My 30th and... Oktoberfest!

Well hey all!

Hope everyone is doing well. I want to fist apologize about the delay since my last post. Things have been pretty busy over here in London. Well, in this blog I am going to be talking about the following adventures:
1. My birthday
2. Oktoberfest

Look who’s 30!
Well, to start off I was able to have my 30th birthday in London this year. It was both an exciting and memorable experience for me. August 1st not only is a special day for me because it is when I was brought into this world, but because it is one of the only days in the world when you can gather your close group of friends and have a great celebration! Well, I do have to say this year was quite different from last year. One year ago, I was in London for only a month when my birthday came around. I can still recall the people who came to celebrate with me too, and Melissa’s great cupcakes!

This year I decided to go to a place called the ‘Blues Kitchen’ in an area of London called Camden. I chose this venue because I had been there twice before, and it was a great time, with live jazz music and a great, chill vibe. Well, as the stars would have it, the night I chose happened to be a big time band there, and the venue was jam packed! Not my ideal choice, but everyone who came seemed to have a good time, and I was happy to be celebrating with my friends. Since turning 30, I think about how far I am in my life. My mom had had me before she turned 30, and I can’t image being a dad (not yet at least!). To think of how much time has passed is pretty overwhelming… Time flies as you get older. But, as a wise person recently told me, if time is flying by, I must be enjoying something!

Oktoberfest!
Next up, my trip to Munich (pronounced Mue-nig), Germany. My Bavarian friend Christian, and his girlfriend Geomayra, invited me to Oktoberfest this year. They knew how much I wanted to go, but hotels during this time of the year in Germany skyrocket 5 fold! As such, he offered up his house and I jumped at the opportunity. In total, we had Christian, Christian’s friend Christian (I know, confusing), Geomayra, Coleen (another American), and myself. I have been a fan of beer ever since my college days, so I was looking forward to the great German breweries that I had heard so much about.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Christian and Christian in their Lederhosen! If you don’t know what a Lederhosen is, I would recommend you pausing and taking a moment to Google it. It is a leather overall outfit, composed of shorts and are typically green! Next, we were taken to Christian’s parents house in the city for an authentic Bavarian breakfast. And, to my surprise, they were in authentic Bavarian attire as well! It was such a great experience, because I was able to eat authentic German fare. They made, white sausages, German potato salad, cheese and crackers, and of course Pretzels with this great cheese thingy…

Man, Pretzels were everywhere! After breakfast, we left straight away for, what else, Oktoberfest!!! I was extremely excited and still did not know what to expect. We arrived at the fest at around 2PM, and I immediately saw people who thought the lawn was their bedrooms and were sleeping away… Well, I guess that is what you have to do if you get there at 10:00AM.

So, I am going to explain how Oktoberfest works…

1. First of all, it occurs at the end of September… Why you might ask? Well, because it’s there to welcome you to October!

2. Secondly, you only get served if you are SITTING at a table. No ordering from the bar. No sitting, grabbing a Stein and wandering around. No, you stand around and stalk people until you see one person getting up to leave, then you jump! Plus, once the inside of a tent is full, they lock the doors. So, the first day were wandering around for around an hour and finally found an open, but full, patio. After another ½ hour of wandering around the patio, I spotted someone getting up and ran over! Soon, our entire group was at the table (and that is where we stayed for the rest of the night). It was such a fun night, at first , we were mainly talking amongst ourselves, but as people around us kept coming and going, we soon stated to talk to talk to whoever ended up next to us. As you can imagine, people went back and forth to the bathrooms, so when you came back your seat at the table might still be there, but the location might have changed. If you are friends with me, ask to see some of my videos of the night, they are HYSTERICAL!

3. Lastly, you need to experience this fest once in your life. Every company in Munich reserves an area at one point for their employees, and it is a great fest for all ages (they have an entire carnival around). But really, make sure you get there once in your life!

On our last day, Christian and Geo took us to this amazing monestary, where the monks actually brewed the beer. We had a pint of blessed beer and 3 of us shared a pork knuckle... Yes, three of us shared a pork knuckle which was probably the size of my head! It was delicious and such a great experience.

I am writing this right now from Nottingham in the UK. I have been out here the past two weeks for work and it has been a much needed and welcome vacation (if you can call it that). I might have been working late nights in the hotel room, and getting room service every night, but there is something refreshing about leaving your house, staying in a new place and just relaxing (well, in my case working). But it was still nice to do something different... And for those of you who have not seen this yet, check out how the people of Nottingham park their cars!!!


Shout outs!

Lastly, thank you Meghan Gencev and Kathy Zdarstek for pushing me to write more... I love writing, but sometimes you don't think anyone reads it. Thanks for messaging me asking for more! Talk with you all soon!

4th of July, Picnics, Scuba Diving and Ziplining!

Hey guys, I guess this will be my last blog… No, not my last ever, just the one that I will be writing as a twenty something. Yes, I will be moving into the world of the thirties. The decade where I might start to notice how fragile my body actually is. The decade where I start taking vitamins. The decade where I finally consider myself to have a career. The decade where I need to look for that special someone to have kids and settle down… Well, maybe I have a couple more years for that last one, but I have truly been reflecting on life lately. I have come to the following conclusion: I am happy where I am at now. I have achieved many of the milestones that I had set forth for myself, including moving in another Country, securing a great job I enjoy, and travelling more. Things I need to start to think about more are retirements savings, house savings, college savings… Man, I guess I need to start spending less and saving more. Is that what turning 30 means, balancing fun with the need to save and prepare for the future? Let me know your thoughts, I hope to hear from those of you older and wiser, younger and computer savvy, and then those in their prime, the early 30’s! I also wanted to share some funny quotes I found with you guys: "The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits." - Hervey Allen "30 is the new 20, unless your 20, then it's the new 40." - Dane Peddigrew "At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment." - Benjamin Franklin For those of you who may not know, I have had three strong role models in my life, my mom, my dad and Benjamin Franklin. Yes, Ben makes my list. The reason I am impressed by this man is how me made a life for himself. He worked hard and thought strategically about what he wanted. He started planting seeds at a young age, to prepare himself for the future. If you need inspiration to do anything, read about him. It is petty interesting (PS. Thanks for the Ben Franklin Action Figure Kate!) Well, yes, I might be getting older but the fun does keep coming. Last week I went scuba diving for my first time with my friends Athena and Kim. It was a great time, and now I am contemplating becoming certified in order to be able to go myself. This past weekend, I ended up going ziplining in London (yes in London) at a place right outside the city. It was my third time to go, but it never gets old. Now, I am looking at planning a white water rafting trip in Scotland by the end of the year. Good times, good times. I know I probably could have planned these things back home, I just finally feel I am in a city that can handle Belton! Living in Milwaukee was great, but when you feel like you have been to all the restaurants around, and you know ½ of the city, then it’s time to move on. I had a brief stint in Chicago, where I thought I might be able to see myself, but when the opportunity in London arose, I jumped on it and have had not regrets. It is such an exciting city, that is full of life. The one thing I do get annoyed with at times is the fact that there are people continuously leaving. For example, my friend Leanne moved here after me, now she is already back in the states. My friend Alex came and went. Now my friend Ryan is leaving in October, followed by my friend Olivia in November… At the same time, London has a consistent influx of people from all around the world. People who move here and are open to making new mates (e.g. friends). It is a great thing. Looking at my group of friends in Chicago, I miss how close we were. I missed our 8th Annual Wine and Cheese this year. I missed my friend Courtney’s wedding. I missed Thanksgiving with my second family, the Judd’s. I missed Christmas with my family. Wow, I guess there are a lot of things I miss, but the ability to travel to many European cities is just so exciting. Especially since I know I will be back someday. My VISA was just extended until 2015, so I will be here for at least another 4 years, but then who knows! Maybe I hear Japan calling! Thanks for reading and hopefully this entry did not bore you. It was not my typical, but since I am travelling less, I thought I would just write about my thoughts. Talk to you all soon! Belton

San Sebastian, Courtney's Wedding and more!

