No Place Like Home for the Holidays

I was so glad to go home for Christmas, and it was completely worth the long flights and jet lag!

I wanted to just share two pictures that made me smile while I was going through them this week:

I brought home one English tradition that I've enjoyed in London - the Christmas Crackers.  I even made some tissue paper crowns that people wore with different reactions:

Sorry Mom and Dad and Grandpa for the candid photo!

And as always, on Christmas morning, Checkers was quite excited to open her presents (even in her old age).  She's still one of the cutest dogs I've ever seen!

Shopping and Christmas Dinners

In anticipation of a busy week with lots of Christmas parties and a few visitors, I laid low (for me at least) this last weekend.  On Friday, I checked something off my bucket list and went to see a movie by myself!  I saw 50/50 which I had been told was excellent.  I laughed and cried more than I expected, and it lived up to its reviews.

On Saturday, I met up with Karen at the brand new mall just a couple stops outside of central London, as I needed a dress for one of the Christmas parties that has a “black tie” dress code – I didn’t think to bring a cocktail dress with me!  I know what you’re thinking – a mall?!?  My mom called while I was there and said she expected me to be shopping someplace more exciting or picturesque, but I have to say, shopping in London is never boring!  It was busier than I’ve ever seen a mall in the US, with people filling every space you looked.  It had all of the UK shops that I wanted to look into, and it was nice to be inside on one of the colder days we’ve had so far.  It was a successful shopping day, though my highlight may have been the fountain drink with ice

That night, I had a Christmas dinner with a group I met through church. We had reservations for 35 at a small little restaurant, and luckily we had our own corner, as it turned into quite a party!  The food was excellent (I had the duck) and I made sure to get the traditional Christmas pudding (a first), which was rich but very delicious!  I was probably the only person who was quite so enthusiastic about the Crackers (another first for me) as the jokes were terrible, but I wore my crown proudly!


On Sunday, I rented my first “Boris” bike – a rental scheme supported by the Mayor of London – and rode not too far to the Museum of London.  It has been on my list to see with every visit, and I’m glad I finally got there.  It recounts the history of London from its pre-civilization history, through the Roman period, past the Fire of 1666, to modern day.  A lot of the older history is where they continue to make changes – they are constantly updating to reflect what they find at new building sites around London.  It was very cool to see history through such a specific angle, and I will definitely go back again if I can!

During the week, I had a few Christmas parties for work - two with the client, and an Accenture one for the entire UK Finance group, which was the black tie affair.  I was glad I had picked up a cocktail dress - everyone dressed up, with only a hint of sarcasm.  It was quite formal for an Accenture party - champagne, a full sit down meal, and fake casino games after dinner, but it was just as fun as any in the US!  The best part of the night was seeing all of the people who I've worked with in the past, but haven't seen in years (if ever).

With all of the celebrating, I'm getting really excited to go home to St. Louis for Christmas!

Edinburgh

One of the few places I had really wanted to visit during my study abroad in London seven years ago was Edinburgh, but as it neared the weekend people were planning to go, I got really sick and so missed out.  Needless to say, it was on top of my list of places I’d like to spend time while I was over here this winter.

The train to Edinburgh leaves just one Tube stop away from where I work, so I brought my bag to work with me on Friday and got one of the last trains out on Friday night. The train was full of people heading north for the weekend and had a party atmosphere unlike any train ride I had taken before! Because of how late I was going to get in, the owner of the bed and breakfast left the keys hidden in a flower pot for me, so I let myself in and settled in for the night without a thought!  Come to find out, I was the only visitor at the bed and breakfast that weekend, so I got great personal attention from the owner.

Holyroodhouse Palace

On Saturday morning I was off after breakfast to the center of Edinburgh.  I was staying about a 20 minute bus ride from the main touristy area, but the busses were so frequent and door to door that it wasn’t even a concern.  I started off visiting the National Gallery of Scotland.  Their collection of art was very broad, and it was set up in such a way that you felt like you were visiting someone’s home collection instead of being in a major gallery.  I particularly liked some of the Scottish paintings, as I had never seen anything by those artists before.  Next I walked down the entire “Royal Mile” – from the Edinburgh Castle (now mostly a museum and war memorial) to Holyroodhouse Palace (the Queen’s home in Edinburgh).  I toured the Palace, getting to see both the historic living quarters of Mary Queen of Scots and the current rooms used for official events and ceremonies.  It was amazing how well preserved so much of the Palace was, and how it is still a very much working ‘home’ for the royal family.  I finished off my day by wandering around the Christmas market and festival in the very heart of Edinburgh, and enjoying a mug of hot mulled wine as the temperature dropped.

