I got a tan in London?

"Onomatopoeia"..when you think of the word do you really know what it means? Well this was the word of the day at work from my Hungarian co-worker and Spanish manager who were arguing on how to pronounce it and its meaning. I honestly could not remember its exact meaning for the life of me when they asked...or how to spell it, which they asked me to do. Thank God for the two Americans that I know that always come in to the restaurant who happened to be sitting at one of the tables with a laptop. We all looked it up on dictionary.com together to find..."The formation of words in imitation of sounds; a figure of speech in which the sound of a word is imitative of the sound of the thing which the word represents". Of all words..but that's a typical day at work (that and getting asked by the Latvian cook about American "slang" words).

The past week and a half has just been mostly about enjoying London some more. Last week on one of my days off I went to the Tower of London right next to Tower Bridge. I read that you should do these "Beefeater" tours which are free when you buy a ticket to the Tower. Beefeaters are old Royal guards who had to serve in the Queen's army or air force for at least 22 years and then they have the option to live in the Tower of London and give these crazy tours. Our guide was really animated and told of all the famous execution stories of the Tower and Tower Hill, which is across the way from the Tower and the site of most of the executions, including Henry VIII wives. I recorded one of his stories about James Scott, a royal who was accused of treason, who was executed by a drunk executioner and then afterwards his head had to be sewn back on to his body so that the royal artist could paint a picture of him. Supposedly all royals have to have a portrait done of themselves before they die and James didn't have the chance before then soo this was the only way to get his done. Besides that he told of Anne Boleyn and a couple other of Henry VIII's wives who were executed there, which all of the stories were really interesting. Supposedly during Anne's execution she wanted to read out of a bible before she died and she was taking too long for the executioner, so he had a little boy slap her on the cheek. The minute she turned her head he sliced her and it was supposedly so smooth and quick that her lips were still moving afterwards. Our guide/beefeater also took us into the chapel of the Tower where a couple of Henry VII's wives are buried. It is also the site of a mass grave of over 1000 bodies that were discovered there in the early 1900's. I heard someone ask our guide as the tour finished if he ever saw any ghosts there...and he just sternly said, "I don't believe in ghosts". For sure ghosts there...has to be. From there I stood in a long line to see the crown jewels which includes crowns and trinkets from 100's of years. It also includes the largest diamond in the world on top of one of the baton things. The collection was beautiful, I've never seen jewels like it in my life. From there I had a chance to see the changing of the guard and witness someone trying to make a guard laugh...it actually is hard. Then I just wandered around the tower to the multiple dungeons and an exhibit on Henry VIII's armor (I guess he was a really good sportsman in his youth and did a lot of jousting). After exploring a little more, I sat by the river for a bit observing London's most famous bridge, Tower Bridge, and then went home.
The next couple of days I went and enjoyed Hyde Park (the largest park in London) observing all of the pick up rugby/soccer games, strolled down the massive Oxford Street which has famous stores such as Selfridges and TopShop, and laid around in a small park near my house. Hyde Park also holds the Princess Diana memorial, which most Brits think is crap, so i had to go see it myself. Its a small oval fountain, which when I saw it no water was actually running...and I think I'm going to have to agree with the Brits on this one, it definitely doesn't do her justice. Its too bad. Also, Last Saturday before I went to work, Jamie and I went to the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill which is the most famous market in London with mostly antiques and other trinkets. It was a beautiful day and had plenty of time to look at everything (except to the one vendor that told us to "move on" from her booth...we definitely got a kick out of that, I guess we didn't realize we looked like people with no money? lol), as well as grab some awesome food from the markets there. Also, the Wednesday before, Brendan, Jamie, Ellen, and I went to the science museum at night where they held an "adult only" night. So, pretty much you get to act like little kids without having little kids around. It was a really cool event, equipped with a couple bars, a pub quiz, a DJ, silent disco, and all the experiments open for you to play with. On top of all of that...it was FREE, best part for my little budget.

