judgmental than the people we encountered in London.

So...we've decided to buy a flat in London for vacationing. Ha...right! But this trip has made us excited to go back one day and we're feeling ready to go see more places now! Not that we had to step completely out of our culture but just the little bit we did, we are ready to take on the other places on our list now too! Italy, Australia, Greece, Germany, Africa...the list goes on and on. If we do a good trip like this every two years we could see lots of stuff! So we'll see...if any of you out there in the world need good visitors we're up for it! After we've saved our money again though! :)