London Day 2 –
I woke up this morning determined to go on a double-decker bus tour! I bought my ticket and hoped on the bus at the stop closest to Logan’s flat. It was the Museum Tour route so I changed buses at Picadilly Circus to start off on the right tour! It was a lot of fun but lasted almost 4 hours long! I think I saw everything there is to see in London, including the Tower of London, the Globe, St. James Palace and everything in between! My guide was a comedian and pointed out funny things that wouldn’t be identifiable to just any tourist. I saw gentlemen’s clubs, hotels owned by rich Middle Eastern men, and homes of celebs including JK Rowling! After that I picked up a salad at Pret A Manger (our fave lunch spot!) and met up with Logan and Paige after class. Logan and I wanted to go to Wimbledon to get some souvenirs, but little did we know we were in for an adventure! We took a rather long Tube ride south of London and got off at Southfields and walked about 20 min to the tennis club. We paid 17 pounds to get in the grounds and within minutes we were among the tennis world’s elite! Everyone there to watch was dressed to the nines and there for the day. There were big screens that told us who was playing, leader brackets, and flowers everywhere! We walked around and saw little warm up courts, the Centro Court, and Court No. 1. All of it was pretty impressive and beautiful. We were in awe! We think we saw Feliciano Lopez warming up but we definitely knew Maria Sharapova was currently playing in the main court. We got t shirts and hats and then left the complex to head back to central London. For dinner that night, we went to this bowling alley/diner/bar. It was really close to the girls’ flat and super chic. I had a delicious hamburger and almost got a Coors Light, but to my misfortunate, they were out of stock. Logan then took me to this charming pub called the Princess Louisa and we mingled amongst locals and drank cider until around midnight. IT was the quintessential London day!
London Day 3 –
On my last day in London I went to Starbucks and read and tried to catch up on my blog posts. After that I walked across the street to the British Museum. There was so much to see!! This museum housed mostly artifacts and sculpture while the National Gallery was predominantly paintings. I preferred this one much more! I saw Egyptian mummies, Roman sculptures, the Rosetta stone of course, and so much more. The museum was divided into locations and then within that section it was further divided into time periods. It was cool to browse through Europe from the Anglo-Saxons to Romans to the 1900s. After that I went back to the flat and packed my things to head to Heathrow for Barcelona! I took a taxi to Heathrow and flew to Barcelona landing around 7:30pm. I took another cab to Caroline Johnson and Mary Bell’s apartment located near the Sangrada Familia on Carrer del Castillejos. As soon as I got in, Mary and CJ informed me of our plans for the night. They fed me home made chicken and pasta and we got ready to go to the clubs by the beach. The girls ride the metro around the city, so I bought a metro card and we journeyed to Barceloneta. Camille Moughon met up with us in the Metro and then Emily Burke and Aly Smith joined us at this bar called Chupitos! I was so happy to be with all my friends again and in Spain! I knew this night was going to be a blast. Sanannah Stait and Becky Lyus came to the bar and it was so good to see Sav who has been in Barcelona since January! After that bar, we went to this club called Opium on the beach where a famous DJ called Kaskade was playing. Travis Gallivan was there and in his element and pulled me to the dance floor right when we got there! The night was really fun and super overwhelming. We got home in the wee hours of the morning.
BARCELONA!!!
June 30th My first full day in Barcelona was lazy in the morning and adventurous in the afternoon. While the girls had class, I slept in all morning and caught up on sleep and relaxed for once. For lunch we went to this really great brunch spot called Milk and I got a Ranchera omelet. That afternoon we all rented bikes and went adventuring! We rode along the beautiful beach from the W hotel all the way down to where the clubs and the giant gold fish statue is. We then ventured into the city and saw a cool fountain and explored through a park. We decided to join the locals relaxing in the shade and pulled our biked into the grass and took in the beauty of Parc Ciutadella. We then rode through the Arc de Triomphe, passed the Zoo, and rode through the busy streets in town. After that, CJ, Emily, and I got Wok to Walk – a delicious noodle place – for dinner once we returned our bikes. That night we went to the Ice Bar called ICEBARcelona where you out on heavy coats, gloves, and go into a bar that is completely covered in ice! The walls are like 6 inches thick, the tables, cups, and couches are made from ice, and there was even a replica of the Sangrada Familia ice sculpture! It was a very cool thing to do, even if it is a tourist trap. We then walked over to the El Born area and enjoyed some Nutella crepes. So tasty!! We called it an early night and went home.
July 1st I can’t believe its already July and that I have been in Europe for a full month! I am getting ready to come home but I know that I could stay for a little longer, probably not a whole semester though. Today we slept in again. The Barcelona girls don’t have class on Friday, so we all got our beauty sleep until about noon! It was so nice! When we finally got up and moving, we went to the most delicious bocadillo (sandwich) place in the entire world called Bo De B’s. All the ingredients are so fresh and the 5 different sauces all come together to create a tasty medley! After lunch, we unsuccessfully tried to get into the W hotel to lay out by the pool. The women there denied our group so we settled on the beach – not a bad option! I loved Barceloneta! It was beautiful even though crowded. We stayed over by the W which meant a lot of nudes but not many students or tourists. We swam, listened to music, and chatted. It was the perfect beach afternoon! We finished the afternoon with a pitcher of sangria at this little hut on the beach called Sahara. After we took the metro back to our apartments and we have plans to meet at 9:30 for tapas back in the neighborhood El Born! Should we a fun Barcelonian night! More to come later! Love yall!
