GRECIA!

so i wrote a little diddy on my laptop about what we did this week. forgive me for spelling and grammar errors!!

Friday April 30th...

Packed up the place. It wasn't too bad. Packing to come here was worse because you have to select what you want to take...here...I just had to find a way to get all my stuff in my 2 suitcases. In the beginning, my mom shipped over a big backpack that I was going to use as a carry on while travelling. However, this backpack was SO big that it didn't even count as a carry on...so I didn't even use it once the entire semester. The plan was to ship it back....so I am walking to Mailboxes Etc to ship it back...and as I am walking down Sardenya, I see a ton of police cars, sirens, and a taped off area. I didn't know what had happened, but it was right next to Mailboxes Etc so I passed the scene....unforunately there was a body covered by a sheet on the ground. Somebody had jumped off their terrace and committed suicide. That was when I realized that life is so different for each person. While I was complaining about packing up my things after studying in Europe for 4 months, somebody else was contemplating the purpose and meaning and value of their life. I was so deeply upset by this entire incident. I feel so helpless when something like that happens, and after working for a suicide hotline in high school, I always wanted to try to help people who felt there was no other way out...but this one I couldn't control even if I had been walking by 15 minutes earlier. Life is so fragile....and I have always believed in living each day as it was your last....and this was a swift reminder to keep living that way.

When I got to the store...had the two people help me with my bag...only to find out it would cost me 270 euros...at the cheapest price...to ship this backpack to the US. So obviously I didn't pay for it....and the mystery of what I am going to do with this backpack will be figured out when I return to Barcelona on Friday. The rest of the day, I packed, hung out with my roommates and later headed over to Peters. That night, I ended up finding a great deal to go back to Naples and Capri for the last two days of my travelling here...I immeadiately jumped on the opportunity and could not be more excited! This entire trip...that is the one place I have been DYING to go back to...and I am now going!! Even though I'll be solo. I will still have a great time.

That night, as our last night all together in Barca, we went to the Lost bar. Yep, the only bar with a Lost theme is in Barcelona....it is called Bharma. It was extremely well decorated and there were Lost episodes playing in the bar. The best part...Dharma beer. I still took a bottle for a souvenir. Then we headed back to good old Patagonia bar so I could have one last little brain shot. Since we frequented this bar often, the guys who work there know us...and they realized that this was our last night there. So we got some free drinks and it was a lot of fun! After that, went back to the apartment for my last night in Castillejos. Beth and I had a flight earlier in the morning to Santorini.

Saturday May 1....

We get to the airport with plenty of time and wait in a long line to check our bags. Once we finally get to the front, I find out that my one suitcase was 34 kilograms...amost 70 pounds. The airline only allowed 20 kilograms...unless I wanted to pay 12 euros PER kilo...outrageous. So I quickly dumped anything heavy that I didn't need in the trash....panicing and about to throw up from the stress. I finally got my bag down to 23 kilos...and they didn't charge me. Phew! It was sooooo stressful. I always knew that I was going to store my other suitcase and backpack in this area of the airport....but now I was barely about to make boarding my flight. The man told me I wouldn't ahve time to store my bags...but what else was I supposed to do with them? Throw them out? He made no sense. So I bolted to store my bags...which of course took longer than necessary...but I ran up to security...they let me through and I made our flight in plenty of time.

We had a layover in Athens where Beth and I met up with Natina who had like a bajillion hour layover there. We just all hung out in the airport eating oreos and watching the Hills. Beth and I flew to Santorini a little bit before Natina, and made it on that plane. No one was on it. Had a whole row to myself except they wouldn't let me put my feet up. Lame. The flight was only 35 minutes so it went really fast. When we got to the airpot, we met the shuttle and he drove us back to our place. On the way, we passed Santo Wines...a winery Mom and I visited 3 years ago during our time in Santorini. Good times! He also showed us where as 24 hour bakery is....WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA! Maybe I will keep that in mind for my bakery one day.

