Here's an awesome number. I just checked the UK-US conversion rate and I found out that every (cheap) beer (or LAH-GAH, depending on where I am) I spend $4.88. And when I did a (i.e. one) load of laundry, it cost me $16. 26.
!
Don't get me wrong, it's all worth it (especially for essentials like those). But I can't wait to start spending those American dollars again.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Rome, Florence, and Pisa
After finals, we had 5 days off from our hectic schedule of going out every night in London to enjoy a break in Italy. 4 of my friends and I headed out to Rome for a day, Florence for two, and Pisa for a day. I took something like 700 pictures because it was all so beautiful.
ROME
The city view outside of the Sistine Chapel
The Vatican
The Vatican courtyard
Jesus says what's up.
There were so many ruins everywhere!
And here's the Coliseum..
We spent 2 hours inside taking dumb pictures on the fallen columns and pedestals
The Trevi Fountain in Rome. I forgot to take a picture of the Spanish Steps.
The next day we took a train to Florence. This is what the Italian countryside looks like.
FLORENCE
There was this GIANT hill you could climb that took you to the best view of the city. The climb was a drag after the extreme sight seeing/lack of sleep that had been going on, but it was worth it.
Florence at dusk
Florence was beautiful. This is the Ponte Vecchio bridge (its actually full of jewelry stores and covered in tourist's graffiti).
The view from the bridge.
The Santa Maria Novella
The front of the Santa Maria
The second day we bumped into a youth Communist rally in front of the church. There were thousands of minors waving signs and playing music. Really, I think they just wanted an excuse to skip school.
That night we decided to act our age and took a carousel ride. Pretty much after a while "When in Rome...." turned into "When in Italy..." and then just an excuse to do everything.
Like eat a whole lot of gelato. At every meal, whenever possible.
We also saw all three Davids, the original and two copies, in addition to a whole lot of other famous stuff (the Sistine Chapel, The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci's Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi, etc.).
The first one we saw was under scaffolding. You could only see two parts of the statue because the rest was covered up. Here's the family-friendly visible part.
The second one was made of bronze and on the previously mentioned giant hill above Florence.
And here's the real one. This is the only illegal photograph I took while I was in Florence, because you can't take pictures anywhere. But I figured that since I spent 20 USD to see one statue, I'd better get my money's worth.
PISA
The next morning we went to Pisa. We were so tired by then so Pisa was perfect. It's a very small area with a little market and more awesome gelato.
Oh, and a tower.
Peek a boo. Um..just kidding. But seriously, it's leaning a whole lot.
Since I was sick of gelatos by the fourth day, I decided to branch out and get an "Ice Burger." It was actually really good.
So there you have it....my last big trip (other than that whole London thing) before I come home.....in 2 months!
ROME
The city view outside of the Sistine Chapel
The Vatican
The Vatican courtyard
Jesus says what's up.
There were so many ruins everywhere!
And here's the Coliseum..
We spent 2 hours inside taking dumb pictures on the fallen columns and pedestals
The Trevi Fountain in Rome. I forgot to take a picture of the Spanish Steps.
The next day we took a train to Florence. This is what the Italian countryside looks like.FLORENCE
There was this GIANT hill you could climb that took you to the best view of the city. The climb was a drag after the extreme sight seeing/lack of sleep that had been going on, but it was worth it.
Florence at dusk
Florence was beautiful. This is the Ponte Vecchio bridge (its actually full of jewelry stores and covered in tourist's graffiti).
The view from the bridge.
The Santa Maria Novella
The front of the Santa Maria
The second day we bumped into a youth Communist rally in front of the church. There were thousands of minors waving signs and playing music. Really, I think they just wanted an excuse to skip school.
That night we decided to act our age and took a carousel ride. Pretty much after a while "When in Rome...." turned into "When in Italy..." and then just an excuse to do everything.
Like eat a whole lot of gelato. At every meal, whenever possible.We also saw all three Davids, the original and two copies, in addition to a whole lot of other famous stuff (the Sistine Chapel, The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci's Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi, etc.).
The first one we saw was under scaffolding. You could only see two parts of the statue because the rest was covered up. Here's the family-friendly visible part.
The second one was made of bronze and on the previously mentioned giant hill above Florence.
And here's the real one. This is the only illegal photograph I took while I was in Florence, because you can't take pictures anywhere. But I figured that since I spent 20 USD to see one statue, I'd better get my money's worth.PISA
The next morning we went to Pisa. We were so tired by then so Pisa was perfect. It's a very small area with a little market and more awesome gelato.
