Tried and True World Traveler

I'll talk about the amazing parts of Mykonos and Athens first and about the panic ensued journey to Greece later.

How can you describe the tiny island off the south west coast of Greece? You really can't, it's absolutely amazing. The natural beauty in itself is indescribable. Tourquoise waters and white stoney beaches attract young --very good looking, I speak for all genders--sun bathers to Paradise Beach for unforgetable (for some unmemorable holidays).

We arrived on Friday morning, early. So early in fact that the busses weren't running. We had carried all of our luggage on, so we didn't need to wait at the tiny one conveyer belt baggage claim. There was a cat, inside, which wasn't a surprise as all the doors were open, but it still weirded us out. This was the first of many millions of cats, I suppose, that infest the island. As we walked outside with our maps, we wondered what we were going to do. The island wasn't too big, so we could probably walk-we're all extremely cheap-but decided that wasn't a good idea because our lack of sleep distorted our internal compas points, ha! A man driving a VW taxi called us over, but already had a man in the front seat. "One, two, three, four, you--in the back." We piled in. THIS is where concerned parents should probably stop reading. :) We dropped off the man in the front and continued our journey going about 50mph in one-laned (meant for two cars) streets with stone walls two feet from the edge of the road. The driver pumped up the techno to a volume much louder than any cab should be allowed to have speakers for and that's when we knew, after silently, gut-wrenchingly giggling, that this was going to be the time of our lives.

The beach was paradise that first day. After checking into our cabins (and once again collapsing with hysteria over our less than diva accomodations) we shimmied into our long awaited bathing suits. The sun felt like gloria streaming down--London could never give us this kind of heavenly heat.

I ate four gyros pitas on that trip--the real kind with roasted pork, fries, tomato, onion and dressing on a perfectly toasted pita. I would take a trip to Greece again just to eat those gyro pitas. We went to the club at our resort that night, and all got seperated, but survived. I wound up watching the sun rise in the small, white building town of Mykonos over the infamous windmills, and spent the next day laying on the beach again- slightly more bronzed. I never wanted to leave, but after 3 days, it was time to travel back 2,500 years.

Athens was rediculous--both in good and bad ways. "If my dad knew I was staying in this hotel, I wouldn't have been allowed on this trip," --April. This is probably true, but we made it there from Mykonos and to the airport in time to make our flight without misfortunes. Aside from our accomodations being in a really dodgy part of town, I GOT TO SEE THE AKROPOLIS lit up at night and toured the ruins during the day. I realized how lucky I was when we talked about how many people (most) will never get to see this in their entire lives.

If you watch 300 or My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the characters in those vastly different films embody all the Greeks I met/saw/interacted with. They're all a bit edgy, pushy, LOUD, and somewhat sloppy in the way they carry themselves. I noticed as I sat on the aisle seat that I'd never been jarred by so many big bottomed women [flight attendants] in my life.

I have never laughed so hard with good friends in my life. It's amazing how I have yet to experience a single bad room mate. To think that six weeks before this trip of a lifetime I only knew one girl I was living with, and not very well at that. We laughed so hard, and although some of the memories we have promised each other "will stay in Greece," I know they will never be forgotten amongst the four of us.

Maggie talked about one of her friends saying how everyone should be jealous of her life because she [the friend] thought her life was perfect. This sounded a little bratty to me, but the more I thought about it the more I agreed with what she said. Although I'd never say someone should envy my life, I just wish that more people could experience the same things as me. And instead of saying my life is perfect, I'll just say how appreciative I am for being able to live it.

My computer crashed (yea, this is the bad part) right before leaving and I have no way to upload my pictures. My debit card (my only means for cash) was eaten by the ATM three minutes before boarding the train. Our flight information was not displayed until 5 minutes to take off. The list goes on with smaller problems, but I survived them all. One must learn to let go in order to see the world :)

Dollars make no cents here...

I'm having major money dilemmas, I am so anal about making sure my life goes according to plan. Being short of food is usually at the top of my 'things to worry about today' list and budgeting is a close second. 

I know I shouldn't worry about these kinds of things, I've saved up for years to cover the costs of this trip, but with so many things to do, it's easy to get caught in the spending every dime to my name trap. I have spent the last several hours, okay, all day actually, outlining EVERY thing I want to experience while here in London. Granted, I've seen most of the big museums and regular tourist attractions--even caught a glimpse of the queen--but my to do list includes experiences that only locals really get to do. Wimbledon, Ascot, Shakespeare Play, Brighton, BBC Proms, British Library, original Peter Pan production in Hyde Park, music festivals in the parks, sitting in on Parliament etc. My calendar is nearly full, and although I am here for a full 3 months, I'm already having to squeeze my dates and checkbook. I would like to arrive home with enough money to survive, please. 

my new (less familiar) red, white and blue

What gets to me most is that I'm arguing with myself about something that won't make 1 inkling of a difference in 20 years when I'm remembering my SUMMER IN LONDON. I know I'm responsible because with enough research, I've found that I can do everything on my list, including traveling to 6 top European destinations on a dime. I just have a hard time remembering how on top of the game I am sometimes. 

Don't spend more than what you have...

Visions of London Danced in my Head

Worth 1,000 words...

The colors are indescribable, as if the flower wasn't funky enough...

Just one of the many structured gardens. This one is in Queen Mary's Garden...

So very English, care for some tea? Queen Vic is bopping her head in the background...

That famous spinning orb in the sky...

Observe: true love through the eyes of Queen Victoria. Take note, boys...

