I'm in LOVE with LONDON: Part Two

Day 36, Tuesday, 6/26

Today was our last full day in London and in Europe, so it was going to be a bittersweet day, but we wanted to make the most of it. We got up early as always and headed to Westminster Abbey! You couldn’t take pictures inside out of respect, but it was so amazing inside. We did an audio guide tour, so we learned a lot and knew exactly what we were looking at the whole time, which was great because it is so intricate and a very big church. There are so many royals, authors, and artists buried here in tombs, which is crazy to think about them actually being inside the tombs. We got to go into the gardens as well, which aren’t always open, so I was happy they were when we visited! They were absolutely stunning, and we could take pictures, since it was outside!

After the tour we headed to the train station to go see Windsor Castle! We stopped at Nero Café and grabbed a quick lunch outside the tube! It was about a 30 minute train ride to Windsor, so it wasn’t that bad, and we all took a nap on the way there. We got inside and they also had an audio guide as well to follow along with inside of the castle. The Castle was absolutely beautiful and amazing to see. The gardens outside the Castle were breathtaking as well. 

Inside the Castle you got to go inside the Queen’s Dollhouse, which was a actually complete with plumbing and everything. It was crazy to see, but we couldn’t take pictures. Then we went into the Queen’s drawing room, which had a timeline of pictures of the Queen, similar to one they had in Westminster Abbey, but a lot more detailed of her life. It ended with a picture of her meeting Lady Gaga, which I thought was interesting, ha ha.

After this we got to walk around several more rooms of the castle! Then we headed down to the exit of the castle, because it was getting late and we had tickets to see Wicked at 7:30! Plus we needed to eat a quick dinner! As we were exiting we took our classic pictures with a guard at the castle!

Once we got back into the city we ate at McDonalds real quick just to get some food in us! I’ve eat more McDonalds on my Europe trip than Id like to admit. The joys of traveling on a  budget. After this myself, Audrey, and Lilly ran over to Wicked to get my ticket, then headed back to the apartment to freshen up and change! We were literally running back to the apartment because we were running so short on time! Then we cabbed it to the show and literally walked in at exactly 7:30! So we made perfect timing!

The show was absolutely amazing. Literally breathtaking. I was so impressed with it, and it made me want to see lots more Broadway shows! After the show we wanted dessert, so we headed over to a crepe place! I had the most amazing crepe I have had on the whole trip! It was peanut butter, strawberry jam, powdered sugar, and caramel. Literally tasted like heaven in my mouth! It was great.

Then myself and Katie headed home to pack the rest of our things before our flight in the morning. This was very bittersweet, but we were ready to get back to our friends and family in America, and we all know in our hearts that we will be back someday!

Day 37, Wednesday, 6/27

Today we woke up around 7 something in the morning to head to the airport! Myself, Audrey, and Katie left first to head to the airport! We took a cab, because we had so much luggage that taking the tube would have been a complete pain. Especially since it was the time frame where everyone is on their way to work, so the tube is SO packed!

We got to the airport, checked in, and checked our luggage! Then we went through security and still had a few hours to chill. We ate breakfast at starbucks, and shopped around with our last bit of pounds we had leftover to spend! I just bought some post cards, chocolate, and a mini vodka bottle for my Bloody mary I was planning on having on the plane!

We left around noon London time and arrived in the United States around 4:00pm, U.S. time! We had our own personal TV’s on the flight and got to watch whatever movies we wanted. Plus I had an aisle seat, and for the most part the turbulence wasn’t too bad. When we landed I was so happy to be back on the United States soil! It felt weird, but in a good way! Once we got through customs my dad was waiting for me! 

My Dad was snapping pictures of me, of course, hahah

We headed home and then went to on the border for my first meal, so I could get my queso fix! Which was amazing I might add. 

I spent time in Dallas until Friday, and then headed home to see RJ! And he had presents waiting for me when I got there! Such a sweetheart! 

And that is the end of my journey.

