C'est la vie!

Bonjour!

So this is a bit late, and I have already been back from Europe for almost a week, but I'm figuring if there are a few of you still out there still checking this (and for me to look back on again some day in reminiscence) then I thought I'd finish out my blog in retrospect.

My mom, Aunt Nancy, and 2 of my mom's friends came into town the Sunday after Barcelona. We had a great time that day, it was mostly filled with my trying to entertain them to keep them from falling asleep because they were so tired and jet-lagged. We saw a few sights (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc.) and then found a great hotel bar on the river and vegged out for a few hours before having dinner and calling it a night.

I went and met up with them each night for dinner, but the most memorable night for me (and least memorable one for them) was Monday night. They had had enough sightseeing by early afternoon and decided to take to some vodka tonics. A few thousand later I was off work and met up with them. We went to dinner, my mom proceeds to fall asleep at the dinner table and had to leave early in a taxi. Let's just say she didn't feel too hot the next day, but still toughed it out for more sightseeing.

The next weekend my mom, aunt, and myself flew to Paris and stayed over Saturday night. It was absolutely wonderful and much better than I was expecting. We walked around the city both days, seeing all the sights. We went into the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, and went into another museum to see some paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, and Monet (as well as other greats whose names I didn't recognize!). We went into Notre Dame, walked along the Champs-Elysees, and climbed the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. No trip to Paris is complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower (which would be impossible since you can see it from almost everywhere in the city), and I took way too many pictures of it! We found a great outside cafe (that had heaters) and drank a glass of wine and it had the most picturesque view of the Eiffel Tower. We sat there for 2 twinklings (the tower twinkles at the top of the hour every hour for about 5 minutes), and that was by far the highlight of my Paris trip.

The people were nicer than I was expecting, especially since the last french-speaking country I went to wasn't such a great experience (Belgium). My mom was an absolute riot because anytime she went to speak to anyone she would start by saying VERY loudly and clearly..."DO YOU SPEAK EEENGLISH???". Even to people she already knew could speak some English. I got a big kick out of that anyways! I kind of went with the method of asking the question anyways and if they couldn't answer it I just moved on to the next person! Hearing her say that was probably highlight #2 for the trip. : ) Love you mom!

My mom and aunt flew out the morning after we got back from Paris, but it wasn't too sad of a goodbye since I was heading home in less than a week!

Au Revoir!

The rest of Barcelona!

Hola!

We made it back from Barcelona without a glitch!  Everything went perfect from our flight there to our flight and train ride back to the hospital.  

Our last day in Barcelona we did more sightseeing and hung out on the beach for awhile.  We saw some excellent panoramic views of the city and saw some of the Olympic Village from 1992.  It was an awesome experience and I would love to come back to Barcelona again some day, especially when it's warm!  The architecture was fabulous and the atmosphere was great.

On a side note, I only have less than 3 weeks left!  I can't believe the time has gone so quickly.  I have a busy couple weeks coming up too.  My mom, Aunt, and 2 of my mom's friends are coming out here on Sunday for a week and I can't wait for them to get here!  The following weekend I will go with my mom and Aunt down to Paris and that is the last leg of my journey.  I will come back to London and spend my last week in clinical and saying bye to new friends and head back to the States.  What a journey it's been.  I'll keep you all updated about my time spent out here with family!

Jenna

Hola from Barcelona!

We are enjoying every minute of our time in Barcelona, it is wonderful here!  We flew out of Heathrow on Friday evening and even hopped on an earlier flight and got here an hour earlier than expected.  We went straight to our hostel (which is actually more like a hotel), dropped off our suitcases, then set out for some tapas and sangria!  Our hostel is really nice, but it's in a seedy area of town unfortunately.  It is several blocks off of La Ramblas (which is the main street through town) and it's just on this street that we have to walk down that it gets a little dodgy.  We then read in our guidebook about the neighborhoods, and our specific street is highlighted as being unsafe for girls to walk down alone.  Go figure!  We've been okay and have taken alternate routes when needed.  

