Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Churchill's Granddaughter!
We got to meet Winston Churchill’s granddaughter today! One of the professors in our program has been teaching a WWII class and a Winston Churchill class all semester and he’s been trying to get in touch with Celia. I didn’t take the classes, but I’ve heard all about them from the kids that did. It was great hearing the stories she had to share about this amazing man! She was his oldest grandchild and knew so much about him. It was neat being able to meet someone who had a different perspective on this famous political leader.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter in Barcelona
Our flight left Luton around 13:40. The easybus ride and everything went smoothly. Once we got to the airport and checked in and made it through security, I got some food from Pret because it’s the most amazing place ever! We arrived in Reus around 16:45 and caught a bus to Barcelona. Once the bus dropped us off, we had to find our hostel. We had a decent idea of where to go, but the streets aren’t always labeled that great. We found this map, but the thing was in Braille! Who would have thought?! Once we got to the hostel and were checked in and settled down, we decided to head to get some dinner. We had no idea where to go, so we walked and happened upon a place called Tapa Tapa. Tapas are the most amazing thing in the world. They’re tiny portions of amazing food and I love that you can get lots of different things and still not spend too much. The sangria was phenomenal and we bought 4 pitchers of it for the 8 of us. Yumm!
Saturday morning, some of us woke up and got breakfast (cereal) and when everyone was ready, we headed towards Las Ramblas. The street was so busy! There were birds, bunnies, and turtles in cages for people to buy. The street performers were so cool and some were really good! We found this food market along Las Ramblas and went inside to get some lunch. The produce stands were so cool. The fruit was fresh and cheap. I got a carton of strawberries for 1 euro. We also got baguettes and headed towards the end of Las Ramblas and the pier. We sat along the water and ate our lunch. We walked along the pier for awhile and just enjoyed the weather. We saw the boats in the marina and looked at the stalls along the water. There were people selling knock-off purses and sunglasses. We got to see a really cool mariachi type band that played some music. We finally made it to the beach and by the time we got there, the weather was getting a little cloudy and cool. We all just took pictures for awhile along the water! After we got bored at the beach, we headed towards the Olympic village and the rings. There was another market there, but it was basically a garage sale of junk and I didn’t buy anything. For dinner that night, we went to a place called Café and Te. The food was good, I got tortellini (I know, right?) because it wasn’t really Spanish cuisine.
Easter Sunday, we woke up and headed to Catholic mass. Not only was it my first catholic mass, but it was in catalan and I couldn’t understand a thing. Half of the group was catholic though so it made it easier to understand what was going on. After mass, the weather wasn’t looking too appealing so we went back and changed into warmer clothes and headed out for the day. We really wanted to do a boat cruise and I had read about one online. As we went to buy the tickets, a man came up and said that it was a bad cruise for the price and that the boat didn’t even go out of the harbour. We had a tough time deciding what to do since Rae and Shelby had already bought their tickets. We ended up splitting the cost of their tickets and we took another cruise. The one we took was amazing and we had a great time drinking sangria and just talking. It would have been so cool if the weather was nicer, but we survived! When we got off the boat, Mike (another boy in our program) had told us that the Picasso museum was free on Sundays. We headed over there and saw a ton of Picasso’s works. Seeing the progression of his work over the years helped me appreciate it more than if I had just seen a few pieces of his. I know it’s cliché, but I really like his blue period, even though it’s a bit depressing. There were a few pieces in the collection that really stood out to me too, but I don’t remember the names of them…oops. After the museum, everyone was tired, wet, cold, and hungry. There was a little tension as we tried to find a place to eat. We ended up on this side street at a little café and most of us got tapas. We headed back to Tapa Tapa for our Easter dinner though! The food was just that good! We went out for Jake’s birthday to a club called Catwalk. It took us awhile to find it, and once we did, they tried to charge us an 18 euro cover, even though we had tickets for free entry. As we were walking away, I said something to one of the workers about how our hostel had told us to come here and stuff and they ended up letting us in for free; thank goodness because there was no way I was going to pay an 18 euro cover! Once we got inside it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there and we danced a ton!
Monday morning we decided to do a Gaudi day. We walked towards La Sagrada Familia and saw some of his other works along the way. The fact that Sagrada is still not complete and it was started over 100 years ago astonishes me! I can’t believe it’s the most visited construction site in the world! The intricacy in the building is phenomenal and it looks amazing. We didn’t pay to go in it, but the outside was incredible! We took the metro to Parc Güell and looked around for awhile. All of Gaudi’s works remind me of the City Museum because of the mosaics and whimsical fantasy world. I would love to have seen the inside of the houses and his other stuff, but it didn’t happen. We sat at the park for awhile and got some sun. The weather was amazing so we decided to head back to the beach. We laid out for awhile and got some sun and played in the sand. For dinner we ate at a restaurant along the boardwalk and had some amazing risotto! It was perfect.
Tuesday morning we packed up and headed to Las Ramblas one last time. We grabbed lunch at the outdoor market. I loved that market! The fruit was so fresh and inexpensive. They also sold fresh juices which were delicious! Once we all got what we needed, we headed towards the bus station. We were afraid that we’d miss the bus or it would be full, so we made sure to catch an early one. We caught the bus back to the airport and waited for awhile to catch our plane. We did a bit of duty free shopping since there was nothing to do but wait! The flight was pretty smooth and when we got back to London, I was so worn out that I just wanted to go to sleep!
