#iconic stunning she ate etc

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+ A L P H A +

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Don't Worry Darling Review!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OKAY SO right off the bat, amazing cinematography and the score and soundtrack are incredible like seriously two of the best parts of the movie hands down. The visuals and aesthetic were just fucking stunning I'm obsessed and Palm Springs was truly the perfect place to have filmed it in.

The fucking costumes!!!!!!! Oh my god it deserves awards honestly they were so good and just added to the whole aesthetic and vibe of the movie 10/10. Harry in suits will always be sexy I fear.

Harry my beloved.........he acted his fucking ass offffff!!!! Like obviously I'm gonna think he's amazing no matter what but he truly did such an amazing job he played to extremes of his character and delivered what was needed every time. Like I was very aware for the first half that I was watching Harry Styles up there on the screen but the second half of that movie.....just wow.

Chris pine…..he was absolutely perfect for Frank. Everytime he spoke I got chills and was honestly so fascinated and interested to see what he was gonna say next like he was so believable I'd join a cult or something if he was the leader tbh. Him and Gemma together….wow stunning 10/10 Gemma was fucking incredible. I wish she had a bigger role but every scene and line she fucking DELIVEREDDDDD. And I was just in awe of her beauty everytime she was on screen.

Florence ate of course. The iconic frown/pout came out many times which always serves. She truly gave the performance of a lifetime (sorry syd stole your quote but it's true) like you felt so bad for her and was rooting for her the whole time and again especially the second half. Random but her hair looked incredible the whole time.

Like her or not but Olivia is a good actress and director. Her character was fucking hilarious and so good, and a lot of the times the comedic relief tbh, and the perfect counterpart to Alice .This movie isn't perfect as pretty much all aren't but it was so good it kept me on the edge of my seat and even though I had a general idea of what happened there was still so many parts I physically gasped out loud, covered my hand over my mouth and was just fucking shook.

Kiki was amazing wish she had been in it more she is so stunning I couldn't look away, she was incredible.

Nick Kroll im in love with you.......he was also hilarious him and the perfect husband to olivia's character and I wish he was in it more as well.

Asif also fucking hilarious and yet again wish he had been in it more but every scene he had was so funny lmfao this movie was way funnier than I thought it was gonna be. It was a good mix.

I'll put my closing statement here for those who don't want to scroll to the spoilers BUT overall I really fucking loved it. As a psychological thriller, horror and just movie fan this movie delivered exactly what I wanted and more. I knew I would like it either way but truly so relieved like I actually genuinely loved it and was so entertained and on edge the whole two hours.

AND HARRY WAS FUCKING RIGHT IT'S A MOVIE THAT FEELS LIKE A MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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THIS PART CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT DO NOT READ!!!!!!!!!!!

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Harry.............he was literally a whole husband like i believe all the little things he did is shit he does irl and i want to DIEEEEEE

THE FUCKING FIRST CAR SCENE WITH HIM AND FLORENCE….HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!!! THAT WAS THE MOST PAINFUL PART FOR ME BY FARRRRR HE WAS SOOOOO FUCKING CUTE AND SUCH A HUSBANDDDDD OH IM DEVASTATEDHFDJHJIK

The scene where alive and bunny are talking to frank and shelleys kids was so fucking funny like the okay bye bye! and the 'they probably sleep upside down' KILLED ME NFJBHUJDJK

The fucking......Bath scene……my fucking god the thoughts running through my head when he ever said 'lets have a baby, I want more of you, a little you' etc......I WAS SHAKINGGJNGJK!??!?!?!?

The party and tap scene was so fucking iconic like harry was tapping his ass off!!!! tap dancing king!!!

THE CAR SCENE WHEN HARRY'S SCREAMING BROKE MY FUCKING HEART HE ACTED SO WELL some people might think his sorrys and that weren't good but like he's acting like he's upset that shes getting taken away which im sure he is but also hes upset because of what this could mean for him and his job and life etc....the layers im just....I was so impressed with him.

Would love to just know more backstory especially around Jack and Alice like why did jack lose his job how did he get alice looking like that JNFGHUJCI and the song??? did he make that up as he was setting up the simulation or whatever or is that just a song of theirs they sang to each other like???? and also would love to know about bunnys back story especially the kids??? and how she knew the whole time that was crazy I did not see that coming at all!!!