Besides all that lately...and sorry for my lack of updating...I am leaving London on May 11th to discover the rest of Europe!! I have decided to take a tour through Contiki for 18-30 year olds all throughout Europe. It departs from London and heads to Paris, Burgundy region in France, French Riviera, Pisa, Rome, Florence, Greece (for 3 days), Venice, Verona, Vienna, Swiss Alps/Lucerne, Munich, Rhine Valley of Germany, Amsterdam, Brugge, then back to London on June 8th. So, pretty excited about that. I'm going to post a calendar up on my website so you can see where I am everyday during it.

Anyways I have some new pics up..pretty random of London and a couple from where I work! Keep me updated on all of your lives..I'll be home soon!

Spring in London

Spring has finally hit London...I thought the day would never come. The sun is shining and what seemed like a gloomy city is actually quite beautiful when the weather is nice, the people are even better too. The parks and gardens are in full bloom and booming with people everyday. Its almost like living in a whole different city than the one I've been in for the past three months. Everyone is outside, enjoying the sun, and in as good as spirits as ever. This is the London I've been waiting for and I can't get enough of it. Two weekends ago when the weather just started to get nice, Brendan, Matt, and I all headed to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens to drink and lay around in the park. It was so nice and relaxing and afterwards I made a little trip to TopShop (similar to Forever 21 in the States).
Lately, I've actually been walking home from work, which is about a 40-45 min walk, but its not so bad since the weather has been so good. The first couple times I walked home I kept noticing this gate for the "Royal Brompton Cemetery" on the street I take towards home. I was always curious about it, so one day I just decided to walk in and take a look around. In all honesty, I have never seen such an amazing cemetery in my life. First off, it was HUGE...there had to be thousands of gravestones there. But, the best part about it was how old the stones were, some dated back hundreds of years. To me, it was what I envisioned an old European cemetery would look like. Half of the stones were so old the writing had eroded away to the point where you couldn't make out what had originally been written there and some gravestones were completely taken over in ivy. Some stand as tall as 10 feet whereas others are small simple statues with one name and date carved in them. There are even above ground crypts like you would see inside of an old church. The artistry put into some of the graves were unbelievable, with amazingly detailed statues of angels or people. The first time I was there I walked among the rows of the graves reading some of the peoples names and inscriptions. I found in the midst of some of them there was a bench that I sat on and just took a look around. I realized how quiet it was and quiet in London is hard to find. I mean you just felt so calm there...it wasn't creepy or eery, just calming. I found myself just thinking about everything. I guess when you think about it, a graveyard can be a good place to reflect or pray or whatever you decide to do spiritually. In a place like this, where thousands have been put to rest, you seem to be able to have a clearer mind on things in your life because your staring the reality of what will happen to all of us in the face. You tend to realize how much meaning your life really has, since we only have one of them. I couldn't help but think about the people's lives around me...what their lives were like, did they do all the things they wanted, were they really that different from us. Ever since that first time I actually went into the cemetery, I've gone back several times just to relax or clear my mind. Its nice to find places like that in a city like London, one that just pushes people to move quicker and never slow down. My own little reflection spot..
