A possum in heat

          Breakfast. Beach - dunk and burn. Eat. Sleep. & do it AGAIN.

That's been my life.. for the last 7 days, with the exception of the following:

1. we went to the mall!
it took 30 minutes by bus + 15 minutes by public transport to get to Zadar (a bigger city in Croatia)

I came away after my massive purchase of 1 pair of shoes... for william. for Christmas! ha.

Something I've noticed, Croatians.. really fancy their screen T's. I mean it. they are all about taking an ordinary, let's say, baby blue cotton crew cut and plastering some obnoxious wordage on it, "OMG! look at me!" " I like to have fun!" "Buy me a puppy"

it's bizzare.

Also, even tho the USD currency exchange rate is strong here... It doesn't mean things are all that cheap at the mall... they simply jack up the prices, 185 Kuna for a pair of jeans isn't that big of a deal. It's alright. but... yeah. Imagine how Croatian Natives pay for clothes! ? moral of the story. I walked away clothes-less..

2. Jelena & I went to the Cinema!!!!!

It was an open air cinema! I LOVED IT. It was an old school theater style seating and a large screen, which was incredibly clear in my opinion!

We watched The Hangover 3, with a bottle of wine and a clear, warm summer night. perfect.

Then, afterwards we walked to the beach- it was like a carnival at night! We grabbed slices of pizza.. one of the best pizzas I've eaten! the crust was SO FLUFFY. Legit.

let me talk about pizza in Croatia for a minute:
They put WEIRD things on pizza. like.. ham. not American style ham. thin slices of... I guess you'd call it ham, but it sure doesn't taste like it. or bacon. bacon- just a slice tho! not little chunks of bacon.. but a strip of bacon down the center. OR CORN. CORN FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. WTF. corn. ew. I hate corn. 

also, you know how we'd normally keep pizza in a hot box.. in some container to control the heat.. they like to just have.. a glass box.. and hey, who cares if the pizza is warm!? or sits there for 2 hours.. they'll stlll sell it to you... mmmmm.

3. We went to a club in Biograd!

So it was... like ... midnight, and we strolled to the beach, where there were 3 or 4 clubs and a few more bars in a row.. music here is... interesting..

There's a few different kinds of Croatian music here.. you have the Pop, Rap, Narod Njaci, & Cajke.

Rap is piss poor.

Narod Njaci ... well when I first encountered this music genre, Jelena compared it Country... I was confused since.. it didnt sound anything like the twangy banjo picking crap we have back home.. it was more.. up beat, club style stuff... but EVERY ONE, and I mean everyone (but me) was singing along...at the top of their lungs!

after further discussion.. I discover how she compares it to Country... It's very patriotic. & I guess all the 'rednecks' listen to it.. or what would be comparable

Cajke ... they whine in the song. seriously. it's so hard to explain... it sounds like... ugh. how do I explain it.. "Onu Moju" is a song with a bit of whining in it.. it's light on the whine factor.

both kinds include an accordian. I am so so glad that we lost that when all of our immigrant ancestors came over. Accordians are for polka and nothing else. please.

random:
Jelena is like a topless 95 year old, passifist mom.... NO JOKE..
today.. there was a mosquito on the wall.. and Jelena tip toes over ... has a "bounty" in her hand (yes, a paper towel.. they dont call them that.. they call them BOUNTY. the brand...anyway..) and swats at the wall... but I'd hardly call it a swat.. I'd call it a love tap .. where she actually flicked her leg in the air like she was having her first kiss.

then, later today.. she goes.. "Gimminy Cricket!" instead of like.. holy crap, or dang! or... God forbid anything worse than that.. gimminy cricket.

Speaking of God - God in Croatian is Bog.

I giggled when I found out, and now I sing every song I can replacing God with B.O.G.

"Gettin down with B.O.G."

"If BOG was one of us... just a slob like one of us..."

I sound like a ranting Christian but.. oh well...

another random story:
I tried Rakija! which is like Croatian moonshine.. it's made from plums! Jelena's aunt calls it her "medicine". Got a headache? take a shot!

also,
I must of jinxed it.. because I burned. =( On the plus side.. IM SO TAN NOW. my tan lines are SO obnoxious. I can't wait to come home and compare my color to mom.. This took 2 1/2 weeks to get this golden brown.. Plus side. I am not peeling.. not like Jelena's face. legs, & stomach. haha.
we've also perfected the tan... lay on the rocks. yes rocks, did i mention the beach is made of rocks? bah. I'm learning to get use to it. my feet are like cinder blocks now. strong as shit. anyway, we lay on the water line with our feet dipped in so we don't have to cross the hot sahhara to the water every time we are sweating to death.

