Royal Wedding Weekend in London

Lucy and I flew to London for a long weekend at the end of April, and we had so much fun! Lucy was actually born in London, so she showed me where she used to live, right by Tower Bridge. Speaking of bridges, did you know that London Bridge is just a traffic bridge that's not super cool at all? Everything else in the city is, however. Especially on a weekend when half the world's population is tuning into the activities there. Oh, and get this. Upon arriving at the airport, I went up to a security guy to ask him where the help desk was. When I approached him, he said to me, jolly as could be: "'Allo, mate! What seems to be the problem?" What a thing to say!

Cadbury Creme Eggs are from England! AND MCDONALDS MAKES CADBURY CREME EGG MCFLURRIES (I read this but did not have one myself)

Lucy on a cell in front of some retro phone booths

Hyde Park crowd during the wedding

Tower of London

Hot Fuzz!

Large Benjamin

Westminster Abbey

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where we were "groundlings" at a performance of Hamlet

in front of Buckingham Palace

Spring Break Part 2 - Barcelona!

After a few days in Paris, we enjoyed "yet another successful Ryan Air flight" to Barcelona. What a beautiful city! Sunny skies, palm trees, beaches, Gaudi architecture, and pickpockets EVERYWHERE. I heard horror stories and even witnessed a guy get his wallet stolen out of his pocket (I was watching through a subway window and couldn't have done anything to help). Pickpocketing is a bigger problem in Barcelona than anywhere else. The only thing more annoying than that in Barcelona is the fact that 15 billion unemployed people roam the beaches trying at all costs to sell you massages, flowers, soda, beer, tattoos, rugs, scarves, and various illegal yet smoke-able substances. Yes, it's a touristy town. We enjoyed the beaches, churches, and soccer games. It was fun learning and practicing some basic Spanish (mainly "No, gracias" to the beach peddlers every 3 minutes).

enjoying a bicycle tour of the city

Spain's own Arc de Triomphe!

La Sagrada Familia

one of many delicious-looking fruit stands!

Spring Break Part 1 - Paris!

From April 17-20, I traveled to Paris with my pal, Alex. We were finally able to put into practice the French we'd learned in middle/high school. And we kept so busy! I'd guess that we walked over 12 miles each day. We spent money on NOTHING except for food and 3 euros to climb up the Eiffel Tower. It was so cool to see so many famous sights and experience Paris at a beautiful time of year, especially since I hadn't done any traveling in Europe before. Even connecting flights in Helsinki was a fun experience for me!

Some things to know about Paris that aren't in the guidebooks:

- Soldiers with machine guns are all over, because I guess parks and gardens must be defended with lethal force at all costs.

- Pre-teen girls who pretend to be mute and get donations from you are USUALLY perfectly healthy pickpockets trying to steal a few euros from you.

- If you order a hotdog, expect to get two regular-sized hotdogs in one long baguette with melted cheese on top. Not a light snack.

- Don't go out on Monday and Tuesday nights expecting to have a wild time doing anything anywhere.

- THE BASTILLE IS NO LONGER AN ACTUAL SIGHT, IT'S JUST A TOWER IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROUNDABOUT! Okay, that one might be in the guidebooks, but we sure didn't see it coming.

the view from the balcony of our friend's apartment

at the Jardin des Tuileries

Louvre

She's so much smaller than you'd think!

on the Seine

view from atop the Eiffel Tower

the tower!

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame Cathedral