On a lighter note, one of my co-workers/cooks is from Latvia and loves rap music, so he always asks me about American rappers, music, etc. His name is Dimi (its really something like Dimichicka...totally wrong spelling, but I really have no idea what is full name is), and he is so intrigued by American culture, especially college life which he always loves to hear stories about. Anyways, the other day as he was leaving work he called me over because he wanted to ask me about some English words that he couldn't find in his Latvian/English translation book. He told me he would just write them down and asked that I could explain what they meant. Knowing Dimi and his love for rap music, I was curious to what words he didn't know. The first word was "Swagga" :) How do you explain "swagga" to a Latvian with about 5 other Eastern European looking on as well? The only thing I could think of (besides how hilarious this was) to explain it was the way a person walks, and I proceeded to "swagga" throughout the restaurant like a ghetto rap star. Oh but it didn't stop there, the next word(s) was "groove on". He said he heard it from the title of a song lol. I told him it was like dance movies and he laughed. So glad I have now turned into the new American urban dictionary for my European co-workers. :)
Lately on my days off work I have been exploring the city on my own, going to places I haven't been yet in London. One day I went to the Covent Garden markets near Soho where they were having an antique market that day. There were all kinds of antiques from old books, to silver, to jewelry. I actually bought a 100 year old ring from some British woman that is in the shape of a heart with a crown on the top. I thought it would be a nice little trinket to have so I could always be reminded of my time here. The Covent Garden market is actually a really cool place bustling with people and street entertainers. I actually went back to it today on my day off (it was a clothing/crafts market today, it changes everyday) and as I was watching one of the entertainers whose trick was to escape from a straight jacket, he asked me on stage. Ughh..the thing was he was looking for volunteers and I was the only one NOT raising my hand but he picked me anyways. He was some French guy and when he asked me my name he repeated it back to me as "Herin" with an 'H' on the front. So, he kept saying it over and over on stage that way. My job was to put him in the straight jacket along with some other random guy who helped me. Oh and he made me do a funny dance on stage. Yep. In front of a crowd of about 70 or so. It had no relevance to what he was doing, but he made me do it anyways. lol Thank god no one I know actually saw me. Also, when I was watching another performer today who was a unicyclist, his English bulldog who was entertaining the crowd by chasing a ball beforehand decided to take a nice little poo in front of a group of about 10 or so little kids. The performer was so embarrassed and proceeded to pick up the poop right in front of everyone...hilarious, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Good day at Covent Garden. On a side note, I also found Benjamin Franklin's house right around the corner from there, that he stayed in for around 16 years in London. It's actually one of the oldest houses with the original flooring and walls in London. Kinda cool little discovery.
On another day I went to the British Museum which is actually a really great museum. They have artifacts from all over the world, but some of their more famous stuff is the Rosetta Stone and parts of the Parthenon in Greece. I shouldn't even say parts of the Parthenon, they practically have the whole thing...I guess they have like 60% of it in the British museum that they refuse to give back to the Greeks. Besides that all of their exhibits were amazing from Egyptian artifacts to old Europe. One of my favorite exhibits was titled "Living and Dying" that displayed ways cultures from all over the world envision medicine and sickness. They had one long display in the middle showing the amount of medicines described to one person from the moment they were born to the moment they died. It was really cool to see other culture's approach to sickness, whether it be with old herbal medicine or dressing up in masks to scare the evil sickness demons away. I also liked the exhibit that explained Britain from its beginnings all the way through now, as well as the portrait gallery that showed old English art and cartoons..some were actually pretty funny. All in all, the museum was pretty nice and I'd recommend it for anyone coming to London.
Yesterday on my walk back from work, as I got closer to my house I started noticing that there were a lot of people on the street. At least a lot more than normal. Than I started noticing that a lot of them were wearing Chelsea Football Club shirts and then shortly realized a soccer match was about to go on and I was heading straight into the mass of it. For those of you who don't know, I live about 5 min from the Chelsea Football club stadium and when there's a game its craziness. Well yesterday was Chelsea vs Liverpool to see who would continue on in the Champions League...a HUGE deal for London/Europe people. I soon realized as I was walking in the sea of Chelsea people and that Liverpool's colors are red..and I was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt proudly displayed from under my zip up hoody. Once that realization sunk in, I immediately zipped up my jacket and tried to cover all the remaining exposed parts. This is Europe and people are nuts about soccer and I'm not about to get messed with over nothing. As I walked closer and closer to the stadium the mass just grew and grew. The street was completely blocked off and the pub across from the stadium was booming with fans screaming the cheers of Chelsea. Cops were all on horses moving people along and camera crews were everywhere. When I got home and the game started, I actually could hear the stadium and the cheering from my room. When Chelsea won the cheers from the stadium was so clear and loud that I couldn't believe it. It was cool though to hear it...even if there were Chelsea drunks outside my window at 2 in the morning.
Hope all is well at home! I'll keep updating this on all of my mini adventures! Keep the e-mails coming.