Oh, I actually compared it to being a 'possum in heat' hahaaa.. you know, like how a possum plays dead when he is scared.. well I play dead when I'm hot. all motor function ceases.

I got post cards today! and... tomorrow I'm making pancakes! wish me luck.. because, I never have before.. so this should be interesting

last story, did I mention how I may have yelled at two German kids at the beach? those little brats were hitting rocks together and smashing them to bits.. but in the process ... shrapnal would fly and nail me in the head. well, unlike Tasha who gave them their rocks back.. I was like PFF. HEY. NINE!! which means NO, in German.. I learned it last Euro trip. they gave me the evil eye the rest of the time.. well.. serves em right! haha. okay, no I dont really want to be the rain on their parade. but my eye really didn't want to be shot with rock shards..

oh, i accidentally hit Jelena in the head like 4 times because .. for some reason she keeps getting behind me or under my arm and I swing around by accident. my excuse is always that I didn't see her there.. she is starting to retaliate..

again.. wish me luck

Okay okay, last story... Jelena and I were walking around the town at night, there was a band playing outside so I sat on a ledge.. An old lady walked past so I smiled.. She smiled back.. Than waved.. So of course, I waved back... I guess Jelena was doing the same thing as I was so.. She walked over and wished us a goodnight... She was so adorable that as she was walking away I (Jelena) asked for a photo with her.. She was so funny because she was like "oh should I fix myself ? What about my purse!?" And so .. Okay let me backtrack and say she only spoke Croatian.. And Jelena forgot to mention to her that I do not. So I was nodding my head and saying 'da, da, da' (yes yes yes) when it felt appropriate.. Taking my cues from Jelena.. Well somehow she got to talking about her daughter who had cancer! Well how was I suppose to know? Jelena pinching my leg wasn't a clue.. Since I don't know! It was hurting so I was squeeling and shirking away.. Needless to say, I looked like a weirdo. End of story 

Bye zvone!

