Best. Spring. Break. EVER.
Dear friends:
It's been a while since we last spoke! This is due to the fact that, for the past 10 days or so, my life has been the best thing ever. In other words, I spent the past week and a half in London, Amsterdam, and Brussels for Spring Break. And here's what I have to say: y'all can have your trips to Mexico or Canada, I'll take Europe any day. This trip had the holy trinity of things that make life happy: food, drugs, and shopping! (Sex, unfortunately, was not part of this equation...):)
So this is Part One in a trilogy that I'd like to call "The Story Of How Tracey Died Of Happiness".
Part One: London.
I've been to London once before, with my dad for a weekend, but this was different, more like a vacation and less like a mad dash to see all the sights we could possibly see. Since I'd been to the National Gallery and British Museum before, as well as Big Ben/the London Eye/London Tower, I got the chance to experience a bit of a different side of London: food, and culture, and shopping!
Graffitti in London town
London, I've found, is a city I can easily see myself spending the rest of my life in: unlike Paris, where the cool steel beauty is tempered with ridiculously high prices, or Barcelona, which had an easy, wonderful charm but failed to catch my heart, London is exactly what I want out of a city. Streets lined with ethnic food (something sorely lacking in Italy), crazy pubs and clubs at night, an excellent public transportation system, courteous and helpful citizens (not to mention good looking!), huge, sprawling marketplaces boasting stalls with everything from handmade glass jewellry to Dr. Who-themed wallets to Ethiopian food. You can tell I'm excited because I'm speaking in run-ons again. I do that.
Our introduction to London was unique, to say the least, involving a group of 20-something year old good-looking British/French lads drunkenly chatting with us in a Subway at 2 in the morning and then, shortly after, giving each other near-concussions by pressing their faces against the window we sat next to and jumping all over each other...and then one of them mooned us.
It was an adventure.
But to be honest I had 4 favorite things about London:
One thing I didn't do in London with my dad that I had REALLY, REALLY wanted to do was watch a musical. Considering that Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Chicago, and Avenue Q were ALL playing in London when we visited, I was really pretty open to any sort of musical, as long as we watched one. The others in the group wanted a comedy, so we chose Avenue Q. It was absolutely adorable and, of course, hilarious. While it wasn't exactly the most complex or intricate musical, it was perfect after a long dayof sight-seeing and tea, especially with some of the ice cream they were selling in the theater.
Plus, since I pretty much knew all the songs by heart, it was fun to sing along. The actors were incredible--I didn't even know that there were only three or four main actors who worked with multiple puppets...very impressive. I love musicals, so I had an amazing time. I can't imagine a better start to my spring break.
On top of that, I saw one of my friends from college, who graduated a few years back, for the first time since she graduated. She's living in London now, so I never get the chance to see her. Apparently she's just like me, according to my friends from the Education Abroad Program, which is a huge compliment in my book because I think this girl is the shit. She was a few years older than me, and also involved in student government, and I think she's got a level head and she's a lot of fun. So yay (:
Fortnum and Mason was a place I hadn't planned on visiting, but was ever so glad I did. If you're not aware, Fortnum & Mason is a big, beautiful, glitzy, wonderful hodgepodge of all things that no one ever needs but most people secretly want. We're talking picnic hampers worth 100 pound, a whole floor devoted to chocolates, cupcakes, and jam, a kitchen section with pink Kitchenmaid mixers and smooth olive tree wood jars for everything from spaghetti to butter, and customers who wear five inch heels with tailored suits or trenchcoats and fabulous hats.
It. Was. Beautiful.
The bottom floor was a smorgasborg of different things--a deli with whole deer legs and pig carcasses next to baskets of bread and shelves of cheese wheels. Across the room, fresh produce and candies with bugs inside (vodka flavored scorpion pops, tequila flavored worm pops). I couldn't stop from taking photos...there were thai curry flavoured crickets, oven baked tarantulas...every disgusting thing you never wanted to try but were oddly fascinated by once they were presented to you. I won't lie, I was tempted to buy a little vial of vodka with a scorpion floating in it.
It was just a whole lot of fascinating things...my friend Justin and I spent so much time perusing the store...it made me immensely glad I had time to just bum around and look through it, instead of rushing to see all the sights in London.
The final aspects of the trip that made me die of joy were the FOOD and the SHOPPING. We all know I'm a big lard, so of course going from Rome (where there is almost no ethnic food available, only Italian food) to London (where the streets are lined with Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Caribbean, etc etc etc...) was sort of like a dream come true for me. I gorged myself on so much ethnic food that I'm sure I gained a few pounds just in the four days that we stayed in London. Plus, I ate at pubs (of course)--I got some delicious bangers and mash, aka sausages and mashed potatoes, that came with peas and a local beer. Absolutely lovely. And, naturallement, the infamous fish and chips.
Since I went on a trip with 2 gay guys, 3 girls, and 1 straight guy, it was basically impossible for us to go to London and not shop at least a little at the markets and the malls. We hit up Camden, a market on Brick Lane, and of course Top Shop and H&M...not bad considering we were only there for 4 days. I bought a few things, mainly tights and leggings simply because I was running out (my tights keep getting holes in them ): and I didn't bring leggings) and then a few things simply because I am a shopaholic and H&M decided it would be a good idea to put out NAVY AND WHITE STRIPES and other such nautical themed wonders.
Anyways, that's the main points RE: London Town. Stay tuned for Amsterdam and Brussels...aka drugs and food. Trust, there are some good stories coming your way. And by good stories I mean lots of pot, waffles, fries, and chocolate.
Love,
Tracey
PS: See London and some Amsterdam photos here at my Facebook.