I am so blessed to have experienced such an amazing trip and see so many places. I have now been to 9 countries, and am so much more aware of the different cultures in this world, and hope to someday visit many more places! 

London, England: Part One

Day 35, Sunday, 6/24

Today we all woke up pretty early and got ready for our first full day in London. Audrey went to go meet with her Aunt and Uncle for lunch, because they live right outside of London and the rest of us went to meet up with Sydney’s friend Chase from her study abroad program. After we did this we went to see Westminster Abbey, but we only got to see the outside today, because the tours were stopped for worship on Sundays, which was respectful of course. 

So, we decided to go do the tour of the London towers by the London tower bridge! You walked inside and there were tons of towers to walk through and each one had amours and replicas of the things that used to actually be in the room and there were stories about how the towers used to be used. We also got to see all the crown jewels, which was pretty amazing. You couldn’t take pictures of them out of respect and privacy for the royals, but it was still really neat to see them all. We also saw a fake changing of the guards here too!

After this we all went to lunch at Subway! Which was AMAZING after eating foreign food for so long. One thing we noticed was they had a few different things on the menu, like nachos as a side item? You would think Texas would have this over London for sure, but I guess not! After this we headed to Buckingham Palace, because we thought the changing of the guards was at 3:30, but it wasn’t, haha. So we just got to see Buckingham Palace, which is beautiful! 

Then we headed back towards Westminster to meet back up with Audrey! Over in that area we stopped to look at some water color portraits that a street artist was working on. It was the cutest old man and we sat and talked to him for a long time. He talked to us about London and his life and what kind of paintings he does, etc. He had also been to Barcelona, because him and his wife were friends with a couple that were from there! Which he said the couple was now divorced, so now all he hears about is what a wretched husband the guy was, which I thought was funny. But anyways, we bought a few of his water colors and he gave us a discount since we were young students, which was very thoughtful of him!

Then we found Audrey and headed over to Victoria area to check out the shopping. We went into Topshop for awhile, which is an awesome store in London, but a little bit pricey! After we shopped for a little bit we headed back to our apartment to meet up with Lilly, which was another girl who was going to be staying with us for the next few days. We then all freshened up and got ready to go do the London Eye!

We had skip the line tickets for the London Eye, so we barely had to wait in line, which was awesome. We did this in a lot of places by booking things in advance through viator, which I’d definitely recommend to anyone going to Europe! I will be using them again for sure! Once we got in the bubble like structure, which is designed like a Ferris wheel it took about 30 minutes to make a full circle. It was getting darker outside and was a good time a day and great weather to see the amazing views in. You could literally see all the big tourist attractions in London, plus much more!

After the Eye we were all getting hungry so we headed back towards our neighborhood to find somewhere to watch the England/Italy game and get some food! We ended up at an Italian place again, because it was the only place we could find with a TV and the game that wasn’t completely full! England lost, but Italy deserved to win, so it was okay. Then we headed home to get some sleep for another full day ahead of us.

Day 35, Monday, 6/25

Today was the day of our Harry Potter tour! So we got up early and went to eat breakfast at this place we found near our apartment that was pretty cheap and had good food. I had bacon, eggs, toast, and a cappuccino. 

Then we headed over to find the spot where we were to meet for the tour! One the tour with us was 2 families and one was from Chicago, which was random since most of my family is from Illinois, so I thought that was cool! We began the tour in the square where the premiere of the last Harry Potter movie took place! They had the biggest red carpet in history, it made a Guinness world record. We then headed to the street that Diagon Alley was based off of! It has some of the oldest shops in London, including a shop where they sell magic money and one where they do palm and tarot card reading. We then headed to a few other stops where we got to see the entrance to Diagon alley and the leaky cauldron! We also got to take a boat tour to get to the other side of London and got to see the Millennium Bridge, which was also in the movie! 

 Diagon Alley was based off of this street!

Millennium Bridge

We later ended the tour at Platform 9 and ¾! Which of course I had to take a picture and pretend like I was going to Hogwarts, naturally. 

