England Europe Friends London Travel

Last month I went to London for the first time in my life. I was possibly the only European person who had never set foot in the UK before! Since I didn't have that much time, I had to squeeze this trip in my only free week while I was in Europe, so I ended up being there for a little bit more than 48 hours. I was lucky enough to have very close friends living there, who showed me around and offered me accommodation (thank you, Sara!). I tried to walk as much as I could because for me that's always the best way to "feel" the city. There were a lot of places that I didn't go to because two days wasn't enough to see a huge capital with so many attractions like London, but at least I got a taste of it.

I loved the city, it was so cosmopolitan and there are so many different things you could do there! I think this is best about Europe: you can take a cheap flight with Ryanair (or any other low-cost airline company) and in one or two hours you're in a completely different place with a completely different culture. And you can do this with a very tight budget! I think this is something I took for granted until I moved to the United States. 

I'm going to show you some of my favorite pictures of this trip. My Italian friend Sara is in most of them since I spent most of the time there with her. We met in my year abroad in Tallinn, Estonia, and we were inseparable! I also met up with two close English friends, Lissy and Mikey, that I met in my (other) year abroad in San Diego. I guess that's the good thing of living abroad, you get to make good friends from all around the world and have this little reunions afterwards! 

DAY 1

Before starting our day in London

The financial district

Poppy installation in the Tower London which commemorates the World War I centennial. The poppies represent Commonwealth soldiers who died during the WWI 

The Natural History Museum - it looks like Hogwarts

My friend Lissy :)

Piccadilly Circus

One of the streets in Soho district

DAY 2

The markets in Camden Town

On our way to Hampstead Village

Wise words!

People everywhere!

Tip: never try to meet a friend in front of King's Cross Station if you don't have a cellphone or any other way to reach that person. It took us more than 30 minutes to find each other!

My friend Mikey inside the station

Portugal Travel

Hello there!

I'm back here to continue showing you guys some more pictures of my trip to Europe. This time the post is about Aveiro (Portugal), the city where I grew up. I lived in this small but cozy city for 12 years (so basically half of my life) and I really have great memories from this place. 

I stayed at my best friend Teresa's house and we tried to go to all our favorite places (most of them food related, I confess). Teresa and I have been friends since the end of middle school and even though we now barely see each other (she's studying Medicine in Barcelona), we always keep in touch. She has a fashion blog and you should definitely check it out - Tere's Scrubs! 

One of the things that I like the most about Aveiro is that everything is within walking distance and it's very safe. It was good for me to be in a calm place, where people seem to know how to enjoy the small things in life. It's also very easy to bump into old classmates or friends in the street, which is something I'm really not used anymore and that I miss sometimes. Unfortunately I didn't get the best weather when I was there, so the pictures don't look as good as I wished they would! 

Aveiro is known as the Portuguese Venice because of its canals and gondola like boats (we call them"moliceiros")

My friends at the University of Aveiro

I know Portugal has great food BUT my favorite restaurant is actually a pizzeria called Pizzarte 

There's always time for a mini photo shoot! This is my friend's boyfriend's little sister. Isn't she cute?

The beach!

It's always windy there, haha!

If you go to Aveiro you have to try this! This is a kind of crepe called "tripa" (which means "gut" - don't ask me why!) and there's different filling combinations. I had Nutella in this one! :)

Costa Nova and its typical houses with stripes

My favorite Portuguese sisters :)

Madrid Spain Travel

After a bit more than two years I finally went back to Europe and I was there for three weeks. The main purpose of this trip was to present my senior projects so I could graduate from my home university in Madrid. 

*this title comes from a book by Enrique del Risco, which means "We'll always have Madrid"

I don't know about you guys, but for me going back to the places where I used to live has always been somewhat bittersweet. As my dad used to tell me when I was little, "never return to the places where you used to be happy." People have moved on, you have moved on, the places where you used to go don't exist anymore and new ones have opened. You want to feel the same way you used to feel about the city but you can't because the experiences you had while you were away have changed you. You aren't the same person anymore when you go back. However, meeting again old friends, taking the same pictures you took three and four years ago, trying to revisit your favorite spots and doing touristy things helped me a lot in this process. Because we'll always have Madrid.

The famous Spanish department store El Corte Inglés opened a new space called Gourmet Experience which has great views over Madrid. Totally recommended!

Croquetas, jamón, patatas a la brava at La Sureña

Another place to see great views of the city is the rooftop of the Círculo de Bellas Artes building! 

Palacio de Cristal ("Crystal Palace") in Retiro Park.  They had an exhibition called "Splendide Hotel" which included rocking chairs and books for people to read.