2002 was a peak year for UK travel: for the first (and only) time in my life, I visited twice in one year. First, another spring break trip, this time as part of a trip with my buddy Josh to Iceland. We spent time in London and Edinburgh only, maximizing our time exploring these two capitals. Now that I think about it, it was also the first trip I took with a digital camera, so my photos are a little more plentiful and accessible.

We visited Brent A. (not to be confused with Brent L., with whom I’d visited in 2000), who was living in London for a few years, and Andy, a Brit whom I’d met during the previous trip. And to round it out, I ran into a woman from Amherst in the British Museum, and after saying hello and goodbye and forgetting to make plans to meet again, we met again, outside the Covent Garden tube station. So, there I was at an Aussie Bar in London with a friend from high school, a friend from college, a friend from post-college in Boston, and a guy I’d met in the UK two years before. It was a fun night – until Andy’s buddy got mugged, and I think someone fell asleep on the bus. Not me.

I returned later in the summer, when my parents were in Scotland on a pub-to-pub walking tour. We visited Edinburgh, and back in London, I met up with Brent A. and Andy in London again, and had a great time, again.

By this point, the trips seemed to become echoes of themselves, where I’d visit the same shops, pubs, streets, and neighborhoods each time, with a rotating cast of friends. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it had been awhile since I’d seen anything new.