Last day of the trip of a lifetime!

A friend from St Paul's High School, Matthew Grace, lives in London and was able to meet me for breakfast on my last day. I don't think I'd seen him since university, so it was great to catch up on life over the last while for a few hours!

I took the Piccadilly Line Underground all the way to Heathrow, with one slight train adjustment, since the one that I initially boarded would have taken the fork in the tracks that didn't actually go to Heathrow. Once that was sorted out, it was smooth sailing to Terminal 2.

The longest line that I needed to wait in wasn't security, but rather, the line for the VAT (Value Added Tax) Refund that non-European residents are eligible to receive. Once I made it to the front of the line, I was wrapped in 30 seconds... The store had already deducted the VAT, so all that needed to be done was to have Customs stamp the form and mail it to the powers that be (if the form isn't received with the required Customs stamp, the credit card would be charged the difference). The Customs officer even offered to take care of the mailing, so I didn't need to bother!

Well folks, it's been 50 days since I left Canada and I'm sitting at London's Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight home to the Great White North. I just watched Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon and, if there was time, could catch a short ride on the Underground to arrive at Wimbledon. Pretty neat!

The time has flown by and I've enjoyed the experience immensely, but I'll be glad to get back home to Canada, to my family, friends, bed, shower, and regular daily life. Thanks for your interest!Read more