topless: peace, love & boobs

Zadar:
July 14th- Jelena,Tasha and I met up with Mate, Sanja (his wife), & Gloria (his daughter).. They plumped us up with watermelon & Somersby! They had goregous gorgeous black & white photos on the walls in their living room.. so jealous, now I want to dabble in black & whites and film photography!
Gloria picked up her friend on our way into the center of Zadar to show us around... the buildings (everywhere in Croatia) are just so gorgeous. seriously. it reminds me of photos you'd see of Italy. I seriously love it here. the streets are so narrow, with amazing tile or stone paths. no cement. anywhere! I swear! just beautiful roadways, bikes everywhere, and people strolling late at night. The buildings are all so old too.
Anyway, in Zadar we walked along... a riveria.. where I ran across.. just guess.. you'll never guess it...
SANTA
YUP. santa. I, of course, begged him for a photo hah!!!
back to the riveria - it was built on top of caves, so when there are waves in the sea, it hits the walls of the caves & produce what sounds like music (QUOTE JELENA) Like a SEA ORGAN (BELLA) There are tops of holes on the riveria to let the sound escape above.. it's honestly beautiful.. I've never heard anything like it, I took videos to share..no worries!
THEN THEN THEN, there was these beautiful solar panel squares that look like a giant dance floor on the riveria. They change color and everything! coolest. thing. ever.
then we grabbed some ice cream from a fantastic little ice cream shop.. the guys dishing out scoops were hilarious, and act like they were throwing it at you or it was falling... neat trick.
July 15th - National Park Krka
Jelena surprised Tasha & I with a trip to the national park.. what she didn't tell us as well was there was a nice 4K walk to the enterance -_- .... I complained.. go figure. but let's be serious... I'm not a walker. We did eventually make it.. suprisingly. We shot thousands of photos along the way of the beautiful river, mountains, trees, and we even came across a really cool VW bus by the river. it was so hipster!
THE NATIONAL PARK WAS SO FREAKING INCREDIBLE, THERE WAS A WATERFALL
THAT WE SWAM NEAR. omg. omg. omg. it was fresh water, with a strong current, so I didn't swim as close as everyone else since... I'd drown for sure. I couldn't even swim for buzz  lightyear, I highly doubt I could swim for my life haha
seriusly, this was the best day yet. We were all poopeed after the 4k walk, swim, & boat ride back..  so we came back to the apartment.. ate sunka, zdenka, and tomatoes... then went to meet Ines & Ted (Jelena's friends) in the next town over... from there we drove to Sibinek... WHERE I FOUND AWESOME GRAFFITI!!
we walked around the city, found our way through the old end of town, grabbed a drink, almost got attackd by a spider/crab (it was huge. no idea what it was exactly), got lost because of our horrible GPS for the 82nd time that night haha.. and then made our way home
July 16th - Pakostane
We all (Zvonimir included - he's bella's super fabulous friend from Pozega that has now come to visit for  a bit too) went to meet up with Marko & his family... They're from NJ originaly, I met them when I went up to the cabin in NY with Jelena... anyway... they have a house at the beach in Pakostane... the water was SO cold, we ended up having drinks at the cabana and playing beach volleyball.. we went on a pedalina ( a pedal boat with a slide on top that fits about 4 or more people.. ) I really need to learn to swim better. it's becoming a constant issue when I am in the middle of the sea..
They took us into town and we ate at the quaint place OUTDOORS, it was literaly open to the public and they grilled sardines & mussels... that they caught THAT DAY. we had olive oil, fresh bread, tomatoes, and onions on the table with wine. OMG. it was so amazing... I have never eaten sardines before... that I know of, atleast?
fabulous.
we strolled through the city and ended up getting Palacinke (crepes with nutella) they are so much better than French crepes. seriously, hands down.
Zak ended up getting us bottles of wine too. yum. They really did way too much, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.. oh! we also had napalitanke, juha (soup) (WHICH I LOVE, not as good as Mama SUS' but still.) and pasteta (liver paste. bought a can for home. yum.)
We stayed out late.. it was a long day. a wonderful day at the beach, we ended up at the cabana after all of that.
July 17th - Tasha's last day
Since it was Tasha's last day, we tried to wake up early... it ended up that I was jumping up & down on the bed waiting for them to wake up.. so we could go to the store, stock up on produce Tasha needed to take back, to the beach for some tan time, stopped by some stores for nick nacks, and then JELENA MADE PALACINKE. yum. yum. yum. yum. yum. yum. yum.
I was so stuffed full from dinner and palacinke that my stomach hurt for an hour. I have been obsessed with reading my book, I haven't been without it. Anyway, we walked tasha to the bus station..   it was hilarious writing out on Tasha's phone what she needed to ask the bus guy ... on her own...
Im convinced tasha will try and say something like "me tryin to get to Re JEK EE... I wana buy some brick at a bus stop along the way, so I don't get hungry when I get to board the AERO plane to LUN DON.,.,, we spent 20 minutes explaining the difference in the 'AY' & 'UH' sound for Palacinke
So on our way over, Zvonimir asks if we are going to stand over by a pole with one of the cigarette holders on it, Tasha's like.. ahh come on, get your head outta your ass... his face just dropped
I think we were all slap happy because we were crackin out jokes like crazy. We also picked out a guy that would surely steal Tasha's cash on the bus, since she likes to flail her money around & said if someone grabbed it from her.. they deserved it.. jelena and I tried to run off!
Earlier quote from Tasha:
while stepping into the freezing water at the sea, "So this is what Jack felt like, I wonder if people who survived the Titanic ever swam again!?'
random.. did you know croatian boats saved the survivors of the Titanic??
Something I've learned over here... Dictator isn't an ominious word here... Croatians liked their dictator.. I guess he wasn't so much of a dick... So that got me thinking, that Americans here the word dictator and flinch.... but maybe if dictators had some PR, changed their name from Dictator to just "Tater' ... people would be have to smile.. like who would get upset about having a Tater around? Im smililng just writing this!
Today we woke up late, walked to the beach, did the euroean thing & went topless, then went home to load up on Juha, Kulen (like a dried pork that is spicy.. it reminds me of kielbasa, it it were cold and cooked), tomatoes & zdenka.
Bella "just loves the tape (that she put on her boobs), it feels so liberating. I never wanna wear a bra!' OY VEY.
Now, Jelena is passed out on the couch... while we watch the Big Bang Theory.. cause thats huge here.. and Hot in Cleveland.. I've never even watched that in Cleveland, yet the Croats love it.
Zvonimir told me how at highschool, upperclassman will stop lowerclassman  in the halls and make them sing songs, like the national anthem of Croatia.. which makes them late to class.. and it's super bad to be late for class.. and they throw corn or flour at them!? how crazy!
THEME SONG for this trip: Avicii - Wake me up
OH! and I shot a bow!! got three ballons!! woot woot!! I am going to practice my archery when I come home. I was quite impressed with myself. (there was bows in the middle of the city in Pakostane)
Oh! also, I have seen 1950 spray painted EVERYWHERE, stop signs. roads. sidewalks, walls, everything ... in EVERY city we've visited! finally I got curious and asked around about the meaning... I guess that's when the Torcida fan club was stated.. for soccer..
pretty anticlimactic, but still. interesting

