Ok, so it´s been way too long since I have written, as always!

I went to London for 5 days with 7 other Spanish gals and it was AWESOME:

Hightlights included:

1) Childhood dream come true in watching the muscial "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"...the car actually flew!!!!

2) National Gallery....It was amazing...and FREE!!! I saw Van Gough´s sunflowers, Monet´s lilies and House of Parliament, Degas´s ballerinas (mom, the one that we used to have in our bedrooms!), works by Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and the list goes on.. It was truly amazing to see those works of art in person, after having seen them your whole life in movies and books. Really special for me....

3) Westimster Abbey...this was well worth the money....including Poet´s corner housing just about every famous British literature figure´s tomb and memorial, kings and queens for century, amazing architecture, and of course Isaac Newton´s memorial that is a key part of the DaVinci Code! :) Oh, and one more thing, it houses the coronation chair that has been used to crown British royalty since like the 1300´s....it was fun to think one day Prince William´s rear will occupy that spot.....:)

4) The TUBE...or London´s underground metro! Gals, at 8 AM there is no better place to be....London is full of young, eligible, beautiful men in suits! This city is so alive, it´s great.  Although the cost of living is through the roof, it is definately worth living in if you have a good job, are career oriented, and love meeting tons of people. I swear I heard more languages and met more people from different countries than I actually met British people! 

Also, the tube was great cause of this musician program that they run....the gals and I spent an hour at one point singing with one John Lennon wanna-be, earning him some extra cash I´d like to note, and rocking Picadilly Circus Station!

5) House of Parliament and Big Ben!!! As the always and forever dork that I am, I went and sat in on some Parliament sessions that was a real education on the British legislative process! The best was that in the House of Lords, they actually wear the colonial wigs!

6) The Millenium Lodge....our rather ghetto hostel in Notting Hill was AWESOME! We met people from all over, everynight they had kareoke or some kind of fun, and it was all for only 10 pounds a night including breakfast! It made the whole London experience tons of fun....

I had a great trip, only downsides were the strength of the pound....twice the dollar, and that despite that the prices of things were the same....aka a happy meal at McDonald´s cost the same price in numbering....but it was in pounds making some 5.50 meal acutally $11!!! AHH! But I made it for five days and four nights, including airfare on €200, which is like $250....not bad!! If you´d like any suggestions let me know!

Upon return to Spain I spent two days in Santander, the beautiful town that I had previously visited, in the gorgeous province of Cantabria....I stayed with my friend Pau, and she took me on some day excursions to these gorgeous midevil (that´s not how you spell it huh?) towns....well, that day ETA (the terrorist Basque group) exploded 7 bombs around Spain, one of which was in the town we were in....we arrived 30 minutes later....due to sleeping in...and learned of what had happenned, so thank goodness we slept in! There were a few minor injuries, but in general, ETA warns and does what they call a "controlled explosion"...whatever the heck that means.

So anywyas, ever since back in September authorities captured the top ETA organizers, ETA has been very active in making their presence known. I have never felt in any danger, as I mentioned they rarely hurt people, however the daily lives of many Spanish people are interrupted by continual bomb threats, explosions, etc...So please keep this in your prayers.

In better news, next week I leave for Christmas vacation! Three days to Rome and then to Germany for two weeks with my friend Jenna from El Paso!  Ok, love yall. Chau.