Today we walked down La Ramblas toward the Mediterranean Sea and saw the port with all the boats and such.  The sea is so blue it's gorgeous!  We then hopped on a bus tour and went around the city and got to hop on and off as we pleased to see the sights.  We went into the Sagrada Familia that was started by Antoni Gaudi, who was an absolute amazing architect.  Everywhere we turn there is something built or inspired by him, it's truly unique.  The next stop we took was the Park Guell that Gaudi did some work on, again it was absolutely fabulous and the most unique park I've ever seen!  We then saw the rest of the city by bus and headed back to our hostel where we are now before we head out for some delicious paella!  Apparently lunch is served from 2-4 and dinner is served at 10pm!  So we are having a mid-afternoon siesta so we are ready to go out for a bite to eat.  Don't know if we will make it all the way to 10pm, but we'll try.

I am loving Barcelona - it's a little bit warmer than London, and very sunny - I think my freckles are out a bit more than usual out here!  The streets are tree-lined and there are lots of palm trees - it's almost a bit like I would expect in L.A. or San Diego.  I even had to buy a cheap pair of sunglasses since I left mine in London - I started to forget that the sun actually existed so I forgot to pack them.  We head back tomorrow (Sunday) evening, I will write about the rest of our Barcelona Holiday when I return!

Adios!

Jenna

(Yes, I had to ask Melissa how to say "bye" in spanish, brain fart!)

Winter Wonderland a.k.a. Winter Terrorland!

Everything was going just fine and dandy and we got to the airport about 2 hours before our scheduled flight (7:50p.m. was when we were supposed to fly out).  As soon as we got to the airport our flight was already pushed back by 30 minutes.  It was gradually pushed back incrementally by about 15 minutes every once in a while until it finally settled on 9:30 p.m.  Georgia called her boyfriend who was in London and he said that there was a bunch of snow on the ground in London and that people were building snowmen.  We didn't really believe him - London is a lot like Nashville when it comes to snow, if it snows it's a dusting and it goes away within a couple hours, and the city shuts down.  We finally board the plane and take off around 10:00, it's only a 50 minute flight so we landed around 11.  The trains stop running a little after 11 p.m. on Sundays, so we were lucky to at least make it onto our first train and get closer to our final destination.  Georgia's boyfriend wasn't lying - there was snow EVERYWHERE and lots of it!  It was a winter wonderland and absolutely beautiful.  The train was running pretty slow (it is overground for most of the journey) and sparks were flying from the rails.  Sparks regularly come off of the rails, but we were in the last train compartment (which for some reason makes a difference?) and I guess mixed with the snow/ice it made for a spectacular strobe light show!  I felt like I was in 7th grade all over again.  It was actually pretty scary and people were getting worried that the train was going to either a.) set on fire, b.) we were all going to get electrocuted, or c.) both of the above.  The locals said that it is not normal for the sparks to be that bad.  At one tube stop some girls were standing too close to the train as it was departing and ran off SCREAMING because they almost got zapped.  The train continues moving along slowly and then comes to a complete standstill (in the middle of nowhere or snowhere ha!).  The train conductor man came on the speaker and informed us that we would be sitting there for a "long while" because a train was stuck ahead of ours and they had to turn off the current to the tracks.  Fabulous.  We were only stopped for about an hour, then headed on our way.  

So we've finally arrived at our first tube stop, but the next line we needed to catch was already closed for the night.  We try to call some taxi companies, try to wave a few taxis from the road, and tried to catch a bus - but at this point there are about 6 inches of snow on the ground and apparently London has NO SNOW PLOWS.  The buses were not running due to the weather, as well as the taxis (I guess they just felt like driving around to piss us off - mission accomplished).  We at least had some shelter in the tube station, but that didn't last long because they had to close their doors.  Now we are stranded.  We are in a "dodgy" part of town as the Brits would say.  There is a respectable looking gentleman who is "pissed drunk" as the Brits would also say.  He falls into the street, lays down, and almost gets hit by a car.  Twice.  Some man got him out of the way, twice, and he ended up leaning against a wall to relieve himself.  The train workers decide to have a snowball fight - because it's 1:30 in the morning and they are mid-40's and have nothing better to do?  I have an idea, it's called sleep!  We couldn't stay out there any longer so decided to get a hotel room - definitely didn't have that factored into my budget for the week!  We got a room at the Amsterdam Hotel (which is ironically where Melissa and her parents stayed while they were in London before our internship started).  The hotel rooms are hilarious - they are decorated in tacky Florida condo decor at it's finest.  We get some rest, and actually get to see some of the Suberbowl (therefore, it was all worth it, oh wait, the Titans screwed up, nevermind).  

