in with the new

so i didn't bring my laptop home with me, but there really aren't many pictures to post. i spent a lot of time relaxing, doing nothing and being inspired by random things.

i'm not really one for new year's resolutions. if i do make them, it's not very seriously, and doesn't work out. instead i'm going to just fulfill one of the purposes of this blog: to travel more in 2009
-the boy and i are going to take a mini vacation during spring break. ideas so far: big bear, san diego, monterey, bodega bay. i've been to all but the first. but it'll be fun to explore together. i really want to soak in the location. find amazing cafes/restaurants. enjoy the natural beauty.
-hopefully this summer will entail a family vacation to the state of washington. seattle and the coastline/islands. (i voted no on cabo or desert. i dislike hot weather, and we've already done a desert trip...cold weather/pacific northwest PLEASE!)
-my dear friend goes to UCLA and has been getting around the greater los angeles area for the past 2 1/2 years using public transportation! needless to say she explores much more than the boy and i. so i plan on being introduced to cool places in downtown LA and beyond. first plan: LACMA to see the vanity fair photography exhibit. other ideas include getty villa and getty center, fashion district... she is my shot of culture :D

storytime!

well, when you miss a place so much your heart hurts, but you can't go back...the next best thing to do is spend time with the people you were there with.

cambridge girls reunion!


it almost felt like we were in a foreign country.
a)we spent more time together overseas, so it's weird being together in america
b)we ate at Javier's, a nice mexican restaurant. where the food was good and the waitstaff hardly spoke english.
we pretended we were taking a side trip to spain and that we'd be returning to cambridge. :) plenty of storytime and catching up on the past 3 months (and reminiscing of course). and delicious ensalada de asada followed by flan.
we were still missing our uc davis girls, but another reunion is in order in january.

torn

(photo by me)
the more i learn in my ethics class the more i want to:
a) pack up my things and move to england, preferably a small, country town like Bath. open up a flower shop or give historic tours.

OR

b)switch my major to poli sci, move to washington d.c. and try to change the world.

Professor Carroll is certainly intelligent, moreso than any other professor i think i've ever had. and insanely rational. although sometimes too rational for his own good. this class has challenged the way i think about every moral issue out there. i've either gone from having a solid opinion to being undecided or completely switching to the other side. it has made me think. think so much that it distracts me from my other schoolwork, from my daily life. it fascinates me. it also makes me realize how many uninformed and/or ignorant people there are out there. it makes me crave more knowledge. but ultimately, maybe surprisingly or rather thankfully, it has helped me strengthen, deepen and learn to defend my faith in the Lord.

and now, because I have only one final left and i'm trying to stay sane, and well we could all use a little humor in our lives:
this is all I can think of when I hear the word "torn"

escape

es⋅cape
1. to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty
15. avoidance of reality

as a college student i live off student loans and parents, or what i like to call negative income. when the wanderlust makes my heart want to burst, and i am reminded of the less than $100 in my bank account to last me the next two weeks; i must forego the desired plane ticket and escape with my english breakfast tea, dublin pub matchbook, italian leather bracelets and miniature le tour eiffel statue. photos and europe journal help as well...

paris

it's difficult to talk about paris.
it simply wasn't what i expected.
which is the problem.
i had the highest expectations for paris out of all the cities in my whole trip.
i had no expectations for london.
i figured cambridge would be cool but didn't know what to expect.
i actually didn't even want to go to Bath at first.
but paris...i thought it would be my favorite.
i set the bar too high.

i didn't realize it would be so hot. and humid. terribly humid. we spent a lot of time underground on the metro. which was definitely not glamorous. i feel like i didn't get to see the classic, fancy, romantic version of paris.

don't get me wrong, we managed to do A LOT in the 3 days we were there.
we have some amazing memories:

-like that tiny little restaurant around the corner from our hotel. it was empty and the waitress hardly spoke any english. but we had some delicious pizza and the best creme brulee of my life.
-or our constant quest for crepes. and eating lots of them. and eating one on the lawn under the eiffel tower.
-the wondrous gardens at versailles. that went on and on forever.
-being in the presence of such amazing works of art at the louvre.
-walking the champs de elysees
-climbing those 700 steps up the eiffel tower at sunset. and then watching the light show later when we were back on the ground.













i hope my next trip is something more like this:

(unknown)

ethereal

forgive my absence.
upper division engineering finals=death

i've been trying to find moments to chill out and not go insane.
so i bring you:
clouds of europe
something i wasn't expecting to find
yet i became so incredibly obsessed with the sky, especially in england/scotland.
London:



(trafalgar square)

(buckingham palace)

(cambridge)

(on the way to scotland)








(hadrian's wall)


(edinburgh)




(on a hike in the scottish highlands)

(outside my dorm window in cambridge one morning after a rain)






*since blogger is deciding to take 10 minutes to upload 5 pictures and is severely detracting from my study time, this will have to be clouds part 1



(also listening to Ray LaMontagne, whose voice just melts my heart)
currently: "winter birds" off his gossip in the grain album