That night, while waiting for Natina to get in town...Beth and I walked down the rode from our hotel to a little restaurant called Grandma's Recipes. They had HUGe 1 foot gyros for an amazing price. We had a great time just enjoying people watching and relaxing after a long day of travelling and a long week of finals and work. We met Natina back at the hotel and we all went to bed...we were absolutely exhausted.

Sunday May 2....

We woke up to go lay out on the beach. The beach we were off of was a black sand beach...and it was amazingly hot. It felt like you were walking on hot coals. Whenever I have seen people do that on TV, I thought...there is no way I could ever do that....but honestly....I think I could now. You could literally see the heat rising from the sand. It was still gorgeous though. We ate and laid out on the beach in front of this restaurant Yazz will amazing 4 euro greek salads...completely authentic and delicious. We laid out all day and then went to go buy some authentic greek wine. It was disgusting...not at all how I remembered from the winery Mom and I had gone to....this wine tasted like cleaning solution...so we called it Pine Sol all night. The boys got to the hotel, we all got ready and then went back to Grandma's Recipes for another dinner. Afterwards, we went to this place called the Beach Club and the DJ was spinning the tunes like crazy! I was a dancing queen...enjoying every song to the max...even if that meant dancing by myself. After awhile, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Monday May 3...

Woke up again pretty early to go lay out on the black sand beach. Enjoyed another great Greek salad at Yazz, and around 2, we headed back to the hotel to go rent ATVs and explore the island. We rode out to Fira....walked around for awhile. We sat at this great bar on top of the entire island and had amazing milk shakes. We went in and out of some stores, found another great gyro place. bought some souvenirs, took some breathtaking pictures, and explored in general. Then we decided to go back to our ATVs and ride to Oia. On the way, we stopped at this mountain, where Matt climbed up the entire thing...and it was literally ginormous. Natina and I had no desire at all to climb...so we just watched from the bottom. Eventually we made it back to Oia where Peter was on a mission to find this ceramic store his mom had been to the summer before. After searching for awhile, we could not find it anywhere. We were getting rather hopeless, but as we turned the corner, we found it! The ceramics were beautiful and we ended up finding two amazing dishes. The man who worked at the store was so nice, and he was very patient with us as we kept changing our minds. Then we went over to the cliff area where we watched the sunset. I purchased a Greek coffee...which was sooo strong I thought I was going to go into coffee bean comatose. It was an amazing sunset...there were lots of people everywhere, but we watched the whole thing and it was amazing. On our walk back to the ATVs, I also found the restaurant where mom and I shared 3 desserts for our lunch that day. We didn't have time to eat there before it was getting too dark, and we had at least an hour on the ATVs to get back to our hotel.

The ride back was a little frightening. It was completley dark and there were lots of buses on the windy curvy rodes. We did make it back in one piece even though we practically froze. We ended up going to eat at this great restaurant called Atlas...I had a pineapple burger that took my breath away and Peter and I split saganaki....a traditional greek appetizer....fried cheese...not like a mozzarella stick...it was actually better! We just went back to the hotel and hung out and went to bed. We had to wake up and go on the ferry in the morning to Mykonos.

Tuesday May 4....

Woke up, packed...then headed over to the port to catch our ferry. The ferry was 2 hours...and 4 of us ended up sitting next to each other. i finished reading Chelsea Handler's HILARIOUSSSS book, "Are you there vodka? it's me chelsea." Now Beth is reading it...it is so funny. The ferry went by pretty quickly...only 2 hours...not bad. Once we got to mykonos, we took a cab to our hotel where we were staying on Ornos beach. It was beautiuful...but since it wasn't high season...it was pretty dead. Still completely enjoyable! We decided to just walk around and get some snacks for the next few days...we went to a restaurant called Taki's and got some more delicious gyros...which if I didn't mention before...i am now obsessed with! SO YUMMY. Then Beth, Natina, Pete and I went into town. We just walked around all the cute streets that wind in and out, admiring all the classic white and blue houses and buildings. It really is dream like. We found a smoothie palce and sat down for awhile. Then we did some more souvenir shopping...finding a cute little jewlery store. Then we made it to the port area, mailed postcards and got some gelato. Lemon pie. It was amazing. Then as we were watching the sunset, we saw a HUGE pink pelican...yeah it was pink. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. And it was this man's pet. Like it followed him and would stand right by his side. So funny. We watched the sunset then went back to the hotel.

