Cuando en Madrid…

Two of my best friends Megan and Lauren are both currently studying abroad in Spain for the semester and I had been looking forward to visiting them in Madrid since we all decided to study abroad. It took a bit of planning but we all found a weekend that worked well, so Lauren took the 4 hour bus ride into the city and I hopped on a plane to Spain.

Walking around central Madrid

After a tour around the center of the city, we stopped at the main market known as El Rastro for some delicious paella. It was my first experience with the traditional spanish dish and I was not disappointed!

Paella at El Rastro

There were many beautiful areas in Madrid to explore including many large parks. One of the more popular parks contained a small lake where people could rent boats for an afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather was a little to cold for us to be on the water but we loved watching others who were brave enough to go out.

The lake within one of Madrid's central parks.

One of the most interesting aspects of spanish culture is how different their daily schedule is relating to meals. In general, breakfast is had before leaving for work or school and then they will return home for a large lunch later in the afternoon around 2 or 3. Dinner is then served much later around 9 to 11. With this different eating schedule, spending time out at night is also pushed back so that often people won’t leave their houses or apartments until 1 or 2 in the morning! Madrid has a very active night life and although the time shift was an adjustment, we had a lot of fun experiencing the spanish clubs, known as discotecas.

Megan, Lauren, and I with two of Megan's friends dancing the night away at a discoteca.

On our last day in Madrid, we took a gondola ride up to a large hill that overlooks the entire city. The views were fantastic and it was a perfect way to end our trip to Spain.

Views of Madrid during our gondola ride.

 

 

Out of the UK

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to travel outside of the UK into Europe for the first time while studying abroad. My friends Leslie, Daniel, and I decided to head south to the “Venice of the North”, also known as Amsterdam. We went on a somewhat cold weekend (the temperatures were averaging 35) but that didn’t take away from the beauty of the place.

Beautiful Amsterdam canal

Amsterdam is a city of bikers. As you can see in the above photo, bikes lined all the canals and you had to pay close attention to avoid being in the way. It added a relaxed feeling to the city and made it much quieter than the busy streets of London. We all agreed that it was a welcome change.

Along with the beautiful scenery, we enjoyed many delicious meals. I did a bit of research before traveling and heard about a highly recommended English tea house called Greenwoods. To call the food delicious would be an understatement. After just one bite of my portabella mushroom with roasted ratatouille, melted goats cheese, and honey, served with home-baked soda bread, I was in heaven. Not to mention they had high quality tea and the best scone I’ve ever had! We went back every day of our trip.

Tea and scones with clotted cream from Greenwoods

Besides delicious food and lovely scenery, we also saw some of the main attractions such as the Anne Frank house and the Red Light District. Although some people may find it odd, I enjoyed the mix of history and liberal culture present throughout the city. It felt like there was something for everyone. Amsterdam really has it all!

Bath (Pronounced BAHHHHth), UK

It was quite the busy week over here in London mainly due to a fun day trip to a small town in the West of England called Bath. Three friends and I woke up at the crack of dawn (okay, 6am) and make our way to the train station for our 8am trip. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly smooth travels. The tube station where we were supposed to exit was closed, leaving us lost and confused while the minutes to our trains departure ticked on. After switching tube lines 3 or 4 times, we eventually made it to the train station and were able to catch the next train out to Bath. The day went much smoother after that! Bath is a gorgeous city with a small town feel and a lot of history.

We began by touring the Bath Abbey and visiting the Roman Baths museum. The baths were built in the first century and are actually below current street level since the city has been building on top of itself for so long. Although we couldn’t actually take a bath, the museum was well-preserved and I learned quite a bit about Roman history.

One of the Roman Baths

They advised us not to touch the water but I couldn't resist!

After the tour of the baths, we walked around the town and saw some of Bath’s famous architecture. The Royal Crescent was probably the most impressive structure, especially since it overlooked a beautiful courtyard.

The Royal Crescent

The historical features of the tour were really interesting but I have to admit that the best part of the day was our impulse decision to play mini golf! Not to brag or anything, but I did get the only hole in one of the day.