The last oh yeah!! I'm tanning fairly well in my opinion... jelenas face got burnt on only one side.. so now she looks like Two Face from Batman...
The end

Život nije loš

Continuing from last post - after I left the cafe (which serves only drinks!? Odd huh? It's rare to find out that serves food with it.. Anyway.. We strolled to the beach.. The beach is gorgeous. Something you'd see on tv. Blue blue water.. It's crystal clear.. People everywhere, there are little vendors selling food and stuff up by the sidewalks.. But guess. What. There is NOT sand. Which is so very hard to get use to. It's just rocks. Like gravel rocks. Like wtf????

Tasha and I actually ended up taking beach mats out of the garbage and using them haha.. It sounds ridiculous but seriously, you cannot just lay on your towel. I had a sharp pointy rock in my spleen at one point. The "garbage" mats, as we called them, helped a ton! It's sort of funny... Anyway.. The sea is so salty. Jelena keeps telling us its not the ocean, bla bla bla... It's the Adriatic Sea haha. 

We got to the beach pretty late so by the time we walked home, we cooked up spaghetti left overs on the stove and waiting on the balcony for the rent-a-car lady to deliver the Kia. Yup! A Kia. 

We went to the store for real groceries that we didn't have to carry all by hand all the way home like the day prior. We loaded our cart up with wine, avocados, bananas, sangria, apples, nectarines, čevapi (which are fabulous Croatian mini sausages basically), and loads of other food- 500 kuna worth, basically 100 dollars (not bad splitting it by four) 

After we walked into the "center" [of town].. It's like a boardwalk, with all the music and trinkets you'd expect 

We also encountered this gay, black man  doing Zumba with this large crowd of tourists.. He was awesome. He shook parts of his body I didn't even know existed. Hahh... I got a half banana half Nutella ice cream cone. Yumm!!! 

The next morning Jelena and I woke up at 4:30 in the freaking morning to get a suitcase that her grandma shipped from Pozega off the bus. It was full of snacks, treats, and edible eats.. Plus all the rest of their clothes.. They sent us tomatoes (YUM), rakija (homemade plum brandy), bazga (syrup from an elderflower that they squeezed- when added to water it's like juice!), čokoladne ( chocolate ), and I honestly can't remember what else. 

I received 85,00 the phrase "Može dvije čokoladne krosane" which means, can I have two chocolate croissants.. In which I desperately wanted to buy from the bakery... No bakery was open at 5am. So we crashed and woke up hours later.. To .. Yes, get chocolate croissants & head to the beach! Before that tho, we had šunka ( ridiculously tasty & salty pork, from Jelenas familia) with zdenka (that spreadable cheese)  and bread for breakfast.. At the beach, Tasha and I were elated to use our floaties that we had bought from the store the day before! Except we didn't think the whole swimming in a cold SEA thing out first.. So we had Jelena pull us out haha.. As we drifted apart and eventually towards shore we got up the stamina to flap our arms in the water and drift towards booeys (I know that's not spelled right, I just cannot figure out the spelling right now) ... After our chests were successfully stinging from salt water and a cold breeze we made our way onto shore and napped in the sun.. I. Am. Getting. Tan. It's awesome! 

That night we drove to Vodice, a town about 45 minutes away- to Hacienda, "the most popular club on the Adriatic Sea".. We walked past.. There was all of two people inside.. Jelena and Tasha literally cackled with amusement! We ended up driving to the center of their town & grabbing a slice of pizza.. And hearing music blaring from the bar closest to us.. It was cool inside.. There was a freaking stuffed crocodile in the floor. With sand around it, and glass overtop so you can stand on top of it. Drinks are crazy pricey over here.. We danced it out and passed out on the way home.. It's really interesting being in a place where English speakers are really hit or miss, it made my trip to the bathroom at the bar interesting.. 

Anyway, we woke up this am.. Grabbed breakfast, went to the beach- came home and made čevapi, mashed potatoes,and  bread with mustard. Yum. Yum. Yum. Now we're at the store and I'm sitting here typing while trying to dodge customers while walking

We're meeting up with Jelena's dads friend tonight.. He'a showing us around Zadar... He's a beer distributor! 