We wake up the next morning, all of us were supposed to be at work at 8a.m. but that obviously didn't work out for us.  We turn the news on - the entire bus system was shut down, most of the trains aren't running, and some parts of the city have 10 inches of snow.  Melissa and I trudged to the tube stop to find out if our train line was one that was running, after getting some mixed answers we are officially informed that our line is running - Woo Hoo!  We go back to get the other girls and pack up and head out.  The lovely manager of the hotel advised us to be careful on the steps while leaving because they were slippery - but don't worry because she put salt on them (table salt, out of a salt shaker - seriously).  We get on the train and only have about 6 stops until ours.  Everything is going smoothly and we are stopping at each station as planned, and as we approach our stop he slows down, slows down some more, almost stops, then picks up some speed, and continues on his merry way.  He comes on the speaker, "oh yea, I forgot to tell you that the East Putney tube station is closed, as is the next one".  Thanks - that information would have been useful, ooh at about the stop before!  We have to ride the tube a few more stops to the Wimbledon stop and switch back over and head back the direction we came from.  We got off at the Putney Bridge exit (and yes had to walk across the bridge, suitcases and all, in lots and lots of snow).  It takes us about an hour and a half to walk to the hospital (which would have only taken 15 minutes if our tube station was open).  So we got back around noon - pretty much no one had made it into the hospital anyways.  They sent us home and told us to sleep.  Sweet!  4 Day Week!

The snow is perfect and we've seen some pretty amazing snowmen.  If London is ever going to be pretty in the wintertime it's right now with all the snow!  So I'm trying to look on the bright side of all of this : )  It's all part of the adventure I guess (I keep telling myself that anyways).

It's supposed to snow on Thursday and Friday again this week, and we have a flight booked out on Friday evening to head to Barcelona.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Jenna

The luck of the Irish...

did not rub off on us!  I'll explain about that in a different blog post...right now I'll just tell you about our trip to Dublin!

We flew out bright and early Saturday morning from Heathrow, of course our flight was delayed, but only by about 30 minutes.  We arrived in Dublin around 11:00 in the morning, found our hotel and checked in, then ventured out to tour the city, after having lunch first at the "Bad Ass Cafe".  First stop, the Guinness Storehouse/Factory.  This is the 250th anniversary of Guinness so it was the first day that they opened up a whole floor dedicated to chronicling their 250 years.  They actually signed a 9,000 year lease for the property that the factory is on!  We toured the storehouse which was 7 floors high and was very cool.  We finished the tour at the top of the building in the "Gravity Bar" which has a 360 degree view of the city and got to enjoy a free pint of Guinness.  I don't consider myself a fan of Guinness, but it was actually pretty good because it was so fresh and smooth, it was almost creamy!  It was overcast outside so we didn't get a great view of the city but it was still fun.  Next we headed back to the main area of town called the Temple Bar.  We stopped in a few shops and there was the "Tradfest" going on with traditional irish music playing in the streets.  We went out to two different Irish Pubs, but they were absolutely packed!  And the Irish LOVE to drink, so it was a bit obnoxious for my liking, but fun to experience anyways.  One thing we noticed is that Dublin smelled like one big fart.  It would just hit you out of nowhere - we think it's from all the Guinness they consume!  Sorry for the details, but it was a major highlight (or lowlight) of our trip!  We called it a night around midnight so we could get an early start on Sunday and because we were sick of walking through nasty farts at the pubs.

Sunday morning we hopped on a bus tour and saw St. Patrick's Cathedral (but couldn't go inside because they were having a service), and then tried to go to some famous jail that is in Dublin, we couldn't go in there because the first tour was later than we could attend since we were flying out that night.  We then stopped at a pub where George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton have both had a pint!  We went to another pub for lunch and watched some soccer or "football" over here - we kind of got into the game, but it of course ended in a tie.  Every single game we've seen over here on TV has ended in a tie - where's the fun in that?!  We stopped by a few more shops to kill some time then headed to the airport to get back to London...that's where the story gets very interesting!

 View from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's

My heart-shaped Latte

More Fun in London Town!

Hi All!

Each time I sit down to type out a blog I have more good things to share!  I guess I've officially bounced back from my nightmare first week in London (finally!).  

