Nice was....nice (hyuk hyuk)

Sights checklist...

Eiffel Tower?...check.

Van Gogh Museum?...check.

Giant Creepy Baby Head Statue in train station?....CHECK.

I guess I can go home now.

Porto, Portugal

Random Porto Tower

And the heavens broke open....and there was....MELINDA!

Painting of Porto

After my lovely time in Lisbon, I headed to Porto for quick day of sightseeing.  It was one of those cities that some random person I met in my travels (a spainard in Zaragoza) told me to go to, so when I got there and opened up the guidebook I was like..."uh...why did I come here again?".  

I ended up loving Porto too.  I think Portugal itself is just such an amazing place.  It's just not touristy at all, which leaves you feeling like you're discovering some amazing thing that no one else has taken advantage of.  And Portugese people are all so nice: even the ones working in the train station.  I don't know if i'm having such warm sentiments towards Portugal also because it's one of the only new places i've traveled to on this trip (belgium too, but my wallet was stolen there!  Fuck you Brussels!)   My hostel was pretty crappy; I was in a room with probably 13 other people, and it smelled like a mixture of B.O. and dirty socks.  Luckily it didn't bother me THAT much, cause i'm still sick, and my nose is stuffed up.  

Traveling sick is pretty awful.  All I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep till I feel better, but of course I need to GO GO GO and rush around to see as many sights as I can!  Only 5 more days left on my eurail pass, by the way.  I took 2 sudafed on my only day in Porto...woop woop!  It was pretty weird.  I felt super light-headed the whole day, and once while I was painting I felt like I was falling even though I was sitting down.  Pretty weird.  I haven't taken any since.  I was hanging out with a french guy in Porto for awhile, and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to explain to him how when I'm home, instead of taking medicine to get better, all I want is some 7up and Chicken Noodle Soup.  I guess in France, they don't have those "food" remedies, he told me that they just go to the doctor whenever they're sick (because they have reasonable healthcare of course).  He also didn't know what Campbell's soup was, so I had a hard time trying to explain to him about that too.  Oh, silly american things that you take for granted.

We walked around the city for a bit then took a train to go see the amazing beaches.  I want to come back in the summer SO bad...apparently there's really good surfing, but the beaches are just so nice even now!  I really enjoyed seeing them as they were yesterday...cloudy and windy and a little chilly...it reminded me of the oregon coast so much!  I'm such a sucker for anything that makes me feel like i'm home at this point.  P.S. Only 1 month and 2 days till I return!  

Last night I got on a train at 6:48 pm and continued to take train rides from then till 3:30pm today.  I went Porto-Lisbon-Madrid-Barcelona, and WOULD have gone Barcelona to Carcassone in France, but My Lisbon-Madrid train was 3 hours last getting to Madrid!  Ridiculous.  That changed my plans a bit, but I don't mind.  I'm feeling a lot more light-hearted about traveling.  My luck has definitely changed for the better...I'm already excited to go back to Portugal to work/play in Lisbon, I'm heading for Nice tomorrow, and someone here in my Barcelona hostel just suggested a good hostel there, and on my train from Porto-Lisbon I sat in the 1st class section for 2 hours without them noticing, and I didn't even buy a reservation for that train at all!  When they found me, they just made me sit in 2nd class, even though they should have made me pay.  To be fair, I honestly didn't know it was the 1st class section.  And I didn't buy a reservation because I was running late.  But anyways...lucky me for once.  Yay!

Some creepy things I've seen so far.

