Back to England, my dear old friend…

So here`s how it went down...

Jan 10: I found myself doing the midnight route to London, AGAIN. I’m finding that the cheaper the flight, the worse the time frame. However, this time I was better equipped with a more direct route back to Susan Horsewood Lee’s. I made it there by 3am, not bad.
Jan 11: Got up as early as I could and made my way to the British Museum. En route I changed my mind and decided to head to St. Peter’s since the last time I went it was closed. It was a cold day but I walked right up to the top so that I could appreciate fully the views and the 8 pound admission fee. Then I went to the British Museum to see the Terracota Warriors but the Exhibit was sold out until the next day. I got a ticket and made my way back to Chelsea. Dined at the familiar Cross Keys Pub with Susan.
Jan 12: Got up early to see the Warrior Exhibit which was VERY WORTHWHILE! Wandered around Leicester Square and Picadilly until 4pm when I went to the Pheonix to watch Blood Brothers. Headed home for dinner with Susan and her visiting cousin and god children.
Jan 13: Made my way to Norwich, was greeted by dear Aunt Susan who had arranged afternoon tea with all of the family. It couldn’t be more wonderful to see everyone again!
Jan 14: Sue and I hit the streets of Norwich and I bought Primark out. Once again I would need another suitcase returning from Norwich. Also, I watched the Muppet Christmas Carol, a Christmas ritual which I had missed this year, which dear Sue had waiting for me.
Jan 15: Sue and I went to Norwich Cathedral, where we had a great guide tell us all the history that lurks inside its walls. She and I went to her puppet making class that evening.
Jan 16: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I went to Norwich Castle in the morning, had a lovely lunch and in the evening went to a traditional English Pub with all of the family, Sue, John, Mike, Mairi, Guy, Rosemary, Tim, David and Jane. Exceptional food and very kind and generous family. I am very lucky, indeed.
Jan 17: Went with Sue to the Sainsbury Gallery, which I found fascinating. They even had some Haida pieces from way up in Canada! Mike picked Jimmy and I up from Sue’s and I heading to Mairi and Mike’s for the evening.
Jan 18: Spent the day at Tim and Rosemary’s. Had a lovely lunch and met their neice, and my fellow cousin, Sally. Had fish and chips with Mairi, Mike, Guy, Sue and John that night.
Jan 19: Went to see Chocky, Mairi’s horse in the morning. Mike and Mairi took me to the bus where I once again made it back to Sevilla. I met my friend Rachel, randomly, in the airport and we were on the same flight. After a long flight next to the most vile Republican America can boast (who in twenty minutes had brought me up to speed on Gays, Abortion (both wrong), the positive humiliation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, how the US didn’t start the war in Iraq (which I’m pretty sure they did), how the wall along the Mexican border is VERY MUCH NEEDED (Good god was she nuts) and other anti-Hilary/Obama comments, I was glad to just get home. Annie had planned a lovely birthday festivity (since she, her roommate and I have very close birthdays) so I headed out. It was a late night and I spent most of yesterday asleep.

School starts on Jan. 23, so I still have a few days of refuge. I can’t wait to see what is in store this semester and once my travel itinerary is finalized, I will let you all know where to watch for me next!

Lots of love, Lauren

An Update Long Overdue…

Happy New Year Everyone! I know it has been a while since I’ve blogged, but take it as a sure sign that I’ve been busy and having fun and making the most of the holiday season. As both of my trips are too long to really go into detail here, I will just briefly summarize what the days had in store for us.

