Barcelona, Glasgow and home again - jiggity jig

Hola! It's been a couple of weeks since my last post but I have been a busy bee. Since my last post I have traveled to two (technically 3 new places), submitted my side project to an incubator for an analysis (and potentially support!), entered and started training for a 10K and celebrated (after today) two birthdays! Plus all of the normal work/life stuff. Travels: *Barcelona - Fun trip with friends over the weekend *Glasgow - work trip for a conference *London/Berhamsted - back home for ice bar bday celebration and country bday celebration Starting off with a trip to Barcelona with some friends last weekend our group of four girls (an American, Polish, British and Scottish girl group enter a Ryanair plane...) took a plan from Stansted and landed in Reus. It's about an hour and a half away from Barcelona and requires a bus as you can see from the map below.

The Ryanair travel was quite different than I am used to. EasyJet, Ryanair, etc. sell very cheap tickets with the idea that their are no frills. You are allowed one small bag (not a purse plus bag; just 1 bag per person) and it's a bit of a free-for-all as there are no assigned seats. Just need to make sure you line up early enough to sit with who you want and where you want. I didn't really mind this too much; at the end of the trip if you arrive on time or early they play a little song. The song is the same as at the beginning of a horse race, right before Trevor Denman would say "and away they go." So we arrived early and the little song played and everyone clapped. Kinda fun. Then we were off to go through customs (extremely easy as this is a super small airport) and find our bus. We were worried we would be late. This is a tad laughable knowing what I know now. The credit card and money counter machine broke. Plus, our bus driver had no calculator and couldn't really handle money exchange. He had a LOT of difficulty providing the correct change to each of the passengers and so it took about an hour just to get on the bus! We were a bit tired on our way to the hostel, Casa Gracia, which is located in the centre of the city. I was meeting my friend Dimitri there as he lives in South Spain but is moving back to the states. We arrived and our rooms were not ready which was quite annoying. I hadn't seen Dimitri in a long time so it was great getting to see him but we all just wanted to change, brush our teeth and get some food. Yummy tapas to be exact. Visited parks, cathedrals, la Sagrada Familia. Saw a lot of the Gaudi buildings which are really quite cool. A couple pics of a cathedral and the park!

We even played some flip cup which apparently is not common in Europe? This was a pretty big past time for me and my college friends. Apparently in Europe there are not a lot of games to go with drinking - everyone just drinks! haha Next up was Glasgow; for a work trip. Glasgow reminds me of a super small San Francisco (read: lots of hills) but where everyone speaks very difficult-to-understand English. I had the most amazing red bean and sweet potato burger at O'Neill's Irish bar. Seriously, amazing! I had the most hedious travel and spent a LOT of time waiting on an airplane or at the airport. We even had to change planes at Gatwick airport and take a bus to go about 20 feet to ensure that no one got injured. Quite crazy but all of the staff were very pleasant and I would rather be safe than sorry! London: Saturday night I took my friend Lucy out for her birthday to the Ice Bar. Had visited this bar with Drew when he was here and I love it. They have such amazing food. Took a couple pictures as well. Recommend (highly) the goat cheese starter. Also, I think choosing three small plates versus one large and 1 small is the way to go! The drinks are overpriced but the delicious food and ambiance makes it worth it.

Bad news was that someone stole my wallet. Kinda common here but still bummed me out. As that was my last night to drink alcohol for the next month it was a sour note to an otherwise lovely evening. I have been training for my upcoming 10K which isn't until July 8th. Also, would love to lose about 10 pounds before our Croatia/Brussels/Brugge/Amsterdam family trip at the end of June. Cannot wait! Now off to Berkhamsted since we have a Bank Holiday - yay for May Day! :)

Easter has past; time to go to Barcelona!

Starting off this post with another very funny commercial from the UK featuring Yoda (aka puppy) and two girls from the Salon:



So I have been ridiculously busy trying to get my new side project going; very time intensive but so exciting. I would call it a business but it's too new to see where it will end up going. Some fun things to do on my own outside of work - but I am spending a lot of time learning more about digital advances and keen to to have something of my own that could provide an benefit to the larger population. More to be revealed as I continue on my journey!

I am still adjusting to life in the UK - not sure how long it will take but I am more comfortable and confident that I have ever been 6 months in. My sister and Drew were both in town for a week at a time and being a tour guide to them both proved my local knowledge has vastly improved. So good to see them - it's tough having people on vacation and you are still living your regular life. I am used to vacationing with people - not staying home and showing people around. Takes a bit to get used to but no more visitors for a while.

Lucy and Drew's bday were both this past week - I gave Lucy the gift of the Ice Bar (food + drink) - seriously so much fun! Can't wait for us to go together. Also had some family in town, Eric - tried out a Brazilian Steakhouse in Covent Garden!

Still, I totally miss my family and friends from back home. So many exciting things happening at home and I just want to be a part of it all. I hate being so far away when there are engagements, baby showers, parties, vacations, etc. Plus of course, Isabelle! Also, I miss having things be decently priced - I hate never having money. argh! It's an amazing city - way too overpriced. I know everyone says that, but it's true!

Here are a couple pictures from Ice Bar London (go if you can! food and bar are amazing; no the restaurant is not in ice) the duck boat tour (very fun!)




Heading to Munich this Tuesday for a video shoot and then Barcelona is only a couple of weeks away. So friggin' excited! Going with Lucy, Tori, Eliza and meeting up with Dimitri! Hoooray.