Greetings, England- Day 22: Farewell, Oxford and Going to Cogsworth (Is That So?!)

I sighed...
It is 8 o'clock in the morning, and I didn't bother to go for breakfast. The revelation itself was too hard to digest already.
Today, when the alarm set off, it was 6:10 a.m. I urged Fran to wake up and the rest of the moments passed by with little exchange of words. I insisted on helping him carry his luggage downstairs. Outside the reception of the bus of his group, his bus leader greeted him and acknowledged my presence. We stood side by side as silence lingered between. When he was about to leave, he said goodbye and I pulled him into another tight hug. No, I didn't cry; the hug itself conveyed everything. We had fought, we had shouted; we hadn't spent a lot of time together, but he is a dear friend indeed.
Fran, you are irresponsible, arrogant, annoying and are a troublemaker; but I will miss you.

The sunrise in the early morning.

Thinking of all the other goodbyes I am about to make later gave me shivers. I had handed out my keys and got the 30 pounds of the deposit back. Thus, the next time I shut my door from the outside might be my last time ever to enter the room. Determined to stay as long as I could, I am staying in, typing and keeping myself busy on the Internet. The warden said that we have to leave the dorm before ten in the morning so that the domestics can clean up the room for the coming new-comers.
~~~
It is nine o'clock now. On second thought, I might as well leave the room now. Maybe I can still spend some time with my friends. And also that it might sound braver if I walked out by myself instead of being asked out. Might. I am going to check all the drawers and cabinets again in case of anything I have forgotten to pack, and with a possibly vulnerable look, I am going to leave the dorm.
Later.

Because of the books, I have a big extra weight to carry with myself.

~~~
I am now on my host family's car now. They are going to take me to another place for some more touring. Those I can save them for tonight, just typing to wrap up the whole deal with St. Clare's.
I packed my things (three heavy bags ugh), hesitant of unsure about leaving my dorm. Twenty-one days can form a serious bond. With a couple of more pictures, I left Staverton Road, the place I had called home for three solid weeks.
I walked into the corridor next to the reception. My host family said that they would arrive at about 10:20. I spent some time sitting there with a blank mind; some time walking around in the corridor. I saw some of my friends also waiting. They also gave me hugs, and I seriously asked them to let me know if they were going to come to Taiwan anytime. I hope they do.

The corridor I am going to miss from today.

About 10:15, I walked out to the sidewalk and I heard my host dad calling my name. I took a deep breath, looked at the exterior of the building with a last longing glance, and followed him to the car. It was a sad parting, and I wished one day I would be here again.

Farewell, my dorm.

139 Banbury Rd

Okay. The whole "typing on car" thing is making me car sick once again. I am going to leave all the details of the upcoming trips when I get back to my host family's house.
~~~
Hello for the fourth time today. My host family took me to three towns in a place called Cotswolds. I know, it was not how it was spelled in the Heading, right? Yeah. Cogsworth is a kind of clock, the kind that appeared in The Beauty and the Beast. That was the name I heard when I heard them saying "Cotswolds". We went to three towns: Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, and Burford. First of all, Cotswolds is home to a lot of the most historical and bedazzling villages and towns, where all the buildings, no matter new or old, share the same traits: honey-colored brick walls, the same type of roof placement, and it radiated a sense of harmony because of that.

Buildings in Burford

Street sights of Burford.

It was raining when we were strolling around in Stow on the Wold

Houses in Bourton on the water

Also, there is no way you can walk down the street and not see any antique shops. Most of the time we spent in the towns were for them. One after one, every of the shop displays was eyes-drawing in their own way. Especially there were a lot of shops that sell plaques for you to put around in your house, like "man cave, do not disturb or severe injuries might occur" or "It is always wine o'clock", you know, all the classy humor and satires. I like the atmosphere over here as it indeed felt like walking in the towns in the past.

One of the anitque shops

The Small Doors

My host mother said that when the weather is nice, kids would dive into the dinner.

I had a really nice day, overall. But I couldn't deny the fact that I still couldn't get over with leaving St. Clare's, especially when I realized that I had been wearing the badge until I got home since I had my jacket zippers up for the whole day...
This is all.