The Last Queen of Scotland

This weekend I fell in love. It was a head over heels, cannot think straight, words are not able to describe kind of love. And the love was completely returned. Who knew Scotland would be the man to steal my heart?

I spent the last few days in Edinburgh, and honestly counting down the days until I get to go back. Everything is beautiful, from the old buildings (most older than America by like, a lot) to the new modern structures.

I went to see the museums and castles but found so much more. My advice on some historical stops would definitely be Edinburgh Castle. The view of the city is great and the place is rich with history. Do the hike up to Arthur’s Seat. I took the hard trail and it kicked my butt. The view, though, is worth every step. On the way done from the peak, I stumbled upon Holyrood Palace, which is the Queen’s residence when she is in Scotland. Definitely worth a tour.

What I wasn't expecting in Edinburgh was the incredible food scene. I can easily say I had some of the best meals of my life. When you go, which I know everyone who reads this will subsequently hop on a train, plane or boat, here are the places you have to check out*:

The Bon Vivant- great cocktails and amazing food. Miran, the manager is the coolest person ever and when I told him I was living in London, gave me list of bars that only the cool kids know. Call me if you want to join my awesome bar crawl taking place next weekend.

El Cartel- amazing tacos and guac. And, being from Southern California, I am a major Mexican food snob. These guys passed my crucial tests with flying colors.

Urban Angel- great brunch and coffee. Everything is homemade, and they offer plenty of healthy options, so I of course ordered the eggs benedict with extra bacon and avocado, and a massive scone with jam on the side. (Hey, I did the hike so it's fine)

The Fourth Floor at Harvey Nichols- Try and get a seat by the window for sunset, the café looks over the city. Again, great cocktails and delicious food. I had an amazing steak that cut like room temp butter.

Nightcap- great bar with imaginative cocktails and great guy running the place. (Hi Robbie!)

Basically, get your butt to Edinburgh. Between the food, shopping, and the historical stuff it will be the best trip ever. If you are there from mid-November on, check out the Christmas markets. There are some great food stalls and unique Scottish crafts. And the mulled wine will get you in the Christmas spirit.

* Huge thank you to Laine for giving me her list of places to go, would not have found any of these otherwise! 

We'll Always Have Paris

There are no words to explain how much I love Paris. But actions might, considering this was my third time in the city this year. This part of the trip I did alone, which may sound intimidating to some, but I believe everyone at some point, especially in their 20s, should go on an adventures by themselves. It is amazing what you observe in the culture around you, and I know it sounds cheesy, but what you learn about yourself in a foreign situation.

I spent four days just walking around the city, eating and partaking in the occasional shopping. This time around I stayed in the Saint Germain area, in the 7th arrondissement. This area is wonderful for it’s shops and restaurants, and you can walk everywhere. If you want one of the best meals of your entire life, go to Relais de I’Entrecote Saint-Germain for steak frites (Shout-out to Olivia for changing my life). The restaurant literally only serves steak frites in a highly secretive sauce that I will one day find out. If you still want steak frites but you are with picky people who do not understand the utter gloriousness of a perfectly cooked steak with a side of fries, try Poulette. They do a very nice steak (minus the incredible secret sauce) and have some of the best chocolate chip cookies. Finally, one of my favorite spots in the whole city is a café I found with my mother back in March called the St. Regis on the Il Saint Louis. On Thursday I sat there for two hours, enjoying a perfectly fluffy omelet, a chocolate croissant, latte and orange juice. Perfection.

For my last two days of break I visited some friends out in the country, in a village called Luzarches, which is near Chantilly.  The countryside is breathtaking and it gave me a break from the city life, which I didn't realize I so desperately needed. Now that I am back in London, I can truly appreciate how crisp the country air was. Coming back to reality was much harder than I thought, especially now that London is living up to is reputation of cold rain and pitch-blackness at 4pm.  

Spanish Days

My major tip for going to Madrid or Barcelona, if you want to explore the touristy places, book in advance. Many of the attractions we wanted to visit, like the Park Guell and the Gondola ride were already filled up. But Madrid and Barcelona are good cities to just walk around. You can walk for hours and still find new stores or restaurants.

In Madrid, definitely go to Rosi la Loca. We had a reservation, but seeing as it is Spain, we waited for about an hour. They made up for this wait in bottomless sangria and bravas. We also visited a club called Kapital that has seven floors of different music. Even though it seemed slightly overrun with tourists, it was honestly so much fun. All the music was great and everyone was having a great time.

We took the train to Barcelona and spent days strolling through the city. There is an incredible beach in Catalonia with bars right along the sand; highly recommend this beach to watch sunsets. For our last night. we had a delicious Italian feast at Il Piccolo Focone, which was a nice break from all the paella. 

I took a pill in Geneva

But actually, I came down with a cold before we left so I loaded up on the cold meds from Waitrose. Airport security was a little hesitant and sent my Sudafed nose spray through the x-ray machine twice for good measure, but after many exaggerated sniffles, they let me go.

But back to Geneva. It was amazing. I went with my three friends from school, who put up with my cough and stuffy nose for a whole four days. Very impressed. The city is so clean and beautiful. We spent some time strolling through the old city and exploring chocolate shops. The chocolate lives up to its reputation. On our last day we went to the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, which has a remarkable collection of art dating back to ancient Egypt. Including a Picasso, which made us feel very cultured.  I also have a new love for the Swiss-German language. It’s almost as beautiful as French. Almost.

We took a day trip to Interlaken and this city looks like a movie set. Even the clouds were a shade of white I’ve only seen in National Geographic. The boys went paragliding, and Lia and I took a tram up into the hills and saw a cute little ski town called Grindenwald, and had fondue overlooking the Swiss Alps. Wow that sounds pretty awesome. Because it was. Even the cows were the happiest looking cows I have ever seen.  Which explains why the ice cream is so delicious, happy cows make happy dairy products, which makes incredible ice cream. 

A day at the V&A

One of my favourite places in London is the courtyard at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The coffee stand makes great lattes and has a delicious choice of baked goods. On a nice day, which there were a surprising amount of in the last few weeks, sitting out there by the reflection pool is a nice slice of quiet in the hectic city. The museum is also remarkable. Their collection of art, sculpture, textiles, etc., is (in my opinion) the best in the world. They also have an incredible costume collection, which is great for us fashion majors. Currently there is an exhibit about the history of lingerie, which was informative and entertaining. And all I have to say, thank God corsets are no longer “the look.”