Oh, and a tower.
Peek a boo. Um..just kidding. But seriously, it's leaning a whole lot.
Since I was sick of gelatos by the fourth day, I decided to branch out and get an "Ice Burger." It was actually really good.So there you have it....my last big trip (other than that whole London thing) before I come home.....in 2 months!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
London, Leather Jackets, and Harry Potter
LASTLY, here's what I've been up to in London lately (with fewer pictures...because I didn't take any pictures of me studying for finals).
Since everyone in London has a leather jacket for some reason, I went to Portobello Market on Portobello Road (a 20 minute walk away) and got myself one. I'm officially Britishish now.
Also, last week (instead of studying for my finals over the weekend), my friend who's studying in Ireland, came to visit. We decided to go sight seeing at all the places where they filmed Harry Potter in London.
This is where they filmed Diagon Alley. It was actually just full of business people wearing suits and drinking beers in the street at noon. Because that's what they do in London.
This is the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron....that's actually a glasses store. Someone back in Hollywood apparently edited everything out (including that skeleton to the left of the door).
This is the Australia House...or Gringotts.
And apparently Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross was actually shot at Platform 4...here.
But they have this next to Platform 9 so tourists can take ridiculous amounts of pictures.
Done.
This sign in King's Cross reminded me of Mom...
We took out friend to do some more sight seeing...so here's another picture of Buckingham Castle (or as the Queen calls it, "The Office"). There are guards everywhere in England, so I keep getting pictures of them. I have about 500 by now.
501.
I'm sure this building is important for some reason, but I have no idea for what. It looks pretty, though.
I just finished my second final for my second class today, so the first part of my semester is over (!). Next Monday is my first class of my last class before I graduation and Tuesday is the start of my internship. But before that...I'm going to Italy! I'm landing in Rome tomorrow, going to Florence for two days, and then leaving from Pisa. And by then I'll be out of money, so I'm going to stay in England for a while after that.
Since everyone in London has a leather jacket for some reason, I went to Portobello Market on Portobello Road (a 20 minute walk away) and got myself one. I'm officially Britishish now.
Also, last week (instead of studying for my finals over the weekend), my friend who's studying in Ireland, came to visit. We decided to go sight seeing at all the places where they filmed Harry Potter in London.
This is where they filmed Diagon Alley. It was actually just full of business people wearing suits and drinking beers in the street at noon. Because that's what they do in London.
This is the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron....that's actually a glasses store. Someone back in Hollywood apparently edited everything out (including that skeleton to the left of the door).
This is the Australia House...or Gringotts.
And apparently Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross was actually shot at Platform 4...here.
But they have this next to Platform 9 so tourists can take ridiculous amounts of pictures.
Done.
This sign in King's Cross reminded me of Mom...
We took out friend to do some more sight seeing...so here's another picture of Buckingham Castle (or as the Queen calls it, "The Office"). There are guards everywhere in England, so I keep getting pictures of them. I have about 500 by now.
501.
I'm sure this building is important for some reason, but I have no idea for what. It looks pretty, though.I just finished my second final for my second class today, so the first part of my semester is over (!). Next Monday is my first class of my last class before I graduation and Tuesday is the start of my internship. But before that...I'm going to Italy! I'm landing in Rome tomorrow, going to Florence for two days, and then leaving from Pisa. And by then I'll be out of money, so I'm going to stay in England for a while after that.
Amsterdam, Canals, Van Gogh, Wooden Clogs & Other Things
Two weeks ago I went took Ryan Air to Amsterdam. I sat next to these two 30 year old men (with stylish frosted hair, camo-print Louis Vuitton bags, and crystal-studded belt buckles) who thought Amsterdam was a country. Luckily that plane ride was short, so 45 minutes I landed in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Good times.
Apparently for these guys, too.
Really, Amsterdam is so pretty. There are canals and boats everywhere.
And bikes.
They really like bikes.
And trippy buildings.
We also left Amsterdam for an afternoon to go to Volendam...aka the middle of nowhere, Holland.
But they do have cheese and clogs!
And they also have "Vis Bonbons." By the way, that's Dutch for fish bonbons.
If you were to buy your loved ones some Fish Bonbons from the Netherlands, here's the assortment you'd get.
Gross.
Actually, the reason we came was to see a windmill. So here's a windmill.
This is me hanging out with a windmill in the middle of nowhere, Holland.