Since some of us weren't hungry, some of us stayed back while others went to dinner. We just hung out and rested after a busy day. That night, we went into town and went to two different clubs that were literally right across the street from each other. So if one started playing bad music, we would walk across the street to the other one, and then back and forth and back and forth. My favorite was Mykonos Bar with an awesome DJ. We had a ton of fun that night. On the way back to hotel, I was craving a nutella banana crepe and found a little place still open....although it was 5 euros...it was the BEST nutella banana crepe I have had in europe. I wanted another one.

Wednesday May 5....

Woke up early and was the first one on the beach. There was a place next to our hotel on the beach and we sat out in their chairs since our hotels chairs weren't ready yet. there was hardly anyone staying there. We just spent the day laying out...grabbed a sandwich at the bakery up the road...which had no condiments. I went to the market next door and they had French's mustard! I hadn't seen it all semester...and of all places...Mykonos Greece is where I found it. Then Pete and I watched the latest episode of Lost...amazing. I cried. LIterally. Then we all went and had some drinks on the beach as the sun set. That night, we went to dinner right next to our hotel at Ithaki which was the most international restaurant I have ever been to. They literally had every kind of food...but Pete and I got pesto pasta and caprese pizza. It was an amazing meal....minus my falling in love with a stray cat that I wanted to take home. But I didn't. Went to bed earlyyyyy.

Thursday May 6....

Woke up to go to the beach. Well all the cabs were missing in action, so we went to get breakfast...had a greek omlette...so great. Then finally after waiting for cabs for around 30 minutes, we were able to go to Paradise beach...another place Mom and I had gone to three years ago. This time....there was NO ONE there though. When mom and i went in july of 2007...we could barely find anywhere to sit! Peter, Steven and I all split a huge pitcher of Pina Coladas...which was delicious. We also had a great lunch....cucumber and tomato salad. Around 5:30 we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Finally headed to town and went to a great meal right on the water. It was our last meal with all 6 of us together....Natina and Steven were leaving early in the morning and we were all heading to Scotland. So we reflected on what an incredible semester we had shared and tried to figure out the next time we would all be reunited...hopefully Halloween weekend in Madison this year. We just enjoyed each others company and soaked in every minute. Then we went back to pack and hang out.

Friday May 7....

finished packing in the morning....realized taht I had my mom send my package to Athens instead of Mykonos...freaked out...got to the airport on time. Took a flight to London Gatwick...almost a 4 hour flight...ick.

Adios Barcelona!

This is going to be my last blog post for a long time....or maybe the last ever on Bopeep in Barcelona....because after tomorrow....Bopeep will no longer be in Barcelona.

Some thoughts...

I have been here in Europe 108 days. With 16 left :)

I have lived in 4 different apartments since my arrival.

I have used 3 different kinds of shampoo and conditioner.

I have cooked 6 different kinds of noodles.

I buy a fresh baguette at least every other day and dunk it in olive oil and balsamic.

I eat at least 2 principe cookies a day.

I have not stepped in dog poop the entire time I have been here.

I travelled on 8 different weekends.

I have lost 1 cell phone, 1 wallet and 1 camera.

I saw 1 car accident.

I hung my laundry out to dry and it did not smell pretty.

My socks are black from walking around my apartment because it is so dirty.

You can be arrested for hanging your laundry on the outside terrace of your apartment.

Ahad's market down the street from my apartment will always hold a dear place in my heart.

I will miss seeing the tippy top of Sagrada Familia every.single.day.

I have decided that Emily Stew and I are going to have to speak Spanish to each other in our house next year.

People here stare...and they don't care.

Contact solution costs a lot more here than you could possibly imagine.

Ziploc bags are not common.

People ride bikes everywhere here...and I will miss that.

I love walking everywhere...the only reason I've managed to keep my bread and pasta weight off somewhat.

