So I met a boy yesterday…from London no less. Well, I didn’t actually meet him…he was our server at this fabulous new place in the Westin Hotel in Wheeling called Osteria de Tratoria. It was fabulous. But I pulled out my Union Jack-clad Discover credit card, and he returned asking about why I chose that card…and thus began the conversation about England/London. Turns out, he was born in the English countryside (cant remember if it was Surray or Leeds or whatnot) and yadda…yadda…yeah, I should’ve left my number.
But it wasn’t even about him it was the fact that I still have this love for all things English, and I just want to go back. I was terrified to learn that Tiger, Tiger was the nightclub that had been targeted by terriost bombers, and just four years ago, I was in that club, completely oblivious to world events. It was in London that I found of fondness for history, culture…made me realize that I knew little about American History, and so much more about European History. I loved being able to see the history before me, in places like St. Paul’s and even the streets of Brick Lane. I loved the countryside, I loved Bath, knowing the Roman’s had built indoor plumbing in an era of cobblestone streets and leather sandels. I loved Oxford, seeing the history, breathing it in. I guess I miss England because for the first time, it was the place where I wasn’t worried about what the future held or what I was missing back home…it was the first time that I felt this was exactly where I needed to be at that exact moment. The time when I realized that there was a big old world out there beyond the Hollywood superficial bubble I had come to know and hate…it was the time where I took that step towards my future, through my childhood dream out the window, and decided I wanted to do more with my life than pick up Coffee and Tea Leaf mocha orders for ungrateful models who were five sizes too small for themselves. It was in England that I began to find myself.
So the server (named Steffan, in case you ever visit Osteria de Tratoria) just reminded me of how much I fell in love with England, and how desparately I would love to go back.
Yeah, I should’ve left him my number. 🙂
