Update!

• Easter was spent up in Bicester with the family friends! Very nice mass and dinner, and it's always nice to get away from the city for a bit.

• School started again. Uggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.            To be read like this:

•  A Volcano erupted in Iceland spewing up so much ash that flights coming into and leaving from nearly the whole UK have been canceled for days! Check out more info here.

That's all for now, more to come!

Mojito? What the hell is that?

I forgot to tell you all about the very last conversation we had in Spain before getting on a bus to go to the airport!  We had about 45 minutes and the last of our Euros to kill before the bus left, so we decided to head out to one of the bars to get a mojito. Mojitos, I should mention, seemed to be the drink of choice in Barcelona. They had entire bars devoted to them. You would think, therefore, they would fairly easy to find even out by the bus station. Apparently we were wrong.

Lauren: "Necesito dos mojitos por favor."

Old lady: "Bocadillo?" (A sandwich.)

Lauren: "No, no. Mojito."

Old lady: "Si, bocadillo."

Lauren: "No, mojito. Mo-hee-toe" Makes drinking motion.

Old lady: "Ah! Patatas!" (Potatoes!)

Lauren: "What? No!"

Needless to say, we were doomed to leave Barcelona without our drinks. That would prove to be a terrible decision in and of itself after frustration and delays at the airport. But, we survived. I'm sure their mojitos would have been over priced and mediocre at best anyways.

Barcelona, Spain

So after an unbearable 9 hour over night bus ride from Madrid, we arrived in Barcelona exhausted around 9am. Unfortunately, we were unable to check into our hostel until 1, so I feel asleep on the couch in the common room of our hostel while Lauren figured out what we should do and see while we were there.

We decided to spend the remaining hours of our first day there getting to know the area, which turned out to be be a good game plan. We were just a short walk away from the main street, loads of pubs, and the beach!! We stopped for lunch, having tortillas, calamari sandwiches, and sangria.  

The rest of our days were filled with Antoni Gaudi, wonderful markets, long walks on the beach (lol, not really), and watching the Spanish football matches in British pubs. We spent a full day seeing La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. They were amazing. If and when they ever finsih La Sagrada Familia, it will be the most intricate and, true to its name, gaudy building ever. Definitely worth seeing.  

Our last day in Barcelona we decided to relax and head down to the beach.While the weather had been warm and sunny for the majority of our trip, the water was still freezing, so no swimming for us. That didn't stop a few brave souls though, or the old guy walking along the shore in his Speedo. Ugh. 

 

Overall our trip was great, and the only complaint we had was that our flight back to London was delayed. Aside from that Spain was great, hopefully someday we'll be able to go back!

 

Madrid, Spain

Alright alright I know I've been seriously slacking in getting this post up, but here it is finally!Spain was wonderful. The weather was great, the food was great, and the sights were wonderful.

 

We spent our days wandering around the city, seeing the sites and taking everything in. Lauren speaks Spanish pretty well, so we were doing good getting around and ordering food and the likes. I just pretended to be mute. It works for me. 

One of our coworkers from Milwaukee happened to be in Madrid at the same time, so one of our nights there we headed over to have drinks with her and her sister who is studying in Madrid for the year. It was great to see a familiar face again and catch up on all the work gossip since we've been gone.

Since it has been awhile since we have gotten back, and I knew I would probably fail epically at getting this post up in a timely fashion, I took a few brief notes about Madrid so I would know what to blog about. Looking at those notes now, I think I may have been crazy. 

 

The list goes something like this....

• Hookers- there were tons of hookers in Madrid. It was bizarre.
• Purple- Purple seems to be the new black this season. EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE. Purple. 
• Back to the '90's- from mullets, rat-tails, and hammer pants, we were for sure in the 90's. 
• TACO BELL- OMG there was a Taco Bell!! Highlight of the trip for sure. One of 2(?) in all of Europe. What did you do in Madrid? We got Taco Bell. YESSSSS.

Post for Barcelona tomorrow hopefully!

Family, Part 3; Paris

Ah, Paris was amazing!!! The weather was perfect, the sights were amazing, and people were great! (Though, I would highly recommend learning at least some French before going to France. Might help.)

For the short time we were there, we managed to see the a good portion of the sights; the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Sacre Coeur, and Le Pere Lachaise Cemetery. 

Jake and I must have been delirious with exhaustion, because we decided it would be a good idea to go up the Eiffel Tower, taking the stairs... Totally worth the climb, but OMG that's a lot of stairs! At the Louvre we saw the Mona Lisa, and Winged Triumph, along with countless other priceless paintings, sculptures, and artifacts. Of course, I had to stop by the grave site of Jim Morrison while we were at Le Pere Lachaise Cemetery as well.

We found some great food, fresh pastries and breads, great salads, and more wine than I have or will probably consume again in the next year and a half. Everything seemed to be just as it should be for a holiday in the city of lights. 

   

We had to wake up early our last day there to catch the Eurostar back to London, then the family was off straight away to Heathrow to catch their flight back to MN. Our trip went by so fast, I can't believe they were here for nearly 2 weeks and that they are gone already! But, time is going by fast and every day I'm that much closer to having to go back to the states myself. Ugh! However, I am and will enjoy every minute that I have here, and I am so glad my family was able to share some in some of my overseas adventures! Love you guys!

Quick Update part 2: Spain in two days! Holy Crap!

Family, Part 2; London

Well I finally got the family to London, and we are all having a blast! There is so much to do and see, I've been here for months and still haven't seen it all! But we are doing our best to cover as much ground as possible in the time that we have, so we are hitting it and hitting it hard.

We were super lucky and had beautiful weather through out our travels and my family's visit, not only was it warm but it hardly rained at all. We managed to hit all of the main tourist attractions and sites with hardly a moment to spare.

After nearly a full week of nonstop sightseeing, the fast pace of city life as a tourist was starting to catch up to us all. But, we weren't done yet! Off to Paris for 4 days and 3 nights! Next post coming soon! 

Quick Update: Lauren and I just bought tickets to Spain! Spring break here we come!

Family, Part 1; Edinburgh, take 2

The family finally arrived to the UK safe and sound, and utterly tired. No time to sleep though, as soon as they got off the plane at Heathrow, I met them and we were off on another flight to Edinburgh! Had a nice quiet first night in Scotland, went out to one of the local pubs, got a pint (Jake's first legal drink!) and then back to the flat for some much needed rest. It was (and is!) so good to see them again!

 

We somehow managed to get up and out the door on Monday, and went out to explore the castle, the Royal Mile, and Calton Hill. By the time we got through all the main sights we were starving and tired. We found a place to stop for some Italian food at Bella Italia, had a quick pint at a local pub, and went back to the flat for the night. 

Then next day Dad and Jake were off to St. Andrews for a round of golf, and Mom and I took a day trip to the Highlands and Loch Ness. The Highlands were absolutlely beautiful, and we were able to go on a short boat cruise on the Loch Ness.         Our last day there, we were off and running straight away to the airport to catch our flight into London, but for having such little time in Scotland we were all able to see quite a bit of it.  We have been crazy busy here in London so far, and having lots of fun, hopefully I will have time to post before we leave for Paris, but if not don't worry, I will update as soon as I find time!