Londres (London!)

El tiempo vuela

I can't believe how fast this semester is moving. It's terrifying. But I'm having such a blast. Last weekend Kiersten and I jetted off to London (!!!) for 6 days. We had Monday and Tuesday off from school so we were able to make it a long weekend. Which was good because London is huge and there's so much to do! I also got to meet up with my friend from high school, Vincent, who is studying in Barcelona this semester, and my future roommate and good friend, Alli, who is studying in London this semester.

To organize this for you all as well as myself, I'm going to break down the trip by days:

El viernes

Tower Bridge

Riding the London Eye with Vincent

Kiersten and I left Alicante at 7:10 Friday morning, got into London at 9:00, bused ourselves to the center of London, took the underground to the place we were staying. We stayed with Louise, my dad's friend from college, and her family which was super fantastic. She and her family were so nice and generous, and it was so comfortable and wonderful being able to stay with a family so close to my own culture.

View from the London Eye

After we dropped our bags, we headed to meet Vincent. Together we took the bus to Big Ben and walked across the River Thames to the London Eye. We bought tickets to ride the Eye which had spectacular views of the city. And of course we took about a thousand ridiculous pictures on the Eye. Afterwards we walked along the river and took more pictures. We crossed the Tower Bridge and then decided to head to Chipotle (we were dying for "Mexican food" and Europe only has Chipotle in two cities: Paris and London). Friday was awesome, we had such a good time. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in one day.

Chipotle!

London Eye from afar

El sábado

On some bridge...possibly the London Bridge

Hard apple cider at Borough Market

Bagels! I finally had a bagel for breakfast and it was glorious. After breakfast, we headed to Buckingham Palace first, then we went to the Tate Modern. From there we walked to the Borough Market which is known for having incredible food. We all had a Vietnamese curry and hard apple cider. We then walked along the river some more and chilled in a cafe that had nutella mochas because we were all pooped and accustomed to siestas at that hour ;) . We went to Kings Cross where lies the infamous Harry Potter location of Platform 9 3/4. I'm not actually a Harry Potter fan (*gasp*) but I went for my best friend, Sarah, who is a die hard fan. Then we headed to Picadilly Square which has tons of shopping along Oxford Street. Vincent bought some green shoes just in time for St. Patty's Day. Then we went back to Louise's and had dinner with her and her family. She made a lovely chicken and we even skyped my dad which was fun!

El domingo

One of my few pics with Alli! 

Louise made us blueberry pancakes and I just about died (not a typical breakfast in Spain). So good. Finally we met up with Alli and headed to the St. Patty's Day parade in Trafalgar Square. Afterwards we were starving so we headed to Brick Lane in which lies the Indian food capital of London. The Indian food was so good and was possibly the cheapest meal I had in London. Kiersten and Vincent had never tried it before and came out impressed. We then walked around a market, ate brownies, took the underground to Covent Garden, walked around there, and then ended up in Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester Square" of course, because British English makes so much more sense than American English...). We went to a pub and then said goodbye to Vincent, who had to go back to Spain that night. Then Kiersten and I headed back to Louise's and we went out to a pub with her and her family for dinner. There's something truly perfect about scampi and chips (fried prawns and french fries), peas, and a beer. Delish.

St. Patty's Day Parade, Trafalgar Square

El lunes

British Museum

On Monday Kiersten and I got up and headed to the British Museum which is an overwhelming yet fantastic museum. You could spend days there. The Egyptian exhibit was fab, just like everyone said it was. But then the mummies started to freak me out, so we had to head to the Persian exhibit. After the British Museum we accidentally ended up in China Town so we had some of the spiciest chinese food of my life. It was really good but my mouth was on fire. I attribute this to losing all of my spice tolerance in Spain, where spicy food doesn't exist. After lunch we went to Camden Lock Market in Camden Town where we looked around and bought some art, jewelry, and gifts. And THEN...drum roll please...we went to see Wicked which was such an amazing show and such a fun thing to do in London! Afterwards, we went to Alli's flat and hung out with her and her flatmates.

After eating spicy chinese food

Treats for the show!

El martes

On Tuesday Louise drove us out to Richmond which was nice, because we got to get out of the city. We walked along the River Thames sort of out in the country side. We passed an old, large house that reminded me of Pride and Prejudice, and then we went into the little town to have lunch. Afterwards, we went to Portobello market and bought more gifts and souvenirs. I was determined to have afternoon tea with scones, clotted cream, and strawberry jam so we found a place near Louise's house. It was scrumptious. We went back to Louise's house, showered, packed up, watched Friends on the "tele," had a pizza dinner with Louise and her oldest son Augustin and went to bed because we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday to fly back to Alicante.



London was such an amazing city. It broke my bank account, but was totally worth it and I hope to go back someday (preferably when I'm rich). It was definitely one of my favorite trips that I've made while here in Europe.



Mi vida en Alicante

Nachos
(Me, Anya, Maraya, Kiersten)

When I'm not traveling the world and I'm actually in Alicante, I'm a busy bee teaching English in the mornings, and going to class in the evenings. And on the weekends my friends and I have been getting together to make meals such as Nachos and hang out. This weekend we're going to hit up the beach because it's supposed to be a lovely weekend. My friend Vincent is also coming to Alicante to visit for the weekend so I'll be showing him around. And then my parents come next weekend!! So much going on!

As for my host family, they're still great. They crack me up. Last night my host dad stole everybody's bread (instead of cutting himself his own piece) and all I could do was think "man it's good to be back in Alicante."

My host mom continues to point out the fact that I'm a lightweight at any possible moment. Which at first was a tad bit annoying but now I think it's just an overall joke.

Typical quotes from her:

"I would give you a beer with lunch, but you'd probably pass out."
"Take this bottle of sangria to your friend's house but don't drink too much because you'll pass out"
"Oh Zoe can't have more than two drinks, or she'd be on the floor."

But she taught me how to make paella so I think I can forgive her.