The last two weeks were full of travels for me. I managed to get to Valencia, Barcelona, and London. It was a busy time, but that only means loads of adventures and stories for me to tell!
My time in Valencia was mostly spent relaxing and enjoying my first real days of summer. My Spanish family couldn't believe that I hadn't put on a swimsuit before I got there. I think the highlights of Valencia were that I got to eat paella... twice, and seeing Despicable Me 2 (in Spanish, of course).
My days in Valencia were split up by a quick trip to Barcelona. Maria (my Spanish host-sister) and I stayed with one of her friends who lives in Barcelona for the night and got the insider's tour. The first day there, we walked down the famous Ramblas and saw a bit of the city. But the real sight-seeing happened the second day when we went to Park Güell, the Sagrada Familia, and the port. The park was full of tourists and interesting art. It was really cool to see though. I think it's always nice to have a bit of green in the middle of a big city. I also enjoyed seeing the Sagrada Familia. We decided not to go in, since it cost over 10 euros just to enter. The outside lived up to the hype. It was super interesting to see the texture that it has. In my opinion, in person it doesn't really look that much like a sand castle (as its reputation says), but looking back at my pictures, I can definitely see it. After all of the Barcelonian excitement, I had another couple days in Valencia before heading to London.
Market off Las Ramblas
Maria and her friend Sara in Park Güell
Close up of La Sagrada Familia
My time in London was very interesting. This was the first time that I was ever truly traveling by myself. Sure, I had flown by myself, but never had I stayed in a hostel without knowing anyone else there or had to plan out my own days and get myself across the city alone. That being said, I actually had a great experience doing it. I felt so accomplished when I managed to navigate the Tube and end up in the right spot without possessing a street map. Now time for all the things I did!
The first day I met up with a friend from Leiden who had been in London for the past few weeks. We explored the city for a bit, wandering through the streets and chatting. We managed to see a lot of the main sights that way. After that, I did a free walking tour of the city. I saw a lot of the same things as I had that morning, but this time I got a bit of history and explanation, which is always good to fully appreciate the importance of landmarks. Even after all of that walking, I still wasn't done for the day. I trekked up to Camden to see a friend from Ann Arbor (we didn't even know we'd both be in London until the day before I got there). We meandered through the famous market, caught up on the past 6 months, and enjoyed some Thai food from a food booth. Finally, after being outside for about 9 hours in the scorching heat, I went back to my hostel, took a shower to get rid of all the London street dirt, and crashed.
The next day was a bit more relaxed, and didn't involve quite as much walking. My day started and the National History Museum where I got to see dinosaurs and lots of sparkly rocks. I really enjoyed this museum, and the best part was that it's free! The British government definitely got that part right. I then headed to Covent Garden and weaved my way through the market there. Not quite as quirky as Camden's, but nice nonetheless. Then I walked through Piccadilly Circus before heading off to the British Museum (also free!) for a bit. As with a lot of national museums, I was a bit overwhelmed, but managed to get in a bit of culture before I died from museum fatigue. I refueled with an iced-coffee before heading to Harrod's, where I managed to get trapped inside and couldn't figure out how to actually exit the building. Now, Harrod's is an absolutely enormous department store, so big in fact that they had maps for customers. Most people would want to go to look at clothes or technological gadgets, but not me. Nope, I headed straight for the kitchen section where I was amused for a good 15 minutes just looking at all the fun kitchen toys they have. Yes, I'm a special cookie, I know.
My last day in London, I finally managed to get over to see Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Tourist traps of course, but you can't go to London and not see them. I went, snapped some pictures, and left before I got too flustered with the crowds. Then I had to head to the airport to fly back to the Netherlands. Now, I'm back in Leiden with just over a week left before I head home. I don't even want to think about how quickly the next 9 days are going to go.
Outside Buckingham Palace
Big Ben from a hospital park
RAWR!
Tower Bridge
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