My smoothie & Burekour fridge, full of yummy goodnessmaking  mimoas

I didn't realize the cork would pop- for the wine .. I made sangria too 5 am

The dock the bottle that popped!

Family dinner 

Croatia!

It was beyond beautiful flying over, all the green! And omg... It was gorgeous because the water was so crystal blue. I couldn't believe it. There are houses built in the side of the mountains and all along the water. All of them had red roofs so it was adorable. In love.

Got to Croatia yesterday!

We flew via Ryan Air to Rijeka.. Smallest airport in the world. Legit. "Customs"consisted of four women, and all they did was smile at me & stamp my passport. No questions. Nothin! Then the baggage claim... The one and only haha!

Bags were falling all over the place. It was hilarious 

So we boarded the bus to the mainland Rijeka because the airport was on an island... Tasha tried to ask the bus driver which one it was.. Except he spoke NO English. So he started rapidly speaking Croatian to her and she was like bah. Uh. Uh...... And I'm giggling hardcore & finally speak up and say Rijeka.. Tasha didn't know how to say it since they roll their Rs and Js are pronounced like a y (like Jelena) .. So RE GEK UH was nothing he could comprehend.. 

After we got off the bus we found Jelena :] I was convinced she wouldn't be there.. I grabbed a slice of pizza.. They don't have pepperoni but it was comparable... It's like salami I guess.. Paid for the potty - annoying European trait 

& then boarded an amazingly long bus ride to Biograd. 6 hours.. With a few stops to stretch our legs..

Bella picked us up from the final bus stop, we bought bread from a bakery and then walked to the beach house. IT SO CUTE. I love it here... & we all walked to the beach after.. They have a pool- filled with ocean water, on the beach. But it stays warmer. But it has algae growing on the side!! Weird. I jumped in :) we all swam. I doggie paddled. After that this group of men in speedos dove in and started competitively swimming, so we hopped out and walked home. Jelena and I walked to the supermarket to grab groceries .. We made spaghetti for dinner.. Not with beef, with like.. A mixture of pork, chicken, & lamb or goat... It looked like ground beef tho. I'm going to sneak beef into a meal so Jelena finally tries it. We had wine with seltzer and played cards at night - all while jamming to high powered techno music Haha

Now we are at a cafe, we stopped at a bakery to buy Burek and chocolate filled croissants.. I got a smoothie (see below) it's yummy. 15.00 kuna! Which is like 2.75 usd.. A bit small in my opinion but whatev.. We're going to the beach now.. Laying out. Finally getting tan!! Thank the heavens! 

Last London Night & Everything That Has Happened In Between!

Overview:
Tasha & I went to Peterborough, where there is a giant mall - and I got this nifty little 'ruck sack' from Top Man.. I loved that store when I visited Dublin the last time... I am blanking on a lot of the details, but I do remember walking the wrong way to the car after getting off of the 'lift' = elevator. & also being very very stuffed from our meal (which has kept consistent this entire trip) 

Random: toilets are so clever here! There's a little button for "half a flush" when you don't need as much water.. But this one.. Was hand censored. So you wave it over briefly for a short flush and hold it a long time for a large flush haha

It's funny because I had to take this photo twice.. The toilet paper require a long flush 

Oh! & 'Car Parks' = Parking lots, are incredibly tight and tricky to navigate.. it was a bit frightening.. Tasha isn't... the best driver ha.  

Her folks made a lovely meal for dinner.. & since Tasha had to leave for work, it was just us three! Her dad is fantastic at making soup. like. fantastic. (Photo already attached in previous post) I had seconds. and they laid out this spread of cheese, crackers, and oddly enough this jam! which is a British thing (so they told me) it was absolutely fabulous on my crackers.. it had the perfect blend of spicy, sweet, cheesy, and crunch. YUM.

The following day we went to Cromwell's Bar, which is in Huntingdon. 

There we met up with a few of her military buddies! (I recognized some from the previous night at the Base Club) 

THEY TOOK SHOTS OF FLATLINER .. Which has tequila & TOBASCO SAUCE. EW.EW.EW. 

we danced like crazy, it was hilarious! We ended up going to this Southern Fried Chicken place after to grab a bite to eat.. 

where everyone at cheese burgers.. except for me! I ate a chicken sandwich, per recommendation, from the lovely Brit I met at the counter - we chatted it up while our meals were cooked! He actually roadtripped across the US a summer or two ago! It was quite nice to talk to him! Tasha creeped a picture of us talking: 

Oh & we visited a cemetery before ending the night! ha.