I will miss 1 euro bottles of wine.

Cava. 'Nuff said.

The internet only works 70% of the time in Spain. Fact.

It's going to be weird to drive a car again....so starting May 16th...WATCH OUT!

I have discovered that when I am bored I have inherited my grandmother's habits...I like to do the dishes, organize the fridge and straighten up the house.

I will not miss walking down Las Ramblas at night. SKETCHYYYYY.

Paella is something I have enjoyed but will not miss too much.

It is going to be strange to eat at 6, going out at 10 and being back in before 6 am.

Wintergreen flavoring will come back into my life. YAY!

I have grown to enjoy watcing fútbol....but I am ready for baseball.

Fresh squeezed juice will be incorporated into my life back at home.

Boqueria...I don't know how we are ever going to part.

Park Guell....thanks for the memories!

Ryanair, Easyjet, and Vueling...thank you for the cheap airfare.

My apartment on Castillejos...it's been real.

Barcelona....no hay palabras.

This experience has been UNREAL. There have been highs and lows. I have cried and laughed my toosh off. I have fallen up escalators, fallen down stairs and had the time of my life. I have learned so much about myself, about others and about how the world works. Like...the fact that laughter REALLY is universal. Having the mountains and the beach within 10 minutes is something to be appreciated!

But this experience is not over! Tomorrow I jet off to Santorini, Mykonos, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London for the next two weeks. Then homeward bound on May 16th. For now, there is a bottle of cava in the fridge with my name on it, and I need to finish packing up my apartment and soak in every last moment I have here...

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!

You’ll be seeing great sights!

You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Working on my final photo project...

So my final photo project presentation is next week....and before I finalize it....wanted to see what other people thought. Otherwise...here are some of my favorite pictures I have taken this trip...but they aren't your typical tourist photos...and they are connected with a quote I have selected. I'm thinking these are all life lessons learned while abroad....

“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain”

-Mark Twain

“The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye.”

-Jimi Hendrix

“I didn't ask for it to be over, but then again, I never asked for it to begin. For that's the way it is with life, as some of the most beautiful days come completely by chance. But even the most beautiful days eventually have their sunsets.”

-Anonymous

"When you climb to the top of the obstacle that is blocking your view,

you are able to look at your situation from a different perspective."

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good."

-Edwin Denby

“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other.”

-Richard Bach

“There are those who pass like ships in the night, who meet for a moment, then sail out of sight with never a backward glance of regret; folks we know briefly then quickly forget. Then there are friends who sail together, through quiet waters and stormy weather, helping eachother though joy and through strife. And they are the kind who give meaning to life.”

“This is what is hardest: to close the open hand because one loves.”

-Friedrich Nietzsche quotes

“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”

-James Arthur Baldwin

My new favorite blog

Please go check out my best friend Mary's blog...it is so cute! And it has really good ideas for healthy eating.

She's pretty much the best. And it is a reflection of her!

http://washuchef.wordpress.com/

You sound like you're from London!

"You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." -Samuel Johnson

So once upon a time, back in the time where I had braces, I went to London with my mother. Yes, it was right after 8th grade. It really was an amazing trip, and the entire time we have been studying abroad, it has been the one place that I have been DYING to go to. And we could not have picked a better time to go.

London is known for its rain. And given how we have had horrible weather in Barcelona, wherever we've travelled, etc.....I was expecting the worse. I brought my Uggs, heavy coats, long sleeve shirts, and more snuggly items. However, the entire time we were in London...not one drop of rain. What a fabulous thing!

So anyway, I get off the train at Euston Train Station not exactly knowing how to come into contact with anyone given my lack of phone. So I grab a bagel...yum....and cross the street to the Travelodge where they kindly let me pay for their internet. Got into contact with everybody and tried to figure out how to meet them. I found a guy who worked down at the tube, and he helped me map out how to get where I was going. Well somehow I ended up on some train that was going the wrong way and I just gave up and got off. I ended up paying 12 pounds for a taxi ride...but it did take me through a pretty scenic tour through Hyde Park, so maybe it was worth the money. I got to the apartment where some of us were staying, but I didn't know which flat was theirs. So I waited outside until a girl came out and let me in. Once we were finally all in one place, we began our London tour.

