Just as I started this grand tour in the company of friends, so I closed the book with friends. After surviving Milton Keynes, I finally arrived at the front door, knocked, and was taken in to all the comfort friendship affords. We talked and thought and laughed and went out and came back in--just as though this could happen any time, not just this one time.

Dramas were playing out in the streets. A lucky couple of nice kids had a baby boy. Everyone. Literally. Was happy for them.

The next day I was treated to a long walk on old cobbles and I sucked it all in like a faithful kitchen sponge. Then we traveled more of the gorgeous English countryside and I met more family. We laughed and talked and, well, it was heaven.

I took my leave. Rolling up my heart and sticking it in the suitcase safely, I unpacked Resolve and my industrial-strength Sense of Humor--both of which are essential for Travel.

I drove to Hertz and left my car. No one said a thing about the scratches on the left side mirrow. I spent my last night at the Heathrow Holiday Inn, packing all the odds and ends into my suitcase and carry-on.

I got on the 7:37am bus to Terminal 3 and gave up my sense of independence, becoming a traveler in the system. A flight, a bus ride, and a car trip found me back in Indiana.

I left my high heels in London. A bit of my heart in France. And promises to keep in England.