It was such a fun day and it made me excited for other traveling adventures in the future. There’s still so much to see in London as well so I know I won’t be getting bored of Europe anytime soon.

Natural History Museum

Now that I’m settling into the routine of school, it’s been much harder to find time for sight-seeing. I’ve made it a goal to spend at least one afternoon during the school week seeing “touristy” attractions and the first item on my list was the Natural History Museum. The museum opened in 1881 and is host to over 70 million items in collections ranging from geology to archeology to zoology. It is sometimes referred to as a “The Cathedral of Nature” and, being a bit of a science nerd, it was heaven.

The beautiful exterior of the Natural History Museum

After walking through the doors, you are immediately greeted by Dippy the dinosaur (a cast of a Diplodocus) as well as impressive vaulted ceilings and a sculpture of Charles Darwin. It’s really breathtaking.

The interior of the Natural History Museum

It’s impossible to get a feel for the massive amounts of the amazing exhibits in the place. Coincidentally, on the day I chose to visit we were studying fossils in my Evolution class and many of the famous artifacts we discussed were on display! Amazing.

Archaeopteryx, one of the most important fossils on record

I also got to see some meteorites that have been found in various locations around the world. It’s incredible to think of the age of many of these rocks such as this chondrite.

Overall, it was an excellent day of learning! And just to un-nerdify this post a little, here’s a picture of a delicious crepe I ate over the weekend with my friend Aaron : )

Nummy!

Markets and stations and Harry Potter, oh my.

One of the most prevalent attractions in London that I’ve seen so far is the street markets. There are far too many: Spitalfields, Portobello, Camden, Covent Gardens and Whitechapel (just to name a few). The weekend markets are especially popular and Londoners and tourists alike flock to these crowded venues to purchase any item imaginable. Clothing, jewelry, antiques, posters, food and even pets can all be found in the hodge-podge assembly of tents and store fronts.

Camden Markets

I visited Camden Markets on Saturday and was able to see this chaos first hand. Although I didn’t make any purchases (besides a delicious calzone), I’m sure I’ll be back to purchase goods in the future.

Another popular attraction here in the UK is anything related to Harry Potter. I’m sure the hype was even greater before the releases of the books and movies but there are still many tributes to Harry and gang everywhere. At Harrod’s, London’s famously luxurious department store, there is a section of the store featuring Harry Potter goods including autographs by the cast, wands, legos and more.

Autographed poster by the Harry Potter cast

In addition, we visited Platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross station to take pictures “passing through the wall”. They made a special monument just for Harry Potter fans, which was pretty difficult to find since it was located by platform 6.

Now I just have to find Hogwarts and my life goals will be complete!

Hello London!

One week down, 5 months to go! It feels like it’s been much longer considering the amount I’ve accomplished in such a short time period. Eight hour flight, navigating Heathrow airport, meeting  flat mates, orientation, lots of shopping/organizing, touring London, trying new food, classes, a boat cruise and much, much more. As I study at Queen Mary, University of London for the next 5 months, I’m planning on writing in this blog to keep friends and family updated on my time here and all the adventures I hope to have. Since I’m starting this blog a little later than I planned, I’ll update you all with pictures of my time here so far. Cheers!

All Queen Mary associate students are provided on campus housing in the Student Village. My flat contains seven students from various countries (America, England, China, and Hong Kong) and each person has their own bedroom and bathroom. I'm living on the seventh floor and have a great view of the East End of London where Queen Mary is located.

Queen Mary is the only University in London with a fully enclosed campus. It has some interesting architecture, a lot of green space, and is easy to navigate.

I met Leslie and Daniel at the airport when I first arrived. They're from the San Francisco bay area and since I've spent some time there, I like to pretend I know what they're talking about...

Tayla (center) and Emma (right) are two of my six flatmates. They grouped us by college so both girls attend the U of M as well! Emma actually lived in Yudof Hall last semester although we never met.

All study abroad students were invited to participate in a boat cruise on the Thames, the river that bisects London. I took this picture of the London eye while passing through central London.