We took photos before we left:

The next morning George made omelets!! yummy scrumptious! I seriously HATE omelets, his were great. I don't know what this guy does!

We drove to the base & picked up the boys [Sidenote: Tasha lacks a rear view mirror. It no longer sticks to the windshield.. We can blame her shotty driving on that.. or the cellphone permanently fixed in her palm.. or ADHD. any of the three haha]

Anyways, we went to Cambridge! Where we at Fish & Chips! (I was a tad obsessed with fish & chips - AND mushy peas. They're the best. legit.)

(That's a fork exclusively for chips) 

So after touring the city (the market, side streets, really expensive clothing shops, and not walking up the 300 stairs of a church because it closed) we went Punting!

Yes, Punting... when I heard the word, I thought of.. football... our football. not soccer. And I did not want to partake in any such endeavor...

Punting... is like the boats they have in Italy! It was FABULOUS. and ridiculously heard to steer! I know, because we crashed 83,000 times.. into boats, trees, walls, etc. We had a 30 minute battle on what wine to buy for the punting ride... We bought one bottle of blush wine & two bottles of Apple Cider beer (both brands we have never tried before.. to be adventures)

(Tasha wanted to do a Titanic pose - she actually did this last euro trip too haha) 

EPIC FAIL. The river wasn't even thankful when we poured it out.

When we got home, Tasha took me for a moped ride! First moped I've ever been on!
Bucket List : CHECK.

That night, we actually went BACK to Cambridge with a British friend of Tasha's from work! He was quirky.. It was a fun time :) we went to 'the club'. why on Earth London cannot name clubs and bars a little bit more creatively is beyond me. The first time we went to London, we went to 'the bar' or something like that.. maybe vice versa

Anyways, in between dancing to throwbacks [sidenote: OMG ENGLAND HAS NO SENSE OF MUSIC. I DONT UNDERSTAND. Their radios & clubs think that it's acceptable and normal to play hard rock, pop, country, reggae, classical music, 80's music, throwback music from my childhood, and only God knows what else during a thirty minute period.

one. that messes up a good dancing flow. two. that makes me want to drive a car off the road. I just can't believe we dance to Christina Aguilera's Stripped and Shaggy at the club. like, hey.. everyone knows I'm all for Christina.. but she has made music this decade!?

... I made a video of the ridiculousness - it's on Instagram..]

ANYWAYS: after jamming out, or trying to.. because, I guess in London.. guys think I want them.. like.. every 33 seconds.. we went outside.. where I disapproved of Tasha's smoking.. haha (hey someone has to care about her lungs!)

I would say I eavesdropped on the group of kids on the street, but.. let's be honest... anyone within a thirty mile radius knew that "Peter's friend from Primary school was here, and they haven't seen eachother since their wee ages" British people, with their accents and mannerism are absolutely hilarious intoxicated.

After an incredibly late night (because clubs close at 4:30 here, which means.. we don't get back til after 5.. that's toooooo much for my old bones)... We woke up & went to SPICELAND.. recommended by George.. Spiceland looks like the shiesty warehouse of spices from the outside.. 

BUT NO. Spiceland is a fancy schmancy Indian restaurant, equipped with coy pond and Indian Buffet

I filled up on two plates of Indian good-ness & two bowls of 'dessert goods' ... so ... after deep inspection.. I realized, that Brits put bananas and grapes in... cream? it. tastes. great.

Also, they have this yellow fruit, with a hard yellow rine. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what it was, so I ate it.. then made Tasha eat it... both of us sat there, bewildered by the taste. It was so very familiar.. yet, we couldn't place it.. finally we decided it was 'exotic pear' haha. false. I ended up asking a British lady that was loading her plate full of the yellow stuff...

she responds with "melon, of course."
melon. okay. melon. hello! there are so many melon varieties out there.. it sure wasn't water melon! but it made more sense.. it tasted like a mix between honeydew and cantaloupe.. we later saw this 'melon' in Tesco = equivalent to Walmart, & it is simply listed as 'melon'... so I have no idea what melon variety this is, but it was tasty!

My belly hurt after the Indian Buffet, but it did make me want to visit India. Now on my Bucket List.

Random: Cattery is a place in which.. you purchase cats.. not to eat. I checked...

Here's a photo of Tasha counting money while driving... see, I'm not crazy.. she really is a scary driver!!

& here's a random shots of driving home: beautiful aye?

We went into London the following day, but first stopped at an Underground Café for a bite to eat.. because our stomachs wouldn't make it any longer

Random: I have seen an abundance of gnomes in London...

