Soaking up the sun in Croatia

September 25, 2012October 25, 2012 / Maria / 3 Comments

I’ve added another country to the list of amazing places I’ve visited – Croatia! Before moving to London I spent a week traveling the Croatian coast with my friend Lisa. I’m not really sure how we ended up deciding to go to Croatia, it’s not really the most visited tourist destination, but we’d both heard it was really nice and a quick google search confirmed that it was indeed very beautiful.

In case you don’t know anything about Croatia, let me bring you up to speed! It’s a small country in Eastern Europe that borders the beautiful Adriatic Sea, along with Slovakia, Serbia, and Bosnia. It was a former part of Yugoslavia and was at war in the early 90’s when it left Yugoslavia and became an independent country. This fact bothered my mother a little bit at first, but it is now a perfectly safe and lovely place to visit!

Plitvicka National Park

I met Lisa in Plitvicka National Park at the start of September. Unfortunately, it rained on us while we we’re in the park, but it could hardly take away from the natural beauty of the place. The park is a series of lakes flowing down from the mountains. The ground is all limestone and so over many years the water has slowly been forming caves, tunnels, and springs in the topography, resulting in beautiful rivers and waterfalls! We spent the day hiking through the park and enjoying nature. Fortunately, it didn’t really start pouring on us until the second half of the hike, so we managed to get some nice pictures. After that there was really no hope for us and by the time we arrived back at the hostel we were completely soaked through!

After leaving the park, we went to the town of Split. It’s located along the coastline and from there we went from island to island, enjoying the crystal waters of the Adriatic Sea! The first island we visited was Hvar. The town of Hvar is situated right at the foot of the mountains, as they rise up out of the sea. The town itself is completely made of stone; staircases and alleys seem to go on forever up the mountain. We watched quite an impressive lightning show one night from the waterfront. The storm hadn’t yet reached us, so we had a great view of the streaks of lightning as they lit up the sky all around us!

Hvar

The beaches in Croatia are not your typical sandy beaches – in fact, Croatia has very few sandy beaches at all! The shoreline is made up of large rocks that fall into the sea and small pebble beaches. I always used to think of sandy beaches as ideal, but the pebble beaches in Croatia were also amazing! The water is incredibly clean and clear no matter where you go, so you can just jump into the water from the rocks whenever you feel like swimming! Lisa and I took full advantage of this and spent much of our time lounging on the beaches whenever we felt like it!

The second island we visited was Korcula. By this point, we had developed a pretty solid schedule for our days. We hadn’t planned much for activities and wanted to spend our time relaxing, so we would generally head out exploring in the mornings to see what we could find. It was very hot and humid, so we would walk until we got tired and then we would find a nice place to go swimming and relax! Our lounging in the sun was usually split up with a search to find food and then we would go back to tanning and reading on the beach!

Korcula

Our last stop was Dubrovnik, the main tourist destination in Croatia. It’s located right at the very southern end of the country, so we had to travel down the rest of the mountainous coastline to get there. Arriving in Dubrovnik was one of the rainiest mornings I have ever experienced. The entire city is built on the side of a mountain and rain was running down the roads like rivers! We got a taxi to our hostel because it was so wet and the rainwater was up past the tires of the car! We arrived safe and sound though and it didn’t take long after for the rain to clear up.

We decided to try and actually learn a little bit about Croatia when we were in Dubrovnik. We went on two walking tours, one about the war in the 90’s and the second about the history of Dubrovnik. The center of the city is called the “Old Town” and it is completely surrounded by castle walls. The city has been around for centuries and for years it was a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, the city was besieged and attacked in the mid 90’s and due to all of the damage it lost its UNESCO title. Most of the city has been restored, but it’s a bit surreal to walk through the city and still see scars of war. It was a little hard to grasp that the war in Croatia had taken place during my lifetime and that I knew so little about it.

Overall, it was an incredible trip! Croatians are very friendly people; everyone we met went out of their way to help us out and make us feel at home. Part of the appeal of the country is that it’s not a huge tourist destination and so you can actually experience a little bit more of what Croatia is really like (except in Dubrovnik; the cruise ships stop there so it is tourist central). It’s also pretty cheap compared to the rest of Europe. Altogether, it was another fun and successful trip!

Old Town Dubrovnik

Picking up where I left off

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012 / Maria / 2 Comments

I’ve been in London for almost two weeks now, so I think it’s time to get caught up with my blogging! I spent the first week of September backpacking around Croatia with Lisa (more about that in my next blog entry) and I’ve been settling into London over the past week and a half! I’ve moved into my new flat and so far I love it! I have a nice room on the ground floor with a double bed and lots of space. Best of all, I have a kitchen and wifi, which is a huge improvement over my stay at the YMCA last winter.

