Barcelona!

My train arrived around 7:30 in the morning. An arrival which I almost slept through. Originally I thought Barcelona was the last stop on the train. I woke up to find the train stopped, almost empty, at a station with NO CLEAR indication that it was Barcelona Sants. After sitting there for 5 minutes I began to feel anxious, so I double checked my ticket, and sure enough, my arrival time was 7:36. I asked the women next to me (in perfect Spanish I might add) if we were at the Barcelona Sants station. When she responded yes I grabbed my backpack and ran off the train. She was probably quite amused. Oh well, crisis averted, I did NOT miss the Barcelona station (the train departed as I walked down the platform).

No Pasa Nada

Time for some long overdue posts about my adventures in Spain! On Friday afternoon we met up with Emily at the Parque del Retiro, the largest park in Madrid. It was a relaxing day, the weather was perfect, and we sat around taking in the view before we explored the park. Sites we saw included the Cristal Palace (unfortunately not open but nice to look at nonetheless) and an art exhibit in one of the buildings. (free admission, hooray!)

Caminando en Madrid

I cannot begin to describe how happy I am to be back in Spain! The culture, the architecture, the people, the SPANISH, everything is just wonderful. Today has been a long day…woke up at 5, took a train out to Gatwick airport, flew to Madrid, then took the metro system to my hostel. No major issues with traveling (aside from my epic failure of a quest to print my boarding pass for the return trip). Luckily I’m staying at the same hotel as three of my friends from AU, so one of them met me at the metro station and took me to our hostel. This was completely necessary, as the hostel is hidden…it’s on the third (and fourth) floor of a building and there is no sign near the entrance to mark it. Nothing. But despite being hidden, the hostel is extremely nice, much better than the one I stayed at in Paris.

The Homesick Post

Had to happen at some point, even to me. Things I miss about home…

Unnecessary Complications in English Family Law

Our past two lectures in my Family Law course have been about marriage, specifically the case law and statues surrounding marriage in the UK. Here’s an overview of the different types of marriage we learned about:

Countryside, and the Livin’ is Easy

It’s common knowledge that the weather in London is rainy, cloudy, etc. This has so not been the case in my life. Last weekend, the opposite was true. Friday and Saturday we were met with sun, blue skies, and not a cloud in sight. This was also the first opportunity I took to leave London and check out the English countryside. Friday my friend Lauren and I took the train out to Windsor Castle. Windsor is one of the oldest (and largest) castles in England. It is still in use today to entertain foreign diplomats (there were multiple signs while we toured the castle informing us that they were preparing for an event later that day).

Exploring London

Thursday was one of those marvelous days when I had no class and no plans, leaving me free to wander around London all afternoon. I first stopped by the Tate Modern, a modern art museum only about a 20 minute walk from my residence. My visit confirmed what I already knew about myself and modern art: for the most part, I am not impressed by it. For example:

Spontaneous Adventures in Paris

Life is busy when you try to cram all of Paris into one weekend. I started off my day on Friday with a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Found this peace monument on the way there; it’s situated directly across from the Eiffel Tower, separated by the Champ De Mars. The columns and glass panels have peace written on them in every major language.

Bonjour de Paris!

And so my European travels begin!

First stop on my journey is Paris, and my train left at a lovely 5:25 am this morning. Oh the things I’m willing to do to save money. I met up with my friend Joanna at the Paris train station as soon as I arrived. She’s studying here for a year, speaks French quite well, and has been absolutely wonderful in showing me around here. She helped me find my hostel and left me to wander around the city while she went to class. Proof that wandering around and winging it is quite successful: first place I stumbled upon was Notre Dame and admission is free on Thursdays.

No Question is a Dumb Question at KCL

Sometimes I hesitate to ask questions that I perceive to be “dumb” – for example, “Is there a bathroom in this library” or “how do I print.” The lesson I’m learning day-by-day over here is that I shouldn’t hesitate, because the answers are never simple or logical.