Dec. 20: My parents arrived in Sevilla that evening. I’ve never been so excited! Checked into the Alfonzo XIII Hotel, which was absolutely out of this world!
Dec. 21: Rented a car and with my parents trusty TomTom, we made it to Jerez where we toured the world famous Tio Pepe sherry bodega. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera that day, so Jamie will have to fill us in on pictures.
Dec. 22: Drove to Granada to see the Alhambra. Though it was rainy, we still enjoyed ourselves.
Dec 23: Came to my house, met two of three roommates who cooked us a lovely meal.
Dec 24: Met with Rafa, my Art History Prof, who toured us around the Old Charity Hospital. Then we went to the Cathedral.
Dec. 25: Merry Christmas! We spent the day walking around Plaza de Espana and Maria Luisa Park. We saw a cat catch a whole pigeon. We had sushi for Christmas Dinner.
Dec 26: Went to the Real Alcazar, this time we also took in the gardens which are spectacular. Then we did a tour of the Bull Ring.
Dec. 27: Took the fast train to Madrid and checked in to the Westin Palace, though we all agreed that we liked the Alfonz better. We waited in line that afternoon but finally got into Prado Museum to see all the famous art. It was worth the wait in line.
Dec. 28: We went to see the Royal Palace. Madrid is full of sights to see and lots of lineups, but this too was well worth it. Much like Versailles, you can see the Royal Bed Chamber, library, reception room, etc. Very posh. We went to an Ice Sculpture Exhibit in the evening.
Dec. 29: This day was dedicated to the Reina Sofia Museum where I finally got to see Guernica close up. We beat the line ups and then did two bus tours in the afternoon to get a proper layout of the city.
Dec. 30: We left for Athens. This is where the REAL EATING began. We dined at the rooftop restaurant of the Astor Hotel which overlooks the Acropolis. I couldn’t believe it, it felt like a fantasy.
Dec 31: Jude and I shopped for shoes in the morning. Then we three went for a walk up the Plaka. Marlena, Jamie’s old friend, met us for a walk. We took a brief nap and went to Marlena’s for New Year’s dinner and celebration.
Jan 1: Happy New Year! At 2pm, Ilias picked us up from our hotel and we went to their house for festivities and FOOD!!! Ilias, Agiliki and Vicky are a family that Jamie also knew when he lived in Kremasta working on the dam. They were exceptionally kind to us and fed us like little piggies.
Jan 2: Took a day trip to Delphi. We passed the Arahova, a mountain ski town which was beautiful. The ruins at the Oracle of Delphi were wonderful and I felt as if I were on my own private pilgrimage.
Jan 3: Got up early and visited the Acropolis, which we got to before the rest of the tourists. Morninged with Marlena who took us to Marathon and to the sea side. Then we had lunch with her daughter and two grandsons. Then the eating continued when Ilias and Agiliki picked us up for traditional Greek FOOD AND MUSIC. We were out very late and we were very tired. Poor us, I’m sure.
Jan 4: After a final walk up the Plaka, I said a teary goodbye to my parents and made it back to Sevilla. After a plane to Madrid, three hours wait and three subway transfers to the train station and one two and half hour train ride, I was anxious to be home to reflect and further miss my wonderful parents.

The trip far surpassed my expectations and not once did any of us get cross with one another, even in such close quarters. I feel really good about covering all the bases here in Seville and Madrid and Jamie was an excellent tour guide in Greece. The trip to Delphi was truly icing on the cake, as if we needed more food! I came home for a few days (Jan. 5-10) and then jetted off to England for my birthday. But that’s a separate post altogether! I don’t want to exhaust you all!

I hope you all had a great holiday and I wish each and every one of you the best in 2008!

resolutions...

Updates on my Christmas travels to come shortly, or maybe after England (Jan. 10-19)...

I am truly shocked and most certainly a little proud of myself to look back on the last few months and want to congratulate myself for how very little I’ve lived inside my head during this time. I can’t take all the credit of course because being in a new place with all its sensory overload makes it much easier to mask the baggage we generally carry around with us once we’ve become happily complacent with our surroundings.

Of course, there is always a warm bed and cup of pre-lactarian tea waiting inside my head which welcomes me with open arms when I dare let my guard down and revisit the old, existential babble that has not changed since I left it a few months ago. Here in Spain it is much easier to focus on where my next trip will be, how much will my laundry dry in my insanely cold and humid room, who took my tinfoil, what’s the point in watching a parade where dastardly children throw hard candies like bullets to the idiot masses bellow and I swear to God if they crack or scratch one Versace lense I will sue the whole town, but this doesn’t matter because it’s the first few days of January and culturally we are taught to look back with nostalgia and wonder what we will do differently the next time.

I used to harrang several friends-cum-acquaintances, of the male variety, for always persevering forward at such a lightning speed that they learned nothing from their pasts and this bothered me because I think that women are much more likely to pain themselves with questions like why? Closure? Am I not good enough? What could I have done differently/better/more/less, etc.? But this is not to say that the males were all wrong and perhaps this just means that I was due a change of approach.

So here’s where the danger lies when I start running my mouth off (oops, too late!) and start waxing poetic about resolutions and nostalgia and that warm bed up in my head. No. Here and now, in my desperately cold room where laundry hangs like banana leaves in the Amazon Basin so thick you can barely breathe, I have decided for the upcoming year to continue moving forward, not to return to that warm bed in my head where I lay around in a metaphorical opium lull to criticise myself for being too weak/strong/stubborn/blind/sarcastic. Instead, I choose to, like the cliché states, Live, Laugh, Love and encourage all those who want to join to do so. But no, man my English vocabulary has disappeared, spraying the ground with candy-coloured bloodshed, the Versaces couldn’t take it.