Christmas Festival

Arthur's Seat

Edinburgh Castle

Sunday I woke up to snow, the first of the season.  It was just over freezing all day, so most of the snow melted, but could be seen on the mountains that surround the city.  I spent the majority of the day inside Edinburgh Castle.   I was surprised by how many different areas there were inside the castle to visit!  There was a war museum, and separate war memorial, but I spent the majority of my time inside the section of the castle where the Scottish honors (crown jewels) are held and where the royal apartments and great hall are.  There were also some beautiful vistas from the Castle, as it is on top of one of the tallest hills around, but I was glad to finish my visit before sundown, as it bordered on the eerie at times, especially when the crowd thinned at times.  Come to find out later, Edinburgh, and the castle in particular, are known to be some of the most haunted places in Europe.  Anyone who knows me well knows it’s a good thing I found that out AFTERWARDS, otherwise I would have never slept!     Even without knowing that, my visit to the Scotch Whisky Experience (learning plus a tasting) was a perfect way to wind down from my weekend and relax on the train ride home.

Tasting Scotch!

Giving Thanks in Britain

Many apologies for my lack of updates – things have been wonderfully busy, but before next week my first visitors arrive, I figured I should catch you all up on what I’ve been up to.

The week of Thanksgiving was just like any other week – I had one coworker wish me “Happy Thanksgiving”, but beyond that and a phone call home to see how the turkey turned out it would have passed without a mark had I not stumbled into a Whole Foods the weekend before and picked up a few ingredients that inspired a whole meal.  My sole American friend here – Karen – came over with Louie and their dog Buffy on Friday night to celebrate, and I did what I could to Americanize my British shopping.  Our meal consisted of a baked chicken, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and cranberries – topped off with a passable apple pie and pumpkin cookies (yes Megan, those pumpkin cookies!).  After stuffing ourselves, we settled in to finish off the wine while Karen and Louie introduced me to some British pop culture courtesy of YouTube.

On Saturday, I spent the morning reading until heading out for a long walk to meet up with my coworker Jon and some of his friends to watch some German football and have some German beer (his friends are Berlin fans).  They all had plans for the evening, so after the game I wandered around Covent Garden with all the tourists and ended up buying a discount standing ticket to the ballet (Manon) showing at the Royal Opera House.  I was a bit underdressed compared to the rest of the audience, but it was so amazing to be able to see a great performance like that on short notice for so cheap! 

Sunday, I headed out towards an area of London I haven’t explored before – the Northeast part of central London.  I stopped first in Spitalfields Market, where fashion designers sell their creations 6 days a week, and a surprisingly vast selection of unique foods… I ended up with a Caribbean-Mediterranean fusion wrap that had more flavor than anything I had cooked in weeks!  After that I proceeded up to Columbia Street Market, a very local market that sells flowers every Sunday morning.  It was fantastic – the sellers were shouting and competing for business, and even though it was cold, there were swarms of people clamoring for fresh flowers.  I had planned on buying one bouquet, but I ended up with that plus two Poinsettia plants and a miniature fir tree.  I just couldn’t help myself from getting into the Christmas spirit.  I hadn’t thought through the getting home part, but luckily the bags held up for the full 40 minute walk!

At home, I turned on some Christmas music and decorated a bit before going for a quick run in the last hour of daylight and concocting a soup out of the Thanksgiving leftovers.  It was a great weekend and made me feel a little more at home here.

Friends and Culture

This past weekend I decided to take advantage of the not too cold and SUNNY weather in London and get outside as much as possible!

On Friday, I grabbed a last minute ticket to one of the smaller musicals showing in the West End.  I got a front row ticket to “Crazy for You” – a classic Gershwin show.  I was right up in the action – so close that the lead made a side comment to a few people in my row when he slid a little too close to the edge during a dance number and I had to tuck up my feet when the dancers came through the aisles.

