Spring Break!

Hello readers!

I am finishing up my last day of our vacation period in school.  It has been a very busy and fun week, I feel like I am a very experienced traveler now.  I feel comfortable living out of a bag and sleeping in a different place every night.  When you are a college student studying abroad you cannot afford to be picky!  My vacation started out with my roommate Petra driving my friend/corridor mate Tamy and myself to Tamy's house for a nice Easter weekend in Celje.  I had previously been there for a day trip to the castle but I was fortunate to spend a whole weekend there with Tamy and her family.  I was so happy to spend Easter away from the dorms and in a family environment.  Holidays aren't the same without family!  Tamy's mom and grandma made the best food ever!  We had potica, french salad, ham, and lots of cheese and veggies.  Yumm!  When Tamy and I weren't eating delicious treats, we had fun hanging around Celje.  We watched movies, hung out with friends, watched "Slovenia's got Talent", and went out to visit a nice lake with her mom.  We also went up to a cool alpine slide and had a few rides down.  For Easter we colored eggs of course and did the traditional "blessing of the food" that we do in the Croatian church at home.  I had a good time visiting with her family and her precious dog Kimy (makes me miss my Lulubean!)  It was such a fun weekend.  Celje is a really beautiful town located in the mountains by a river so the view was great.  I hope to visit again soon :)

After a few days back in Rozna Dolina dorms in Ljubljana (completely empty by the way!)  I began to pack once again for my next trip to the United Kingdom to visit my best mate Tom at his home.  After a quick plane ride and a bit of interrogation at the border I made my way to England!  Tom picked me up at the airport and we headed to his home in High Wycombe.  We had an fun night that consisted of him showing me the main sights in his town!  We went to a few local pubs and had quite a few drinks with his friends at the classy venue called "The Antelope".  I remember there was some dancing and bottle tricks involved but it was all excellent mayhem.  I also got a shot in improving my "British banter".  For all who are not aware, it is my understanding that the Brits (especially large groups of males) enjoy nothing other than "slagging each other off" for long periods of time with no sign of getting anywhere with anything!  For those who are still confused the main point of banter is to poke fun of your mates with embarassing stories and witty one liners.  I still need some work on my comebacks but I think I got the hang of this type of humor.  It kept me laughing all weekend at the expense of those who were the butt of the jokes!

After a crazy night in Wycombe we got up and took the train in to London.  The city is just huge!  It was a long day of going in and out of "the tube" to get to different parts of the city for sightseeing and entertainment.  Also, if you weren't aware, the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate was taking place on the day we arrived.  It was almost impossible to get anywhere at a normal time.  The floods and masses of people were everywhere in attempts to catch a glimpse of this historic occasion.  The closest we could get was a sideshot of a screen broadcasting the wedding from Buckingham Palace.  But it was all a great time.  There was such a happy atmosphere around and the city was so alive!

We did a few sights like Camden (alternative scene) and the theater district and I did quite a bit of shopping! but after the wedding buzz died down we went to meet up with some of Tom's friends in Hyde park to have a picnic and celebrate.  The park was also buzzing with people and the drinks were flowing freely.  We stayed there for a few hours just hanging out and watching the people.  The weather was surprisingly nice and I was so happy to be there on that day with such a great event going on for the country.  Lots of patriotism thats for sure :)

After the day in the park we went to Tom's friend Grace's flat to have some dinner and prepare to go out to the soho district for a night on the town.  That was definitely a crazy place!  It was known to be the "gay scene" of London but it really attracted every kind of person, it was really fun!  Everyone was quite drunk due to the wedding and we had a lot of beggars come up asking us for money for their "hostel" so after a few drinks we decided to head back.  We rode the night bus so that was also an experience.  People trying to get in fights and random drunks peering into the windows made it a fun yet aggravating journey.  We finally made it back to Grace's dorm and got some sleep.

The aftermath of the wedding in Soho.

The next day we did more sight seeing in London.  I think its impossible to see everything in London in just two days but I definitely feel like I saw the main sights :)  We saw the Covent Gardens market with a lot of street performers and then headed over to the church where the royal wedding was held (it was packed).  Of course we also saw famous Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the London eye :)  After a full day of walking around London when it wasn't swarming with people we said goodbye to Grace and went back to Tom's house to quickly prepare for our next destination.  We promptly jumped in the car again and drove out to Birmingham to visit another one of Tom's friends Sam in his flat.  We participated in typical student shenanigans and I was able to improve my English banter even more :P  After a funny night, we woke up and Tom and I went to look at the sights of Birmingham.  Definitely a different feel compared to London, everything went at a much slower pace.  We did some shopping and then headed back to Wycombe for a nice dinner with Tom's parents.  By this time I was running low on energy and excitement but we decided to go see Henley and Oxford.  Henley was where Tom went to high school/college and it was a really nice town on the river.  They actually filmed part of "The Social Network" in Henley so it was quite exciting to see it!  We then headed to Oxford, the famous University town.  It was really nice and quaint lots of old architecture and nice shops.  We went and had a beer at a pub and then headed back.  I really loved the UK.  In a way it reminded me of home in the States.  Obviously we have our differences but our country did originate and is highly influenced from theirs, that has to count for something.  The UK is definitely more "in touch" with the America compared to Slovenia.  It was also really funny hearing English spoken on the streets and being able to understand everything!  I had a fabulous trip, I'm so thankful I had a friend willing to show me all around as well :)

I'm back in my dorm now and my body is still recovering from all this traveling.  It can be exhausting!  Well in 2 days I'm off to Valencia, Spain and then going to party island aka Ibiza!  All this traveling is so exciting, although it can be tiring I think I need to do it while I'm over here :)  I've got to catch up on some school work though.  I've got two group projects due at the end of May and its time I get productive.  I think I'll do that now while I have some time.  Just a few more months until I return back home to America so its time to get busy in some way or another.  

besos

Millie