But we came back to Amsterdam and had some more fun. This is right outside of the Vincent Van Gogh museum, but the building in the background is the Rijksmuseum in Vondlepark.
By the way, I stayed in the StayOkay Hostel in Vondlepark. Holland is weird.
But a fun place to hang out.
Apparently for these guys, too.
Really, Amsterdam is so pretty. There are canals and boats everywhere.
And bikes.
They really like bikes.
And trippy buildings.
We also left Amsterdam for an afternoon to go to Volendam...aka the middle of nowhere, Holland.
But they do have cheese and clogs!
And they also have "Vis Bonbons." By the way, that's Dutch for fish bonbons.
If you were to buy your loved ones some Fish Bonbons from the Netherlands, here's the assortment you'd get.Gross.
Actually, the reason we came was to see a windmill. So here's a windmill.
This is me hanging out with a windmill in the middle of nowhere, Holland.
But we came back to Amsterdam and had some more fun. This is right outside of the Vincent Van Gogh museum, but the building in the background is the Rijksmuseum in Vondlepark.By the way, I stayed in the StayOkay Hostel in Vondlepark. Holland is weird.
But a fun place to hang out.
Barcelona, Beaches, Tapas, and Sangria
I'm off to Italy in a few hours, so I figured I should start adding some pictures from my other trips. Three weeks ago I went to Barcelona and it was incredible. The city was beautiful and there was a festival going on all weekend, so there was live music everywhere you went all night. I also survived my first economy plane experience on Ryan Air and my first hostel.
Clearly this place was rocking.
Oh, and when I got off the plane the man at customs asked me if I knew "Mickey Hayden." I said of course, he's my dad. Then I imagined Dad coming to Spain. "HOLA! DO YOU LIKEO TACOS?" That would be exceptional.
Here are some other highlights (through photography):
This is what the festival I was just talking about...gorgeous old buildings, giant stages, and thousands of people.
We went to this market that had so much fresh food. The fish smelled so gross, but the fruits and vegetables looked so good (not to mention the candy). Check out the egg gummy candy. They love that stuff in Europe for some reason.
There were also all these street performers near the road that we were on called Los Romblas. There were also all these stands selling arts and crafts stuff and souvenirs.
We went on a bus tour of Barcelona, which was really cool because we got to see the entire city. But seriously, what does this sign mean?
Here's an example of a building by this artist Gaudi. He designed a lot of building around Barcelona, including...
La Sagrada Familia. It's this huge, incredible church that's been being built for over 100 years and is still not done.
Inside the church
The church's stained glass windows
The stairs are made to look like sea shells. For some reason people in Barcelona like defamating their beautiful architecture with graffiti or gum.
This is the view of Barcelona from the top of the church.
Barcelona's right near the beach so we spent an afternoon hanging out, eating tapas and drinking sangria in the 80-degree weather. It was the best.
Here's a picture of me hanging out with a boat in the harbor for some reason.
And finally, this is everyone I went to Barcelona with on a lion statue, because everyone wanted to climb the lion.
Clearly this place was rocking.Oh, and when I got off the plane the man at customs asked me if I knew "Mickey Hayden." I said of course, he's my dad. Then I imagined Dad coming to Spain. "HOLA! DO YOU LIKEO TACOS?" That would be exceptional.
Here are some other highlights (through photography):
This is what the festival I was just talking about...gorgeous old buildings, giant stages, and thousands of people.
We went to this market that had so much fresh food. The fish smelled so gross, but the fruits and vegetables looked so good (not to mention the candy). Check out the egg gummy candy. They love that stuff in Europe for some reason.
There were also all these street performers near the road that we were on called Los Romblas. There were also all these stands selling arts and crafts stuff and souvenirs.
We went on a bus tour of Barcelona, which was really cool because we got to see the entire city. But seriously, what does this sign mean?
Here's an example of a building by this artist Gaudi. He designed a lot of building around Barcelona, including...
La Sagrada Familia. It's this huge, incredible church that's been being built for over 100 years and is still not done.
Inside the church
The church's stained glass windows
The stairs are made to look like sea shells. For some reason people in Barcelona like defamating their beautiful architecture with graffiti or gum.
This is the view of Barcelona from the top of the church.
Barcelona's right near the beach so we spent an afternoon hanging out, eating tapas and drinking sangria in the 80-degree weather. It was the best.
Here's a picture of me hanging out with a boat in the harbor for some reason.
And finally, this is everyone I went to Barcelona with on a lion statue, because everyone wanted to climb the lion.
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