On Saturday I met up with a former coworker from Chicago who is living in London with his wife and 4 year old twins and all of us went to the Natural History Museum.  The kids were so adorable and were extremely excited about the volcano and earthquake section of the museum – especially the room that shook!

Kensington Palace

Crown worn by Princess Margaret

After the twins tired out, we grabbed a quick snack, and after they headed home I went to the nearby Kensington Gardens to walk around.  I was impressed how green everything was still, and saw some of the friendliest squirrels I’ve ever seen in my life.  When I studied abroad in London, I never made it to Kensington Palace to visit the state apartments, so I made sure to head that way to see them.

The palace is currently under construction, so instead of the traditional tour, the state apartments are currently hosting an art installation/exhibition that was completely different than anything I had seen before. In addition to seeing the rooms and decoration, they were set up to tell the stories of seven of the princesses who have lived there since it was built in the late 1600s.  It was a bit surreal, especially when there weren’t many other people there, but beautiful and interesting all at the same time.

On my way to the Tube, I caved to temptation to do my grocery shopping at one of the few Whole Foods in London – inspiring a Thanksgiving meal later this week.

Sunday morning, I headed to one of the further out London buroughs, Stoke Newington, to have brunch with Karen – one of my college roommates who has lived here for a few years.  As usual, it’s like no time has passed since the last time we hung out, and unsurprisingly I ended up with some great book suggestions.  I’m so excited to be able to say “see you soon” to Karen and actually mean it!

St. Paul's Cathedral

I couldn’t waste the rest of another warm-ish and sunny-ish day, so I headed to the South Bank area of London to get some culture breaking up a walk along the Thames.  I popped into the Tate Modern museum to see the current large installation.  Previous installations I have seen are a 500 yard crack in the floor http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/dorissalcedo/default.shtm and 100 million ceramic sunflower seeds http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unileverseries2010/default.shtm.  The current one did not disappoint to be completely different  - an 11 minute silent film projected on a 40 foot tall screen created and edited with no digital help.  

Parliament

I ended my jaunt at Royal Festival Hall – they were displaying the 2011 Press Photo winners, which showcased the best - both beautiful and disturbing - photos taken of news events in the past year.  The place was packed, as it also was the Jazz festival weekend, so I got to enjoy some music while I took a break to eat dinner and read some of my new book.  

Westminster Cathedral

Big Ben

I finished my walk by heading to the cathedral - passing the London Eye, Parliament and Westminster Abbey along the way.  Everything was lit up so beautifully I couldn’t help but take a few photos!

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, sending me emails and comments - it makes me feel not so far away from my family and friends!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

London Eye

Prague

Old Town Square

Last weekend I flew to Prague to visit my friend Marina. We worked together a few years ago in Buenos Aires, and as luck would have it, she has been living and working in Prague for about 6 months - and we were able to meet up in the short time we overlap in Europe!

I flew in early on Saturday morning, and Marina was kind enough to meet me at the bus that dropped me off near the city center.  After dropping off my bag at her apartment, we traipsed over the entire city - giving our legs at 10 mile workout!

Astronomical Clock

To get to the historic town center, we walked through Marina's neighborhood as well as the main shopping area off of Wenceslas Square.  The Old Town Square is home to Tyn Church, as well as the Old Town Hall (from the 1300's) - which has probably one of the more famous Prague sights - a beautiful astronomical clock that is quite the scene at the top of the hour!

We grabbed a delicious lunch of traditional Czech food - we both had a fantastic potato-mushroom soup in a fancy bread bowl, then continued on to the Charles Bridge and it's many statues, and up the hill to the Prague Castle.

Charles Bridge

After visiting the castle and the cathedral inside, we sought out the Church of Our Lady of Victory and the Infant Jesus of Prague.  The church had a different name on our map, so it took going into a few shops, cafes and even a hotel to figure out which street it was on, but we found it and walked in to an English Mass!   http://www.pragjesu.info/en/

View from the castle

We did a little shopping and headed back to Marina’s apartment to drop off our bags, then went to a late dinner at an Italian restaurant that Marina had heard excellent things of – and it lived up to its reputation!  It was starting to get really cold, but we walked the whole way back to her apartment and then both crashed!

On Sunday we grabbed breakfast at Marina’s favorite café – they had delicious croissants and coffee, so I was happy as well, then headed into another shopping area with smaller independent stores.  After that my quick visit to Prague was coming to an end, so we took the scenic route to the bus and I was back on a plane to London in short order.