The last like 30 mins of that movie are fucking insane like i was gasping out loud every few minutes i was SHOOK and like......that was not my harry I was blown away obviously he looked not himself at all those scenes were fucking crazy but even when he was jack in that last scene......holy fuck!!!!!! AND I DID NOT SEE WHAT ALICE TO HIM COMING AT ALLLLLLL LIKE OH MY GOD?!?!?!??!

[ithinkilikeit-reactions]

My top 15 Girl Group/Solo songs (2021)

Remember guys, this is just my personal list.  Let me know what yours are! Love sharing music with eachother etc so let’s all just have fun.

TOP 15

1. Next Level - Aespa May 17th 

Might be a bit unexpected, I don’t really talk about Aespa on this blog, HOWEVER. I would be lying if I said, I don’t know all the lyrics and the whole choreography. Pretty sure my mom knows the lyrics, I play it so much. So Aespa ate this up and I think it’s deserving of number 1 for me. Aespa have the power to take sounds that I never in a million years would enjoy and make me enjoy them. 

2. Zombie - Purple Kiss (Hide & Seek) September 8th

I needed this song so bad, you don’t understand. i love intense music but I really needed a break from heavy drops and seriousness. THen Purple Kiss decided to drop the most fun song. I love the colors, the campy music video, Swan’s voice and the choreography. It’s just so fun and it was on repeat for me for a while. Cast pearls before swine and ZzZz are great b-sides off the album. 

3. Unnatural - WJSN (Unnatural) March 31st

I really practice my vocals when listening to this song, trying to match Yeonjung’s range lmao. I love this song so much. The choreography where they point and pat the air next to them is so iconic to me. I adore it so much. Sadly I haven’t checked out the album (shame I know, i will eventually) but it says enough that this song is so high when i haven’t even listened to the album. Stan WJSN for clean skin. 

4. I’m Not Cool - HyunA (I’m Not Cool) January 28th 

HYUNAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Look Hyuna was the first woman in K-pop I ever listened too. I have such a special place in my heart for her. So when she dropped this banger I had it on repeat. The outfits, the drop, the choreo, it radiates Hyuna. She’s weird and fun and everything I wanna be so she dropped this and I was so incredibly happy. I recommend: Good Girl and Party, Feel, Love (Ft. Dawn) on the album. 

5. We Go - Fromis_9 (9 way ticket) May 17th

The most fun girlgroup summer song. The definition of a fun summer song. It reminds me of editing my vacation pictures, it reminds me of driving down to the beach with the windows rolled down. The girls all looked so cute too and the song is so good and upbeat. The concept photos were also amazing and managed to incorporate covid related things without depressing me. Airplane Mode is such a fun song too!

6. First - Everglow (Last Melody) May 25th

Girl groups who dress like they’re in Star Wars, they win. Everglow is the winner winner winner. First has so many things I like about it. THe outfits, the heavy drop, the futuristic vibe, the special effects, THE CHOREOGRAPHY. Everglow truly never disappoint. I listen to this song so much. Don’t ask don’t tell is also a great song. 

7. Alcohol Free - Twice (Taste of Love) June 11th

Fun fact: I didn’t like this song at first and now it’s probably my most listened to Twice song. I thought it sounded like a travel agency commercial and now I love it so much it’s hysterical. All the girls look so incredibly stunning, I love summer concepts on them the most. They always look like they’re glowing. Nayeon really stood out to me in this one though, she looked so beautiful. Aside from that the song is just really fun. Scandal and Conversation are my fav b-sides on the album. 

8. Love so Sweet - Cherry Bullet (Cherry Rush) January 20th 

FNC give these girls a comeback thank you very much. This is the first Cherry Bullet song that grabbed me and pulled me in. I get it stuck in my head soooo much and I think about Remi 24/7. The choreography is so fun, it’s such a lowkey song. I adore. Keep Your Head Up is my favorite b-side on the album and deserving of it’s own album. Stan Cherry Bullet!!!!

9. BEcause - Dreamcatcher (Summer Holiday) july 30th 

BEcause I like Dreamcatcher all of their songs are a hit. This one reminded me of Dreamcatcher debut era a little more than their more recent comebacks and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. Not to mention HANDONG, thank you that is all.... OH, Airplane is my favorite b-side, it’s cute and fresh. 

10. Savage - Aespa (Savage) October 5th 

Aespa, my girls. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Aespa as much as I do, really. I heard about their concept pred-debut and got really concerned but I ended up really, really, really liking them. Their album was phenomonal too. It showed really fun sides to their music. So it’s natural for this one to be on the list too. Aenergy and Yeppi Yeppi are my most listened to b-sides on the album. Yeppi Yeppi really being my favorite. 