After this we stopped for some coffee at Prêt and went to meet up with Katie! Then we headed to go see the Olympic Stadium, which was about 20 minutes on the train! It is right outside of a huge mall, so of course we had to shop around as well! The stadium was really cool to see and we went to the official Olympic shop as well and I got my Dad a shirt!

Olympic Stadium in progress

After we shopped around we went to a Mexican food restaurant in hopes that they had queso, but their version just wasn’t the same. So, we were let down again! But the food was still really good!

After dinner we headed to Abbey Road! We had to take the picture like the Beatles of course! Because who knows when we will be in London again! Once we did this we headed home to get some shut eye! 

Leaving Spain and experiencing Berlin, Germany

Day 32, Thursday, 6/21

I woke up and a lot of people were gone already and it was really sad. I watched a bunch of people leave from the balcony and got to say goodbye to a small few, but I tried to stay positive about it because we all will hangout in San Marcos in the future. Our adventure in Spain had just come to an end, so it was hard not to be a little bit sad about it!

Then I went to Milk with Sydney and Katie for breakfast before our flight. I had a Monte Cristo and it was beyond amazing. Along with the amazing coffee to top it off.

My coffee had a heart in it! So presh.

We came home, finished packing up and getting everything together. Then we all got cabs to head to the airport and said goodbye to Barcelona together. I was going to start the last week of my journey with Melanie, Sydney, Audrey, and Katie! And later with Melanie and Sydney’s friends Lilly as well in London. 

It was a very bittersweet moment leaving our apartment on Mallorca, but it was an amazing month, and I met so many life long friends and had the journey of a lifetime. I’ve had  so many life changing experiences that not many people ever get to experience I am so lucky and blessed. 

We got to the airport and flew to Berlin, Germany with all the girls and Alex. Katie had to check both her bags last minute and so did Audrey…basically easy jet is a rip off and no one should ever take it if they don’t have to! It’s really only a good airline for backpacking, but the flights are so cheap that I guess luggage is the only way they can really even make money.

We Got to Berlin, found our apartment, had a very nice manager at the place we were staying and he told us good places to go eat and drink in the area! We went to eat at this authentic German place, I got sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes and a German beer that was brewed in house that was pretty good as well. It was a perfect, German first dinner to have.

 Our cute apartment! :)

My first meal and first German Beer!

After this we all were really tired from the day, so we just went back home and passed out, so we could get an early start the next day!

Day 33, Friday, 6/22

Woke up and went to grab breakfast! Then we all went to meet for our segway tour! Our tour guide, Craig was Australian , which was pretty interesting I thought and made me want to go there even more hearing his accent. We all got our helmets and learned how to ride the segways! It seemed hard at first, but within 10 minutes we were all pretty good at it and wanting to keep the thing, haha.

We started our tour around the city and got to see so many beautiful and famous sites like the TV tower, parts of the Berlin Wall that collapsed, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg gate, and where Hitler killed himself, the different towers that guards/soldiers were forced to sit in day & night and shoot people if they tried to escape to the other side of Berlin, etc.

The tour was awesome and we ended at Parliament, which was in West Berlin, and was the only part we really saw there, because there is a lot more to see in the Eastern parts of Berlin.  

 After this we all walked around and went to a beer garden/pub to try some more German beer!  Germany is such a chill place and that is all we wanted to do after our long month of traveling and studying, so it was perfect that we went here right after Barcelona. We tried a few beers, then headed home to get ready to go watch the Germany & Italy game! Alex left at this point, because he was training to Frankfurt that night to meet his brother and travel around Europe some more! So it was just us girls now! We were going to go to fan mile, but we didn’t get there in time, and too many people were there so it was all blocked off! That sucked, but we ended up going to an outside bar nearby, which was awesome to see all the crazy fans everywhere there! They had the craziest fans I have seen so far of Futbol, or as we call it in America, soccer. Confetti was falling down everywhere when they won and people were dancing and partying and celebrating in the street!

After this we were going to go out, but we ended up going to McDonalds, because we were starving and then going to bed!