Hey guys!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but I have been winding down from my last trip… Where you might ask, well San Sebastian of course!

For those of you who have who don’t know where it is, it is on the Northern coast of Spain (yes, I went there again). I really think Spain is one of my favourite European countries. Why, simple, it has all the fun cities, Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian and Ibiza!!!

The trip all started one night when I went out for some work drinks with some friends. My friend Justin, the party planner of the office, asked if I wanted to join him and 11 (yes 11) of his friends on this trip. I jumped at the opportunity to go to a pre-organised event, especially one with so many fun people (I did not know many of them at the time, but knowing Justin I knew they must be fun). Further, when one of the attendees backed out, my friend Kim quickly jumped on board to attend.

I bid my time, and slowly waited for trip that was coming. I did not know much about the city before I went, but people kept telling me they had really good Pintxos there. I tried asking what that meant, but I only got one response, they are like tapas, but better. And boy were they right.

The cool thing about this trip was is that while it is a tourist destination, it is not crazy mainstream like other cities (e.g. Barcelona). As such, we had to fly into an airport an hour outside the city and drive to San Sebastion. Funny thing is when people asked where I was going at first, I told them Bilboa (which is where my plane ticket was to). I did not find out until later that this was not the case. Small mishap, but not as big as it could have been. Ok, so this is a little off topic, but it is a funny story and I think it would be fitting to share with you right now.

So as some of you know, I spent six months abroad in Australia when I was there for school (Go Monash). When I got back I ended up moving into an apartment building on Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee, WI, called the Majestic. After I filled out my application, I was unsure of what address to put from my stay in Australia. I really only had to give it to my parents, and when I cabbed it home we simply said Monash… As such, I did not know my address to populate so I just left the field blank. When the lady saw this, she asked where I had lived the past six months. I stated, Australia! Her response—get ready for it—“Wow, I would love to live in another Country, but I only speak English.”

Yes, I will say again, thinking I was going to Bilboa is not so bad compared to thinking that Australian English is not American English… Ok, back to San Sebastian!

So, we arrived late on Friday night, and it was pretty dark out. But, Justin, being the great organiser he is, found us two 5-bedroom flats (or apartments for you Americans reading this). To top it all off, we were right in the middle of the two beaches on a mini peninsula. Since it was late already, we immediately left to find food, had a couple drinks, then headed home to make the most of our Saturday. When I awoke, I was alone! Noo, I slept thought the morning and it was already 11 am. I turned on my data roaming and called everyone to see where they were. They soon came back for me and we started our day. First stop, the beach! Wow, it was such nice weather, and the beach was fantastic! We people watched, drank Cha-co-lee on the beach and just relaxed in the sun. One great thing about this place was there was NO AGENDA, no sights we had to see, no restaurants we had to get to, nothing but glories relaxation.

Most vacations I go on, I end up running from place to place trying to see all the sights, then spend way to much money on food and hotel. Here, our flat was spacious and affordable, and the Pintxos were everywhere so it was like never ending mini buffet’s everywhere. To explain what these are in more detail, picture walking into a bar, ANY BAR, and having it covered with finger foods. You are handed a plate, and you only pay for what you eat. You can eat a lot, or a little, it is up to you. And it has food ranging from Brie and prawns, to foie gras… And boy did I eat the foie. The Social was the place that introduced me to the foie, and it was $13 for a portion the size of a ½ dollar. Well in Spain, foie was a Pintxos and it was only 2 euro for a bigger portion and it was ever so delicious. Also eaten was cow cheek, and black pudding (I won’t explain that one if you don’t know what it is).

Overall the trip was a smashing success, and if I had to choose one more place to re-visit before I move back to America it would be this place. But, since I will be in London for the foreseeable future (no more two year talk), I have plenty of time to find new places.

Now I rarely blog about London, it is just that while I am at home, I tend to have less free time than I did when I was in America. Here, the parks are everywhere, there are tons of people coming and going, and the Museums are all free! One thing I did recently that is worth talking about is attending zoo lates here. Zoo Lates is essentially where they keep the zoo open until 10PM, sell beverages throughout the zoo, so you can watch the animals while sipping on a glass of wine. The highlight of the experience was the silent disco. For a £5 refundable deposit, you were handed a set of wireless headphones which enabled you to dance to music, while nothing was playing for others to hear… Let me tell you, this was hilarious to watch!

One thing I will say is this though, with all the good, comes some bad… I experienced this most recently on Sunday. One of my close friends, Courtney Tisius, was married in Austin, Texas. Due to the price of summer plane tickets home, I was unable to fly back home for the wedding. I was really bummed and wish I could have been there. I am happy to say though that a really good present is in the works, so Courtney, by the end of this year, I will have something in your hands that will truly describe our friendship. I love you and wish you and your husband all the best!

Well, I have to go, as this is a pretty busy week at work for me, as this week I get to travel for my FIRST time since coming to London. In the US, I travelled all the time, even spending six months in Seattle at one point. But this Thursday, I am taking a day trip to Belgium. It is weird to think I am taking a day trip to another country, but that is how things word over here.

Well thanks for taking the time to read this blog entry! Some upcoming entries include:
• My day trip to Belgium
• My 30th Birthday Party
• My friend Kim’s 4th of July Party
• Chelsea’s trip to London

PS. Sean and Wayne, it was great seeing you guys this past weekend. I hope you enjoyed London. Nate Bown and Josh Parkinson.

PPS. If any of the San Sebastian folks are reading this, you all rocked and I had a blast with you soon! We will be having our Pintxos in London soon so look out for the invite!

And LEAVE A COMMENT PLEASE!

Amsterdam and Paris!

Hey All,

Welcome to my next blog entry! I hope you all have not missed me too much, but in the past month, I have travelled to the Houston (Texas), Manzanillo (Mexico), Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Paris (France)! This blog will focus on the last two destinations, but I have slightly felt that I have been disconnected from the world because I have rarely checked my email in the past 30 days and I only worked 8 days in April! I guess one of the things I love most about living in London is the great ability I have to travel. Now, onto the next entry!

Due to all the Bank Holidays we had in April, I decided to book a fun multi-destination vacation! I started out flying into Amsterdam on Friday to Sunday, where I took a train to Paris until Wednesday.

Amsterdam

My friend Anne accompanied me on the first leg of my journey to Amsterdam. We arrived on Friday night and, after checking into the our accommodations, we set out to find a nice place to spend our first night. After walking around a bit, we saw this pub that looked like it would suit us fine. We sat down and proceeded to order Belgium beer after Belgium beer, in which each one was more interesting than the last. After a couple delicious brews, and some good conversation (I found out that the colour white is apparently “IN” right now), we headed back to the hostel to catch some Z’s.