Since I didn't know we were waiting to have lunch and I had just had my scrumptious bagel, I just sat there while everyone had the supposedly "better than Chipotle" fast food Mexican. It did look pretty great. Everyone was definitely satisfied afterwards. Then we walked on. I loved all the greenery in London...there were tulips everywhere and green grass. It was such a shift from the dirty streets of Barcelona. We definitely need more tulips here. Anyway, so we walked down the Millenium bridge, walked through a harbor, walked across Tower Bridge, walked around Tower of London, and eventually took the tube to Harrods.

(Example of London's beauty!)

Harrods was quite how I remembered....overly large, ovelry priced, overly touristy, and overly AMAZING. Girls and boys separated....girls to see perfumes and purses....guys to see plasma TVs and weirdo gadgets. We even went to see the animal floor...which was precious. There were little baby puppies....yes there was a yorkie...and yes I wanted to cry....I miss Lou. Anyway, I thought I should get Lou something, but there was nothingggggg in my price range. There was even a dog designed called Holly & Lily, kinda like Holly & Louis....but the collars were outrageous....like a lot a lot a lot. And while we were in Harrods, I got the urge to get my fringe cut again like I did with my mom back in the good ole days. And after that, I do know that my face shape cannot handle a blunt bang, but I was thinking side swept, and what a fun London tradition I could have. But alas, I did not cut my hair.

(Michael outside Westminister Abbey. I just really like this picture of him!)

Afterwards, Pete and I met Austin and we walked around some more. This day consisted of the most walking I think we have done since Rome. Yikes. We walked through Hyde Park during sunset and it was gorgeous. We saw the Princess Diana memorial there, and it was stunning. It was simple, symbolic and peaceful....I really couldn't imagine anything more perfect for her. Then we went to grab our stuff and go drop it off at Austin's. We quickly got ready and went to meet everyone for dinner at this restaurant called Little India. In the means of full disclosure, I have never had Indian food before. Ever. So I decided to branch out from my pasta and pizza and see what all the fuss was about. I do have to say that Indian was much better than I thought it would be. I definitely think I will try it again!

Then we went back to the other apartment to have some wine and hang out. And they were playing beer pong....something I have not seen in over 4 months! There was Law and Order on the TV and American hip-hop songs busting from the speakers. I was in heaven. It was like being back in America...but when I looked out the window, Hyde Park was across the street. After hanging out for awhile, we headed out to Piccadilly Circus to go to some club...not even sure what the name of it was.

Once we got there, we stood in line to get in....where we got carded! I have not been carded in a long time...and while I haven't really missed it...it was kind of refreshing. So weird to say. Anyway, Katherine ended up meeting us there and it was like an MICDS reunion....Katherine, Austin, Peter, Michael and me. It was a lot of fun. We left on the earlier side, but not without stopping by Austin's kebab place. It had amazing fries. So delicious. And then we went to bed.

The next morning was a little rough, and I didn't quite make it out of bed until 12ish. Austin, Peter and I walked down the street to this cute place that not even Austin had been to. It was called Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and we had amazing fries, amazing burgers, and sat in the gorgeous sun. The other half of the group was at Wagamama for lunch, so Peter and I wandered over to that area to meet them. On the way, we found a bookstore where Peter got a book called "Freakanomics" and I got a huge 500 page Beatles book. I haven't started it yet, but I will. Then we all left to do touristy things.

(Just a simple stroll through the park.)

We got off the tube at Big Ben and Parliament where it was so crowded. It actually got a lot colder than it was earlier in the morning, so Peter and I were freezing with no coats. We both got some pretty sweet London gear...my hoodie saying "I HEART London" and Pete's navy shirt saying London, England with a zip up sweater saying London to match. We were quite the cute tourists. We all took picutres of Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye. Oh, and until that day, I thought that Big Ben was named Big Bend....I was trying to figure out why I would just randomly add a "D" to the end of a huge historical monument in London....then it hit me.....Big Bend Road in St. Louis. I really should be blonde. I looked for the Saatchi Gallery, but couldn't find it...sorry Mama.