Melissa and I have finished our 3rd week of clinical at the Royal Hospital for Neurodisabilities, and we've settled in pretty well around here.  We've made some great friends, everyone is very laid back so that makes it easier to get out and do stuff each week.  I've started going into the pool for hydrotherapy for the patients - after getting over the fact of having to wear a swimsuit in front of everyone I work with, it's been pretty fun!  I'm so used to wearing a swimsuit on the beach or at the pool outside in the summer time, I wasn't prepared for having to do it in the midst of my European Adventure.  I have been eating and drinking whatever I want for the past 5 weeks so I hope I don't scare off any of the patients (but maybe it'll make them come out of their comas!).  

Thursday night we went out with a few girls that work at the hospital, Laura and Georgia, they are both from England and we have had a great time hanging out with them.  They are both going to Dublin with us next weekend, along with another guy that works with us, so there will be 5 of us storming in to Dublin, can't wait!  Friday night Melissa and I were pretty tired so we didn't get out and do anything too exciting.  We rode the tube up to Fulham and ate at a T.G.I.Fridays - it was sooo good (especially the boneless buffalo wings!).  We then went to see Slumdog Millionaire, again, sooo good.  It's pretty dark in parts, so don't go into it expecting a lighthearted flick!  But I do recommend it.  That brings us to Saturday...

Saturday we set out into London - but a lot of the tube lines were closed for maintenance over the weekend so we had to ride on 4 different trains just to get to the market we wanted to go to!  It was well worth it though.  The Borough Market is a food market with TONS and TONS of awesome food (we finally found good food!).  We were advised to go with empty stomaches, which was great advice.  The vendors shove food samples at you left and right.  They had everything from candies, coffees, lots of cheeses and meats, soups, fresh produce, Greek food, Argentinean food, Italian food, Arabian food, etc. etc. etc.  We bought a great feta cheese dip, chimichuri sauce, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, cumin cheese (tastes like chili), and got to pour our own bottle of wine straight from the barrel.  They had grills going with fresh sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and fish and chips.  I had some tomato and cream soup, a falafel, a slice of a Bailey's flavored cheesecake, and some wonderful coffee.  The guy made my latte with a heart on the top.  I've included a picture.  He made another guy's latte with a leaf on top - such talent : )

After finally tearing ourselves away from the market (trust me, it was hard to do!), we did some sightseeing.  We walked along the South Bank of the Thames River and saw Shakespeare's Globe and walked through the Tate Modern Art Museum.  I'm not such a fan of modern art, there were so many paintings with one solid color on the canvas - I didn't really understand how that made it into a museum?  We did see one drawing done by Picasso, so that was probably the coolest thing we saw there.  After leaving the museum we walked across the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral.  This is the cathedral where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married.  It was spectacular!  We climbed almost 400 steps to get to the base of the dome where we got to see a great view of the city, all the way around.  We then left St. Paul's and saw the Bank of England.  Right by the Bank of England there were about 50 people that rode up on old fashioned bicycles dressed in old fashioned clothes.  We asked one of the guys what it was all about, and it is a group of people that dress up and meet at that spot and then ride their bicycles all around the city.  It was super cute, I only got one picture though.  

Next we rode the tube to Picadilly Circus - which is apparently their Times Square.  Maybe we just didn't see the right part of it, but it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing.  It was still fun to see though.  We walked from there through China Town which was all decorated because of the Chinese New Year celebrations.  We then walked through Soho and saw "The Ivy" which is the super posh celebrity restaurant where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were just dining a few nights ago.  Next we stumbled upon the Dominion Theatre which is where Queen's "We Will Rock You" show is.  We couldn't pass it up so we forked over 15 pounds each for standing room only seats (it was well worth it).  It's a musical with all of Queen's greatest hits.  Needless to say, by the time that was over we were spent.  We had been on our feet literally all day, so we got home just before midnight and called it a night.

Today we slept in and then headed down to Wimbledon.  It was a rainy, cloudy day and the "All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club" was undergoing some construction so all in all we didn't quite get the true Wimbledon experience (but I guess that can only happen when the tournament is actually going on!).  It was still neat to see since that's about the only tennis I watch, and we found some good fresh food down in Wimbledon at a restaurant called "Giraffe". 

The week ahead is just another typical week.  Nothing planned any of the nights yet, but we usually figure out something to get into each evening.  We leave for Dublin next Saturday morning and return Sunday evening so I will keep you all posted with how that went!  I'm going to try and upload some pictures to my blog so flip back if you get a chance and want to see some photos.

Bye!

Jenna