When we awoke, I was awestruck by how beautiful the city of Amsterdam actually is. We walked around for a bit, fervently trying to avoid all the bikers constantly ringing their bells at us. Amsterdam is sometimes compared to Venice, because it is a city of many canals. For example, in Chicago or Milwaukee, we have one large river that goes through the centre of the city, however Amsterdam has around 5 large canals that form a circle around the city centre, meaning there is no lack of waterfront restaurants. After a delicious lunch at one of these canal restaurants, we headed on to the Free Amsterdam city tour. By the way, Anne had a yummy goat cheese, pine nut and pesto sandwich, while I had a mouth-watering Dutch cheese crepe. So good.

Free tours are something I try to do in all the cities I visit. While they are free to do, I always end up tipping the tour guide because the tour was so beneficial (most people do). But to the good thing is that if you are on a budget, you can just come and watch for free. Anyway, we did the tour and it was amazing to hear the history of the city. Probably the most interesting things discussed on the tour was the Anne Frank House and, of course, the Red Light District. I am one of those who has not yet read Anne Franks diary, however, after this tour it has moved to the top of my book list. I cannot believe that a girl at such a young age had to endure so my pain and suffering, only to not survive… To this day Amsterdam still has the house where Anne Frank and her family hid for over 2 years! It was also interesting to hear about the Red Light District and it’s origins. For example, it has existed almost as long as the city itself, as it was generally a port where many sailors landed, who immediately went looking for ways to release their long pent up desires. The interesting things is there is this LARGE church right in the middle of the district. The story behind it is fascinating. Apparently, back in the day, you could buy redemption for sins committed, and if you paid enough, you could even buy a ‘get out of jail free card’ to allow the forgiving of a sin you are about to commit. Well, since this church was in the middle of the Red Light District, it saw a lot of traffic. As such, the church kept adding on expansions to be able to contain all the ‘sinners’ seeking redemption from the church after their visit to the Red Light District.

On our last day, we ended up renting a Bike to use for the day… Wow, this is something I highly recommend and I actually wish we got a bike the first day we were here. We became one of the fervent bell-ringing bikers who bike everywhere in Amsterdam. We were able to see all the little side shops, ride along the canals, and, of course, visit the beautiful flower shops along the river. Amsterdam is now at the top of my list as my favourite European city! I wish I had more time there, but either way, I know I will be back to visit at least one more time before I head back to the States to live (whenever that might be).

Paris!

What an amazing city. Now, I really did not think this at first. I took the Eurostar from Amsterdam to Paris, and when arriving at the French Train Station (Gare du Nord), I was blown away by how NOT PRETTY France was. I was very immediately met by many ‘rough around the edges’ immigrants outside and was thankful that I arrived mid-day as opposed to later in the evening. I proceeded to find my hotel, which was located in the 10 Arr. I chose this hotel because of both the price and the central location. This was the first time I had used booking.com to make my reservation, I now wish I used my Platinum status with the Marriott to make a reservation with them. When I arrived at my hotel, if you can call it that, I immediately though of the movie hostel… While this was not a hostel, it still looked like something that you would find in a Saw movie, not something in Paris… Anyway, I checked in and I was told that the doors were locked promptly at 1AM. What??? Am I really staying somewhere that locks you in? No, I found out that I just needed to ring the bell and WAKE the night man if I came home after that. He then added on that between 3AM and 4AM was his time, so I needed to be home before 3 or after 4. Well, noted….

After checking in and such, it was close to around 8PM and starting to get dark. I went and bought a bottle of French wine, some cheese and a baguette and then returned to my room to settle in. Man, was the bread, wine and cheese amazing. I then went out to a couple of French bars a friend of mine recommended to see the city life. After a couple drinks I headed back to get an early start to my day the next day.

I woke up around 9, thinking that was early enough to start my day (I was wrong). By the time I took the train to the Eiffel Tower, I looked around and there was already a 3 hour line there! I guess it was mainly because this was a bank holiday weekend and it appears that all of Europe (and plenty of Americans) had decided to go to the top of the tower. I looked at the line and decided I would try later in the week, the lines were just too much. Next stop, walk along the river to the Louvre. Again, the lines were just insane and I could not justify standing outside in them for hours just to get in, so I went for yet another stroll. I ended up by the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and it was amazing inside. The line was moving quite quickly, so I hurriedly made my way inside. It was beautiful!

I also wanted to check out a specific museum while I was in Paris. As random as it was, I was in a short Sundance film back in my college days that eventually made it’s way to the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Since I was one part of an exhibit at this museum, I thought it would be neat to visit the museum.
• http://davidrobbinsics.com/sundance
• http://davidrobbinsics.com/paris

Haha, the first clip is the actual short video I was in (yes, I had hair) and the second link is a link to the exhibit that was in Paris in 2004.

Well, after my day of touring, I met up with a friend of mine who took me to some fun bars for the night. Before bed, I was sure to buy my ticket to the Eiffel Tower for 12:30 the next day. When I arrived, the lines were just as long as the previous day, the only difference was I was able to walk right up to the front of the queue and get the ‘Reserved’ elevator to the 2nd level. Nice… Next, I went to the Louvre, but instead of going in the big pyramid entrance, I went in the ‘secret’ entrance in the tube. I avoided the three hour line in front, and went straight to the gift shop to buy my ticket. This was great because it enabled me to use the entrance for ‘ticket pass holders’ and a very short line. What a day!

My favourite thing about Paris was the fact that I simply enjoyed sitting at the little bistro’s and people watching! I had just come back from a long vacation where I was go go go, so it was nice to come back and have a nice relaxing one.

As usual, thanks for reading. My next blog should be coming out relatively soon as I want to write about the Royal Wedding! Also, I am going to Brighton (in the UK) and San Sebastian, Spain, later this month so I will be writing about that too!

Lastly, I added a new ‘subscribe’ function to my blog. If you like reading it, sign up for alerts when I make updates! Also, if you want me to visit a certain city and write a blog about it, you can also use the 'support' me function above!

Talk to you all soon, and thanks for all the support so far!

Mike's Guest Blog - Volume I

Hey All,

Welcome back! Just as I am settling into being back in London I am off again. I leave for Amsterdam and Paris this Friday and will be back just in time for the Royal Wedding next week. Yes, it pretty exciting that not only did I move to London when a wedding was set to occur, but I will also be here for the Olympics next year (just ordered those tickets too). Well, this blog is written by my friend Mike who just came up for the weekend from Chicago to visit. Enjoy!

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Stuck in the UK Vol. 1 - by Michael Run

On my first trip to Europe I visited my friend Belton in London. We had the most amazing time! I really gained a lot of perspective from the trip.

When I fist got to London I had the pleasure of waiting in an hour and a half immigration line with an American girl from Missouri who had never been outside of the state in her life. Obviously we made a deep connection and I’ll never forget her, whoever she was. Then on the tube the line shut down and I had to transfer from train to train on the same line. Finally I made it to Central London where Belton met me and I was immediately treated to a mini tour of the most popular areas to see, including Leicester Square, Chinatown, Soho, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. After that we grabbed lunch at a local spot, Pizza Express. From there I went and saw Westminster Abby and a few other popular landmarks, headed to BT’s place and crashed out for a couple hours.