(Sweet London gear in front of "Big Bend.")

(London town.)

Then we walked through Westminister Abbey and the whole area. Then we strolled over to Buckingham Palace while also going through a gorgeous park on the way....can't really recall its name, but it was so pretty! Michael was convinced that the park put fake swans in the lake to make it look better. It made no sense because all the ducks were moving. It took a good couple of minutes to convince him that those were REAL swans. Anyway, once we got to Buckingham Palace, we all stood outside and admired the guards. We couldn't figure out how they could stand so still and why anyone would want such a job. It almost seemed like punishment...not an honor. That would just be awfully boring.

(Michael pondering the swans...are they real or are they not?)

That night, I really wanted to see Mamma Mia. I was convinced that there was no way cheap tickets would sell out, so of course I waited until 2 hours before the show to find tickets. Well of course the show was sold out, so of course scalpers were selling tickets for outrageous amounts. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see it. But it is okay. I'll just watch the movie! After strolling around looking for tickets, Peter and I went in and out of shops to look at souvenirs. Since I was a little bit bummed about not seeing the show, Pete bought me a Cinnabon to cheer me up. It was sooooo goooooood. Then we headed back to the other apartment.

(Pete outside Buckingham Palace.)

The big Barca and Real Madrid game was that night, so we all went to a typical British pub to watch the festivities go down. It was actually a lot of fun watching the game. We ordered pub food....think fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.....and had a really fun time. We were there for a few hours and were all completely wiped out after a long day.

Sunday morning, we all woke up to go on The Beatles walking tour. It was a lot of fun! We saw where Paul McCartney's offices area, the studio where Hey Jude! was recorded, where John and Yoko met, the old HQ for Apple and the rooftop where their famous last concert was played, and of course...Abbey Road! I thought it would be cool to look for my mom's and my signature on the outside of Abbey Road studios...where we wrote it 8 years ago. I later found out that they paint over that wall 6 times a year. So if you calculate, our signatures were hidden under 48 layers of paint....so we didn't find them. Then we took the typical Abbey Road pictures while making all the cars passing through extremely peeved.

(Meghan, Michael, me, Peter or....George, Paul, Ringo and John)

Then we went to this GREAT authentic Chinese food restaurant....still doesn't beat Yen Ching though! After lunch, we went back to Austin's apartment to pack up and meet up with Katherine. We finally got to our bus, which took us to the airport, and then we were gone back to Barca. Finally got home that night after a long travel day....and crashed. I didn't want to leave London. It was so fun to see so many familiar faces...be around Mizzou people...speak English....eat American like foods....

(Listen, do you want to know a secret?

Do you promise not to tell?

Close, let me whisper in your ear.

Say the words you long to hear...

I'm in love with you.)

Lucky for me, I believe I will be returning to London for a short period of time in a few weeks. How amazing would that be! If I didn't have my love for the Spanish language, I think I definitely would've studied abroad in London. It is such a fun, beautiful, culturally rich city! And while the pound sucks...its not that much worse from the euro! Either way, I'm so happy that I have been in Barcelona. But yes, I do heart London.

Liverpool

This past weekend was amazing! The first part of my trip started last Thursday. I skipped school....my last absences! Cant miss anymore classes. I flew out early in the morning to Liverpool for my big Beatles adventure. And yes I was solo....and yes I am safe...so no worries!