Me and Marina with the Castle in the background

The First Work Week

I came to London expecting my life to be a little quiet while I settle in, but my first week at work ended up being pretty eventful!

I began the week meeting my Accenture co-worker Jon at Starbucks. As usual, always slightly awkward to  sit someplace by yourself trying to guess who is the person you are there to meet!  But it was great to have him walking me in the first day.  He was able to introduce me to a few of the people we would be working with over the next couple months.

As you may know, the department I've come to London with works with large non-profits and developing country governments. Many of the people who I've met in Accenture who signed up for this program do it because they want to give a little back.  That aspect was driven home as soon as I got to my desk - just outside the window is a large mural with pictures of kids from around the world, and it says,

"What are you doing today to inspire dramatic change for children?"  

Talk about motivation to do your very best every day!

By Wednesday I was starting to feel settled in - and the whole city was buzzing over a planned protest by students over tuition increases.  Last year a similar protest turned violent and some damage was done to buildings.  This year, they were much better prepared-  for 4000 protesters there were 4000 police, and the helicopters were hovering over central London all day. The protest ended by late afternoon and by the time I left work the police were shutting down for the day as well.

On Thursday, I ran into a former coworker, Ryan, on the sidewalk on my way to work - a midst the thousands of people who cross that corner every day and I see one of the few people I know in London!  We were able to walk most of the way to the office together and catch up.

Later that day I had plans with another Chicagoan who happened to be in London visiting her husband's family.  It was surreal to see them in a place where I expect to know no one!  We met at a place chosen by her husband, which just so happened to be 2 minutes from my apartment.  Both Jeremy and Meghan were jealous of my central location and view :)

I ended the week by buying Michele, my HR person, a drink - she worked really hard to get me set up with this group, and it was the least I could do for her!  Next week I'll hopefully get to meet some of the other wonderful people in the group who have made this trip possible.

Looking back on the first week of being in front of the client, it has been really exciting to jump right in - getting to know an organization while learning new skills every day!

Settling in quite nicely

After staying up late the first night to unpack, I slept in a bit on Saturday but still managed to get all of my grocery shopping done and cook a decent meal before heading off to see a play in a small theater above a wine bar.  It was the premier of a new play that was set in Kenya.  It was an unconventional look at people who go to Africa to make a difference.  http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2011/production-fanta-orange.php 

I had to borrow this picture of the market building to show a sunny day in London.

On Sunday I decided to get out and stretch my legs a bit, so I got out my maps and walked to and from the office to get my bearings and see how long my commute would be on Monday morning.  Turns out it's an exactly 30 minute walk - just the perfect length of time in the morning.  The most interesting (and almost most direct route) takes me through the main part of the working city, past St. Paul's Catheral and both Accenture offices, and finally through the daily meat market!  It's funny to see butchers and crates of beef stacked just a few feet away from where I'm working - and makes me glad I'm not a vegetarian.

My morning walk without the pallets of meat.

http://www.smithfieldmarket.com/content/market/fascinating-facts

In the evening, I went to church at the Cathedral - there aren't any Catholic churches very close to my apartment but was able to get an easy bus there.  Afterwards, a Young Adults group usually goes for drinks at a local pub called The Windsor Castle, so I joined them since I hadn't socialized all weekend.  They were extremely welcoming and I will probably go whenever I can.






http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/tour.php

  

Arrived in London!

I made it to London late last night after an easy and empty flight. I have already unpacked and went shopping today to get the essentials.

I have set up a few ways you can get in contact with me while I am gone:

Skype- user name curlykatie83
UK cell phone - email me for number
UK landline - email me for number
iPad texting (free for you and me!)- (636) 542-4627

The time difference between London and Chicago is 6 hours.

Here are a few pictures of my flat:

Kitchen

Living Room

View from my flat

If you can't see above, click here for video on YouTube

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Flying out Friday

I received my visa this week and my flight to London is tomorrow!  I also was able to get a corporate apartment reserved, so I will be set up there as soon as I get in - it's a 20 minute walk from where I'll be working, so I won't have to commute too far either.

I know I haven't had a chance to tell everyone goodbye, but I'll be pretty easily accessible.  My plan is to post here at least once a week, but I'll also have Skype (curlykatie83) and a phone (number TBD).

Just Kidding... Headed to London instead!

Yep, that's right!  After my trip to Spain, I found out I wasn't going to Zambia anymore... Since then, it's been two months of not knowing for sure where or when I'd be traveling for my new job, but at this point I'm just waiting for my work permit to be approved and then I'm off to London through the end of January.

Thanks to everyone for not harrassing me - it's been frustrating, but everyone has been so supportive of my constantly changing plans - huge thanks to my family for listening to to my gripes, and for my friends who have been housing me and my stuff since I moved out of my apartment in September.

Barcelona Architecture and More

After our essential beach and relaxation day to recover from WYD, Christina and I enjoyed lots of great architecture, history, food and shopping during our final two days in Barcelona.

We were able to visit three of Gaudi's most famous works: La Perdera, which is an apartment building, The Basilica of Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell. At the apartment building, we got to walk on the gorgeous and quite funky roof, which had great views of the city, as well as walk through a restored apartment that was furnished as if it was the early 1900's.

The next day, at Sagrada Familia, we took the elevator to the top of one of the spires, for another great view, then took a couple hours to listen to the audio tour of the entire church and museum.

 Later that day we journeyed out to Parc Guell, where we explored a little, and then rested during the siesta time. I took a great nap, and was awoken by a bunch of parrot-like birds taking up residence in a nearby tree. We got the full Parc experience, with ice cream, and watching the illegal vendors move around each time the police came!

In between Gaudi touring, we went to the Palace of Catalan Music, which was an overwhelming display of early 20th century modernism, with more flowers and mosaics and stained glass in one place than I've ever seen! We couldn't take pictures there, so you'll just have to believe that I got to play Fur Elise on the Grand Piano on stage in front of the whole tour group!! Soooo cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana

We also made sure to visit the Cathedral with all of its many chapels, shop at H&M, eat great paella and tapas on La Rambla, and see a traditional Flamenco show.

Both Christina and I made it home safely, and had such a great time we may just have to travel together again, especially if it is to a country that offers chocolate croissants for breakfast!

The last round of pictures as well as more details from World Youth Day will be coming soon.

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Location:Barcelona, Spain

Spain 2011 Days 8-10 Saturday-Sunday-Monday

Slept in a little after a late night. Amy, Maria and I attacked El Corte Ingles' supermercado to get food for our journey. Took longer than expected so we didn't head out to Cuatro Vientos until 1:30.

Caught up with the pilgrim way after stopping at Telepizza for salads and drinks. The walk was long and very hot, and was not well directed. We stopped many times as we needed the breaks, and even got popsicles at one point.
Once at Cuatro Vientos, we were unable to get into our section as it was already too crowded. We all took short naps, then were joined by Christina and Kim who had taxied there. Delicious quesadillas for dinner, complements of Kim, and then the vigil with the Pope began. There were some prayers and music, but the most amazing part was when everyone was silent for Adoration.

In the late evening, there were storms that were really intense that even blew off the Pope's cap. I was happy to have my camping gear on, and we were able to keep out beds mostly dry. After the storms, we all went to sleep after our long day. We slept in little circle, all snuggled up to each other. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep ever, but I was surprised by how much I got. It got cold through the night, so I got up before 7 so that I could walk around to keep warm. The announcements started at 7:15 so I wasn't the only one up for long!

Mass was beautiful, they even sang an English song I knew! No communion as there was much damage to the chapels through the night. Mark and the younger girls all left Mass early and caught cabs back since they had earlier flights. Christina and I stayed until the end, when the Pope blessed us and announced Rio as the next location.

We got some drinks, and then braved the Metro, which was slow but not too bad, and got back in time to see the others off, though by then our smell was apparent and hugs were few.  Christina and I were able to clean up at Las Musas, then caught the train to Barcelona. The fast train was amazing-clean and fast, and I slept the whole way. Ate at the train station, some very delicious American style pizza, and milk shakes.

In Barcelona, we discovered that I had booked for the wrong nights, but we were able to find another hostel close by with an open double room. They weren't the nicest, but it was a place to sleep. I ended up with hives somehow today from the sheets, so I went out early for coffee and a pharmacy. Got some churros too. Then I found a guy who could make a chain for my new cross from Salamanca.