So whoever thinks that when I get back home, they'll be a massive photo drop of stunning buildings, gorgeous landscapes and beautiful pictures of Europe, you'll be disappointed.  I've discovered that I REALLY don't like taking pictures.  When I find some building/scene compelling, i'm trying to draw it.  That way, there's some involvement in the whole traveller/environment scenario.  The deal is this:  I am not a good photographer.  Add that with no passion for taking pictures, and all you have is me pointing my camera randomly and thinking, "Oh, people at home will be mad if I don't take a picture of this".  And THAT'S no fun, right?  I want to take pictures for my own enjoyment, and make it not be a chore.  SO...without further ado...here are some photos that I DID take.  These are the things I want to remember about my trip.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  

The only photo I took in Madrid.  The creepiest Tellytubby with a cameltoe i've ever seen.  It looks like satan.  It will haunt my dreams, I can tell you that.  

They're OBSESSED with life-size nativity scenes in Spain and Portugal.  This was one I walked through in Zaragoza, complete with sound system shooting out sound effects of donkeys "hee-hawing" at random intervals.  

Check out the close up of this guy:

YIKES!  What is he so angry about?  I don't even know who this guy is supposed to be in the whole jesus story.  I don't remember a man with porridge playing a big part in the story.

By far, the creepiest thing ever, and therefore, my favorite picture.   What is it?  I have no idea.  The rest of the statue is completely life-like.  They're sitting on this demon creature.  I don't know who made it, but they have some issues, I can tell you that.  CREEPER alert.

Feeling A LOT better

Thanks to everyone for the sweet words of sympathy and encouragement.  It means a lot to me that so many of you were concerned with my highly emotional last posting.  I've been feeling a lot better since that night.  The day after my night of depression, I went on a free walking tour around madrid, and I really enjoyed it.  The city was beautiful, and although I was wearing 2 pairs of gloves and my hands still hurt from the cold, it was really fun.  I left that night for Lisbon, Portugal.  

And Now, I'm in Heaven.

Lisbon is my FAVORITE city i've been to so far in my trip.  There's just this charm about it...steep hills, and cobblestone streets, and narrow alleys, and no tourists, and nice people and beautiful weather....a million things about it, make it so incredible.  It feels undiscovered.  And the hostel i'm staying in is by far the best hostel i've ever been in.  The people are incredible, it's super laid back, every night they give out free shots...and, I know this sounds really weird, but it smells like my grandma's beach house.  You know how it is with smells, right?  How certain ones evoke feelings you can't control.  I feel like i'm home here.  Everything about it makes me happy.  I walked around the city and saw a million things I want to draw.  Our hostel has a Portugese mother come in 3 days a week to make a home cooked dinner for the hostel for only 5 euros a head plus dessert (really cheap over here) and the food was incredible.  Sooo.....I decided that for the 9 days in between when my eurail pass ends (December 21st) and when I need to fly back to London (December 30th).  I'm going to stay in Lisbon.  I talked to the manager of the hostel, and i'm going to do a couple hours work for the hostel every day in exchange for free accommodation!  I'll be making beds, or wandering around the streets handing out flyers to tourists, or working reception, or any number of random tasks.  I'm so excited!  So i'll be in Lisbon over christmas which should be fun hopefully!  

I just got sick, which sucks...a flu/cold thingy that isn't being helped by the free shots you can't refuse (literally, people won't let you.  I was just handed a tequila shot as I was writing this, and I said "Oh, I really shouldn't, i'm sick", and the girl said "Yes, but THIS will burn off all your sickness" and gave me a stern look till I took the cup from her hand.).  Yesterday I walked all over the city and painted the hill scene, but today I tried to take it easy and I slept in (so nice!) and read for awhile, then painted a scene from inside my hostel, cause it was raining anyways outside, so I couldn't do any art out there.  It was nice and cozy inside though, so I didn't mind.  Plus, I'm going to have a lot of free time to wander the city when I'm here for 9 days!   

No pictures

I'm alone again...and depressed again.  Some of the things you don't realize about traveling by yourself, unless you have done it, or are smarter than me and realized these things before you left:  

1. If you're traveling in a country that you don't know the language of, get ready to be silent 24 hours a day.  Most days, I don't open up my mouth except to mutter out disjointed questions or "excuse me" (in whichever language applies) so I can get by whatever person is blocking the way of my house of a suitcase.  