The Craziest two Weeks in Europe so far - Part 3 (final) Ben's last week in London...Stonehenge, dinosaurs, boat races, and more

After an amazing trip to Barcelona, it was time to head back to London for Ben and I. Having a full week in London for Ben meant we could actually get to do a lot of sightseeing of the city and beyond. The next day after getting back from Barcelona we decided to take it easy and see some not so touristy sights. Being one of the biggest soccer teams in England, Ben really wanted to see the Chelsea Football Club stadium which is right near my house in Fulham. So, we walked over to the stadium (which is literally a 10 min walk from where I live) and took pictures with the "team" as well as visit the club's store..which has about everything Chelsea that you could ever imagine, from shirts to dog bowls. From there we headed over to Regent's Park, one of the largest parks in London containing the Queen's gardens and the London Zoo. It was an absolutely beautiful park, like most here in London, with its beautiful floral gardens. Ben and I ended up just hanging out on one of the park benches just people watching which is always fun. After a little bit we took a stroll around the park and headed home for some serious sightseeing the next day.
Unfortunately I had to work the next morning but afterwards Ben and I headed to Westminster Abbey where rumor had it that Ben's great great grandfather was buried somewhere in there. Upon arrival though, we quickly found out many people were buried in the amazingly huge Gothic cathedral...about 3,000 actually. It was unbelievable the amount of crypts and tombs that laid everywhere around the Abbey. From the various tombs of Kings, Queens, writers, etc crypts we saw Queen Mary of Scots, Jane Austeen, T.S. Elliot, etc. as well as the coronation chair in which every royal has been crowned on since 1066 of William the Conquerer and the Poet's corner where many literary dignitaries are buried. We snapped a couple of pictures of the beautiful interior (although it was completely illegal and had to hide it from a man in a red cape going around yelling at people) and headed to an area of the Abbey called the cloister where a courtyard is that brings light into some of the Abbey's corridors. As we were walking, to my disbelief I pointed down at the ground to Ben where the words "Here Rest the Remains of James Lupton", Ben's great great grandfather. I think we had about given up at this point that we would ever find his name, but there it was with the sunlight coming in on it in the middle of the Abbey. It's an overwhelming feeling of emotion to see something like that and to know that Ben is the first in his family to actually see it in person. Later on in the day, we obviously googled James Lupton of Westminster Abbey and he was actually a choralier for the Church and a respected Reverend who did a lot for the Abbey. After giving Ben some time there, we left the Abbey after hearing the choir for a little bit and walked past St. Jame's park to Buckingham Palace. From there we ate at the pub I went to on my first day in London right in the middle of Westminster where we observed all the old men in suits and briefcases who were coming directly from work for drinks....only in London.
In the next couple of days we ventured to the Natural History Museum (which I was obviously excited about), Kensington, and Notting Hill. The Natural History Museum was nice with a lot of stuff dedicated to Darwin and tons of dinosaur stuff which I loved. The human body part had some very explicit pictures which we couldn't help but laugh at. But in all honesty, no where near as good as the Natural History Museum in New York City. Just the quality of the exhibits and stuff just didn't have the importance like most exhibits in New York. It was still fun and we definitely still enjoyed ourselves though.
One day during the week we decided to take a tour of Stonehenge and Bath, which is about two hours outside the city. I was really excited to see the Roman Baths and Stonehenge and felt like it was one of those things that you have to do while your in England. Our first stop was Stonehenge, which is literally in the middle of no where in the midst of the English countryside. The weather was windy and cold, which for some reason seemed like that's how it should of been when you see Stonehenge. We got an audio tour that explained how the project started about 5000 years ago and how the first stones were bluestones brought on rollers and sticks from Whales a little over 200 miles from the site. The thing about Stonehenge is although they seem to know a lot about how it was made, it still remains a mystery as to what its actual purpose was. Some believe it was a mix of science and religious use, due to how the sun hits the stones and the many burial sites around it. When you see it though, you can't help but wonder if its even something more than all of that...I mean it took heck of a lot work back then to just build a sun dial or gift to the gods when it seems like their were other ways of doing it. I also loved the fact that it was so prehistoric and that at home you can't find anything as old as that. After a half hour of circling Stonehenge in the wind and rain we headed back on the bus to go to Bath, the city of Britain's only hot springs and the Roman baths. On the way there we passed through the English countryside which is actually quite beautiful and makes you want to escape to a cottage out there for a week or two. Coming into Bath I was pleasantly surprised at how nice of a town it is with its old architecture and simplicity. Our bus took us around the city pointing out various sites without failing to mention that both Johnny Depp and Nicholas Cage have flats there. From there, we were brought to Bath Abbey and the entrance to the Roman Baths that were once used by the Romans for healing purposes...they even drank the stuff. Supposedly the hot springs healed the Duke of Canterbury's dogs skin disease and his leprosy, and therefore established it as some healing wonder. The museum to the baths was actually really cool with remnants from the original baths, Roman artifacts, and much of the original flooring. The actual bath still had to steam coming off of the water and if you got close enough to it you could feel the heat from it. After exploring the Roman baths we had free time to see the rest of the city so Ben and I just walked around and had lunch by the river. We both agreed how beautiful and quiet the city was, so different from the bustle of London. It was a nice getaway from it all and we were both glad decided to do it.
