There's no place like home

Well, I have been travelling for the past two weeks with my mom and aunt around Europe, but I am finally home in the States. Until I get everything settled and pictures uploaded to my computer, I will not be updating my last two weeks. I have a lot to say, so stick with me for just another post or two!

It feels good to be back in the ol' US of A, but I'm still sad about leaving London. I think it will be much more of an adjustment than when I left. Within the next few days, I should be getting my pictures and posts up.

I just wanted to update to say that I am home...Cheers.

"You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No sir, when I man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." - Samuel Johnson

Londoner meets tourist

Well, last minute tourist plans have been taking up most of my time (first, things first...my blog title is credited to Rachel!). My journey in London is coming to a close, and I'm not ready for it to be over. I still have so much to see, and I know I won't get the chance to experience it all. Here is some of the stuff that has been keeping me busy the past week...

On Tuesday, we went to the races! Greyhound racing, that is. This was supposed to be our experience with middle-class life in London. We live in the very posh side, so we tend to have a bias view of London. The area we were in was definitely a little more run down, but it wasn't terrible by any means. The point of the races is to drink beer, eat chips, and bet on dogs. I got two of the three down: I ate lots of chips (french fries) and bet on some dogs...I didn't bet a lot, and it was a good thing I didn't because I could have landed myself in the hole quite a bit because I lost both of the races I bet on (I was so excited for my two tickets in that race...both were losing bets). There were about 16 races, and Michelle and I stayed for 7 and then left because I didn't want to try and bet any more money! I only bet 2 pounds total (I only placed minimum bets), but I was afraid I would win, and then lose it. So, I thought I would just walk away. Going to the stadium was a lot of fun, and the dogs are so graceful when they run (even though they are pretty darn ugly when not running). Not to mention those buggers are fast!

For most of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I wrote my papers for class...I'm almost done. Just two more paragraphs, and I'm home free...well, kind of. I still have two finals to study for, but I would take that over what I would be doing at Central any day! But, Thursday night we went on the London Eye! It was so much fun and really, really high. We went at about sunset, so it was gorgeous, and we got to see London from a bird's eye view. I saw the street that we live off of, Victoria Street! It was so cool, and I realized just how close everything really is. I was a little nervous about going on, but once we were going, I was fine. Loved the view!

On Friday afternoon we went on a tour of Parliament. The previous day, there was a general election, and the result was a hung Parliament. They haven't had one in 36 years, so it is a pretty big deal. Basically, it means that no single party had an outright majority for seats in Parliament. So, at this point the new Prime Minister is still undecided while the Conservatives try to swing the Liberal Democrats to join their side against Labour. It's all a little confusing, and I was surprised that tours were taking place on Friday. The security was pretty tight. We each had to get a pass with our pictures on it and go through metal detectors (I didn't really think my picture looked like me). No pictures allowed, of course. But, I did get to see the House of Lords and House of Commons. The only place we were able to take pictures was the banqueting hall in the old Westminster Palace. It is the oldest part of the building since most of Westminster Palace was destroyed by fire long ago. The last king to live in it was Henry VIII, and then it was given to Parliament members. It was very ornate inside, and definitely worth a visit.

On Saturday, I went to Hamley's! It is a massive store with so many different kinds of toys. We all had a blast in there channeling our inner 5 year-old (obviously in the picture we are channeling our inner Jedi). After that, we stopped by Platform 9 3/4 because some of the people in our group hadn't been there yet. Once again, Hogwarts thwarted me and didn't let me onto the platform. It must be fate. Well, after that thrilling adventure, Rachel and I went shopping for the last time on Oxford Street! Rachel bought a few things, but I didn't get anything because I know I'm going to have problems packing my suitcase as it is!

Today, we decided to sleep in, and got a later start. We headed to Trafalgar Square where Rachel and I attempted to climb the massive lions like all tourists do. Everyone else just looked on and laughed as I tried to climb the platform. It was hilarious, and we never really sat on the lions because they are taller than me and extremely slippery. It was good to act like a tourist again. And, we got another chance later because we went to Abbey Road. It is impossible to get a good picture crossing that street like The Beatles because...well...there are cars. It was a good attempt; no pictures that look like The Beatles, but we tried! We had one last thing on our agenda this afternoon, and that was to take some telephone booth pictures! It felt totally tacky to be doing that when I've lived here for four months, but it was so much fun. I can't imagine leaving London, but it is more of a reality everyday.

Well, now I'm waiting for news on my mom and aunt's flight. They are supposed to be flying in tonight, but the volcano is acting up again, and flights are being cancelled. I really hope they make it here!

Hogwarts, let me in! If only I could learn a spell to get rid of that volcano!

¡Bienvenido a España!

My journey to Spain started on a lovely Ryanair flight. The budget airline cost Rachel and I less than $100 total, so we thought we would give it a try. There are no assigned seats on their planes; first come, first served. We get some decent seats, but they don't allow passengers to sit in certain rows at the front during take off and landing because of weight issues. Not sure why this is, but they had to keep telling people not to sit in those seats. One couple didn't speak English, and the flight attendant was so rude to them! She rolled her eyes and made hand gestures in front of the entire plane. All of the attendants were so unprofessional. Not to mention they will sell just about anything on the flights to make money including gifts, scratch cards, calling cards, and...smokeless cigarettes that you can smoke on the plane! I had never heard that before, but it was a little disconcerting. The landing was really rough (not to mention the rest of the flight). We bounced on the runway. On the way back, the attendants weren't much better. They kept the lights on full the entire flight even though it was a night flight because they "needed to see." I have never been on a night flight that didn't dim the lights. It was very frustrating, a little scary, and a bit annoying, but we did make it back to London in one piece.