2.  Unless you're ready to make an effort...I mean REALLY make an effort to meet people EVERY day, prepare to spend most nights (and days) completely alone, surrounded by groups of people laughing and talking that already knew each other before they came to the hostel.  I deal with it by being the creeper in the corner with a paintbrush.    

3.  The only way you meet people is when everyone is drunk or drinking.  

4.  Most people you meet are assholes.

5.  No one is better than your friends at home.  

When me and my sister were traveling together, we had the best time...seriously.  Besides having each other, it was supremely easy to meet people, and a lot less stressful cause when you got in bad situations, at least you had someone at your side.  I practically have a panic attack every time I get lost at night (and it happens a lot).  I think a part of it too is that we were traveling in the summer as well, when EVERYONE else in the world is traveling, so everyone is young and free-spirited and like minded and ready to have a good time.  It's so rare to meet travelers (particularly travelers that speak english) during the winter season.  Of course: cause who in their right minds would WANT to travel in the miserable cold?  I know I don't.  

Sorry if this is depressing (I know it is) and pathetic (I know it is), but it's how I feel.  Most days, I barely smile.  It feels weird when I do.  I don't even have a picture to show you guys, cause today I was in Zaragoza, and I sat in front of this giant spanish palace/cathedral thingy, and it was incredible, but I didn't even want to draw it.  I'm bored of drawing!  I'm not inspired right now, and that's the worst part.  I need the depression to fuel the art, but right now all I want to do is hibernate in a warm cuddly bed with my love and the latest episode of the office and a meal of smartfood popcorn and taco bell hot sauce.  

I realize most people reading this post will say: Oh my god, shut up, stop whining, you're in fucking europe for god's sake!  I'm not saying that I haven't had good times...and the countries are amazing, of course!  But don't judge me until you've spent 2 months by yourself with no one you know and no lasting contact with people over 2 weeks (egypt tour).  Please don't judge.  

Basking in Barcelona

So this last weekend was AWESOOOOMMMMEEEE (cue singsongy voice).  Katie Schalk and her friend Natasha came to Barcelona, and it was a wonderful 3 days of booze, falafel and Gaudi.  I had SUCH a good time with them.  It's just so weird to all of a sudden be able to talk and talk and talk...it's really nice, actually, cause most of the time I have no one to talk to over here.  We ran around and saw a lot of the sights, and went out on a pub crawl on saturday night that kept us out till 4 in the morning.  The pub crawl was only 10 euros, and that included a free power hour of beer and sangria at a bar, then 4 bars, then a club at the end.  We also got free shots at every bar.  Needless to say, we got hammered.  We were all pretty proficient at slamming down the drinks in the first hour...i'm pretty sure I had around 7 beers, while Katie and Natasha gulped down the sangria (ugh...I don't know how they did it).  None of us spent any money the entire rest of the night, which was our goal.  Drinks and club entry in Barcelona are crazy expensive, so thankfully we were cheap drunks.  

We went around and saw all of the Gaudi architecture.  His stuff makes Barcelona such an amazing city.  How amazing would it be to see that stuff everyday?  And why do we not have any living architects or artists that create such jaw-dropping integrated city designs?  Nowadays, it seems to be so much more about shock value...like people have run out of ideas on how to change the art world, so they resort to the gross-out factor, or just abrasive works that "challenge" the viewer.  I'm all for challenging the viewer, but it can be done in a way that doesn't make them want to throw up.  

Katie, Natasha and I parted ways on monday night...i've been alone since, which sucks.  After having such a fun weekend with people, it's actually harder to be alone again.  

p.s. the drawing of them is when we were at Park Guell.  It was nice to draw someone that wasn't me for once.  