On Ben's last day in London it just so happen to be the 155th Oxford vs Cambridge boat race on the Thames River, which is considered one of the top 5 sporting events in the world (yes, even greater than OSU Michigan game, sorry guys). We headed down to the river with my housemates and soon realized the popularity of it. The streets surrounding the river were packed with people drinking and "tailgating" for the event. We got lucky enough to catch the boats as they were passing, in which Oxford ended up winning in the end. Afterwards we walked along the river to a pub where a huge outdoor party was taking place. The place was crazy with people from everywhere drinking and having a good time....except for the one drunk idiot who decided to climb a tree and almost fall to his death before hitting a branch. We had a great time and we ended up watching the sun go down on the river as the Oxford team rode by with their trophy in hand. It was a perfect end to Ben's stay, although there was no part of me that wanted him to leave the next day. I had my tearful goodbye at Heathrow the next morning as Ben headed home. Although I was sad, it was a nice breather to have Ben here in the middle of my stay here, it really refreshed me and made me realize again how great of an experience this all is. To share it with someone else was even better.

Anyways thanks to everyone who has wrote me e-mails and notes! I really appreciate it all. More updates coming soon...because its spring in London and everything is so beautiful!

The Craziest two Weeks in Europe so far - Part 2: Barcelona where the bartenders names' are Pepe

I headed back to London VERY early Wednesday morning, only to be there for a short while. An hour after I got home I had to get back on the tube to pick up Benjamin from Heathrow. Getting to the airport late of course, (because the tube ALWAYS lets you down) I was in a fluster as I hurried into the arrival gate. But, it all magically went away the moment I saw him standing there (probably nervous as hell thinking he might be lost in London when I didn't show up). A little/big piece of home was there and an overwhelming sense of happiness came over me. I guess I came into this whole thing thinking I could never be homesick, I was too tough for that. But as much as I hate to admit it, I've never been so homesick in my life being here, although I still unbelievably love every minute of my life in London. Seeing Ben though, was like bringing home to me and I never let that feeling go the whole time he was here. Besides that, I was also soo glad to have him around again.
We boarded the tube back to Fulham which ended up being pretty funny watching some one who had never experienced it before. I've gotten so used to all the people and public transport that I don't notice the little things that Ben did. For example, the tube can sometimes be like a library, where no matter how many people present it remains quiet and every one's reading something (at least in the morning and during the day). Anyways, after that, Ben was super anxious to get out and see things, so although I was exhausted I knew how important it was to go see some of the major sites for him. We headed to Westminster where the first thing he saw getting out of the station was Big Ben, Parliament, and the London eye. It was a beautiful cloudless day and we soaked it in as we stood on the bridge over looking it all. After that we took a walk along the river, similar to what I did on my first day in London. The whole day was just perfect, and after some obvious fish and chips at a pub, we went home to get ready to head off to Barcelona in the morning.
