Travel Update

... Because I realize that I have been a little behind with keeping this blog up to speed.

So let's start with Budapest. I was in Budapest during my mid-semester break, October 7-10. The city seems to be quaint in comparison to the extensive, populous, and at times overbearing city life of London. Therefore a little break to somewhere less (but definitely still) congested proved to be much appreciated. But probably more important was the fact that I got to spend some good quality time with Meg and Booki, and Liz. Eastern Europe has a totally different vibe to it. Although architecture seems consistent to other areas of Europe that I've seen, and sadly, things just start to look the same after a while. The Eastern region's painfully marked, and perhaps it is that bit of history that has defined the atmospehre I sensed in Budapest. Nazi invasion... Communist presence... From the little I know about Hungary 's history - it seems that this has played an integral role in the everyday conventions of the Hungarian people. They are a lot more to themselves in the public setting. Don't get me wrong, I feel that the general consensus is that Americans are a lot more open with our actions than Europeans - but Eastern Europe seems to take this to a different degree. It was like this in Russia also. Nonetheless, I found Budapest to be different than what I was used to - less globalization. But perhaps the lack of that made my short stay there more "traditonal". Although you've got to give it to McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC for managing to make their appearance. To say the least, one of my favorite parts of the city was the House of Terror. It's not you're happiest place, but it seems to capture an important piece of history that everyone should take note of.

Now on to Dublin. I was in Dublin this past weekend, October 25-26. I was definitely surprised at how small the city was. Everyone always seems to talk about Dublin when they talk about Ireland, but, to be honest, there was nothing resoundingly "big" about it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my stay. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the city. I only expected that it would be bigger. Literally, we woke up early to cover everything in the whole half day of exploring we allocated before having to leave, and we covered it in less than three hours. Granted, we didn't invest time inside Museums, but all the good things to see were definitely seen. And aside from the prominent drinking culture, and the few stereotypical Irish goodies that were inside gift shops, I didn't feel as if I got the full Irish experience. And of course, that was nobody's fault - it's just how things were. But perhaps what I was expecting was all the lush greenery of the countryside... everything that Hollywood seems to represent Ireland as... But what I saw was a smaller version of something I feel I've seen before. Dublin has a lot of modern influence as well. Nonetheless, it was a good visit with VERY entertaining Irish people. (ie: People dancing around with cardboard people and eating the leftovers from your plate without asking!)

The last few trips coming up: Barcelona, Spain / Edinburgh, Scotland / Geneva, Switzerland.

With love from London,
Carla

Bath & Avebury... I turn 20!

I spent this past weekend in Bath and Avebury... at the same time, I also turned 20.

Bath: I thoroughly enjoyed Bath. Going through the actual Roman site was quite pleasing as it brought to mind my time in Rome. Hot springs seem to be slightly on the weird end for me, mainly because it's odd seeing hot water spring up from the ground. In the case of Bath, with the beautiful architecture around it, it was a "beautiful oddity". The Roman Baths are not the only thing worth seeing in Bath, however.
The city of Bath is quaint and amusing! I absolutely loved it. The group of girls I was with continuously commented on how Bath is one place we would flock to, if ever we decided to run away from our lives! Find yourself in a humble apartment, open up your own shop in the alleys full of cafe's and shops [both independent and industrial], while basking in a more low-key English city. Quite the life! Our trip to Bath was accompanied with sunny and cool weather. It was the perfect balance. To top it off, the Vanilla Caramel Fudge I had there was TO DIE for!

Avebury: Was interesting. We saw the much appreciated green countryside that captures the US idea of what "England" is supposed to be, based on its heritage. Based on this understanding, the setting of Avebury, in all of its open lushness, is what you would expect to see. There was a huge rock formation accompanied with sheep. A very small town seemed to exist there, but even still, we had a hard time finding any of the shops... aka, coffee and tea. [= Nonetheless, it was a fun site!

With love from London,
Carla