What REALLY happened to my wallet

Tours

By the way, the only thing I saw in tours? Some creepy black children statues. Who DOES'NT want a little slave statue to hold your drink on a hot summer's day? I know I do.

p.s. as aaron pointed out, they aren´t necessarily slaves. Sorry!  It just seemed like that was the idea: They're in goofy outfits, and they're carrying trays!!!  The only reason I jumped to that conclusion is because I kind of felt like that was the point. Like, "Egad Cornswallow, remember when we had little slave children to serve us cool lemonade by our crops?" "Well, Humphrey, wait till you see my newest acquisition! Almost as good as the real thing!".  I can't tell if i'm digging myself into a hole i'm not going to get out of...umm.....i just thought they were ridiculous.  That's it.  

Paris

I ended up going to Paris for 3 days after the Tours disaster. Paris is an incredibly gorgeous city. There's just this feeling when you step out on the streets...it's arty, it's posh, it's naturally gorgeous, every building takes your breath away....it is a truly incredible city. I'll give it that. But, on the other hand, I dealt with a lot of Parisian people on this trip that were blatantly hostile. And yes, of course if you speak french they're nicer to you. I don't speak any. I met some guys in the room in my hostel who were from Australia, and we were all just chatting about traveling and stuff, and 2 of the people we were sharing the room with came in, and we said hi, and they said (in french)..."do you speak french?" and we all said sheepishly..."no, sorry", and the guy just gave us this look of disgust and said "You're in France and you DON'T SPEAK FRENCH???" We were all taken aback, and embarassed...but there's no need for such rudeness. My feelings were really hurt. I speak some spanish, but most people I meet don't speak any languages other than english. But everyone wants to learn about different people and different culture. Most people wouldn't travel anywhere if they had to speak the language to do it.
While I was there, I did learn how to say (I don't know how it's spelled, because I just said it) "Ou ay (where is) _____". Because I was lost. Constantly. One day, I walked around for almost 2 hours trying to re-find my hostel. In the freezing cold rain. Here's an idea: don't travel by yourself when you're notorious for being the worst person at directions in the whole world. Cause that's me. Ah well...
I've been to Paris before, so thankfully I didn't have to do the rushed sightseeing circuit (louvre, musee de orsay, arch de triomphe, eiffel tour, notre dame), so I was free to see some things I missed last time I was here.
I went to the catacombes, which I really liked. 6 million people were excavated from a giant cemetery and placed in a giant hall underground, with the bones arranged in a "aesthetically pleasing arrangement". It was kind of creepy, kind of cool...but an amazing experience.
On my last day I went to Versailles (I had actually been before), and it was phenomenal. Last time my sister and I went there, the hall of mirrors (which is the grandest thing about the palace) was under construction, so it was quite underwhelming. This time, it was so opulent, it took my breath away. I really wanted to see Versailles again because I love love love the movie Marie Antoinette, and when I saw Versailles this time, I saw it through the eyes of the movie...the grand state it used to be in. It was great.
The last thing I did in Paris was paint Pont Neuf. My favorite bridge in Paris, it has a bunch of individually carved, different faces carved into it. I just love it. And while I was painting, I ended up meeting the nicest Parisian I ever have. He came up to talk about my painting, then we chatted for a bit. He was just so friendly, and he really warmed my heart back up for Parisian people. Because I don't want to stereotype any group of people, but the majority of people I met this trip to Paris were really mean. So it was nice to meet someone that didn't scoff when I said I didn't speak french, and who took an actual friendly interest in me.
So that was Paris, and last night I took an overnight train to Barcelona. I'm here now, waiting for Katie Schalk, who i'm SO EXCITED TO SEE! It'll just be so nice to see a friendly face in this foreign land. Cheers!
Melinda

Ugh

I know there's been a bit of a wait since I last blogged (but does anyone read this besides aaron?), but I actually have an excuse.  Let me start by saying I left Amsterdam to go to Bruges (Belgium), and it was absolutely lovely.  I really, really liked it.  It was just a beautiful city, and they claim to be "Europe's most well preserved Medieval town" and I really believe it.  It's a canal city, so there's water and weeping willows and gothic churches, and every building looks like it's thousands of years old.  I spent my one and a half days there drawing and being freezing cold.  I started buying tea just to warm up my hands.  And the tea costs more than 2 euros!  Do you know how ridiculous that is?  For a lipton tea bag and a packet of sugar.  Prices there were crazy.  