My bedroom

I couldn’t have asked for a better first week back! After settling in, I managed to see some of the last few events for the Olympics. I was lucky enough to catch the end of the marathon for the Paralympics. I hung around the public viewing area at the end of the race and managed to see a few athletes crossing the line! I also went to the parade for all of Great Britain’s athletes from both the Olympics and the Paralympics. It was pretty exciting to watch all the athletes go through the city with their medals!

I was also lucky enough to go to two concerts my first week. Right after arriving, I went to see Lady Gaga perform in Twickenham with Lisa and Philippa! I’d describe her show as more of a production than a concert. The set was a huge castle and the entire show told a story, although it was Lady Gaga, so it was a pretty messed up story. She may be a little bit crazy, but she’s definitely an entertainer. She performed all of her hits, complete with intense dance sequences and about a dozen costume changes! Later in the week, I went to see The Script at a much smaller venue. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but they were really fun to watch and I really enjoyed their show as well!

At the Lady Gaga concert

I did start work last week as well. It’s always nice to go back to a company and actually have an idea of what’s going on. I was able to jump right back into stuff and I’ve been enjoying it so far. Unfortunately, my friend Etienne is moved to Singapore with LMC last week, so I went to his going away party to say goodbye to him as well.

This past weekend I did a bit of shopping in Camden with Lisa and Philippa, and on Sunday I caught up with some of the friends I met last semester! I’ve starting going back to the Salvation Army church that I attended in the Winter and I’ve also starting going to the Hillsong Church here in London. I attended it a few times last semester some friends and the energy there is really great, so I figure I’ll check it out a few more times this semester!

I’m excited for this upcoming weekend because me and my flatmates have decided to rent a car and take a small road trip to get outside of London and see some more of the UK! I’m living with 5 other people, so it’s always a bit busy, but so far everyone is really great and I’m enjoying it. Aside from that, Rocky has come for a visit again and so hopefully I’ll get to see him soon!

Of course, I’m still missing everyone back home and I’d love to hear from you, so skype me!

Love Maria

Olympic decorations on Regent Street

The Best of London

July 18, 2012October 25, 2012 / Maria / 1 Comment

I’m currently reading the book “Londoners: The days and nights of London now – as told by those who love it, hate it, live it, left it, and long for it” by Craig Taylor. As you can probably guess from the title, it’s a collection of short stories about the many different experiences people have had in London.

The book starts with a quote from Samuel Johnson, “When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” It’s interesting to read about the different perceptions people have of London and to learn what people love and hate about it. Even though I’ve only lived in London for 4 months, I’ve decided to share my favourite parts of London. For those or you that haven’t spent much time in London, I hope you enjoy this post. For those of you that have lived and loved London, please share what you love about it!

My top 5 places to visit in London:

St. James Park

5. St. James Park
Even though St. James is one of London’s smallest parks, it’s also one of the most beautiful. St. James is located right in the center of Westminster and all of London’s major attractions. If you walk north you’ll find Trafalgar Square, go west and you’ll come across Buckingham Palace, and go east and you’ll eventually end up at Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. No matter what time of year you go to St. James, you’ll find green grass, beautiful flowers, and dozens of different birds; in the summer you may even come across the resident pelicans!

The South Bank

4. The South Bank
One of my favourite walks in London is to start from St. Paul’s, cross the Millennium Bridge, and then continue along the South Bank. I’ve already raved about how much I love Borough Market, but there’s a lot more going on then just the market. Once you leave the market you end up walking along the river, past the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern until you reach the London Eye, and finally, Westminster. There’s lot’s to explore along the Bank.

Spitalfields

3. Spitalfields / Brick Lane
Spitalfields Market and Sunday Upmarket are easily my favourite markets. They have everything you could possibly want – from trendy clothing stalls, to vintage jewelery, to food stalls from all around the world! Once you leave the market you’ll find yourself on Brick Lane, which is where London’s Asian community thrives. There’s dozens of international restaurants and sweet shops where you’ll find delicious food and great deals!

Tower of London

2. Tower of London
While the inside of the Tower of London is definitely worth a visit – the area surrounding the Tower is the part I really love. The Tower is located right next to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. I love just sitting by the river and watching London move all around me. From here you can see all of London’s quintessential landmarks while enjoying a plate of fish and chips; if you’re lucky, you might even get to see Tower Bridge rise!

1. St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s is my number one, favourite place in London. There is so much history in London; it has survived countless fires, the great depression, and two world wars, and yet it has still evolved and developed as time has passed. St. Paul’s is the very embodiment of the survival of London as it stands proudly in the city center. Both the interior and the exterior are incredibly beautiful and host one of the most gorgeous views of the city. No matter how much London changes, St. Paul’s will always be there, a true testament of time.