Singing in the rain

London has never looked so good.\nAfter five days of a much-anticipated fall break in Barcelona, many of us have realized that this quirky gray city is starting to feel like home. In fact, after only two days of sun, beaches and the musical cacophony of the Spanish language, more than a few of us were whining that we missed London. Part of it was probably culture shock…again!\nEven ordering a meal was an adventure, let alone making a hotel reservation or asking for directions to a museum. The city was crowded and aggressive, and the men certainly weren't shy. \nWalking down the street 10 minutes after we arrived, my flatmate let out a startled yelp. When I asked her what was wrong she said, "That guy just totally grabbed my butt." It was only 2 p.m. But all annoyances aside, Spain was beautiful.\nThe beach was definitely the biggest draw, but before we'd even laid eyes on the water we were captivated by the richness of colors and sounds: vendors selling fruit and flowers, unfamiliar Spanish music blaring from car windows and street performers offering a variety of entertainment for only a few pesetas. \nOne man, covered head to toe in body paint, fancied himself a Bruce Lee impersonator; another played a banjo, his dressed-up beagle an unwilling sidekick who blinked warily at us through star-shaped sunglasses. We tossed our spare change into dozens of hats, cups and plates and took an embarrassing number of pointless pictures. All this before we even hit the "cultural stuff." There was far more to do and see than we could possibly squeeze into four days. \nYet at the end of those four days, we were more than ready to leave. We loved Spain, but we missed London. Our dinner conversation was peppered with occasional sighs and longings for Cadbury chocolate, visits to the Tate and even rain. And of course those of us whose entire Spanish vocabulary consists of "hola" and "el bano" wouldn't have minded speaking English for awhile. The British accents and slang which seemed so dauntingly unfamiliar two months ago are now a charming comfort. \nWe began frantically pulling out calendars and planners, realizing how little time we have left in a city we missed after only four days. We returned with mental checklists of all we need to do before we leave in December. Suddenly, time is precious and the idea of a "night in," lounging around our flats drinking cider and watching "Friends" in syndication, seems a horrifying waste of the next, gulp, six weeks. \nEven though fall break meant a few skipped days of classroom time -- and a few skipped days of London time -- it somehow brought more to our experience in this city, even as we were away from it. As we rode the train back from the airport, our beach towels and tank tops stuffed in bags between our feet, we grinned like fools at the Thames passing beneath us. "There's the Tate!" someone said. We were thrilled to be back -- it was cold, the sky was gray, and sure enough, it was raining.