Anyways, after gorgeous Bruges, I set off for cosmopolitan Brussels.  But on the less than 1 km walk to my hostel from the train station, my wallet was stolen.  This could have happened several ways.  #1.  I could have left it on the train station counter (i had just bought train reservations) then someone took it.  #2.  It could have fallen out of my bag and then someone took it (unlikely because I probably would have felt my bag get lighter and heard something fall).  #3.  Someone stole it out of my bag.  

It was horrible.  It still is horrible.  I lost around 300 euros (I had just taken out money), my passport, my eurail pass, my student id (so I can't get discounts on anything for the rest of the trip), my driver's license (so I will have to buy a new one when I get back), and an art project I had been working on since october.  I'm actually probably more upset about the art project than anything, because it was irreplaceable and I know the thief just threw it away.  Ugh.  

But ANYWAYS...trying to look on the bright side, I got everything taken care of.  My passport was replaced, my parents wired me money, I had pass security on my eurail, which means they'll reimburse me for my stolen one, and I bought a new one.  But it just sucks, of course. Oh yeah, and when I FINALLY got everything sorted out, I left Brussels to get on a train to St. Malo in France, and ended up in Tours cause I got on the wrong train apparently.  I just feel like I've had the worst luck on this trip.  Flight cancelled, Baggage lost, wallet stolen, wrong train....the list goes on.  But it can only go uphill now, right?  RIGHT?   

I AMsterdam

So I'm leaving Amsterdam tomorrow, and have yet to figure out where i'm going to be.  As a traveller, my preparation skills are sub-sub-par.  Oh well, that's what today is for I guess!  

    Amsterdam has been interesting.  Since i've been here before, I can skip all of the traditional sights...I saw the live sex show, i've seen the red light district...and on and on.  What I didn't see last time though was the art (stupid me!).  I went to the Van Gogh museum yesterday, and it was truly breathtaking.  His life story is so beautiful and sad.  And this whole time, I never knew that he cut off part of his ear because he was in an argument with Gauguin!  I didn't even know he was friends with Gauguin!  And his brother Theo supported his artistry, and supported him financially his whole life.  What dedication!  What love!  (mariette, do you want to take this hint? haha).  Anyways, it was truly moving.  

      Other than that, i've just been walking around the city, eating giant cones of fries, shopping at vintage stores (even though I can't close my suitcase), and "partaking" in the local culture.  It's been interesting here though, because i've been super antisocial.  The cannibus cup is going on this week, and it seems to have drawn boatloads of stupid americans.  We're talking about "Like, Braaaaa, I smoked this fat doobie yesterday and I (chuckle chuckle) couldn't fuckin MOVE for 3 hours man!"  THAT kind of american.  Everyone here looks like the skeeziest drug dealer ever.  So I am withdrawing from this hostel and going to do laundry and go to the National Art museum today, which apparently is my dad's favorite art museum ever?!!!  I'm excited.  The dutch masters are some of my favorites!  

    Oh yeah...but mostly i'm just going to try not to think about Thanksgiving, and family, and friends, and how much I wish I was home today.  No mashed potatoes and gravy for me...boo hoo.  But I hope everyone else has a wonderful holiday.  I miss everyone so much.  

