Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about Shakespeare, bacon, and not goodbyes.

With 2016 marking 400 years since Shakespeare’s death, there’s no time like the present to revisit all of the theater favorites or follow in the footsteps of the iconic playwright. From standing on Juliet’s balcony in Verona to exploring Hamlet’s castle in Denmark, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Shakespeare all around the world, but the No. 1 destination is, of course, his home country of England. The country is celebrating the legacy of its national poet with a host of special events, plays, film screenings and exhibitions, and even if you missed the anniversary itself (April 23), there are plenty of ways to add a Shakespearean twist to your visit.

Visit famous Stratford-upon-Avon landmarks and walk in William Shakespeare’s footsteps with this "All Five Houses" tour ticket  . Step back in time to the 16th century, when one of England’s most famous scribes was alive. Visit Shakespeare’s family homes and gardens at your leisure, where a broad range of exciting activities bring the bard’s story to life. Listen as the guides shed light on his life and times, watch live performances, test your Shakespearean knowledge, meet farm animals at Mary Arden's Farm and enjoy a fun-filled day for all the family. Highlights: Family-friendly Romantic experience, perfect for couples; Step back in time on a history tour; Perfect for all ages and skill levels.

Dinner is a walking experience you'll appreciate before the long plane ride for some of us. Feast your senses on the cosmopolitan culinary scene of East London during a 3.5-hour walking tour of the vibrant London district. Accompanied by an expert gastronome guide, explore the eclectic neighborhoods of Spitalfields and Shoreditch to discover spots favored by local food-lovers. Appease your appetite with the English classic of a bacon sandwich at St John Bread and Wine restaurant; delight in the complex flavors of Beigel Bake's delectable salt beef bagels; and savor creamy artisan cheese during a tasting session. Stroll the renowned Brick Lane to sample spicy curries and try the traditional British dish, fish and chips, at Poppies restaurant. Highlights of the 3.5-hour food tour of London’s East End:   Explore Spitalfields with a friendly guide and discover where the locals eat; Head inside quirky cafes and top-rated joints endorsed by Time Out London; Visit St John Bread and Wine for a bacon sandwich and Beigel Bake for a salt-beef bagel; Enjoy fish and chips at Poppies served traditionally in newspaper; and sample curries on Brick Lane. Learn about the East End's multicultural cuisine and history.

Your flights are all arranged and transportation is covered. Exchange addresses, cell phone numbers, and get all those hugs taken care of because the next month-long adventure with Lyn's Tour Guide Service is August 2017. If you have enjoyed your traveling experience, please feel free to tip your travel service, the "30-Day Bloggers Group" . It is always a pleasure to serve you! -Lyn's a Witchy Woman and Fivesixer

Well, here it is...for thirty days we knew this moment would come, but there's nothing in the tour guides or travel brochures that prepares you for saying goodbye. Sure, they're filled with descriptions of all the places you'll see, framed by the finest lights and fanciest words and dotted with pictures of food and friends and frolic. You're sold on the smiles of people having the times of their lives, and that's what you expect, but you don't know for sure that that's what you're getting until you're there, experiencing it all for yourself...and then, it's over.

You're positive it's most likely gonna be fun...no one travels anywhere and says "I hope this place sucks." You might know a little about the people that are gonna be in your group, but you can't be certain you're all practically gonna be a family by the time the last flight leaves. And no one can predict that anyone's gonna fall in love...I couldn't, and even if I could and would've placed money on it, I wouldn't have bet on it being me.

So how is this gonna end?

Let's catch up a little bit...we've been staying in London, baby!   And it's been almost go-go-go from the minute we got here. Bus tours (thankfully no bike tours), museums, theaters, pub crawls...if there was anything to do here, Lyn's a Witchy Woman has found it. Lots of late nights and early mornings...mainly because we've turned Sally 's room at The Nadler Soho   into our de facto afterhours nightlife hangout...Sally's been serving the beverages, Spacecat shows up with the snacks, everyone else brings a smile and a good time, and I managed a way of hooking my iPod up to the in-room stereo so we could have mini-dance parties to classic tunes from all the great UK bands, like Herman's Hermits, Blur, Oasis, Def Leppard, The Who, and of course The Beatles. Last night was exceptionally epic, with everyone crowding into Sally's room like a teenage house party that the whole town has heard about...even the ones who are normally in bed by 10pm in the quiet wing of the hotel .