Saturday morning, some of us woke up and got breakfast (cereal) and when everyone was ready, we headed towards Las Ramblas. The street was so busy! There were birds, bunnies, and turtles in cages for people to buy. The street performers were so cool and some were really good! We found this food market along Las Ramblas and went inside to get some lunch. The produce stands were so cool. The fruit was fresh and cheap. I got a carton of strawberries for 1 euro. We also got baguettes and headed towards the end of Las Ramblas and the pier. We sat along the water and ate our lunch. We walked along the pier for awhile and just enjoyed the weather. We saw the boats in the marina and looked at the stalls along the water. There were people selling knock-off purses and sunglasses. We got to see a really cool mariachi type band that played some music. We finally made it to the beach and by the time we got there, the weather was getting a little cloudy and cool. We all just took pictures for awhile along the water! After we got bored at the beach, we headed towards the Olympic village and the rings. There was another market there, but it was basically a garage sale of junk and I didn’t buy anything. For dinner that night, we went to a place called Café and Te. The food was good, I got tortellini (I know, right?) because it wasn’t really Spanish cuisine.
Easter Sunday, we woke up and headed to Catholic mass. Not only was it my first catholic mass, but it was in catalan and I couldn’t understand a thing. Half of the group was catholic though so it made it easier to understand what was going on. After mass, the weather wasn’t looking too appealing so we went back and changed into warmer clothes and headed out for the day. We really wanted to do a boat cruise and I had read about one online. As we went to buy the tickets, a man came up and said that it was a bad cruise for the price and that the boat didn’t even go out of the harbour. We had a tough time deciding what to do since Rae and Shelby had already bought their tickets. We ended up splitting the cost of their tickets and we took another cruise. The one we took was amazing and we had a great time drinking sangria and just talking. It would have been so cool if the weather was nicer, but we survived! When we got off the boat, Mike (another boy in our program) had told us that the Picasso museum was free on Sundays. We headed over there and saw a ton of Picasso’s works. Seeing the progression of his work over the years helped me appreciate it more than if I had just seen a few pieces of his. I know it’s cliché, but I really like his blue period, even though it’s a bit depressing. There were a few pieces in the collection that really stood out to me too, but I don’t remember the names of them…oops. After the museum, everyone was tired, wet, cold, and hungry. There was a little tension as we tried to find a place to eat. We ended up on this side street at a little café and most of us got tapas. We headed back to Tapa Tapa for our Easter dinner though! The food was just that good! We went out for Jake’s birthday to a club called Catwalk. It took us awhile to find it, and once we did, they tried to charge us an 18 euro cover, even though we had tickets for free entry. As we were walking away, I said something to one of the workers about how our hostel had told us to come here and stuff and they ended up letting us in for free; thank goodness because there was no way I was going to pay an 18 euro cover! Once we got inside it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there and we danced a ton!
Monday morning we decided to do a Gaudi day. We walked towards La Sagrada Familia and saw some of his other works along the way. The fact that Sagrada is still not complete and it was started over 100 years ago astonishes me! I can’t believe it’s the most visited construction site in the world! The intricacy in the building is phenomenal and it looks amazing. We didn’t pay to go in it, but the outside was incredible! We took the metro to Parc Güell and looked around for awhile. All of Gaudi’s works remind me of the City Museum because of the mosaics and whimsical fantasy world. I would love to have seen the inside of the houses and his other stuff, but it didn’t happen. We sat at the park for awhile and got some sun. The weather was amazing so we decided to head back to the beach. We laid out for awhile and got some sun and played in the sand. For dinner we ate at a restaurant along the boardwalk and had some amazing risotto! It was perfect.
Tuesday morning we packed up and headed to Las Ramblas one last time. We grabbed lunch at the outdoor market. I loved that market! The fruit was so fresh and inexpensive. They also sold fresh juices which were delicious! Once we all got what we needed, we headed towards the bus station. We were afraid that we’d miss the bus or it would be full, so we made sure to catch an early one. We caught the bus back to the airport and waited for awhile to catch our plane. We did a bit of duty free shopping since there was nothing to do but wait! The flight was pretty smooth and when we got back to London, I was so worn out that I just wanted to go to sleep!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
G20 Summit here in London
I know I haven't posted in such a long time, but I'm keeping track of everything so as soon as I have the time I'll post!
Here's a little bit about the protests going on today in London. The G20 Summit has become such a big deal here and people are protesting and demonstrating everything! We're trying to stay out of the "city" as much as possible, but it's really not that far from us...kind of scary! What I find interesting is there are only 19 countries in the G20 but the EU is also included so it becomes the G20. I honestly don't know how they're going to solve the economic problems in the 5 hour meeting they're having, but maybe it will work. It's a gorgeous day so I'm headed to the park! Check out this video though:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7975597.stm
Here's a little bit about the protests going on today in London. The G20 Summit has become such a big deal here and people are protesting and demonstrating everything! We're trying to stay out of the "city" as much as possible, but it's really not that far from us...kind of scary! What I find interesting is there are only 19 countries in the G20 but the EU is also included so it becomes the G20. I honestly don't know how they're going to solve the economic problems in the 5 hour meeting they're having, but maybe it will work. It's a gorgeous day so I'm headed to the park! Check out this video though:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7975597.stm
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