Walk like an Egyptian

Salam Everyone!  I just got back from Egypt, and it is SO good to be back in western europe.  Internet connection, clean water, non-creepy men, suitable accomadations, no mosquitos...the list goes on and on.  Not saying that Egypt wasn't amazing.  It was one of the most incredible trips i've ever been on.  I went with a tour company called Topdeck, which is designed for 18-30 somethings, and I met SO many cool people.  I was the only american, and everyone else was from...England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Spain...and more.  But everyone was lovely, and I had such a good time with them.  It's nice to hook up with a group after traveling by myself for awhile (although now it's equally as nice to have a little alone time now i'm away from Egypt.  Why can't i find a happy medium?).  Anyways, I did so many amazing things in Egypt, although my trip started pretty horribly.  My flight to Cairo was cancelled, so I arrived a whole day late for my tour and I got to the group a half an hour before we were scheduled to board an overnight train to Aswan!  So I was very, very close to not being able to go on the tour at all.  Oh yeah.  And the airline lost my baggage.  Awesome.  I had to wear people's generous loaners till my bag arrived: about 6 days into our tour.  I had to buy egyptian underwear!  From a market!  Off a man!  It was really uncomfortable, and he was hella creepy.  He kept suggesting skimpier styles...C-R-E-E-P-E-R.  That spells Egyptian men.  You cannot go ANYWHERE in Egypt without getting hardcore hassled because you're a woman, and not covered head to toe in fabric.  It got so tiring at the end.  I just kept my head down and ignored them all, but it was so frustrating!  I don't know if anyone's been to mexico, but it was like mexico x 1000.  Like, every car honked at you while it passed you.  ok.  Enough rant about the men.  How about a little rant about the little muslim girls laughing in your face, and talking to their friends in arabic, pointing at you and taking a picture of you on their camera phone?  Yes.  That happened multiple times.  Ok.  Beyond all of that stuff, I really did have the most amazing time.  A list of things I did:

camel ride

swam in nile

sailed down nile on a 2 day felucca ride

climbed mt.sinai and saw the sunrise

saw the "original" burning bush

smoked hooka at almost every dinner

snorkeling at a place called "the blue hole"

saw like, 30 lion fish!

scuba dive

hot air balloon over the valley of the kings

saw too many temples to name (more than I needed to see)

quad biking in the desert

held a crocodile!

horse riding on the beach at sunset

saw the pyramids, and went into one

kissed the sphinx

It was so much fun.  Every day there was something new to do.  I had an amazing time.  But it is nice to be back.  I'm now in Amsterdam...heeheehee.  I'll let you know how that goes.  

p.s. I like how in all of the photos i'm wearing the exact same dress.  I swear I changed clothes during the trip!  It's just a coincidence!   

Brighton, my love

So now i've ended up in Brighton, a charming seaside town that I really love.  there's not much to do here, but it's such a nice change of pace from hustle bustle London.  I've just been doing art and walking on the beach and such.  Today was actually quite nice too...I ran by the beach and it wasn't that cold at all!  Brighton has this cute old-fashioned pier with tons of little food and ice cream stands and then a mini amusement park at the end.  It makes me happy because the way everything is designed makes me feel like i'm in a movie from the 20s.  

So the next exciting news....I'm heading for Egypt tomorrow!  Totally random, but my friend is a group leader of a tour going to Egypt.  The company is called Top Deck and it's a tour company for 18-30 somethings, so you know it'll be fun.  We're going all over...Cairo, a cruise down the Nile...the Red Sea!  I'm super excited.  I've never been anywhere remotely like Egypt, so i'm really excited to see how it'll go.  And hopefully it'll be warm too!  Ahhhh...that sounds lovely after freezing for so long in the UK.  It's for 15 days though, and i'm guessing internet connection leaves a lot to be desired in Egypt, so I probably won't be updating this for awhile.  I hope everyone has a great 2 weeks!  I'm going to go ride a camel!  Cheerio!

Good Birthday and Bad Bristol

Thanks everyone for the sweet birthday wishes!  I hope everyone had a good halloween too!  So, for my birthday, me and a group of my friends went to "Church".  "Why Melinda?  Have you suddenly become religious?"  Helllll no.  Hahaha.  Church is this massive Aussie/Kiwi party that goes on every Sunday in a giant warehouse.  You get free entry if you dress up, so I dressed up in my bumblebee costume that I wore for halloween (see drawing).