Wanting to see some other friends, who were also in London, I left to do my own thing and went to Clapham and joined a few of the old boys for a regular smashingly good time. We hung out at a place called The Goat for a bit and carried on from there to another place or two. I can’t remember where I went but that’s only because it was such a great time. Took some photo ops and kept calm while partying on! After a great night out with friends and some good partying I remembered I had prior arrangements and I headed back to BT’s flat. Long story short it was a long day from the flight to walking around London and meeting a group of friends. Shattered…

So where was I, Oh yeah. So prior to coming to London I agreed to play paintball with a large group of Belton's friends, people I didn’t know. I call those opportunities. BT woke me up at 6:15am even though he told me we didn’t have to leave until 6:45. I told him I’d be ready to rock, I was ready to sleep. We proceeded to ride the tube to our stop and met up with a few of his friends who were joining us for paintball. From there we took the train out to the country side to some remote destination, Delta Force. Given the experience of the night before let’s just say it was a struggle for me. From the train we walked for a bit, finally reached the paintball grounds and found out we didn’t need to be there until 10. Sweet! Upon arrival they handed us a bunch of gear. Face masks, body armour, jumpsuits, paintball containers, etc. As it was my first paintball experience I geared up and got right. I felt like I looked really good in my gear because it accentuated all of my daring yet bold features. A lot of BT’s friends joined us and rightfully so it was a good bunch of peeps just looking to have a good time. On to the paintball…

It started out rough.

I was severally dehydrated and tired from the flight. I figured just get on with it and enjoy yourself. I was told it was 3.5 quid for a full days worth of paintball, what they didn’t tell you is that you need to buy a ton of paintballs to actually have a good time and shoot shoot shoot!!! Our group of 20 something was split up and we were to face each other. Interestingly enough I think the first few rounds were my best as I was shooting everyone in sight, didn’t get hit once and my team destroyed the non-competitive opposition (Go Orange!) Yeah you know who you are!

Anyways after the first few games I was in pain(literally); not only was I exhausted and craving water but I didn’t realise how much running around was involved. Upon our first break I immediately went and purchased a couple bottles of water. Crushed them, and that’s when I realised there was free water a few steps away. I was sweating so much and felt disgusting. My mask kept fogging up and I literally couldn’t see. I got rid of the useless body armour as it only made me sweat more, or was it my sweater? Got rid of that too. Everyone was wearing the same thing. All black jumpers goggles and guns. I couldn’t tell anyone apart from each other. No wait, ….I knew who BT was, not because of his distinguishing features but because the group had told the place that it was his birthday! They gave him a large pink target to wear. It was even better because Belton was so embarrassed. :)

As the next few games went on, I was able to feel a bit better and talk with a few new friends I had just met. Everyone was nice and receptive of this rookie Yankee in their midst. I started getting really tired right around lunch, which was included in admission. We received these personal pizzas which were 5 quid each and worth about 2. They tasted great to me because I was famished and relished a break. At lunch I met a few more people that I hadn’t even noticed were there before. But when you’re introduced with masks on it’s a little had. Again great people. Even though I was already introduced I was like who are you? Oh great to meet you!

After lunch I was about through with paintball and was wondering when we were going to hit the pub. It was about then I started to realize the other random group we were paired with was taking things a bit too seriously. I guess some of them were warned and asked to leave from being ultra-competitive and really too much. Rule breakers! I won’t stand for it! I only know this from what others said as I was just looking to have a good time and wanted to enjoy my first UK experience. The last few games were fun but I was terrible, seriously like 2-3 matches in a row I was shot as soon as they started. Maybe 30 seconds in. But I guess I was lucky as everyone else had bruises and welts afterwards, the worst that happened to me is I got hit in the jugular a couple times and on a joint in my pinky. If you’ve ever been shot in the hand with a paintball then you know how fun that is. Not too bad though, no bruises or welts. Wait, was everyone else cooler than me with battle scars and hideous bruises? Yea, that was the case. I was definitely the prettiest of the group, at least that’s what the ladies said once I put my mask on. They told me to keep it on because it was a good look for me. Well someone said it, I’m just not sure who they were. Well good enough for me.

For most of the day I was strong, alpha, but towards the end I was ready to move on. After paintball we headed to the pub. Finally! We had a few pints and I got to know the crew I was with a bit more. Luckily for me it was a bunch of Yanks who were super cool and wanted to get to know me a bit. It was at an awesome country pub just as you might picture one in London. Good ol’ Black Swan, I’ll never forget you Swany. We shared some stories, and while everyone else had to catch the train back, somehow BT talked a really cool girlfriend of his into giving us a ride back to the city. She was a regular honey badger of a sausage. We went back did our thing and got ready to go out for the night. Grabbed some dinner with some of BT’s friends from Australia, Ollie and Andrew, and proceeded to go out for the night. We ended up going to Shoreditch which apparently is a place to go for a great night out. My friends recommended it the night before. We met up with some more of BT’s friends at place called the Queen of Hoxton. The venue was cool, and the patrons seemed cool, there was only one problem. Too many people stuffed into an alcove. They shut down the upstairs where the rooftop deck was and told everyone to stand next to me. Perfect! After friends left we bounced straight away to another spot and took the tube back to the flat. I was knackered.

The following morning BT made me a full breakfast with a feta, mushroom and bacom omelette, blueberries, OJ and buttered toast. I was like umm what is this? Thank you so much man! I was impressed, I tried to offer to help cook and clean but being a gent he refused and carried on. Good lad! Later I learned his maid does his dishes, oh well excuse me sir! We can’t all be Swish’er sweet! Onwards and upwards…

We went for a walk to the London Eye and Big Ben during the London Marathon. I thought about jumping in for a few K but BT talked me out of it. It was really cool to see people cheering on the runners and we actually got to watch the end of the race right in front of Buckingham Palace, about 30,000 of them in all were participating in the worlds oldest marathon. After walking around a bit we caught the tube to go see London Tower. Which by the way isn’t one tower but twenty. Our tour guide Dave was hilarious and actually lives in the castle with his family. After seeing a couple other tour guides who were all facts and no fun I really appreciated him. We learned a whole lot of Londonite facts and wish I could tell you about a ton of beheadings but I won’t. I don’t want to cheapen the tour, you’ll have to go for yourself. Or pay me $35. It’s totally worth it, …once!

We saw the royal jewels and the largest cut diamond in the world. It was 326 karats and almost as large as my fist. All I know is that I’ll have one just like it. No, … Bigger... Craving some English treat we grabbed Fish n’ Chips of course and chowed down. So after that we met up with some friends went to a few pubs grabbed some dinner saw the canals and went out to again to a Jazz spot. Needless to say my adventure didn’t end there.

On my last day I walked around London. I went through Hyde Park and took some time to reflect on my latest adventure. I thought about all the cool people I met and the good times I had. It was a beautiful day. The Sun was out, the birds were chirping, squirrels were eating peanuts out of people’s hands. Oh London town, the mystery and awe. I walked down Oxford Street and hit up the British store of prominence Primark, where all the posh go to get their things. I joined in the festivities and splurged on the freshest gear one could find. When I was done pushing through the masses I managed to escape with enough time to get to another shop or two. Everyone was eyeing my bag, I knew they were jealous of my devilish good tastes. It was nearing time to go so I headed down to Belton’s work to meet him for lunch and one last hoorah. We had a delicious English Mexican fiesta with a couple of his co-workers and I was off. We did our goodbyes and I headed to the airport. It was a fast ride, much faster than on the way in. I made it with a few hours to spare. Good thing too because I found out my flight was cancelled.

