London and more...

After a long day of teaching last Thursday, we rushed out to the airport (bus, metro, bus) where we waited for a delayed flight. After finally taking off, landing, getting grilled at customs, catching a huge coach bus where we were the only 2 passengers, and taking a funny little cab that drove on the left side of the road by a driver who called us "mate", we finally arrived at our hotel around 3am. The next morning we were greeted by some rain, but managed to get motivated for some sightseeing nice and early. London is awesome. Despite the rain, I loved everything about it. We saw Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park (where the flowers were in full bloom and a squirrel jumped on Sean's leg to get the granola bar out of his hand) and just as we reached the Big Ben, the sun came out and stayed with us the rest of the weekend. We walked the London Bridge, Tower Bridge and all the bridges and churches in between, China town, the posh Notting Hill and my personal favorite - Portobello Street, where outdoor vendors lined the street, live music played and every type of food imaginable was being sold outdoors on paper plates. I got in some some serious shopping (bought Diesel skinny jeans and some fun Indian scarves). To get the full "British" experience, we went to about a hundred pubs (watched Liverpool play), ate salt and vinegar "crisps", Cadbury chocolate, the best licorice ever, hot-crossed buns, some authentic, yummy Indian food, as well as fish and chips, "mushy peas", and some pie that consisted of meat and mashed potatoes. I couldn't resist going to Starbucks, but just couldn't get into it like I used to, having been spoilt by Italian espresso. I loved the modernity, diversity and cleanliness of the city - in fact the moment I finished my coffee in Trafalgar Square someone came to pick up the cup for me, cleaning crews were scattered across the city day and night, ensuring it stay immaculate. The people were polite, and I took full advantage of being able to speak the language. We had an amazing time, and were even little sad to leave on Sunday morning.

Sunday, my birthday, it felt like we traveled back in time about a hundred years to ancient Rome and HOT HOT HOT weather. Rome is back to the nitty gritty, hot, sweaty, dirty, suffocating-air feeling it had when we first arrived. I still adore this city, even in all it's...well, dirtiness. I don't get how Italians manage to be fully clothed in sweaters and long pants and not look like they are struggling in the heat. I have broken out my old tanks, capris and sandals and still feel like I am melting, and I probably look like I am melting too. By Sunday we were running on about 8 hours of sleep in 3 days, so a nice cool shower and a hot nap was necessary. After that we dragged ourselves outdoors to enjoy the heat and indulge in some afternoon pizza, red wine for me, espresso and gelato (with rainbow sprinkles for my birthday).

We have a few more weeks of teaching left, and school's out for summer! Yeah! The kids are restless as ever, and we have become more lenient than ever, which makes teaching a lot less stressful and more fun for everyone involved. The sun lifts everyone's spirits and all I can think about is where to travel to next...