Haha.  Anyways, so we went, and it was SO much fun.  All the people I was with treated me really special for my birthday.  So at this party, you buy beer by the threes.  Then they just give them all to you in a plastic bag that you carry around.  Oh yeah, and did I mention this starts at noon?  So of course, we were drunk around 12:30 (pregaming with cider, of course!).  So it's basically this giant party, and they play all these classic songs...ridiculous songs really.  Like, "I would do anything for love", and "Halfway there" and all songs like that.  Then throw in some good blink 182 and other random bands, and you'll get the music selection at church.  I constantly would find myself turning to my friends and screaming "I LOVED THIS SONG IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!".  So everyone basically gets drunk and sings along to all these songs, and there's a stripper, and a comedian and super random stuff.  Like, last time I was there all of a sudden they said: "And now, presenting...THE FAT MAN!!!"  and this big fat guy in a leotard came out and started singing.  This is the random shit they come up with.  This pic is a shot I took from backstage.  Backstage?  Yes.  I participated in a drinking competition through sheer perseverance.  I really wanted to do a beer race (cause we all know how fast I can chug...not to brag, but it IS the only skill I picked up while at college!  Haha), so I waited around to do that, but they ended up putting me in a challenge thing, that...honestly?  They really didn't explain to us at the beginning of the contest.  So I was the first to go, and they brought me out on stage, and asked me where I was from, and when I said "The States", everyone booed me!!! Hahaha...it's all in good fun though.  So they gave me a beer to chug, and I skulled that beast, then these two bouncers were on either side of me, and they spun me around REALLY fast in a circle 20 TIMES!!!  Not great on a beer-full stomach, I can tell you that.  So finally, after they stopped spinning me, they gave me a long pole, and all I had to do was hold onto it then step over it.  And of course, you can imagine how dizzy I was.  So long story short, I fell on my ass...but so did everyone after me.  Basically, it was just so everyone in the audience could laugh at how dumb we looked.  So at the end, they brought us all on stage (there were 3 guys and 3 girls that competed), and everyone got booed except for the aussies, so they won.  National favoritism?  I think so.  But after I left the stage, I ran into so many people that were like: "Oh, you totally should have won...you drank your beer so fast!"  So I got a little wind in my sails at least.  I was very happy.  It was a fun birthday...aside from being apart from all of my loved ones, of course...De-pressing.  

So, the day after my birthday I left for Bristol, a city in the west of England.  I was SO hungover...obviously.  I for sure should NOT have left on the day after my birthday, but I did.  I had booked my bus ticket to Bristol and my hostel about a week earlier, but not until I got there did I look in my guidebook and say to myself..."So why the hell did I come here again?".  It was awful.  The hostel was a dump and the city was so boring.  I did find this cool bridge though...but here's a clue.  If a bridge is the most interesting thing you can find about a city, it's probably not worth your time.  It wasn't for me.  

Oh yeah, and so for my birthday, I bought myself a leather jacket.  My parents gave me some money and I went to TopShop, this fabulous british clothing store.  It is literally the biggest clothes store I have ever seen.  Even I left feeling like...OK.  I'm tired of shopping.  That almost never happens!!!  But anyways, everyone wears leather jackets over here, and I really liked the ones I saw, so I bought myself a black one (but don't worry, it only has one zipper).  Below is a drawing so everyone can see what I look like now.  Bad.  Ass.  Just kidding.  But the sheet thing has to do with the hostel I was staying at, that left me an angry note on my bed saying "If you don't put on your sheets properly, we're going to fine you 5 pounds".  Bitches.  So you know what?  I didn't put my sheets on properly, and they didn't do shit.  Take that.  You wanna go up against me and my leather jacket?  You're going to lose!  Ok, anyways, I love everyone, and hope all is well in the world of Portland and Seattle (and any outlying regions)!