And in foggy London Town, the sun was shinin' everywhere

Try going to one of London's lush, perfectly groomed, people friendly parks without a smile on your face. It just doesn't work. Everyone is happy, families stroll the lanes together, kids kick soccer balls around, grey haired  gardeners shuffle around 'ooh-ing' over every exotic arrangement of flowers. 

I actually don't mind laying on the grass with no blanket-something I find hard to do at home because of chiggers, but here, as life is perfect, I can fall asleep without intending to and wake up without wanting to scratch my skin off (yes my naiivity is still 100%, London can do no wrong). 

My dad is sincerely worried that I'll never return home--he need not worry, even though London is the James Franco of desirable cities in which to live, my family is more important to me than permanently moving 6 times zones away...but it IS tempting to do a little job search here and there.  

My roommates and I went OUT for the first time to a 'non-Americanized' club. The Last Days of Decadence was as decorated as its name. Set up like a 30s Juke Joint, club goers dressed as flappers in full head dresses and there was a live band. Cocktails emptied my pockets at 8 pounds a whack... unfortunately they were worth every penny and so was the crap show (keeping it PG-13 here) that went along with it. YOU try finding your way home at 3am via insane London night bus routes in the drizzling rain when judgment is slightly impaired...notice I said we went HOME, no hanky-panky.  Nonetheless, FUN times :) 

Urban Dictionary: United Kingdom Edition

For anyone planning to visit the London Town in the future, here's a few quick lines to fill you in on popular sayings. This list is by no means complete, but I can guarantee I have heard each phrase half a dozen times each day:

Major: adj (may-ja); massive, a big deal. "Zoo Bar was major last night." 

Mental: adj (ment-le); crazy, out of control. "Dizzee Rascal is completely mental."

Let's Have a Look: general phrase; Used as we commonly would say "Come look at this."

Pips it: verb; to beat, outdo. "Pips it at the post," means beat it to the station...(hmmm)

....isn't it?: general phrase; added to the end of most sentences as a way to justify the statement. 

...yea?: general phrase; see "isn't it?"

LOOK RIGHT: general phrase; self explanatory, if not, you WILL get smoked

Ill: noun (eel); sick, upset. "I feel really ill."

Cheers: adj (chaiz); thank you, have a good day. "Talk to you later, Sally, cheers!"

No worries: general phrase; it's not a big deal, no problem. "Thanks for getting me this pencil" "No worries!"  

London continues to enchant me. Its history is vibrant, a long drawn out soap opera as my mom described it. Its small city charm makes me feel at home while there are never a shortage of museums, clubs, pubs and people to meet. I've been meaning to write about all of my experiences, but don't seem to have the courage to put it all in words-it seems a daunting task. Keep in touch, and until next time, CHEERS!

South Kensington: Where police drive BMWs and Mary Poppins exists

It's been 3 solid weeks now! Looking back, the time feels like it's flying, but days go by so slowly that I catch my breath when I realize that it has ONLY been 3 weeks. Very contradictory, I know.

Have you ever experienced the joys of everyday life that come when you have absolutely NO agenda? This is the first time in my life when this has been the case. Even though I work 3 days a week and have class the other 2, it's a 180 from life at Mizzou. 

I have seen so much already-the basics including all the museums-but have had the full opportunity to 'people watch' and get a true feeling for the British culture. It's really not night and day from Americans-babies still scream and people brave morning rush hour every day. Under this surface, though, the view of life is different. Each day is taken one at a time, co-workers get drinks after work EVERY day, work days don't start until 10am and end abruptly at 5pm, no matter how much work was accomplished. Holidays are on a whim-not planned months in advance. The English actually LIVE-I hope I can learn a few lessons and take them back to the states so my last 2 years at 'Uni' are as enjoyable as possible. 

This weekend is being spent relaxing-more people watching in Kensington Gardens :) as 4 of my roommates are in Liverpool searching for the Beatles.  

Keep in touch--

Bound and Determined

Making things okay -> depends on what was wrong ->  mine was figuring things out for myself after realizing that my new world is six time zones from everything I've ever known. 

My upset: My mom and sisters left London today, they took off from the Brompton Tube Station. Yes, I've been here for 2 1/2 weeks but it was as hard seeing them go as me leaving Marshall in the first place. I knew it was coming-> been planning my own departure from Mid-Mo for years and theirs from me since March. The same cold-sweat solidarity hit me this morning, the same feeling that made me want to stay glued to that God forsaken plane at London Heathrow and head back to NYC, stars and stripes, familiarity: 'I'm alone, for real, for good, completely.'

So, what do you do when you're literally giving yourself a strong shove in your own back while your heels are gouged firmly in the ground refusing to take a step forward? 

Be alone. I creepily walked through Old Brompton Cemetery telling myself, "This is what I want."

"But 3 whole MONTHS?!"

"Once in a lifetime..."

"No Mom?!"

"You're going to be a better person, a more marketable job candidate after this."

"No dad, sisters or Tessie?!"

Deep Breath, inhale, exhale

"No 4th of July, swimming, margarita BBQs!? What was I thinking?! .......... Right, for the best, I WANT THIS. I've made lifelong friends already, spent 10 days with my family, I've only seen and experienced one one-hundredth of what London has in store for me, not to mention Europe..... Good GOD, I'm going to GREECE, Brussels, Amsterdam. Not everyone has my drive, courage, desire, curiosity about life away from Missouri." 

As I unlocked my front door in South Kensington, I smiled...South Kensington, lather, rinse, REPEAT: South Kensington...

I'm so lucky...