Needless to say, this morning was slightly foggy inside, despite the sun making a rare appearance to break through the early London showers. Having set the alarm to wake up with enough time to fully pack up and prepare for the day out and about, I don't think NaNoKit noticed that I wound the wake-up time back an extra fifteen minutes. Could we have used the sleep? Certainly. But I knew it was going to be an emotional day, and there wasn't gonna be much time to share in private to say our goodbyes. Half-asleep and slightly teary but alone is better than trying to express ourselves amid a sea of people all scrambling to say something to as many people as they can...we really needed that peace, those extra moments, where we could look each other in the eyes and attempt to sum up the last couple of weeks with just few words and facial expressions and embraces. What happens here and now would define this trip more than any other time spent...no t-shirt or souvenir or restaurant or bus ride would be remembered better.

After minimal words (only the important ones), and few slow tears and a near-hopefully never-ending embrace, I got up for our morning ritual of fixing NaNoKit 's tea and mapping out an idea of how the day would progress. If I thought the idea of having to say goodbye to everyone, my beautiful companion included, was complicating plans, the knock on the door earlier than anticipated wasn't helping either...but falling a few minutes behind everyone else's schedule is what we get I suppose for falling in love and wanting to cherish the last moments of our privacy together. Jellyfish in Morocco was trying to summon up some anticipation and excitement for our Shakespearean adventure, but even she knew today wasn't gonna be easy for anyone, despite the many distractions worked into today's itinerary.

And speaking of Jellyfish in Morocco , I can't say enough about her and Sally and Spacecat for acting almost as tour guides in their own right for much of our London stay...we're on their home turf and it would've been very easy for them at any time to bow out for an evening just to kick back at their homes and catch up with us later, but because of their graciousness and hospitality they've nearly turned us all into Londoners for the week. Thanks a bunch, you guys .

I've got to admit, my thoughts on the bus to Stratford-upon-Avon were preoccupied more than usual...stealing glances of my love in conversation with everyone else, thinking about the previous days and what the current one might bring. But today was different, and we all knew it. It was harder to concentrate than normal. We were all a bit quiet...even SB Musing and Elycia Lee ☮ , who were usually scheming some kind of unholy chicanery or rehearsing disruption, could be found reflecting a bit. Spacecat was drifting in and out of consciousness...and Sally was a little fidgety, possibly trying to conceal her sadness that most of us would be gone by this time tomorrow. Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? patted her leg as if to comfort her with a knowing look of "It's alright...", and Sally tried her best to smile back.

Now, I wasn't a full-blown drama geek back in school, but I was one of the few who didn't mind reading Shakespeare plays in English literature classes...so that was enough to make me weird on its own, I suppose (if I wasn't already ). Being that it's been so long since I've read any Shakespeare, everywhere we ended up on this tour I tried making jokes to lighten the mood ...but I missed badly each time. If we were looking at something that inspired Hamlet, I was quoting Romeo and Juliet; when we were learning about the bard's early years, I was mixing metaphors and quoting what turned out to be Charles Dickens. Sometimes I get lucky and I'm unintentionally funny...other times, like today, when we're all in need of some humor, I may have veered into slight obnoxiousness. SandraLynn and WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24 held their tongue, but I've never seen anyone roll their eyes that hard at me before (and I've made a lot of dumb and ill-timed jokes in my days).

Still, during the few times I could manage to keep my mouth shut (usually it was when NaNoKit saw that glimmer in my eye that I get when I see something I'm about to start crackin' wise on and the right side of my face curls up...she'd just pump the hand she was holding a little tighter with a polite "don't even fucking say it" look ), it was quite awesome being in some of the same places where a legend and his masterworks were created. I wasn't about to let that get lost on me.