I was almost a meat pie on the pavement!

So I forgot to mention that on the way to the roller disco, I came SO close to being hit by a car (how about that travel insurance, mom and dad?).  This was caused by a couple factors.  1. I was druuuuuunk.  2.  I looked the wrong way while crossing the street (i've been so careful too!).  3. I was absolutely jaywalking.  and 4. Did I mention I was drunk?  How awful would it be to die in that outfit, right?   I also included a picture of the store called cancer research UK(where i guess their profits go to cancer research), strategically placed next to......SMOKEMART.  Hahaha...i got a chuckle out of that.  An arrow even points to the store!  What???  

   One of my food experiences here: a meatpie.  I've been hanging out with mostly Aussies, and they always go on and on about how delicious meat pies are, so i really wanted to try one.  So finally we found a booth selling them, and i got one.   I feel like most people I know have the sense to not stick something in their mouths that looks like diarrhea in puff pastry.  Not me.  And let me tell you: NOT GOOD.  As if that isn't obvious.  

Who goes to the Roller Disco? I do. In London.

Hey everyone!  So I'm absolutely a slacker, and have FINALLY found the time to create a travel blog...2 weeks and 1 day after I left the states.  Thankfully I have some pretty fun stuff to report, and of course while i'm homesick there are a couple things i've done that were pretty awesome, and did make me happy to be in London.  

Well, I guess first off to let everyone know, I'm for sure FOR SURE not spending a year here.  There are a lot of reasons, but let's state the obvious: money.  It's disgusting how much i've already gone through in the short time i've been here.  I realized that unless I want to spend all my savings, I needed to reevaluate how much time i'm spending here, and why I chose to come over in the first place.  Anyways, that said: when I decided I was going to shorten my stay, I chose NOT to work while i'm here either.  Lots of reasons of course, but waitressing is RIDICULOUS here.  I would be making shit, most people don't tip, and at one restaurant I went to, they charged a 12.5% service charge, that you only got to keep 4% of!!!  How ridiculous is that?  Not only that, but waitresses here have to work double shifts, so that means I would be working from around 10 or 11 in the morning to 10 or 11 at night, with a 2 hour break around 3.  But to afford an apartment in London, you have to live in the outskirts of the city, so it's not like I could ride the tube home and veg at all.  I would have to stay at the restaurant the whole time.  Awful.  And I started to think: hm...12 hours at a restaurant 5 or 6 days a week, not making hardly any money...when am I going to have time to do what I wanted to do while I was here?  Which, for those of you who don't know, i'm trying to do a graphic travelogue of my adventures here.  So I decided to forsake making money for doing art: which is pretty much what i'll be doing the rest of my life anyways!  Woo hoo!   

I'm definitely excited about my choice, and i'm going to travel for the time i'm here now.  My last day at the hostel is sunday (my birthday!) and then on monday?  Where are you going Melinda?  Well, funny you should ask.  I have no idea yet.  I'll keep you guys posted.  It's SO cold here though, that I kind of want to fly to Greece or southern Italy or something.  I actually snowed the other day.  BRRRR!  

The hostel i'm staying in is AMAZING.  95% of the people are Aussies, and they're all just fun-loving, free spirits, so they're really great to be around, although I miss everyone at home.  Last night a huge group of us went to the roller disco.  Yes.  The roller disco.  Just like the ones in the 70s.  We all decided to dress up, so everyone put on their tightest, brightest clothes and got ready to fall on their asses.  Let me tell you something too.  Drunk roller skating?  Just as hard as it sounds.  It was a far cry from the days at Oaks Park, i'll tell you that.  I wore my badass tiger swimsuits over tights with leg warmers and a tutu.  Oh yes...we got some weird looks on the Tube.  I'll give y'all some more later...I have to go get in my costume for tonight!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!