Hello, London! Well, technically Ascot, but London is the major city and where we'll spend most of the next two days. There's not actually a ton more to tell you here. Samii and I got up before 6 to head out for our 8:15 flight to London. We met up with the rest of the girls there, who came out of the gate around 12:45. Marie and her mom met us there and drove us out to their house, through some gorgeous London suburbs (including the park and lake where they shot the dementour scene at the end of the third Harry Potter). We arrived at their house, Greyfriars, and got settled in quickly. Everyone who flew in today was tired; either due to an early morning flight (me and Samii), or a redeye through Reykjavik ... read more

So it turns out that there are nice parts of Rome; you just have to be in the right area. A lot of where we were today was relatively nice; however, we spent most of our day heading in the general direction of Vatican City. By the way, I visited another country today, just because I could. On our way to the Holy See, we hit every non-Ancient City landmark you could name: Trevi Fountain (under restoration and only partially viewable...we're not having the best luck here), the Spanish Steps (where I took pictures with a guy dressed as a gladiator), Piazza Del Popolo (People's Square), Mausoleo Augosto (basically an old mausoleum), Palazzo di Giustizzia (Huge Palace of Justice), and Castel Sant'Angelo. AFTER the Holy See, we found the Fone Acqua Paola (a better view than ... read more

Since we have to be out of our hostel at around 9 to make our flight tomorrow, today was really our last hurrah in Barcelona. As such, we took advantage of an unplanned day and did everything else we wanted to do. We started by heading to Park Guell, which was a huge nature area that was supposed to be turned into a green residential development. It failed, but ended up as a huge nature park, and the estate that Gaudí designed for it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We also had entrance to Gaudí's house that he lived in for a chunk of his life on the Park property, which has been turned into a museum. It was relatively simple, but there were some cool things in there, especially the furniture that he ... read more

Hello, Barcelona! After a somewhat hectic morning in terms of packing and cleaning out the house, we made it out in perfect time to catch our train, which in turn put us in in perfect time to catch our plan to Barcelona. We made it into the city and to our hostel in great time. We're located right in the middle of the city, and it seems as though the street we're on is the equivalent of Newbury Street in Boston, but nicer: within a few blocks, we hit Gucci, Valentino, and other designers. We're also less than a block from Gaudi's famous Casa Batllo, which was amazing to walk by. Samii and I headed out shortly after arriving and did a loop of the city, which conveniently took us around, but not near La Segrada ... read more

Germany's a convenient country to visit, I must say. First off, for being so far north, it's surprisingly temperate (likely due to its proximity to the ocean). However, they also almost all speak English, which makes it slightly less awkward for Samii and me as we scramble our way through the days. On the flip side, the amount of volleyball I'm playing has helped me learn a few things: I'm pretty good with the numbers now, and can say things like "sorry," "mine," etc. Things that are important to know for sports. Despite the language barrier, the team I play with seems to like me and as a team we work well together. Olympics, watch out! The bike ride to the beach was also much easier today. I don't know whether the wind was lighter or ... read more