After that, I was absolutely starving. I was really looking forward to the East End Food Tour  , because it was one last chance to stuff my fat face with touristy food and not feel a damn bit of shame. We keep hearing a lot about "fish and chips" and that's great and all, but back in Buffalo where I'm from, we have a great Catholic tradition of fish frys   every Lenten season...bars and restaurants all across the area serve some combination of battered fish (usually haddock), with french fries, potato salad, and macaroni salad. The demand in the spring is so high, you almost have to get to your favorite place early in the afternoon...if they haven't sold out for the day, the wait time is substantially increased- and that holds true almost everywhere in town, they're that popular. Hence, I will be skipping out on this staple of London dining. Also, somewhere along the line either someone said- or I read- that there would be bacon, and when there is bacon, it belongs in my belly.

And before you want to ruin my good time with facts, look...I understand that I can go pretty much anywhere at any given time and get any kind of sandwich with bacon on it, as opposed to the places I'm familiar with that will only serve their fish fry on a Friday (and maybe a Wednesday). I also live in an area that has no shortage of bagel shops. None of this obscures the truth that I will be searching for inside of Beigel Bake  , because meat and bagels and I are best friends.

I know it's a bacon cheeseburger, and not a bagel.
Dream a little dream with me here, dreamers.

Of course, what would another day in Europe be without some kind of pub activity? We all seemed to find each other at Poppies  , and one final go-'round sounded appropriate. Conversations started off somber and reserved, with NaNoKit and I sharing close quarters and soaking in the moments, as well as Princess Megan Snow Rose similarly with her beau Daniko. Eventually Sally and Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? ambled over with a round of pints, and SB Musing swung through the crowd as if she were riding a lamp chained to the ceiling. Spacecat and Jellyfish in Morocco looked content and at ease, and even Lyn's a Witchy Woman , showing no signs of her birthday weekend wearing her out, let her knickers down a bit on the impromptu dance space we created in our corner of the lounge. It would be a typical European night for us were it not for...

And that's where I started to break up a little. Checking the time on my phone, the ominous numbers inching toward our departure, I felt it necessary to call everyone's attention and say a few words. It seemed like as good a time as any for a speech...the only problem with that is I didn't have one prepared, because I always think of good ideas that require preparation only when it's the perfect moment to execute them . So, like the majority of blog entries I've written, I just kinda winged it. I made sure to thank everyone individually for all their contributions; I told a few non-awkward jokes about some of the funnier occurrences from the last month. I don't like sad moments and I don't like goodbyes, but it's also important that you live in each moment and tell people how you feel...as far as vacations and trips go, I couldn't have asked for a better crew or a better time, and I loved each and every moment of it. I didn't want this day to be punctuated by sadness that it was ending, but by love and fondness for everything that led up to it. If you started crying, you'll have to forgive me for not making eye contact...I'm sure if I'd even heard one sniffle over the din of the bar I would've burst into a snot bubble of tears.

Hugs...lots of hugs. It was all kind of a blur after that, and not just because some of us began to make our weeping a little more obvious. It just happened so fast, like gunshots scattering a rowdy crowd. And before I could fully process it, NaNoKit and I were in a cab on our way to Heathrow Airport  . It was a quiet ride. I'd felt like I'd ran out of things to say, yet there was still so much left to experience that one month would in no way have been nearly enough. We weren't ready for goodbyes yet; the story doesn't end here, in some airport in some country neither of us came from. Europe was great, but it was just a place. A setting. An occasion turned into an opportunity turned into an involvement that neither of us could see coming, nor something we were willing to let end here. There's no such thing as one last hug or kiss, not here, not like this. We pulled away, milking every second, first shoulders and hips, then arms stretching out, and finally the last of the hands and fingers left each other...I reached into the pocket of my backpack and pulled out a cd I'd made (because I'm still old-school romantic like that I guess) and just before boarding I raced back to give her one more quick kiss as I slipped the disc into the pocket of her hoodie, promising to call her as soon as I landed back in the states.

"Sunshower"   -by Chris Cornell.

"When you're caught in pain, and you feel the rain come down...it's all right.
When you find your way, then you see it disappear...it's all right.
Though your gardens grey, I know all your graces someday will flower...in the sweet sunshower."