Apparently the last flight from Chicago never came in and I was therefore out of a ride back to the States. I was crushed, another night in London! Nooo The worst! Quickly rang Belton but he must have been in a meeting or something and couldn’t get a hold of him. I had to ask him if I could spend one more night in his glorious flat. About 45 to an hour later I finally got a hold of him and he said no problem. I felt even worse when I found out I was entitled to 600 pounds compensation. I didn’t want to take advantage of the system but laws are laws. The only thing was he had plans for the evening so I had to figure out something to do for the night. Luckily enough for me one of his friends took pity was down to chill. Had some food and drinks and it turned out not to be a good thing to be stuck in London for another night. If you’re into that kinda thing.

The activities that occurred the next day, my real last day, remain a secret to you all. I dare not shed those stories upon anyone’s ears. They are the kind of thing that makes women swoon and men cry.

One thing that sticks out is a lot of people kept asking me why I went to London. I really only had one answer, because I wanted to. I only sleep to rest, wake up to live my dreams. You know? America!

I had a blast! Learned so much! All about joined up writing (aka. Cursive writing) to fancy dress (aka. A costume) and of course swimming costume (aka. A Swimsuit)! In fact I’m pretty sure I’ll be back in a few weeks hoping to hang out with a few new friends I met and rock London. One more time, we’re going to celebrate!

Mexico and Texas!

Hi all,

So, while I know this is my London blog, this time I will be blogging about my first trip back to the US, with a quick stop in Mexico. Actually, the timing of my trip home was to attend this wedding.

Mexico (The Wedding)

When I moved to London from Chicago last year, it was not that hard. I mean, come on, I am achieving a long term goal of mine of living in a foreign country. Another reason was the fact that I was not truly leaving all my friends (because I knew I was going to see them at this wedding). Over the past ten years (since 1999) I have been lucky enough to meet one of the best groups of people, friend I met while attending Marquette University. It is amazing; they say that you meet some of your best friends while in college… Well, I have to agree, with the exception of my few high school friends (Emily, Courtney, Monica, Larry) most of my close friends are from college. And to top that, we have all been great friends for sometime now, from Kate, Christina, Eric, Jeff, Chris and many others from O’Donnell, to Tim, Scott, George, Erick and the Sara(h)’s during Junior year. The group even kept growing to include many others like Meghan, Kristin, Suzie, and Arin many more years later… (Don’t think I forgot about you Meredyth from Freshman Year at Dan’s Party!). The best thing about our group is that we are an interconnected group of friends, where one person is truly friends with many of the others in the group. This makes it easy to (1) see what others are up to, (2) randomly see your friends while out and about with other friends, and (3) get to see everyone when someone in the group get’s married. Well, that is the situation here, and I was excited to be a part of it.

Our good friends George and Meghan decided to wed in Manzanillo, Mexico. While I was excited to go to Mexico, I was not excited about the mode of transportation I selected. I first had to fly into Guadalajara, taxi to the bus station, take a bus to the Manzanillo bus station, then a car to resort. The good thing is Meghan (the wedding planner) had great taste and selected a great affordable venue inside Manzanillo that happened to be all inclusive (and I don’t mean just meals). It was pretty nice to be laying on a beach for a week having servers constantly coming up to you asking if you would like another Michalada (Beer, Lime Juice and Tabasco) or Miami Vice (½ Piña Colada and ½ Strawberry Daiquiri) – two of our groups favourites during the week. Another exciting part of the trip was the fact that the future bride and groom sent out a WEEK ITINERARY to the group of attendees. Weekly activities included ziplining from the tops of trees, deep sea fishing, snorking, and beach visits. Yes, it was truly a week in paradise, only with 15 of your closest friends. It was not only a wonderful experience to see two of my good friends tie the knot, but it provided me with the opportunity to hang out with ‘my group’ one more time. Now that I live in London, I realize I might see two to three of them at a time, but times like this wedding, times when we are all together again are going to be a rarity for me now. I need to enjoy it while I can…

Home (Houston, TX)

Wow, reverse culture shock is something that is pretty interesting. Actually, it is pretty cool when you live outside the US so long that when you return, you notice so many things that you simply took for granted before. For example, while living in London I typically don’t see the British flag displayed on a normal basis; however, while in Houston, I noticed that we proudly displayed our red, white and blue everywhere. It did fill me with a sense of pride to be from a country where we are so proud of our roots. That being said, it is also invigorating to be in a country that actually has roots, deep cultural and historical roots that is. But, as I mentioned, this blog is not about England, but rather about Texas, so let’s get back to that. First, I was extremely excited to see my parents. Especially since I flew in on Friday night and had to fly out the following morning to go to Mexico. I had not seen my parents in 8 months and I only had one night with them before the wedding trip. Luckily, I had a whole 8 days with them after the wedding, which seemed to fly by too fast. Every time I go home I not only notice how much I have grown, but I truly notice how much my sisters have as well. This trip I saw my little sister and was amazed at how much of a young woman she sounded and acted like (at 25 now). It is kinda crazy, because I bet my older sis might think the same about me. Well, this year I saw a big change in her too, she seemed truly happy. Maybe I did not notice it before, but it does seem like things are going great for her now. It was also great to see my parents again. One of my trips highlights was when I gave my mom her present from London (well one of them anyway). She had asked for a very nice French perfume. If my mom has a weakness, they are ‘Authentic Crystals’ and ‘Exotic Perfumes’ (with a mild scent). As such, I had set out the month before with my friend Olivia to go to Harrods to find my mom the perfect scent. It turns out I succeeded, because the smile on my mom’s face when she first smelled the scent was priceless… It was also great because the brand I bought her was from one of the oldest fragrance makers in France, and it was specific to Harrods, meaning you could not but it online or anywhere in the States. I think that truly added to the appeal, having something that is limited and can really only be brought back from London. My dad, on the other had, is a very complex, yet simple guy. When I asked what he wanted from London, he responded (and I quote) “You can get me a London baseball cap for me to wear during the summer months here.” Well that I did sir, I got him a great London, UK hat from one of the tourist shops around. I actually had to go to four stores to find his, because I wanted it to be special and not just one of the standard gifts.

I can also see that I am getting older as well. I did yard work on my families house for the first time (I was never a work in the yard kind of guy, except when it was to volunteer with Strake Jesuit or Marqutte). However, when my mom asked me to de-weed the front yard, plant four rose bushes, five shrubs and mulch the yard, I actually jumped at the opportunity… Why, maybe because I grew up a spoiled brat and I feel I owe it to my parents who have always been there to provide for me. I feel like I owe it to them for all the yeas I refused to vacuum the gameroom, or walk the dog, or take out the trash, or well, do any chrores! So now, yes, I am more than happy to assist my parents with these tasks when I come home. I actually look forward to it, kind of like when the parents visited and cleaned your kitchen and bought you food while in college. Although fun, I am happy that central Londoners do not have yards while a Houston household without a yard is a rare commodity!

