Last Updated on December 17, 2018 by Cat Rogliano
The fabulous life of Sydney started off on Tuesday with my last day of work (woop woop!) That night we had dinner with my dad’s side of the family to celebrate Happy Birthday Grandma, Welcome Home Sam, Have a Good Big Move Anna, and Bon Voyage Sydney.
Wednesday was a whirlwind of doing laundry, emptying bank accounts, and PROCRASTINATION! That night my mom’s side of the family as well as our neighbors came over for Lebanese food for my final meal in the U.S. Finally at 10 p.m. my mom and I started to pack and we managed to get everything I needed in my suitcase without having a reality check or going over on weight. And to finish off a crazy day- a good night sleep in my huge bed.
Finally Thursday! The morning went super fast got the full MSP treatment with valet parking than went through security only to get stopped because no one told me (MOM) that she put Miralax in my overly huge carry-on backpack. Once I found my gate at O’Hare I had just enough time to grab a sandwich and than we were boarding the LONGEST FLIGHT OF MY LIFE! Besides from sleeping for 5 minutes every half hour it went fast and I was finally an INTERNATIONAL TRAVELER!
London in 1 word: LOVE
The city is so beautiful, the old architecture and history tied into each building conveys its own story! My plane got in at 8 o’clock that morning so jet leg was horrible! I met up with the rest of the group outside of baggage claim and once we arrived at the hotel we all went upstairs to our rooms for naps! I went for a walk with the boys ( there are only 2 doing the intensive part) around Chelsea (did I mention that our hotel was on the CHELSEA FUTBOL PROPERTY!)
Saturday:
Wake up call at 7 am so that we would be showered, dressed, and fed by the time our tour bus got to the hotel at 9. We went all over London seeing Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliment, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral ( where a wedding was taking place) and the London Eye. Once the tour ended at noon we had the rest of the day to ourselves so we wandered the streets of London and the Science Museum for a few hours, ending up back at the hotel for a short nap before making our reservation at the London Eye. But of course whenever there is a time limit, we get on the wrong bus and end up in Soho. After an hour we made it and they let us on to view London at roughly 9 pm. The city was beautiful with all the lights blazing.
We headed to Gatwick Airport in the am for our 6:45 flight to Malaga. This went smoothly other than getting lost finding our gate and a lot of crying babies! ]
Once in Granada we met our host families! My roommate, India, and I are living with Pilar and Marcos, a Grandpa and Grandma and they are adorable. Pilar is such a hip little Spanish woman who changed as soon as we got home to match her husband in lime green! Once at the house we unpacked, ate lunch, and took a tour of our new home for the next 4 months! Its quaint and cute! Thenwe had a walking tour of Granada by our lovely AIFS staff and bedtime because I am beat and need to regain the sleep I lost with jet leg and no sleep last night- otherwise tomorrow WILL NOT BE PRETTY!!
Night!
SYDNEY
I promise that next week’s post will have pictures!