At the airport, I met the cutest grandparents and their two grandchildren who were just on vacation in Barcelona. They told me how to get on the right bus. They were so sweet and helpful. Not sure if I could've done it without them. It took awhile, but I got into the heart of Liverpool at my hotel and checked in. I dropped my bag off and headed straight to the Magical Mystery Tour. I didn't want to be late! So I find my way to Albert Dock and try to find where the tour meets. I find a tourist information center and they tell me that the tour is sold out!!!! I was literally about to cry because this was my only day in Liverpool and kinda the reason I came....so they told me to come back at 2:20...and it was 2:05....so I was like okay....what is going to change in 15 minutes? Anyway, I didn't question them because they were trying to help me. So I went and got some starbucks, looked around the Beatles story memorabilia store. I go back 15 minutes later and the woman told me, "We told you to come back at 2:20!" and my phone said 2:19 so I was like jeeeez louise. 1 minute difference? So I politiely asked her, "Well isn't it jsut about 2:20?" She replied that it was 1:20. The UK is an hour behind Barcelona. Whoops. So at that point I really didn't know what to do. So I wandered Albert Dock and found two free museums.....a boat museum and a slavery museum.....two things I am not very interested in. But I had time. So I went in and they were kinda interesting. I did learn about how 3 of the most tragic boat accidents in history occured out of Liverpool. Needless to say, I will never take a boat out of Liverpool. So I go back at 2:20 and the tour guide is there. He told me that they were sold out but they would try to make room on the bus for me! NICEST THING EVER! So his usual seat....at the front...is the one they gave me. I had the best seat in the house! Then the tour left.

(Albert Dock.

Photo from: http://www.planetware.com/picture/liverpool-albert-dock-eng-gb1207.htm)

Now here is the bummer part....I took a bunch of great pictures this day, but later that night, I lost my camera. So depressed about that. So I cannot remember every single thing we did, but here are my highlights:

1. Penny Lane. It actually exists. The barber who shows photographs...he actually existed. And his shop is still there. I saw the bank where the banker with a motorcar worked. The shelter in the roundabout....that all exists. It was so fun.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/ecards/penny_lane_ecard.shtml)

2. Saw where Ringo and George were born and grew up. Saw John Lennon's house....and Paul's last house in Liverpool. Didn't get to go inside any of them, but still cool to be there.

3. The church were Paul and John met! And behind that church...there is a gravestone for Eleanor Rigby....although it was a completely coincidence they have a song by the same title.

(http://www.allertonoak.com/merseyThemes/Sandstone.html)

4. Strawberry Field. It was where John played as a kid. You cannot go in...but we saw the red gates!

(http://www.maplemars.com/Large%20England%20Shots/StrawberryFields.jpg)

After the tour was over, I wandered to the Hard Days Night Hotel to look around. Then on my way back to Albert Dock, I was passing a store and saw the cutest pink coat ever! Now, before I came to Europe, I was going to allow myself a big purchase...a purse. But I never got one in the cities we went to. So I figured it was now or never...and it was hugely on sale and not very expensive. So impulse buy...yes. But I will carry great memories with this coat now.

Then I made it to the Beatles Story....the museum that gives an EXTENSIVE history on the Beatles. I had a great time going through that....learning things I had never known. After that, decided to wander back to my hotel. Went to the grocery store, got some chips, cookies and pasta salad. I decided I would go lay down and take a nap for awhile before I was going to see a cover band that night.

(Picture the awesome bus driver took on the tour and posted to facebook. Thanks Magical Mystery Tour! My only photo from liverpool and i'm not even looking...tear.)

Well it is a good thing I woke up 20 minutes before the concert started! I bolted to The Cavern, where the Beatles used to play all the time. It was a little intimidating all by myself, not knowing anyone, in a bar. But I ended up having one of the best nights of my life. The cover band, Mersey Beatles, played until 2 in the morning and I stayed the entire time! I never knew I could have such a good time by myself. But that also comes at a price....the loss of my precious camera and all my pictures from the day. I'm really sad about it. I made it back to the hotel in one piece and had to wake up early to catch my train to London!

Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM!

We took a train to Amsterdam after we landed in Edinburgh. Coming out of the train station, there were people and trams everywhere. We couldn't find a map...and we were all so lost and confused. Eventually we found our hostel and dropped our things off. We walked around our area and found a place that had bagel sandwiches that were pretty tasty.