Day 34, Saturday, 6/23 (last day in Germany and first night in London)

We woke up and went to eat breakfast at a small café with amazing fraps, and has a yummy breakfast sandwich to get our day started! 

Went to try to go to a museum, but ended up souvenir shopping instead. Then went home to get our bags and leave for our flight.

 Had to have a German bratwurst!

We walked to the train station, got on, took the train one stop, had to get off for construction on the tracks. Luckily a nice lady told us in time for us to get off, and then took a bus to another train, got off, then waited for another train to the airport! Also I fell down the stairs with my luggage, haha. This was just the cherry on top of my day, but I was trying not to be brought down! Another lady helped us with all this as well. The people are so nice in Germany!

Then we FINALLY got to the airport and we were at the wrong one! I don’t know how none of us checked to make sure we were flying out of the same one we flew into, but we were not. SO we cabbed it to the other one and it was pretty small, thank God! So we made it in time, and with some extra time as well because the flight was delayed. But it was literally like a scene from a movie, and it sucked, but it makes for a great story now I suppose.

We got to London safely, checked into apartment, realized how expensive pounds are to the dollar. We would choose the most expensive place to go last! Then went to eat Italian food, came home and went to bed! 

 My pasta and wine!

Mel and I shared strawberry cheesecake! :)

Our last 3 days in Barcelona

Day 29, Monday 6/18

Went to class, came home and worked on homework

Then a small group of us who hadn’t been went to Camp Nou and toured the Barcelona futbol stadium and museum, which was an awesome experience to see it all! It’s crazy how HUGE soccer is over here and how obsessed people are with it! It was like a shrine to soccer in there! And the multimedia usage in the museum was amazing too. There were screens on all the walls and it was a touch screen where you could click different things and read about the history of the team and the players, and anything you could ever want to know about Barca soccer.

Then we walked around, saw the locker room, and went out to the stadium to see that view as well. Also as you walked around there were different stations where you could type in a number and hear more history on the headset they gave you if you wanted. It was a really cool experience, and something that you have to do if you go to Barcelona.

Then we all came home, got ready, and went to a group dinner at an Indian restaurant, which was pretty good food! And now we are all home studying for our finals this week, not so fun, but at least we made the most of our day!

Day 30, Tuesday, 6/19

Had my first final in International Marketing. It wasn’t too bad and it was a relief to be done with one class! Then I Started packing =(  And did laundry for the last week of my trip, since I wouldn’t have a washing machine after I left Barca.

Then we went to dinner at our Italian restaurant near the apartment for the last time, split pizza with Audrey and tiramisu afterwards, and it was the best tiramisu I had the whole trip! Then we just went home and studied for finals!

Day 31, Wednesday, 6/20 (Last full day in BARCA)

Had our last final! Such a relief to be done with school, but bittersweet at the same time! Then I went home, packed up some more, and went to the beach with Tess and Jess. We got there a little earlier than everyone else so we hung out until Katie got there and then we popped champagne with everyone for our last day on the beach before everyone was heading home or to travel more! It was a great last day on the beach. 

Then we went home, got ready, and went to our last final dinner with everyone and Lynn, who was our international study abroad advisor in Spain. We had LOTS of amazing tapas, and drank, and Shah, Lynn, Paras, and Dr. Smith all did a speech. And we all just enjoyed each other’s company for one last time. It was a great time.

We all went out afterwards at Shoko and had a great last night together in Barcelona.

Last weekend in BARCA

Day 26, Friday 6/15

Today we were supposed to go on a kayaking trip to Costa Brava, but one of the drivers got sick and they only had a van for 8 of us and not 16, so they told us we could come back the next day and do it so we decided to do that. After that no one could decide what they wanted to do so we went to this beach in a town called Stiges just 30 minutes away that we were told to go to, because it is beautiful!