Overall, I enjoyed my trip home so much more than other’s because I was able to just be. I was able to be me with my friends. I was able to be me with my family. I was able to see my mom, dad, and sister’s smile and laugh. I was able to take my Godson out for a fun night at Dave and Buster’s, stressing the importance of getting a good education. I was able to be me, the me I know. I feel the new me in London is different… I have to be… I don’t have the same friends, or my family a quick plane ride away. Moving to a foreign country definitely makes you stronger. It helps you to adjust to varying circumstances rapidly, while always keeping that smile on your face. And if you have met me, you know I always have a smile on my face…

Talk with you all soon. My next entry will be about my upcoming trip to Amsterdam and France!

Until next time!

PS. As usual, if you read this, please post a comment!!!!

Dana's Guest Blog - (v)ac(u)ation

Hi all,

In keeping with my theme of asking my visitors to write my next blog post when they visit, my friend Dana wrote the most recent one. It is extremely interesting because she is in the process of getting her masters in Cairo, but evacuated to London during the recent uprising! Another exciting this is that her evacuation also brought together many old friends. You see, I originally met Dana when I did a semester abroad in Australia, and many of my good friends happen to be in the UK. As such, when Alexandra Doherty, Sarah Elliott, Andrew Tumulak and Ollie Williams found out Dana was coming, they dropped everything and made their way to London (actually we all live here except for Ollie [in Leeds] and Sarah [ in Manchester]).

Also, not mentioned in the below blog but equally important, was Leanne’s going away party. I am sure you have seen her in many a picture in my blogs in the past, as well as a mention in the below post, but she has returned to the US after her 6-month stint in London. Yes, I arrived before her and I am still here. Crazy, I can’t believe I have been here 8 months now, but she will be missed. I had no idea how it is possible to spend so little time with someone but come to care about them so much, miss you Leanne!

As some of you also know, I will be heading back to the states next week. I will be arriving to Houston at 9PM, then fly out to Mexico at 6Am the following morning for a wedding. My good friends Meghan and George are getting married in Manzanillo, Mexico. (I know, my parents have already tried to get me to not go to Mexico now, but I have been assured it is safe). After a week in an all-inclusive beach resort, I head back to Texas to finally spend time with my parents and sisters, who I miss a great deal. So my next blog post should be interesting, as it will deal with reverse-culture shock and I can tell you all the weird things Americans do! Until next time, enjoy Dana’s guest blog entry!

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(e)vac(u)ation – by Dana Kightlinger

I have packed up my stuff to move across the country or world many times. For the past seven years I have essentially been able to condense my life into two suitcases and a couple carry-ons. Each time, however, things accumulate. Leaving each place that has come to feel like home is a difficult task, saying goodbye to friends who have become like family, picking and choosing which items are worth that precious suitcase space, and generally taking my time to close one chapter of my life in favor of opening another. My moves have been quite calculated and I know weeks or months in advance when I need to say goodbye to a place and usually whether or not I am coming back.

None of these experiences prepared me for what I experienced in Egypt at the end of January this year. The first few days of what is now being referred to as a revolution I maintained a healthy sense of denial. I thought classes might still start on January 31 and that Mubarak would die as President of Egypt. I thought I would stay through the end of the semester and have no problem getting my thesis and then moving back to the States. I was ready to leave Egypt in May at the end of two years here. So after a week of continued demonstrations and daily meetings at the local dorms which led to the announcement that the University opening would be delayed, coupled with the availability of charter flights for American citizens and the closure of the American embassy, I decided to leave. I would evacuate. I laid in bed the night that I bought my ticket, wondering aloud whether I had made the right decision. Cairo responded with bouts of machine gun fire. Two days later I was on a flight to London, anxious to see Belton who I hadn’t seen in two years, since Seattle, which was two years after we had met in Australia.

Leaving Cairo was hard. I had spent the previous two days packing up my stuff, wondering what was important to bring with me and what I would be willing to leave in Cairo in case I never came back. This is normally a several week long process for me. The urgency of packing up quickly was almost liberating in a way, but I also knew that I was going to London with the intention of coming back to Cairo at some point. If I was really done, then I probably would have gone home to America and wouldn’t have used the excuse of doing research to justify my one way ticket to a ridiculously expensive city. I was exhausted and emotionally drained even though I had no problems at the airport or getting out of Cairo. In true BT fashion, however, both of these factors were ignored upon my arrival at the South Kensington tube station and BT helped me promptly drop my stuff off and get back on the tube to head out for karaoke. My flight was a little late so we had to run in order to see everyone before they left, but we did manage to sing a few songs (even though the machine kept breaking) and wish Alex a happy birthday. After about an hour out, we all headed back to our homes since most of us were getting up bright and early to be tourists the next morning.

If you ever have to evacuate your current country of residence, don’t despair. There are always people and things somewhere to distract you. In my case, those things were Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath, and the people were BT and Leanne. Windsor is beautiful and even though I had been there before, I easily could have spent the whole day wandering around the grounds. The audio guide is easy to follow and the whole place is so picturesque you can’t help but feel a sense of awe as you look and listen to history around you. Before we knew it, we were late for the bus because we had been wandering through the rooms of the castle. We didn’t get to see St George’s Chapel, but I guess that just means I’ll have to go back eventually. Our next stop was lunch on the way to Stonehenge. I figured that time was as good of a time as any to start including alcohol and pork products at every meal during my time outside of Egypt and the Chinese food we had lent itself to that perfectly - cider, spare ribs, sweet and sour pork, mmmmmm. We were quite content and (naturally) the last ones on the bus to drive out to Stonehenge. This was again a place I had been before (at age 11 I think), and one that we often have grand ideas about. Yes it’s very interesting to see how they were able to situate the stones in ways that we still don’t really understand and how they were able to get them to lock together all those thousands of years ago and even how they were able to shape and move the stones to get them there, but for something that’s part of human history (and for someone living about twenty minutes away from the Great Pyramids) Stonehenge is small (not like This Is Spinal Tap Stonehenge small, but still way smaller than expected, even though I had already been there!). Through minimal forced perspective photography, BT was able to hold it in his hands while I was able to stomp on it. It’s also completely exposed to the elements, which in our case included a pretty strong wind and some horizontal rain. My coat was not waterproof, so I was not bummed that we didn’t have as much time out there as we had had at Windsor plus the cider and pork was starting to set in and a nap was sounding pretty nice. Our guide, who had an excellent sense of humor (or should I say humour since I was in England) told us a few anecdotes along the way and then gave us some time to sleep before we arrived in Bath. Bath is famous for, well, the baths. I always forget that the Romans made it all the way to England but they did; and they left baths. We checked out the Roman ruins (which seemed way out of place in dreary rainy England) and then got clotted cream ice cream and fudge and went book shopping and had a quaint little evening before climbing back on the bus for the couple hour drive back to London. This time I napped; I was exhausted.

When we arrived back at Sloane Square I told BT that I didn’t think I could go out that night, I was just too sleepy. He agreed so we decided to have a few drinks and dinner at home. Well, the drinks had red bull in them, so a few hours later we were meeting up with Andrew and some of his friends at a birthday party and only after getting home from that was I allowed to sleep. Sunday saw me curling up on the couch until well after noon with a potent combination of jet lag, exhaustion, and sheer laziness knocking me out. That night we went out again looking for wings (TGI Friday’s fail - they kicked us out for not ordering meals; BT got it resolved though and the next week I believe they got free food vouchers for the poor service) and then wound up in a tiny little underground club watching the Super Bowl at 11 pm with a bunch of people who probably had the impression that football is a game played by kicking a round ball across a field with your feet. A lot of the same people from karaoke or the epic tourist adventure from the previous day were there, and most of them had work in the morning so after the Black Eyed Peas and Usher played their very bright half time show everybody except Leanne and I went home. We stayed for the end of the game, cheering slightly that Green Bay won (I really could have cared less, the Patriots weren’t in it) and then Leanne put me on a bus to Sloane Square, from which I was under the impression I could make it home on my own. I did. Eventually. This was my first time walking home without BT and I forgot a crucial turn, thus sending me on a wild goose chase looking for two streets with the same name. I made it home and to the couch much later than expected, but what’s an (e)vac(u)ation (see what I did there? It’s evacuation vacation!) for if not sleeping in all the next day?

