Well it’s March. . .

Today is a beautiful spring day in Ljubljana. As the weather warms and the snow melts, I am reminded that my time in Slovenia is drawing to an end. In a moment of sentimental weakness (and a bout Tonsillitis) I’ve decided to blog. My friend Sybil and I have planned weekend trips to Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Sardinia and a week- long getaway through Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. I intend to post pictures and blogs about my adventures. . but I should probably fill you in on what I’ve been up to since January.

I have 3 new roommates: Quentin and Alexis from France and Carlos from Portugal. I chose to have boy roommates again because I really like the drama free atmosphere.

Carnival is the European equivalent of Mardi Gras. In Slovenia, the best parade is held in Ptuj. Sybil and I decided to use the internet hitch-hiking system and hitch a ride to Ptuj for the weekend. As neither of us had slept the night before (because we’re mutually not smart) we decided to go straight to the hostel. Mid-afternoon we were awoken by two Slovene boys busting into our room. “Which one of you is American?”

We glanced at one another and replied “Both of us.”

“Are you sure?” they asked.

“Yes” we replied in a confused unison.

“Which one of you speaks really good Slovene?” They asked.

“Her” I replied.

“You must come have a drink with us.”

We agreed.

That’s how we came to know Aleš, Damir and Simon. Three really nice guys from a small city called Murska Sobota. We ended up spending the entire weekend with them; eating, drinking and enjoying the parade.

Simon, Damir and Aleš.

Simon, Damir, Sybil and I having a drink before going out for the night.

Kurenti are traditional Slovene costumes designed to "scare away" the winter.

More Kurenti dancing.

These guys were my favorite. Soo colorful!! I'm thinking about being one for next Halloween!

Before the parade we hiked up to the castle. This is a picture overlooking the city of Ptuj.

My next blog will probably be in 2 weeks, when Sybil and I are going to visit Maribor.

Thanks to Patrick!

After a long and frustrating process, I was able to post my pictures. Dara's friend Patrick gave me a tip that fixed my problems.

My stay in London was err... good and bad. We arrived an hour later than expected (11:30pm) because London-Heathrow (the airport) was closed. The airport had been closed for most of the afternoon and as a result, all of the flights arrived at once. This caused a huge crowd of people coming through customs. I waited 2 hours to get through. The fact that they didn't have more than 2 employees on duty checking passports didn't help either.

By the time I got through customs and claimed my baggage it was nearly 2:30am. The express train from the airport closed at 2am. All of the subways were also closed. I had to take a 45 minute cab ride from Heathrow to my hotel in central London. You can imagine the price!

I checked in around 3:30am. I went straight to my room and fell asleep. Around 10am, a HUGELY ANNOYING burglar sounding alarm started to go off in my room. I called the front desk, and they informed me that they were testing the alarms and would be finished within 15 minutes. I already have weird sleeping problems, and this alarm caused some serious terror and panic. Due to jet lag and the stupid alarm scaring me out of sleep, I didn't get up until the afternoon.

The Marriott County Hall was next to the London Eye, and only across the bridge from Big Ben and the houses of Parliament.

On my first night out, I walked up and down the Thames river. This is the London Eye, and to the right is the London Aquarium and the Marriott Hotel.

The concierge recommended this restaurant as having traditional British food.

I had half a roast chicken with potatoes, carrots, green beans, stuffing and sage sauce.

My hotel was just across the Westminster Bridge from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

I love Bus tours. I like them because you hear commentary on different sites that you might not have known about. Of course I had planned on getting a few pictures of the London (Tower) bridge, but I recommend them to anyone traveling.

Cleopatra's needle was under construction. The two sphinx statues are supposed to face away as guards, but they were improperly placed and have never been corrected.

This is not my photo. I took a picture of the Tower of London, but it wasn't very good. If I had had more time in London, I would've really loved to spend some time in here. The tour guide recommended dedicating a whole half day to this site alone.

Fountain outside Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace.

The fountain was still running even though most of the water was frozen over.

Inside Harrods, one of the largest department stores in the world.

Also inside Harrods. They had all kinds of food inside including Sushi, Chinese, Indian, French etc.

Something I didn't expect, Krispy Creme is all over London. Every grocery store had a little spot for Krispy Creme doughnuts. This shop is inside Harrods.

Big Ben by day.

Big Ben and the houses of Parliament.

I couldn't leave London without taking photos of the telephone booths and a double decker bus!

Almost there. . .

Okay, for those of you who haven't forgotten about my blog (I obviously had) I am sorry for not posting in so long!! I went back to the states for two weeks for Christmas, my brother's wedding and New Years. After leaving the states, I took a 3 day detour to London.

To my family and friends, I apologize for not calling once I got to London. Internet usage (which I use to make phone calls) was 15 British pounds for 24 hours. Fifteen pounds = 30 dollars. I hope this helps you understand my silence!

I will post a London blog soon (hopefully). I am working on some bugs in my computer's picture viewer program. It's not letting me rotate pics. . and I'm sure seeing all my pics sideways would not be pleasant.

Blog coming soon. . .