Liverpool

A few weekends ago (sorry), me and the girls went to Liverpool for the day!  It was a nice break away from the rain in Leeds and we had a good time exploring.  Liverpool is a shipping city, so everything's centered around the docks.  

When we started walking towards the docks, we realized that there were hundreds of people going the same way, really loud music, and cannons.  Turns out, they were celebrating the Titanic's departure (even though it did not depart from Liverpool...).  It was hilarious because the music was blaring and there was heavy drumming echoing around the streets, so while we were rushing through the crowds I felt like I was Jason Bourne.  

Liverpool is obviously home to the Beatles, so we indulged in all of the touristy things.  This is the Beatles Story museum, which is basically what it sounds like.  It was pretty cool seeing rare pictures and a recreation of their favorite bar to play in, but it didn't really bring to light anything I didn't know.

Afterwards, we went to the Maritime and Slavery Museum.  Liverpool was a major player in the slave trade because of its shipping superiority.  The museum was well done and focused a lot on the legacy of slavery and human rights issues from it.  Then the maritime part had a special exhibit on the Titanic.

The girls!  (Two of whom left Leeds already, boo)

Get it?

We did a boat tour which was incredibly lame, and then bussed it back to Leeds with everyone listening to the Beatles on our ipods.  Good day!

Manzanares Hike

While I was in Spain, we decided to take a day trip out to Manzanares for a little hike.  Since Madrid's transportation system is awesome, we just had to take the metro to a bus station, then hop on a bus out to the town.  It took maybe 30 minutes and we ended up in a cute little town full of charm. 

After walking to the mountain, we decided to take the most difficult way up aka we rock climbed over steep boulders for an hour.  The view was definitely worth it in the end, as was the weather.  The landscape looked a lot like New Mexico so Helen and I enjoyed being a bit sentimental.  Side note: back to the desert in 32 days! AH!!

In the end, we saw this castle, because what would a trip be without a castle?  Hah kidding, I've seen enough to last me for awhile.

We had such a nice day hiking, I'm really looking forward to being back where I can go a lot!  Who's with me?  I've been experiencing weird longings for hiking and camping, so I'm expecting my summer to be full of it.  

Madrid

Part 2 of spring break was spent in Madrid, España!  It was a blast. The first morning we slept in until noon but then we went out and saw the sights.  Madrid is such a beautiful city.  It has a small city feel even though it's huge.

On the second day we went to Museo Nacional del Prado and then to Parque del Buen Retiro aka the most magical park ever.  If I lived in Madrid, I would spend most of my time there, it was just so peaceful and beautiful.

While in Madrid, we went out for tapas (OMG YUM) a few times, celebrated La Pascua Perfecta on Easter, met all of Helen's friends, went for a hike, and just enjoyed our time.

I went to school with her, which consisted of me sitting outside in the grass reading all day while she was in classes.  The university feels more like a high school than Leeds, just because everyone hangs out on campus and eats lunch together and things like that.  It's quite fun!  I also got to go to tutoring with her which was in the outskirts of the city.  Most families live in apartments in the city, so that was a bit different.  The two girls she teaches are cute and pretty good at English!  We just played silly games like MASH and talked about Justin Bieber.  I also tried to read Disney books in Spanish but gave up quickly... translating Hercules doesn't work well if I haven't seen the movie in about 10 years.
I got to listen to Spain spanish which is interesting, and got to practice speaking, but only a little bit. I was embarrassed in front of Helen and her friends who are all fluent. Helen has a great group of friends there and I had such a good time, I'm missing them!

Last Day in Budapest

Since our time in Budapest was cut short, we rushed around in the morning to fit everything in before our flight back to Madrid.  We began with the Gellert Baths, a spa set on thermal springs that have healing properties.  The baths were beautiful with gorgeous tile and open ceilings, but the camera was left in the locker so I only got one picture. 

Post hot springs rest

We then hiked up to Budapest Castle and the Fisherman's Bastion.  The views were incredible, and the castle and the bastion were so pretty with the white buildings against the blue sky.  Budapest is a very pretty city.

Spot the passport!

After a rushed morning filled with a ton of walking, we made it to the airport and flew back to Madrid!