I spent most of my time in London on BT’s couch talking to friends in Cairo and trying to assess the situation and when I would be able to return. We went over to Leanne’s one night and BT cooked, some of his other friends came over to his place one night...and BT cooked, I tried to go to the V&A Museum right down the street from BT’s place, but I got lost, and I went to Harrods. One day I did go to the Egyptian Embassy to see if there were protests, but it was quite small and I was wearing flip flops so I left after a little over an hour. I stopped by the original Hard Rock Cafe to get pins for my collection. I had been to London before, so touristy things weren’t my priority, and after having spent a week in Cairo with a fairly high level of anxiety, I was quite enjoying the ability to just lounge around and relax and not hear machine gun fire or the noise from jets circling or the chants of people hoping their President would step down.

I did head out to Oxford one day to visit a friend I met in Africa a few years ago. Though it was a short visit, it was nice to know I was making the most of my (e)vac(u)ation and seeing everyone I could. I arrived back in London on Thursday and Friday was to be the mother of all reunions. First I had lunch with a friend from California whom I hadn’t seen in years, then I went to St Paul’s Cathedral, then I went to a pub and saw that Mubarak had indeed stepped down (really Hosni? Could you not have waited two days until I was back in the country so that I could celebrate with the Egyptian people too?), and then I went to go pick up Sarah at the train station. True to form, we couldn’t find each other for a while but eventually made it back to Belton’s place, picking up my roommate from Egypt along the way. Ollie and BT made it back soon enough and the wine (in bottles, not goon like I kind of expected) was opened. My roommate headed back to where she was staying in the city and the four of us Monashians headed out to meet up with Ali and Andrew for a lovely Valentine’s Day dinner at a casino. After the dinner there was a string of other bars, lines, misguided bouncers, credit card charges, and dancing. Slowly but surely, the group began to dwindle and eventually we made it home full of red bull and delicious pizza. I still can’t believe the random circumstances that brought that group together that night - Ollie, Andrew, and BT had just spent a weekend together a few weeks prior and Sarah had visited not too long ago either, but everybody came out to get back together - as you do when a friend has just evacuated.

The next day, Sarah, BT and I went looking for breakfast and found the most amazing full English breakfast place (BT ordered pasta for some reason; I ordered extra bacon) and then wound up at the Saatchi gallery (a place BT had been encouraging me to go to all week) but it was closed for a private event (drat!). Early in the afternoon we sent Sarah to meet up with a friend who would take her to the train station and then BT and I went shopping for costumes for his flatmate’s birthday party that night. (I was supposed to be leaving at 6am the next day, but BT had decided that I would leave London in just as much of a fun time crunch as I arrived). We got our costumes (glasses and suspenders for my ‘dork’ outfit, boxing gloves for BT) went home and had some dinner (sushi) and headed back out nearly exactly where we had just been to go to the fancy dress party where nobody really quite knew what the theme was. I got a few winks of sleep before the alarm went off and I had to scramble to the airport via the tube - an hour and a half later (thanks to trains not running quite as frequently as you’d like them to on a Sunday morning) I made it to the gate just before it was set to open and was ready to board a flight back to a country that looked nothing like the one I had left.

I didn’t intend to wind up in London in February; I didn’t intend to have to leave Cairo; I frankly didn’t intend to ever refer to Hosni Mubarak as Egypt’s former President while the man was still alive. But this is what happens when you live abroad and if you’re lucky, you have excellent friends in excellent places who are willing to take you in, take you out, and take the time to help you figure out what’s going on in this crazy world. Thanks BT.

Prague!

So, in Europe, they have this rule where they give all people a massive amount of vacation days; and while we are allowed to roll them over into the new year, we must use them by the end of January. This, combined with the fact that is was one of my collegue’s birthdays (Alex Tam) made us decide to go to Prague! I took a long weekend (Thurs to Tuesday) off and hopped on a plane for my weekend adventure!

Since I was using my vacation days, I arrived a day earlier and left a day later than my travel companions (They arrived Fri to Sun, while I was Thurs to Mon). Here is a day by day breakdown of my experiences there:

THURSDAY – I had an afternoon flight out of London, so arrived at the airport around 10:00 for my 1:00PM flight. It was a short two hours to Prague and I hit down on the ground a little after 4:00 and was checked into my hostel by 5:30! I was a little worried about being there alone my first night because I did not speak any Czech, but I should have guessed, everyone knew English! I made my way to small street vendor and helped my self to a Sausage on a stick! It was tasty. I then made my way to a bar in the city centre, where they tell many Americans to stop at first. I made my way there, and soon realized that while Prague is a fun city on the weekends, it virtually is asleep on other nights. As I made my way to the bar I was excited to have an authentic Czech beer, Pilsner Urquell! Yes, you might have had it in America, as it is popular there, but unlike Australian Fosters, this beer is as synonymous with Czech as Guinness is with Dublin. To top it all off, the beer cost around $1! I was in total shock, but in a very good way. I now know why Prague is labelled one of the top Stag (Bachelor) and Hen (Bachelorette) party destinations in central Europe! The bartender was also great, he told me where I should go on Friday and Saturday. It was also at this time I saw two people at the bar who looked like they could be fun. I wanted to make the best of the night so I introduced myself and asked if they knew of any other fun places to go. They told me of course, and invited me to tag along. Score! Locals who agreed to take me out my first night. Three Czech pubs later, I arrived back to my hostel fully happy with the first night I had (Thanks Jye and Gabreal).

FRIDAY – The second day I had to check out of the hostel, to move to the hotel that we were all staying at, courtesy of Alex Tams girlfriend, Amy Troung (Thank you Amy!). Once they arrived, we used the first day to do some basic exploring. We first went to a really cool building called ‘THE WALKING BUILDING’. If you go to Prague, you should definitely check it out. We then decided to grab some food and randomly found this authentic looking Czech restaurant. Once inside, we were yet again taken aback at how cheap the items on the menu were. We ordered, and soon our meals, or should I say meat, arrived the table. I happened to order Marinated Pork Ribs, with a chilli oil. These massive ribs came out on a metal spike and were stacked one-on-top of the other, and boy were they juicy and delicious! Once stuffed, we made our way over Charles Bridge to the Prague Castle and Cathedral on the other side of the river. After some amazing sightseeing, and a very long uphill track, we were ready for a quick beer at a local pub. We went into the first one we saw, which also happened to look closed, and it turned out to be one of Prague’s oldest pubs. The staff still wore garbs (clothes) from the 1900’s, and the inside really looked like it was the set from a movie. It was one of the coolest finds on our trip. Later that night we met up with one of Leanne’s friends friend, Tomas (pronounces To-Mash), who took us out for a very interesting night. One that ended with us trying Absinth (with Wormwood and Thujone).