We arrived at our hostel in Valencia and met Liz there who was on spring break. We shared a dorm with eight Italian guys, and I know that sounds bad, but they were really nice! We hung out that night on the terrace of the hostel, and then went to bed because we got there pretty late. The next morning, we wandered around the city trying to find a grocery store. Even asking people didn't help because they would talk so fast that we couldn't keep up with what they were saying! Eventually we found one and then went to the beach.

It was overcast for quite a while before it became sunny, but it was still nice weather. Idiots that we are, none of us put on sunscreen for a bit...bad choice. I'm now the shade of a lobster. But, the bright side is that the beach was gorgeous, and I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea! It was chilly, but I warmed up to the water and had a blast on the beach for about 6 hours. We left, and I didn't look too burnt. Unfortunately for me, it showed up later. Now, I'm in lots of pain with no one to blame but myself...and the sun. That night we went out to eat. The Spanish do not eat until 9 or 10 PM, so we had to wait a bit before going to dinner. Once we finally picked a place to eat, the server was horrible. She rolled her eyes at us and failed to mention that almost everything on their menu couldn't be ordered. But, I did have some tapas and sangria, although I didn't think it was really that great.

The next day, we decided to see a little bit of Valencia which really doesn't have a lot to it. The Cathedral was very pretty. It was in the main area of the historic town on the Plaza de la Virgen which I thought was appropriate. I'm not sure how old the Cathedral is, but it looked beautiful. There was a confirmation taking place, so there were a lot of little girls in white puffy dresses! They were so cute. And another celebration as well where there was a procession of girls and boys dressed in older clothing. I'm not sure what was going on, but the outfits were amazing. Later that day when we ate lunch on the square, a wedding was getting out and the people were bombing the couple with confetti and rice! Then, there were firecrackers all over the square...my first reaction was to duck and cover, but it was a part of the wedding.

We saw the bull ring in Valencia, but the bull fights don't take place until next weekend, so that was disappointing. Other than that, we went to a park and sat there for a bit. We went to McDonald's and had Toblerone McFlurries...that was exciting! There isn't much to do in Valencia besides the beach, and we were fried from the day before, so we just wandered around. Eventually, it was time for us to leave. We got Liz on the right bus to the bus station as it started raining. Rachel and I left for the airport early because it was raining and all of the stores were closed even though it was a Saturday. Rachel and I chilled in the airport for a while before getting back on bumpy Ryanair.

It was a relaxing trip which was great and I spent less than $200 on the entire weekend. I'm so glad that I had a chance to visit Spain! Until next time, adios!

We're a Nessie huntin'

After too many bus rides, I am back from gorgeous Scotland. I was really glad that we booked a bus for our trip when all of the volcano drama was involved, but when I was on the buses, I was regretting it.

We left on Thursday night at 11 PM and arrived in Edinburgh at 8 AM. It wasn't too bad of a ride there, because I slept most of the way. We got to our hostel which was literally across the street from Edinburgh Castle, and then we explored the Royal Mile a little bit. At one end of the Royal Mile is the castle and on the other end is Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. We didn't go into either the entire time we were there, but I wasn't too worried since I will be back there soon! Bailey, Rachel, and I decided to go on a little hiking adventure because the "hill" didn't look that steep, and it would be an amazing view. Yeah, that little hill ended up being called The Mound and it was not fun to climb (apparently I had some energy left to be jumping off of rocks). But, we did make it to the top and found out we were in Holyrood Park. There were more trails that went higher, but we wanted to go on a free tour later in the day, so we had to make our way back.

We made a pit stop at a children's playground and messed around for a bit...now when everyone asks what I did in Edinburgh I can say I played in the kiddie park! We made it to our free tour which was three hours of walking in the rain. It didn't stop raining the entire time, and it was a bit chilly. We saw some pretty interesting things that most people wouldn't see...the cafe J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter books, Greyfriar's Bobby, Lake of Poo...good times. Most of it was really random, but a lot of fun. And, it was free!! After our tour, we decided to warm up at the hostel. We ended up going back out for dinner...of course, we had to try something traditional, so I went with haggis, tatties, and neeps (mashed potatoes and mashed turnips). I was a little hesitant about the haggis, but it turned out to be really good! It was worth the money I spent on the meal because it was delicious! We did our tourist shopping that night, and I ended up with a very pretty plaid scarf. I wanted the cashmere one, but the cheapest one I could find was 20 pounds, so I went with wool instead.

The next morning, we got up early and went on our tour of the Highlands! I was so excited, until we got to some of the more hilly roads. Again, a miserable bus experience, and we spent most of the day on a bus. It took us a bit, but we made our way to Fort Augustus which sits on the mouth of Loch Ness. We bought tickets to go on a boat to do some Nessie huntin'. The Loch was amazing; the sun was out and the mist had cleared. Not only did I get to cruise down Loch Ness, but we spotted Nessie! And, she's even procreated...not sure how that one happened, but it did. Take a look for yourself!

Totally believable picture. Might send it in to the papers. Well, after a brief visit to Loch Ness and Nessie, the tour took us to see Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in the UK, and Glencoe, a gorgeous valley with a bloody history. The highlands really were not a great place to live back in the day with all the clans fighting one another, but now there is hardly anyone living there! I would love to live somewhere as beautiful as the highlands. Here are some extra pictures since words just won't do it...

On the way to Loch Ness

Bailey and me with our scarves

Me on Loch Ness

Hamish the Highland Cow, the most photographed animal in the UK

At Glencoe

Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK