Back in Madrid!

Hola! I am back in Madrid after an AMAZING 11 day vacation in the UK. I have had my ups and downs studying abroad here in Madrid, and I was dreading my return, but it feels good to be back in a  sunny city and back in a room I can call my own. Today I am in one of my inexplicably good moods, so hooray! Welcome back, me.

This weekend I am going to be taking two 4-hour scuba lessons in a local pool, and next Thursday I will be going to the Canary Islands for 5 days with my biology class, and scuba diving in the ocean (OHMYFREAKINGGOD). I am STOKED!!!

So my Spring break: The highlights, though everyday was great.

I landed Thursday afternoon, and took the Tube in at about rush hour, so that was an experience. That night Marissa and I did a night walking tour of London, lead by her. We saw the London eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey.

Friday we took a school trip to Bath which was meh, but at night we took a train to Gillingham where I finally got to meet Marissa's friend Richard who she met in Italy over the summer. It was seriously the best night out I have had since coming to Europe. The places we went were just bars in some random English town, but the people were great, and there was no drama. It was super fun, and I could talk to everyone since there was no language barrier. 

Saturday we went to Borough market and ate a ton of scrumptious food, and then explored Camden market, which was super cool.

Sunday, Marissa and I woke up ungodly early (like 5am) to stand in line for £5 tickets to Matilda the musical. They give away 16 tickets every morning at 10am, and Marissa's friend told us you have to go pretty early. She based this advice on having gone in the summer, when it is nice out. So, we stood in the freezing cold and rain for about three hours total since we kept leaving to get tea and sit inside and no one else showed up to queue until about 9 am. It was ridiculous, and unpleasant. But we got the £5 tickets, and the show was spectacular.

Monday we had a little two person Seder, just me and Marissa in her flat, but it was great! We printed a terrible Hagadah, and a prayer supplement, and it was adorable.

Tuesday we went to the V&A and then I went to see Singing in the Rain at night, which was super fun though my seats were terrible. 

Chihuly at the V&A

Thursday I went to the Cortland Gallery to see the Picasso exhibit. The whole gallery was fantastic.

Friday we took a hilarious tour of the London Dungeons which was great fun, and then at night we flew to Scotland.

In Edinburgh we drank whiskey, ate fish and chips, and walked a lot. It was absolutely beautiful. We also tried some delicious local beers. My favorite was one called Punk IPA which we tried at a really cool place called Brew Dog Brew House. We also toured the Royal Yacht Britannia, and went to a janky** Scottish Carnival.

Monday Marissa's sister and mother came into town, and we all got dinner, and then I spent the night in Heathrow so that I could take the tube for my 6:40 am flight back to Madrid. 

So it has been a hell of a week and a half. Should be a whirlwind end of the semester, and I am officially spending my summer working at Animal Fair, and going to the gym with my mom. I am excited to return home, but I think that I am going to be happy and enjoy my last weeks here.



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1.	janky  Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on more	2704 up, 716 down
	April 26, 2006 Urban Word of the Day (adjective) inferior quality; held in low social regard; old and delapidated; refers almost exclusively to inanimate material objects, not to people  source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Janky