SATURDAY – We all woke up bright and early (at 10:00) and made our way to the city centre for the 3-hour walking tour, which started off right by the Prague Clock. Now for those of you who have not been to Prague, this clock attracts people from all over the world. For those of you who have been to Prague, you will also know that this was rated the second most upsetting tourist attraction (right after Stonehenge). Well, the walking tour took us all around the city, and we were even able to see the old Jewish town and the Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was probably 50 feet high because they only gave the Jews a small area of land for their dead back in the day. Further, since Jews do not believe in cremation or above ground burials, they had to improvise, but placing tombs, over tombs, over tombs. It was pretty interesting to see, since there were so many tombstones over the top of the mound. After many hours of walking around, we wandered back to the hotel to rest before our big night out for Alex’s birthday. I had managed to get us Discount Entry cards to the largest club in Central Europe, Kaze Lane. It was a pretty fun club, with low ceilings not made for tall people dancing (which I learned the hard way). They had a variety of floors, each playing it’s own music. This night was a lot of fun as well!

SUNDAY – Leanne left early in the morning. Alex, Amy and I wandered around for a bit before they had to leave and I was left to entertaining myself for one more day. What to do, what to do? I wandered back to the hostel to check in and saw someone in the lobby looking just as lost as me. We started talking and decided to find a fun place to go out to. We had a couple drinks at the hostel (they had a really great bar built in) and made our way to grab a bite to eat. It was kinda funny because when we finally ended up at a bar, I ran into people I met the first and the second nights. My friend was like ‘Are you sure you don’t live here!’ It was funny that I already ran into people after only being in the city for a weekend. But I will say it was a fun weekend.

Prague has definitely been my favourite European city to visit thus far, with a great historical story, great pubs, cheap beer, fun and nice people, and a place you can get by only knowing English! I don’t know what European city is next for me, but I will be going to Leeds to visit my friend Ollie with my other friend Andrew (both Monash University Alumni buddies), later this month. It should be a great time. Also later this month, is the second Marquette University Alumni Event, celebrating InterNational Marquette Day on January 29th! It should be a great event, and we already have 16 people registered, that is more than some National clubs do in the US. I say our club is getting off to a great start!

Well, I hope you are all well back home and, as usual, thanks for reading. I am back to work tomorrow and am actually looking forward to it.

Christmas in London!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the US! It was nice entering the new year before all of you… Just kidding, it was funny to call my parents back home saying ‘Happy New Year’ only to have them tell me it was only 6PM and still very much 2010 there.

This year was both a good and a sad Christmas for me. Good because I was able to experience a Christmas in London, but sad because it was my first Christmas away from the folks. I am in a destination wedding coming up in March (Manzanillo, Mexico) and since I am from Texas, will be spending a week with my parents around that time too. As such, I felt it would be nice (and cost effective) to spend Christmas in London. Luckily, one of my friends in London invited me back to spend Christmas with his family in North Devon, UK. Yes, the countryside, just like Chronicles of Narnia. Specifically, the first one where it was cold and snowy.

After a four hour train ride, and an hour car ride we arrived in a quant little town of Barnstaple, UK. When we were at his parent’s house, I definitely felt like we were in the country side with fields of white. When we went to the city, I mean town, I felt like I was in a medieval kingdom. It was pretty amazing to see churches that were built in the 1500’s, streets that were made of cobblestone, and cemeteries with tombstones you could no longer read. It truly puts things in perspective when you realize that our lives are only a ‘blip’ on the radar of life. It also made me realize that we live to love and be loved. I love you so much mom and dad. I love you Avita and Cicely. I love my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as well. You were all missed this Christmas.

One of the shocking aspects of the city was when we walked by the butcher shop and I saw some freshly caught bunnies hanging outside the shop to air out. I knew I was no longer in a city. One thing I did learn while staying with a British family is their level of sarcasm, also called ‘Taking the piss out of someone’. I truly do not get it, but the British like to make snide comments to each other and it is completely accepted, even part of the norm here. In America, things that might offend are justified here because they are intended only in jest. I think it will take me more time to get used to this one, but if you come to visit, be warned! (You can ask Leanne Eberle about this one too www.cubangalinlondon.blogspot.com!)

Overall, my Christmas in Devon was amazing. My friend’s family was extremely nice, and they even got me some gifts! I know, it was an unexpected surprise! His mother made me feel so welcome, and she always had some sort of food she was offering. His dad was a pleasant gent as well and even got me a Christmas card and a bottle of wine. I truly enjoyed the experience and it was nice to be around a family (even it was not mine) for the Holidays.

A British Christmas is nice though and very similar/different to a US one in the following respects:

Similarities:

• · They have Christmas Trees too
• · They open presents like we do
• · We both celebrate with our family and loved ones
• · We both have mashed potatoes, cranberries, rolls, gravy
• · We both drink wine

Differences:

• · We celebrate Christmas Eve, they celebrate Boxing Day (they don’t even get the 24^th off!)
• · We have fruit cake, they have Christmas Pudding (which I realize I do not like)
• · They have bacon wrapped sausages as part of their meal
• · They always have Turkey, we traditionally have a variety of meats (I think this one is because they don’t have Turkey at Thanksgiving so it is their only holiday to cook the bird)
• · They have these little things called ‘crackers’ which are placed at the table where you are sitting. Each person gets one and you and the person next to you grab on to each end (similar to what you would do with a wishbone) and pull. >POP<>
• · They have this stuff called Bread Pudding, it is a gravy like substance and pretty good
• · I literally drank 5 cups of tea a day (I never realized they really liked it this much!)

On the 27^th, I headed back to London to meet my friend Maria Gencev who was visiting me for Christmas. She is currently living in Madrid and is actually in the destination wedding as well, so she stayed in Europe over Christmas like me. As such, I wanted to show her a good time during her visit. The first night we went out dancing, and had a great time. We went to a very large venue and actually got lost for a bit, but then found each other again. The second day, after we finally woke up, we ventured into Central London to see the sights, including Trafalgar square, Camden markets, Big Ben, the London Eye, Soho, China town and Leicester Square. I had a couple co-workers over that night (Ryan and Dani) and we tried to go to a place called the Roxy. While it sounded fun inside, the hour queue (line) and the amount of 18 year olds in line prompted us to choose another venue. We found a small venue called ‘The Bar’ which was nice, and we heard a funny story about ‘Yumma Yumma’! (Only Maria will get this one). It is really nice to be able to show my friends around London, but I think I am going to have so many pictures of Big Ben by the end of my two years here. For some reason, every time I go I end up taking a picture.

Well, Happy New Year all and thanks for reading. I am actually headed to Prague for a long weekend (Thursday through Monday) so I will be sure to write again soon about my experiences there. Talk to you all later!

Belton

Early Birthday Notice:

Also, Trista and I are starting to plan for our 30^th birthday now! If you are reading this, then you are definitely invited. We will be going to Ibiza for our birthdays the weekend of August 4 – 7^th! If you are adventurous, you can even come to London for July 29 to August 4, then Ibiza from August 4 – 7^th, then Back to the US on the 7^th! This would be a weeklong trip of fun. Plus, the ticket from London to Ibiza is only £50! I really want to get a large group to go and rent out a large apartment there. For those of you who have not heard of Ibiza, just google it!

PS. Congrats Meghan and George on your wedding! I can’t wait to see you guys in Mexico!!!