The rest of the day we spent wandering around the tulip markets and souvenir shops. Then we went back for an afternoon nap and woke up to go to dinner. Michael had told me and Peter about this place he ate in London like 15 years ago called Wagamama. It was really close to our hotel so we went there. It was really delicious! I had not had any asian fusion food in a really long time and it hit the spot. Afterwards, it got late and we went to bed.

(Amazing invention! It was like a fast food vending machine.)

(Lots and lots of bulbs in Amsterdam.)

Saturday, we wake up....raining raining raining. It did nothing but rain the entire time we were in Amsterdam. Thank goodness I had the rainboots my mom got me in Paris! They were so cute. Anyway, we walked to another bagel place for breakfast and hung out awhile because there wasn't anywhere to go in the rain. Once the rain calmed for awhile, we walked around again and came across the most amazing discovery ever....an American food store! Peter and I went in there and just stood in awe of all the great food.....Fruit by the Foot, A&W root beer, Hershey's kisses, and even more! It was amazing to see. My best accomplishment....not buying anything. I figured....it will be that much better when I have it in the states. Plus....it was obviously WAY OVERPRICED because tourists like me are willing to pay for it. The man who owns the store tells us that people from all over Europe will go there every 3 or 4 months to buy American food because there are hardly any stores like it.

(The American food store....yummmm!)

Saturday evening, it was still raining and we were getting pretty bored of souvenir shops, so Peter and I decided to go see a movie...Alice in Wonderland. So nice to see a movie! We had popcorn and everything. And it was in English...always a bonus! That night, we met up with Michael and Steve to go to this dinner place where there are unlimited ribs for 12 euros or something. Well I am not a huge rib gal, but they REALLY enjoyed them. I had some pretty good chicken and a great 1/2 liter of white wine. That night, we walked to the Red Light District. This place was literally my hell. It was gross and loud and dirty....dirty in multiple senses. It just kinda made me sad, so I don't want to comment too much on it. We decided to hop into a cab to go back to our place and it started at 20 euros!! I immeadiately scream "NO NO NO!" and I made everyone get out of the cab. So yes, we had to walk like 40 minutes. Whoops. But at least we saved money and didn't let that stupid cab driver take advantage of us!

(Pete and me at the Amsterdam sign.)

Sunday morning, we did more walking around. Lots and lots of walking. We went to a pancake place for breakfast which was really tasty. Sushi for lunch. And we also did the Heineken Brewery tour. That was definitely my highlight of the trip. I thought the entire tour was so fascinating and really well done. Confession: I have never done the AB tour in St. Louis...so that is definitely on my list this summer. It took awhile to go through but was a lot of fun. I even got a super cool Heineken sweatshirt. Then we were getting hungry for dinner, so we caved and went to the Hard Rock. Since it was a pretty poppin place, we had to wait about an hour to get in. While we waited, we went to a pub to watch some soccer game...cannot even remember which one. Dinner at the Hard Rock....amazing. I should bite my tongue to say this....but it was ALMOST the best meal I have had in Europe. Pathetic. Yep.

(Michael brewing beer or something.)

(At the Heineken Factory.)

Peter and I had a flight in 6 in the morning, so we didn't book a hostel for the night so we could just sleep at the airport. But we didn't want to be at the airport all night. With not much to do, we went to another movie. Pathetic again. This time...Shutter Island. If you are anything like me...do not see this film. I was not a fan. Then we eventually made our way to the airport...which took a lot more time than we thought since we missed the last night bus there. So we had to figure out how to get to the train station, find a train that got there for our flight, wait for the train, get to the airport, and slept there.

(Me walking on water....not really. Photography courtesy of Michael Z!)

When we got back to Barcelona Monday morning, we just slept all day recovering from a crazy 10 days of Spring Break and not much sleep. It was a great time though. And I had a great visitor to greet me back in Barca....LINDZO!

(Me and my amazing roomie!)

Monday night, we took Lindsey and her friends to Loco Lunes...which was definitely loco. We had a great time! I really like meeting Lindsey's friends and it was so nice to see such a good friend over here. Lindsey stayed until Wednesday morning, so we had tons of time to hang out and catch up. Such fun memories! And even a delicious Pim Pam date.