It's been a while since we last spoke! This is due to the fact that, for the past 10 days or so, my life has been the best thing ever. In other words, I spent the past week and a half in London, Amsterdam, and Brussels for Spring Break. And here's what I have to say: y'all can have your trips to Mexico or Canada, I'll take Europe any day. This trip had the holy trinity of things that make life happy: food, drugs, and shopping! (Sex, unfortunately, was not part of this equation...):)
So this is Part One in a trilogy that I'd like to call "The Story Of How Tracey Died Of Happiness".
Part One: London.
I've been to London once before, with my dad for a weekend, but this was different, more like a vacation and less like a mad dash to see all the sights we could possibly see. Since I'd been to the National Gallery and British Museum before, as well as Big Ben/the London Eye/London Tower, I got the chance to experience a bit of a different side of London: food, and culture, and shopping!
Graffitti in London town
London, I've found, is a city I can easily see myself spending the rest of my life in: unlike Paris, where the cool steel beauty is tempered with ridiculously high prices, or Barcelona, which had an easy, wonderful charm but failed to catch my heart, London is exactly what I want out of a city. Streets lined with ethnic food (something sorely lacking in Italy), crazy pubs and clubs at night, an excellent public transportation system, courteous and helpful citizens (not to mention good looking!), huge, sprawling marketplaces boasting stalls with everything from handmade glass jewellry to Dr. Who-themed wallets to Ethiopian food. You can tell I'm excited because I'm speaking in run-ons again. I do that.
Our introduction to London was unique, to say the least, involving a group of 20-something year old good-looking British/French lads drunkenly chatting with us in a Subway at 2 in the morning and then, shortly after, giving each other near-concussions by pressing their faces against the window we sat next to and jumping all over each other...and then one of them mooned us.
It was an adventure.
But to be honest I had 4 favorite things about London:
-
Fortnum & Mason -
ETHNIC FOOD -
Seeing my friend Alicia, who I haven't seen in years because she moved to London, again (: -
credit for pic = here
AVENUE Q
One thing I didn't do in London with my dad that I had REALLY, REALLY wanted to do was watch a musical. Considering that Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Chicago, and Avenue Q were ALL playing in London when we visited, I was really pretty open to any sort of musical, as long as we watched one. The others in the group wanted a comedy, so we chose Avenue Q. It was absolutely adorable and, of course, hilarious. While it wasn't exactly the most complex or intricate musical, it was perfect after a long dayof sight-seeing and tea, especially with some of the ice cream they were selling in the theater.
Plus, since I pretty much knew all the songs by heart, it was fun to sing along. The actors were incredible--I didn't even know that there were only three or four main actors who worked with multiple puppets...very impressive. I love musicals, so I had an amazing time. I can't imagine a better start to my spring break.
On top of that, I saw one of my friends from college, who graduated a few years back, for the first time since she graduated. She's living in London now, so I never get the chance to see her. Apparently she's just like me, according to my friends from the Education Abroad Program, which is a huge compliment in my book because I think this girl is the shit. She was a few years older than me, and also involved in student government, and I think she's got a level head and she's a lot of fun. So yay (:
Fortnum and Mason was a place I hadn't planned on visiting, but was ever so glad I did. If you're not aware, Fortnum & Mason is a big, beautiful, glitzy, wonderful hodgepodge of all things that no one ever needs but most people secretly want. We're talking picnic hampers worth 100 pound, a whole floor devoted to chocolates, cupcakes, and jam, a kitchen section with pink Kitchenmaid mixers and smooth olive tree wood jars for everything from spaghetti to butter, and customers who wear five inch heels with tailored suits or trenchcoats and fabulous hats.
It. Was. Beautiful.
The bottom floor was a smorgasborg of different things--a deli with whole deer legs and pig carcasses next to baskets of bread and shelves of cheese wheels. Across the room, fresh produce and candies with bugs inside (vodka flavored scorpion pops, tequila flavored worm pops). I couldn't stop from taking photos...there were thai curry flavoured crickets, oven baked tarantulas...every disgusting thing you never wanted to try but were oddly fascinated by once they were presented to you. I won't lie, I was tempted to buy a little vial of vodka with a scorpion floating in it.
It was just a whole lot of fascinating things...my friend Justin and I spent so much time perusing the store...it made me immensely glad I had time to just bum around and look through it, instead of rushing to see all the sights in London.
The final aspects of the trip that made me die of joy were the FOOD and the SHOPPING. We all know I'm a big lard, so of course going from Rome (where there is almost no ethnic food available, only Italian food) to London (where the streets are lined with Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Caribbean, etc etc etc...) was sort of like a dream come true for me. I gorged myself on so much ethnic food that I'm sure I gained a few pounds just in the four days that we stayed in London. Plus, I ate at pubs (of course)--I got some delicious bangers and mash, aka sausages and mashed potatoes, that came with peas and a local beer. Absolutely lovely. And, naturallement, the infamous fish and chips.
Since I went on a trip with 2 gay guys, 3 girls, and 1 straight guy, it was basically impossible for us to go to London and not shop at least a little at the markets and the malls. We hit up Camden, a market on Brick Lane, and of course Top Shop and H&M...not bad considering we were only there for 4 days. I bought a few things, mainly tights and leggings simply because I was running out (my tights keep getting holes in them ): and I didn't bring leggings) and then a few things simply because I am a shopaholic and H&M decided it would be a good idea to put out NAVY AND WHITE STRIPES and other such nautical themed wonders.
Anyways, that's the main points RE: London Town. Stay tuned for Amsterdam and Brussels...aka drugs and food. Trust, there are some good stories coming your way. And by good stories I mean lots of pot, waffles, fries, and chocolate.
Love,
Tracey
PS: See London and some Amsterdam photos here at my Facebook.