Arriving in Barcelona was just as I imagined, beautiful, sunny, without a cloud in the sky. We gave the taxi driver (who spoke zero English) the address to where we were staying, the Catalina Port, and having no idea as to what kind of place it was we kind of expected the worse. It wasn't too long after getting into the main city that the driver pulled into a small alley close to the ocean and main street. He tried to explain to us what he was doing, but I obviously don't speak Spanish so that was quite interesting. Anyways, he pulled over and pointed toward the door to the Catalina Port. At first, we were a little skeptical because it was right near this beautiful plaza and in the middle of everything but we went inside to find that we were at the right place. Everything was really modern and new looking, and over all just a really cool place. The most shocking part was opening the door to our room finding this HUGE room with none other than a outdoor terrace attached to it. It had a beautiful view and we honestly couldn't have gotten much better. After unpacking (and checking out the mini bar) we decided to wander along Las Ramblas, the biggest and busiest street in Barcelona. It was filled with street entertainers in various gear (our favorite was the guy on the toilet!), art and flower vendors, and multiple restaurants with outdoor terrances. As we were walking we ran into this enormous market called "Mercat de La Boqueria" with the most amazing fresh foods. The colors are the first thing that hit you as you walk in, the fresh fruits are stacked high in piles and are just everywhere. They also have these stands with these fresh fruit smoothies called fruities that Ben and I instantly became addicted to the moment we had one (which were only 1 Euro). The market was also filled with fresh fish, cheeses, candy, ice cream, breads, everything. It was definitely a nice little discovery. Afterwords we decided to sit down at one of the outdoor restaurants for a couple of sangria's (which were huge and delicious). We had a front row view of the toilet man, a weird princess, a man statue, and a devil like man who would say "boo" at people when they walked by on Las Ramblas. All very interesting and great for people watching. But, after a nice little sunset, we walked along the alleys, which I loved, and found a cute plaza right near our place which we instantly fell in love with that we later spent a lot of time in. We went back to the room and got ready to go out for dinner, watching our all Spanish television (they even had Boy Meets World on...in Spanish). We decided to go back to Las Ramblas to another outdoor restaurant, where we got the most amazing paella ever and of course sangria's. Afterwards though, we decided to get some rest before our bike tour the next morning.
We woke up early the next morning so that we wouldn't get lost before the bike tour. After talking to a couple of my Aussie housemates and some of my sorority sisters who had studied abroad, I was told to go on this "Fat Tire Bike Tour" through Barcelona which I guess was really fun for them and got you to all the major sites around the city. I know picturing Ben and I on bikes sounds a little comical...which we laughed at ourselves...we both thought it would be a great way to see the city. Finding the bike tour was a lot easier and quicker than we thought, so we ended up having a little breakfast at a coffee shop near it before hand. We met the group at Ciutat Vella, or the middle of the city, where we grabbed our bikes and met our tour guide, who was this really funny South African guy. There was a group of about 20 of us, mostly people our age, and after a few laughs from trying to get used to the bikes (I struggled at first lol) we headed through the alley's of Barcelona, ringing our bells the whole way though ;). But in all seriousness, although trying to swerve in and out of people through those alley's was funny, it was amazing to see all of it. I loved going through those streets off of the main roads because I felt like I got more of a feel for what the city actually is, the authentic Barcelona. Our first stop was at the site where Christopher Columbus stood in front of the King and Queen (who actually thought he had no chance of returning) after discovering the new world. We then headed off to the main Cathedral (Catedral La Seu) which was unfortunately under construction like most of the city, and supposedly contains several saint relics inside, maybe the most in the world. In the same square as the cathedral, also known as the Gothic quarter, was a piece of the old Catalonia wall that surrounded the city hundreds of years ago. From there we stopped at the Palau de la Música Catalana, which is one of the most famous pieces of modern architecture in the city with brilliant sets of colors and designs on it. Then it was off to the Arc de Triomf similar to the one in Paris, built in 1888 for the World's Exhibition. We then road our bikes through this beautiful row of palm trees, the whole time Ben actually taking pictures of me mid ride, which I was too clumsy/dangerous to attempt due to my fear that I might actually hurt someone if I tried. From there we went to the Parc de la Ciutadella or the central park of Barcelona. It was very pretty, with palm trees and different Spanish architecture, including a cascade fountain with hints of Gaudi all around it. We got a little free time to explore the park then headed to possibly the most famous site in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia temple, passing a bull fighting arena along the way (although it is outlawed to bull fight...they continue to do it). The temple started with Gaudi in 1866, but it was too big of a project for him to finish, it actually isn't predicted to be completed until 2030, but the builders are trying to make it as close to Gaudi's masterpiece as possible. Our tour guide told us that Gaudi was actually hit by a tram right in front of the temple and people just thought he was beggar on the street so no one helped him for days. Then finally some one took him to the community hospital where he was barely treated. Days later, a doctor finally recognized the great architect, but when asked if he wanted to go to the nicer private hospital he just replied "if this is how the poor is treated, then I will also be treated like that and die here with them." So he did and is now buried in Sagrada Familia. The temple itself consists of 18 towers, one for Jesus, Mary, the 4 evangelists, and the 12 apostles and a nativity facade that depicts the life of Jesus. Gaudi incorporated all kinds of shapes and designs so that the project could continue in the future. The temple is amazing because its nothing like I've ever seen before, the architecture is so unique. The gothic nature of it all gives it a different type of feel than a normal church would and the detail in the architecture is actually quite genius. After being able to walk around it for a little while, we rode over to the beach where we saw the Olympic Port where the athletes stayed in 1992 and the new 6 star hotel being built that is similar to the 7 star hotel in Dubai. We had a break on the beach where we just ate sandwiches from the local market and drank a box of sangria that only cost 2 Euro. Ben and I hung out with our tour guide that told us about his life in Barcelona and different things about the city that we probably wouldn't find out from anyone other than someone like him. I also started to talk to another guy on the trip who was working in Barcelona but did the same BUNAC program in London that I'm doing, so that was a strange coincidence. As we were about to leave, I realized I hadn't finished the huge box of sangria we bought and not knowing what to do, my tour guide insisted I just put it on the back of the bike saying "people do it all the time" while at the same time he proceeded to put a beer on his own bike. We then headed off to our last stop, the eternal flame of the city and then had to give up our bikes. Although I was sad that it was over, it definitely was a worthwhile experience and an amazing way to see the city. I mean we had a great tour guide who was really funny and cool, we saw all the major sites, the weather was beautiful, and we had a fun time getting around the streets of Barcelona on a bike with a push bell :). Doesn't get much better than that.
After the bike tour, Ben and I just strolled around the streets of Barcelona going through the major shopping area and back to our favorite plaza for some drinks. It was funny because inside the plaza there were these chairs scattered around all by themselves. We contemplated the type of people who might sit in these individual chairs, just to see a little old man sitting in one, of course by himself. From there we went back, got ready, then went back to the plaza for dinner and afterwards found the most authentic Spanish bar we could find. The place had an old school vibe to it, although there was plenty of young people in there, with old artifacts on the walls and animal skins everywhere. An old man came up to us, whom we later found out his name was Pepe, trying to get our drink order. He spoke no English, which for some reason when you tell an older person from Barcelona that you do not speak Spanish they continue to talk to you in Spanish anyways. But somehow it turned out to be a lot of fun because he would get our drinks, then give us shots of some unknown substance, and then continue to talk to us while putting his arm around Ben and grabbing my face. Pepe put on a quite a show, after taking many shots himself with customers, and ended up making it quite the memorable night.
The next day we had some time on our hands before having to get to the airport, so we headed back to Las Ramblas where a market of craft and art vendors were set up for the day (I bought a really pretty piece of artwork from a local artist). We/I checked that out for a little while before heading back to the market we went to on the first day to get some more of those smoothies we loved. Unfortunately after getting a bite to eat and looking around a little more we had to head back to London. When Ben and I talked about everything over again at the end of it, we both agreed how easy the life felt like when we were there, so completely different from London. Everything is so much slower and laid back and it just seems like the people were all so happy. The way of life is so easy to fall in love with while your there and it was gut wrenching to have to leave it behind. To me, that's the way I want to live my life...with someone special by my side, feeling like all of your worries are some where else, in a place where time seems to go slower. Barcelona was definitely beautiful and a must see experience to anyone traveling over here. But, make sure if you go to take it slow, walk through the amazing alleys, and soak it all in, including the sun which will most definitely show.

Part 3..coming soon...the rest of Ben's London visit, where we visited the Natural History Museum, Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford vs Cambridge boat races, and other stuff around the city!!