Throwing ourselves straight back into it we bonded with the new travelers socializing in the garden until 12 and headed straight to whytes for a big Friday eve. This night however differed a little from the others as for the first time I didn't make it into grand cafe, stopping short at the door I opted for a chat in the gutter for hours with a local instead of dancing the night away in the crammed club. The rest of the weekend was much the same routine...a large Saturday night is reduced to simply another night out...as it seems all nights out are of an equivalent size! However on Sunday eve, Shane; a friend of the hostels came to collect us in his van and took us to his gig in a family style restaurant/bar in the next town over, Luz. It was lovely to get away and do something different for the eve whist listening to incredibly talented musicians. What was meant to be just a few quiet drinks escalated into giant shots which had gold leaf in them so they slightly slash your throat in order for the alcohol to go into your blood quicker!!!
Come Monday the time had finally fallen for craines and I to part ways as she was flying off to a music festival and not due back before I had departed. Not sure as to when we were to see each other again, the goodbye was heart breaking...it seems that this little lady has made a special bed in my heart, we put it down to the fact that we are both country kids, but what ever it be we have formed an unbreakable bond and from that a beautiful friendship that i treasure is forever present. My mind was distracted that afternoon by another love boat cruise (tom and i organized for the hostel) which involved a sunny afternoon on a boat with unlimited sangria, beer and sandwiches, swimming and grotto caves! The day led into the eve and Indeed I drank my sorrows away which led to a night of dashing dancing, deep and meaningful chats with a very lovely friend Sam, and watching the sun rise on the beach before I finally took my sorry self home to bed.
My Tuesday was spent moving into the bee hive; a self contained one bedroom apartment across from the shangri! I moved in there with a newby bee (worker); kaisa who is one of the sweetest people I have come across, she has an absolute heart of gold! Excited and a little liberated with our new space we spent the afternoon decorating it with random accessories found at the shangri inclusive of a deer head, a few kitsch Japanese artworks and some colorful canvases. Wednesday passed...and there's really no need to even talk about Wednesday...(maybe because it's a little hazy). By my second last night out, (thursday) I seemed to have had a plan to just venture for a few drinks at whytes then head home...obviously impossible in Lagos...come 12am, one of our guests turned 21 so the entire shangri family did a bit of a crawl from one pub to another, again far too shots consumed and tables were dominated!
My last day of lagos sunshine was spent at the beach on Friday before heading home to prepare for my farewell BBQ...obviously involving a theme; pirates, Ben and I quickly popped to the shops to see what we could find in the way of accessories to add to his already extreme and extravagant collection of fancy dress! The eve was lovely, everyone put in effort to look a little sea bound, and all of my favourites were there, even the lovely Andy and Denise from whytes! It made me reflect on just what i had stumbled upon there in Lagos; life long friendships with incredible people, and a home away from home!!! However as much love as I was feeling the burden of me leaving was definitely scratching the air and everyone became all the more stressed and tense at each other. So much so, that Hugo led everyone off from whytes not long after arriving so Sav, Mya and I stayed behind. Over the past week I have become even closer to Mya; Hugo's Slovenian girlfriend, she has such a kind heart and is a lot of fun to be around! The three of us then headed onto a few bars before making way for the unavoidable grand cafe! Again not making it inside I called it a night and headed home with a friend. Packing my life up in the morning was stressful, as I handprinted and wrote on the wall..."to be continued". It seems that Lagos has this addictive aura about it, even when I said my goodbyes and jumped on the train it felt more like an "I will be back soon," be it this year or next!
Off the two hour train and onto the bus said goodbye to my new found dancing partner and fellow Sydney sider James, and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, jamming my oversized bag into the Ryanair measuring box to avoid a hefty fine that I was luckily dismissed. Arriving back into London just past 8pm I stepped off the plane in my denim shorts wishing I had of predicted the drizzling london weather! I headed straight back to my friends house in brixton catching up with Bridie over a cup of tea before calling it a night. The next morning I headed into trafalgar square to meet Bridie after her 10k marathon which she impressively finished just over 50minutes. We then went with her friends down to south bank for a lunch before making our way home for a lazy Sunday afternoon watching the Wimbledon final and cooking a delicious dinner. Finishing the night with a little bit of jazz and a few glasses of red at a little pub around the corner from her house.
The next morning I headed off to kent which was an hour away by train to visit my friend Nat in tunbridge. We spent the evening overindulging in delicious food (incredible cheese from france) and sipping on wine and cider watching bad American films. Taking her dog for a long walk in morning through the lush green country side it was lovely to get some fresh country air before making my way back to the city. The streets in London were swimming with tourists with the olympic games creeping up just around the corner so I made a dash for the pub to meet an old and dear school friend wade. To my delight I received a message from craines as she was in town for the day so we spent some of the afternoon together before I retired back to Bridies to pack up my giant ruck sack again. Trying to illuminate the unnesacary items I re packed several times only to set aside two nail polishes and a note book, it seems that no matter how many times I do this it doesn't get any easier!
Up early this morning, I caught the bus to stansted airport running away from the rain and hiding indoors all day. Just now boarded and sitting on the aircraft which is due to depart in 10 minutes. It is a bizarre feeling when you travel alone, in a way I find it less stressful because you rely on yourself but in the same respect I dont enjoy it as much as there is no one to share the experience with! Excited that I will be seeing my sister Danni tomorrow as she flys into istanbul early morning and we are meeting at the hostel I have booked for us in a really central area (I stayed in the same street a few years back when I passed by). With three months passed and hong kong, china, Mongolia, Russia, Sweden, Portugal and the uk down I'm extremely excited to start the second half of my big trip; turkey, israel, Egypt, Jordan and New York!!!
Fanny xx
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