Two guys rented vespas and drove there, and got lost for 4 hours…haha so I’m glad I didn’t do that. Plus it wasn’t really safe for us girls to try, but I think they still had a blast anyways. On the metro on the way to the train one of our girls got pick pocketed so 4 girls stayed behind to help her out with that! I think that was the only pick pocket of the whole trip though, so we were lucky that ore didn’t happen.

Then the rest of us headed to Stiges! The beach was amazing, and beautiful! But unfortunately I didn’t have my camera since I was planning on going kayaking, but luckily some of my friends had their phones, so I can steal pictures from them. It was just so peaceful and secluded compared to the beaches in Barcelona, which I loved. We just relaxed and had a few drinks on the beach and swam in the ocean! The water was a lot warmer than in Barcelona for some reason, so it was really nice and relaxing to be there for the day. 

Then the 2 boys who rode vespas finally made it and another group of 4 who rode vespas that we didn’t even know about happened to meet up with us too and all of us went to dinner! Another crazy coincidence of our trip in Barcelona. It was amazing food at the place we decided to eat! Audrey and myself shared fajitas and empanadas. It was perfect! We had been craving Mexican food.

After this we all headed home and showered, then went out for a few drinks at a local bar, then come home to get sleep before our kayaking adventure the next morning! =)

Day 27, Saturday 6/16

We started our day with brunch at this place called MILK, which was absolutely amazing food. We had been told to go there my some friends in our group that had it recommended to them. I had French toast with Greek yogurt and fruit on top and a little maple syrup. We also had a few mimosas to go along with it. It was perfect and a MUST if you are in Barcelona.

After this we headed to the restaurant where we were to meet our tour guide and driver to go kayak and snorkel! It was about an hour and a half drive to Costa Brava with traffic, but we slept a lot of the way, so it wasn’t too bad.

Once we got there we stored our stuff in their office and headed to the ocean to kayak out! Myself and Audrey were partners and we did a pretty good job once we got the hang of it and a rhythm started! We kayaked out to some caves in the side of the ocean and parked the kayaks in the cave on the shore. Then we all snorkeled for a while! The water was freezing but it was an amazing experience. 

The water and the sky were so blue and the setting was like right out of a movie. 2 of our friend’s cliff jumped as well, which was pretty cool! I wish I wasn’t too scared to do that!

After this we kayaked around into some more caves and different areas and layed out in one of the caves for about 20-30 minutes then headed back to shore! Then we hung out near the beach for half an hour to have some ice cream and take in the views. Then we headed back to Barcelona and got a free meal out the port bar/restaurant that we met at! We got this whole experience, a free meal, plus transportation for 50 Euros each! SO worth it!! 

After we got home we all showered, got ready, then went out for Forest’s birthday! A few of us went to this place called Kharma for some drinks and dessert, but I wasn’t in a dessert mood, so naturally I got wine and cheese. My favorite. After this the owner of the place walked us over to another bar near by and got us a free shot, so we stayed there for awhile, and they had fun music so it was a good time with the girls. Then we met up with everyone and the birthday boy and had a good night altogether!

Day 28, Sunday 6/17

Today was he first day in Barcelona that we didn’t have a set plan for the day and could just relax and see where the day took us. Myself, Morgan, and Mackenzie went to Rosa Negra for lunch. Then we met up with Audrey and Katie and walked around gothic quarter. I got a cute maxi from a small boutique, had some gelato, then went home and took naps, and worked on homework.

Then we went to dinner at this awesome burger place! My burger had egg on it, which sounds weird but it was awesome.

After this we all went to the movies to see Snow White and the Huntsmen! It was in English with Spanish subtitles! You would think the subtitles would be annoying, but since it was in a different language they weren’t at all! And the movie was absolutely amazing, I loved it so much more than I thought I would. We were all on the edge of our seats the whole time.

I think seeing a movie in a different country is definitely an experience you should have if you are there for an extended period. It’s just cool to see the differences! They didn’t have stadium seating like we do, it was all one level, and we went to a theater inside of a mall. Also, the previews were in Spanish, but it was American movies, which was funny to watch! After this we all came home and passed out! We were exhausted!