After that we finally found the right train to take us to the Mantou beach, which was gorgeous, with crystal blue green water. A picnic of pbj was lunch. Lots of adorable children, and a fair number of topless bathers.

  

Perfectly relaxing day today at the beach, with a great nap and conversation included.

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Location:Madrid to Barelona

World Youth Day Arts and Faith

Arts and Faith

Throughout the week, there have been so many different ways of encountering Christ. In the Eucharist, in other people, and in the art and culture of Spain. As a tour guide in one of the churches mentioned, the Spanish have a very tactile faith - it is very physically manifested in their everyday lives, and one way we definitely saw this was in the many different types of artistic expression that we took in during our time here.

There were two places where the art was particularly provocative. The first was a flamenco show that represented the Annunciation, Passion and Resurrection. We were all intrigued to see these moments translated into dance and music, and the performers did it with the utmost respect. In fact, the intensity of emotion and somberness of the music captured the drama of the Passion and the joy of the Resurrection in a beautiful way. Especially wonderful were the great seats which we can thank Kim, Yuli and Lana for saving for hours!

The Passion Flamenco

The other place we were able to encounter Christ though art was during a visit to Museo del Prado, which has an amazing collection of Spanish and other European art. All pilgrims were given free entrance to the museum, and the lines to get in reflected it :) In honor of World Youth Day, the Prado had highlighted a list of works in their permanent collection that showed 'The Face of Christ'. These works from different periods of history and various styles of painting portrayed many points of Jesus' life and death. In addition to the permanent collection, the final painting was on loan from the Vatican museum - El Descendimiento by Carvaggio. Seeing the face of Christ repeatedly in so many different ways brought a new level of familiarity to me.

Line at the Prado

It was so wonderful to experience the artistic treasures that Spain has to offer along with not only the other pilgrims but also with the people of Madrid who attended and were able to see their arts in a new light.

Salamanca to Madrid

Another gorgeous day in Spain! Got some great sleep and was able to eat a quick continental breakfast in the hotel for cheap. Started my day by wandering through plaza mayor, then enjoyed the empty streets on my way to the new cathedral. I got there during Latin prayers, and was able to stay for the 11 am mass of the Assumption of Mary. Fittingly, the cathedral is dedicated to la Asuncion de Maria. There were WYD pilgrims there from Mongolia and Italy, and while the bishop said the mass in Spanish, it was great when we were all able to sign the Ave Maria together at the end.

I didn't really have a plan for the day, mostly to wander around the Centro. I walked by all of the main architectural sights, including the ponte Romano, the university's facade with the hidden frog, the Casa de conchas, the clerica, and many other churches and palaces. I doubled back to the cathedral when I realized I hadn't looked for the astronaut in the carvings. It was easier to find then la ranita, even though there were fewer people looking for it. Shopped my way down the Rua Mayor, then grabbed a simple lunch of a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich, which somehow went really well with a glass of beer.

Decided to head to the train station early, and glad I did since it was almost a half hour walk. A nice girl helped me with directions and she put up with my attempts at Spanish. What I gathered from her is that she is a hairdresser and lives in a small town outside of Salamanca. We talked about the weather, Chicago and not much else since my vocabulary is limited. She joked she only knew a few words of English, just 1-2-3 and hello, but she was able to help me with learning some words as well.

The train ride to madrid went really quickly. Sat by a group from Venezuela. Got to the hostel in great time and Lana was last to arrive only 10 minutes later. After a quick unpack, we gathered and a few of us went out to see the cathedral and the palacio real. We caught the end of Mass and took a few more pictures before heading towards Plaza Mayor. We all ended up getting little bits from the market, and sat on the ground of the plaza to eat. I had roasted veggies, tomato and mozzarella and Cesar chicken plus some amazing potato chips fried in olive oil. We enjoyed much if the entertainment in Plaza Mayor, including an opera singer, a man making huge bubbles, a woman doing a puppet show thing who had only shortly before been sleeping under her costume. A final highlight was Mark joining in full voiced with the Irish kids singing drinking song, 'no,nay,never'

After a quest for ice cream and diet coke, we all headed back to Las Musas exhausted from our travels to plan our next days.