I had googled Covent Garden, it was listed as a 'not so touristy' place to go in London.. So I really wanted to check it out, since we have seen most of the hot spots in London

Covent Garden actually has 4 performances going on in the streets all day long, everyday but Christmas! It was pretty cool! We watched a guy maneuver our of chains.. He wasn't as good as the street performer in Italy, but I think it's just because he was my first street performance. So I am a little biased.. And this guy talked too much. I was like.. bah. shut up and do the trick already!!

We walked from Covent Garden, down the streets & alleys.. looking for Lamb and Flag - a restaurant I had read about... where 'you can sit on the second floor, breath in fresh air.. and have lamb..' FALSE. this place was musky.. overpriced.. and ... by breathe in fresh air, they meant... sit next to the window with your head out of it.. then yes, I suppose you could haha!

We ended up eating at a genuine Italian restaurant where it was 2 courses + wine for 10.99.. HELL YEAH! AND we got to sit out side and watch people walk by! score! the food was fabulous. 

& once again we were stuffed to the brim. So stuffed in fact, we actually walked to a nearby park and took a little nap under a tree haha!

All the Brits were doing it! It is actually not illegal to drink alcohol in public in London, I guess.. because everyone had bottles & there were just groups of people laying around drinking, enjoying the sun...

after two hours probably.. we finally mosied our way toward Picadilly Circus (we walked through SOHO & Chinatown earlier, by the way) 

We actually ended up at the guard posts where Ginette, Anel, Jarrod, Tasha & I took photos like the guards on our last trip! Tasha has become quite savvy with directions nowadays and located the nearest underground.. which was in Green Park.. where there were HUNDREDS of people just laying in the park, enjoying the day.

I NEED TO MOVE TO A CITY LIKE THIS.

Random: I saw this really great sign outside of a shop on the street!

We actually ended up grabbing a bite to eat at King's Cross station for the ride home: I got Pret A Manger. I love that place, I seriously want to work there! Their values are super cool.
I also stopped to get a 'super thick strawberry shake' from this random place.. where they had these:

the shake was not thick, it was the consistency of milk.. I wanted to question their advertisement. They did have really cool light fixtures tho!

This is from the drive home! HOW PRETTY!!?

The next day we went into St. Ives, which is a small town nearby.. it has the cutest little bridge over some water.. I took 100+ pictures of the houses, etc. We actually stopped into two 'thrift shops'.. except that their thrift shops here ALWAYS go directly to charity! Each shop donates to a different Charity.. it was very very cool! I actually got fitted with this really cool hat and pair of shades! I'm pretty proud. 5 Pounds 5 Pence for both!

My shopping this trip has been pretty minimal. Tasha wouldn't let me stop for fish & chips again.. so we went into this pub and got "Steak & Kidney Pie" with "mash and veg" IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS. AND HUGE. Like, I tried so so so hard to finish everything on my plate.. it felt like Thanksgiving.. It was to die for.. and ... I get to say I've eaten organ meat. BUCKET LIST: CHECK. (I read all about organ meat in my Gulp Book.. so I'm pretty excited)

Anyway, we became entranced with this show playing at the pub .. it was called ... Nope can't remember. It was British tho

On the way home, I needed a nap. Seriously, between the Cider and food here.. I could nap after every meal..
Sidenote: they sometimes call dinner - Tea Time.. even if tea is not served! ha

After Tasha left for work, THE ICE CREAM TRUCK CAME ON HER STREET.

I RAN out of the house, barefoot.. after the truck. I didn't even want Ice Cream, I just can't recall the last time I ran after an Ice Cream Truck! I ended up getting a vanilla cone with 'Flake'.. which is this crumbly chocolate stick.. it's hard to explain.. but don't worry. I bought some to bring home! haha!!

I went on base later that night and watch movies with the boys until Tasha got off work.. I think this was the night we watched Twilight - the last movie. Kill me. We bitched about it, the entire length of the movie.. We've come to the conclusion that it's better as a 'group movie' because you can all rip it apart together ...


... I know I am mixed up somewhere in here because, we watched movies with the boys two nights in a row I believe... Brave, Twilight, Wreck it Ralph, True Blood... and I know that I was with them for like three nights hanging out...

Last night(now two nights Ago because I don't have wifi), I went over around 7ish and we went to go bowling at the bowling alley on base.. but there was a league there.. so I convinced them to get Fish & Chips at the local pub instead.. we got there.. and FOR SOME REASON THEY COULD NOT MAKE US FISH AND CHIPS. I was devastated to say the least. haha I sipped my Apple Cider Beer slowly while they all ate.. we went back to their dorm, watched Wreck it Ralph and ate the cookie dough pizza with crazy candy toppings that we bought from the pub as 'take away'.

