Sunshine and lollipops (no more rainbows for now, please... I'm tired of the rain)

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. It has been 3 weeks since my last blog entry.

Last time I wrote, I spoke of my loneliness in London and my plans to do something about it. Do something, I have. My social calendar has been downright packed ever since! The changing weather has helped a lot too. I think the dreary London winters really encourage people to crawl into their holes, but as soon as the sun comes out, they all crawl out again in droves. Literally. Anyway, the combination of sun and socializing have gone far toward improving my mood.

And so has... being in Hawaii! I arrived here on the island of Oahu a couple of evenings ago. It's remarkable how very different it is from London and yet how very at home I feel. We're staying in an incredible beach house in Lanikai/Kailua. And yesterday, in fulfillment of the main purpose for my trip, my dad and his wife had their ring blessing here. It was fun and lighthearted and I met dozens of new people.


Isn't it beautiful? That's the view from our back yard!

Other than that, I haven't been up to much yet. After encountering at least 40-50 Man o' Wars on the beach yesterday, I wasn't brave enough to get in the water.

I have quite a few exciting plans for the rest of this trip, though. Swimming with wild dolphins and turtles, surfing, parasailing... the list goes on! I can't wait. But until then... aloha!

Alone... hopefully not for long

I was warned before I came over here that London could be very isolating. I didn't mind that at first; I had my fellow Canadian teachers, my dance friends, and my new boyfriend to keep me company. I actually quite liked being able to disappear into anonymity whenever I wanted to.

But then a series of things happened: I stopped going dancing, I stopped hanging out with my new friends, I switched to a bigger school where the staff barely talk to one other, and my boyfriend moved to India. Now, I am quite thoroughly alone, and London's anonymity is no longer a positive trait.

The past few days have been stressful and I've realized more than ever how much I miss having friends I can hug or even just talk to. I miss my social network in Ottawa and I regret neglecting my social network here.

But it does no good for me to just moan about it. It's time to take action and start rekindling and building new friendships. People of London, I want to spend time with you! This is such a great city, and there's no excuse for me not to be rocking it out.

It starts today with a trip to Portobello Market.

Looking on the bright side

Today has been pretty rough, but at least I have....


... to look forward to in T - 20 days.

Honey, I'm home!

Ok, so I've been home for 4.5 days now, but I spent all of that time working and recovering from my trip. Now it's a 3 day weekend and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

Let me just say... Madrid is amazing. It is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. Since I had no map, guidebook, or clue, I decided to bite the bullet and start my trip with an unusual-for-me indulgence: a double-decker bus tour. Worth every euro.






We even went past the Museo del Jamon (Museum of Ham) and an elephant standing on its trunk.


None of the elephants I saw in India (limited to cartoony statues at the train stations) were anywhere near this cool.

After a few hours of bus riding, I capped off the day with a stroll through the Botanical Gardens...


... and some yummy gelato in a plaza. Essential to any European holiday.

At the end of it all, I was just as wiped as I am after writing this entry. And so, mis amigos, the rest of my trip will have to wait to be documented another day.