Location:Salamanca Spain

Avila - Salamanca (Sunday)

Started off the day a little rough... Was worried that I was going to over sleep and instead almost got up at 4:30 in the morning. Was able to wake up to my alarm though and made it to mass at the Capilla de San Segundo, which was part of the cathedral but I could get to it in 2 minutes since it was on the outside of the murallas (walls).

A nice Mass but very quick, so I was off to breakfast on the plaza de Santa Teresa by 10am. Had my first cafe con leche and a croissant in the cool morning at a place called la Colonia.

Entrance to the walled city center

After breakfast I walked the southern part of the walls of Avila, then took myself to the Convento de San Juan, the first reformed one under Saint Teresa. There was a huge group at the church but I was able to see the relics. After that I wandered towards my hotel, stopping in the Museo del Avila for kicks since it was free! A lot of cool artifacts; Avila is well documented :) Then I bought some Yemas de Avila, since they are so famous, but I have to say, I'm still forming my opinion.

After that I took the long way to the Museo de Santa Teresa, by the baptism place of Teresa, but didn't go in then... Only later. I had lunch at a nice place near the Puerta de la Santa, jamon Serrano again, and lots of water. Got to see a Marian statue procession, which was beautiful. After at went to the museo and then into the church since the reliquary was closed for the day.

Next I paid the exorbitant price to get into the cathedral, which was beautiful. The best parts were the choir books and the shady seats, plus a cool timeline of the history of our faith. Reenergized, I walked the Casablanca de carnecerias part of the wall, which was crazy long. The beautiful scenery was worth it.

Grabbed my bags and hoofed it to the train station. Got whistled at by the old men but was plenty early so I got some ice cream bar with almonds. Yum. I fell asleep on the train so Salamanca came fast. Met an American girl traveling and found maps and our hotels together using our combined Spanish skills. During dinner, we could hear the JMJ celebration, including 'waka waka', 'waving flag' and some throwback rap. The best was the end, with the Germans in dirndls, italians doing some 'mano' dance and the folks from French Polynesia doing a hula and a war dance. It all ended with Lennon's 'imagine' and a giant JESUS complete with accent on the stage.

Walked with my new friend partway back to her hotel so I could see the shopping district and San Marco, the round church. Got hit on by some Spaniards who I later saw when walking by an Irish pub. Walked through the plaza again, just in time to see and hear the bagpipes from some adorable Scottish boys.



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Location:Spain

Avila, Spain WYD Day 1

Friday the 12th, flew out of O'Hare at 9:45pm. Had an excellent dinner at the Wolfgang puck restaurant. Grilled steak and chimichurri and a summer garden vegetable salad that was to die for. And the waiter was very into the food.

Uneventful flights to London and Madrid. The first one seemed to be full of blue hairs who all knew each other and were staying in London. The second flight was full of teenagers returning from at least a week in London based on their luggage. A lot of flags and 'I heart london' tshirts.

Had the same noodle salad in heathrow that I had a year ago... The Thai flavors are way better than mayo and tuna. The biscuit on the flight to madrid was also delish!

Navigated border control and customs without a hitch and bought the easiest metro ticket ever. A little confusing with the extra airport charge signs everywhere on the train but I made it through. Got to Chamartin train station with plenty of time so grabbed a mini ham and tomato bocadillo and a water, though my Spanish keeps failing me.

Not sure of Spanish seat protocol, I crowded some poor girl on the train to Avila, which was a beautiful ride over a very dramatic countryside. Felt sleepy even with a good book so tried to walk around a little. Expecting to be sweaty this whole trip.

Had the worst map ever of Avila, so instead of 15 minutes it took almost 30 to find my hostel, which I finally found by dumb luck since inknew I was in the right part of town! I have a very nice double room, with a sparkling bathroom and a ceiling fan (though no AC).

After cooling off and changing I headed into Central Avila to see what was up. I got turned around a couple times already, but ended up having a nice glass of wine and some tapas on a plaza I believe was plaza a la Victoria. The restaurant was Restaurante Cafe Felipe, and with my vino tinto I had melon con jamon, pan and patatas con shrimp that was fried like a corndog. There was some funny music going on across the plaza as well, with interjections of American songs at times. I heard very little English today, and this is when I have trouble traveling by myself, as I go for hours without speaking.

Starting to put my plan for tomorrow together now, including a better map of Salamanca!!!

Location:Avila, Spain