YESTERDAY: Tasha and I woke up late, since we were up til 1 am. We went into town for FISH AND CHIPS AND MUSHY PEAS!

the last time I get them!! It was tasty. After we went to Tesco & I stocked up on mushy peas and British candy for the kids! We also realized that the pubs are severely overpricing their drinks.. we could buy 4 strongbow for 4 pounds.. when you buy a Strongbow or something comparable out.. its usually 4 pounds at least. NOT COOL. so we bought four.. for tonight.. We got back to her place and tried to crash pack. I attempted to organize my stuff & went for a bike ride around the town ( YES I KNOW, me. bike ride.) I actually wanted to bike into Broughton.. which is 3 miles away.. That failed. I was nervous my little legs would fail me and I would be stranded on the side of the road somewhere hahaha... but I did make it around the town, to a store to .. buy more candy for the kids... and friends... and to a cemetery, where I actually got to sketch & take photos... Now I've just been packing (and I took a shower, figured I'd let you know I'm clean mom.)

Random Story:

So one of these nights... the first night I went to visit the guys while Tasha was working... Muir was on facebook and told me to come over so we could chill. Well he called a cab for me, since he doesn't have a car.. I didn't realize how soon the car would get to Tashas house.. So I ended up running out of the house without my shoes even on.. (I figured I had a long enough car ride to do that) so I wasn't able to let Muir know that the cab picked me up.. I DID however tell him he needed to let me in past the gate.. and since he called.. he knew the cab would get me in twenty minutes...


we get to RAF... (the base)... and .. nope, no sign of Muir. Im like.. shit.. I had no cash on me, only credit cards.. well the issue is.. in London.. they have chips in the cards.. so swipe credit card readers are far and few between.. so I explain this to the driver.. she's nice.. she waits.. we wait.. for... 15 minutes probably.. meanwhile we call back the number she supposedly has that Muir called with.. it was a British lady. Fail.
I don't have his number! why would I, my phone doesn't work here.. I don't have Tashas phone number either! haha.. I'm like hmmm.... okay. this is bad.. so I walk up to the barbed wire gate with the military men's little station is.. I am like.. bla bla bla.. do you have a way to reach Muir..? they look flabbergasted... they are like.. "do you have his number". NO. "why not". I explain.. they look dumbfounded.. The military guy ends up giving me 20 pounds to pay the cab with... which I of course will repay.. but the issue still is.. Muir is no where to be found, and I cannot get on base without him. and I cannot contact him without wifi. which is no present.. so Im like okay, lets problem solve.. I ask to borrow their phone so I can use facebook to message him.. they look offended.. finally they let me... I try to send a message basically consisting of "MUIR, Im going to kill you. Im stranded at the gate house. I will murder you. HELP." It wont send. go figure! By this time, the guys are like.. okay..well what's this dudes name again.. I repeat it.. they look him up.. they're response.. "He's black"... ya!? so!? I didn't realize it was the 1950s and I wasn't aloud to have black friends!?? They question, again, why I don't have his number. I explain.. for the third time. Then. THEN. This kid drives up.. I recognize him from the night before, when we were all out dancing.. I've talked to him on two nights now.. Im like DUDE. TELL MUIR IM GOING TO KILL HIM. He's like....oooooookkaay! They even ask if he wants to sign me on the base.. hes like nah, ill go get him.. THIS DUDE was hanging out with us all night. I was like.. seriously!????? So at this point the guards are like.. wow... got left by two guys.. hows that feel.. Im like.. Im not offended at all. I'm not interested in either of them, thank you. grrrrrrrrrrrr... after 4 minutes, Muir walks up... haha
He paid the guard back, and we all went back to his dorm and watched movies.. it was fun. but I did have a heart attack up until that point.. I literally thought I was going to be in London.. stranded... trying to locate wifi somehow.. the worst part was, I didn't even have Tasha's London number.. Now I do! No worries! haha... Boys are a little slow.. He was like.. I was waiting for you to fb back!??? .... oy. thinking outside of the box is ... a skill. But I've honestly had a blast with them all :)

anyway.. overall. London has been absolutely fabulous. I've loved every second of it, I really wish I could have researched about The Black Tunnel and The Crypt prior to this trip.. They are really cool art places in London.. I guess next time. Let's pray there is a next time! Because there's still SO much I could do!!