11. Queendom - Red Velvet (Queendom) August 16th

Red Velvet finally came back. Alot of people didn’t think it was worth the wait, but I did.I love that they came back with the red concept. I love Queendom so much, it’s such an empowering song. Not to mention they all looked so cute and their outfits were so adorable and the whole little witchy concept was so great. Pose was the best song on the album to me.  

12. Chi Mat Ba Ram - Brave Girls (Summer Queens) June 17th 

We are gonna be summer queens! The title is up for grabs so I’m totally okay with them taking the title. I love songs like this so summery and fun. I’m so glad Brave Girls is getting the recognition they deserve, I really hope it lasts. Pool Party (ft. E-Chan) and Summer By Myself are my favorite songs on the album. Brave Girls man, just love that they’re doing the damn thing. 

13. Odd Eye - Dreamcatcher (Dystopia: Road to Utopia) Januray 26th 

DREAMCATCHER!!!!!!!! Okay Handong coming back was such a blessing. Odd Eye is such a bop and blonde Siyeon was such a serve. Dreamcatcher always serve though, the rock elements in their songs always hit so hard. Odd eye was a great addition to their Dystopia series. Poison Love  is my favorite b-side off the album. 

14. Hwaa - (G)i-dle (I burn) January 11th

One of the first (G)i-dle songs that instantly got me. I think the concept is just so stunning and they all looked beautiful. I think I loved the traditional vibes in this song the most, it just really got me. I adore how Minnie and Miyeon’s voices sounded in this song. I didn’t listen to the album so I can’t recommend b-sides, but check it out regardless.

15. Red Lipstick (ft. Yoonmirae) - Lee Hi (4 Only) September 9th 

Misses Lee Hi returned and dropped this banger. This is my dance in the shower song tbh. Her voice is just unmatched and disco suits her so well. Not to mention Yoonmirae’s great addition in the song, they should collaborate wayyyyy more often. Savior (ft. B.I) and Only  are great songs on the album.

Favorite Debuts

Purple Kiss ‘Ponzona’ March 15th 

They served creepy, vocals and a not intense in your face drop and I loved it. Swan I want your hand in marriage for your vocals in this song. It’s laced with crack. 

Pixy ‘Wings’ February 24th 

They served creepy, vocals and an intense drop with screams in it. Look I love creepy girls and they freak me out so it’s great. All of their releases have been sooooo amazing so far, so I’m curious to see how they’ll continue. 

Rosé ‘Gone’ March 12th 

Controversial but I love Gone soooooo much more than On the Ground. I love her voice and the feeling this song gives me. Not to mention the whole vibes of music video and how pretty she looked. There’s so much raw emotion in it that it qualifies for my favorite solo debut. 

[withabackpackandcamera]

June 29th, 2021

Day 4: A Morning in Husavik and An Afternoon in the Waterfalls of the Northeastern Highlands

Another morning, another late start. Though this time, it was a last minute, unplanned decision because of how tired Cynthia and I were. But once we were up, we quickly got ready, ate some breakfast, and drove back to Husavik where we spent the morning. 

Since my last visit to Husavik, not much had changed in town (as far as I noticed) despite how wildly popular the Netflix original movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was. So as we walked around, we took in the small town scenes and leisurely explored the waterside town of Husavik. We briefly strolled around the harbor under the cloudy skies before stopping to peek inside a souvenir shop on the edge of the harbor.  

There, while looking around the shop, we briefly met Abba (sp?) and her sister who own the shop. Because I was interested in their take on Eurovision and was curious as to how the movie affected the town and businesses in Husavik, I struck up a conversation with Abba to ask her those questions. What was a simple starting question ended up being a nice conversation with an Icelandic local. 

Abba told me how she thought the movie was accurate in a lot of the ways it portrayed things and stereotypes regarding Icelanders and how it was better than she expected. She also talked about the movie shooting, the actors that she saw around town, and the role some of her family members played in the movie and Oscars music video that was filmed here for the song “Husavik”. For example, her granddaughter was picked to be in the children’s choir that accompanied My Marianne (Molly Sanden) in her Oscars performance. And her daughter was picked to be an extra in the film. Abba was so excited talking about her family’s role that I could tell she was very proud of them. After talking for a bit about the movie’s influence on the town, she took me outside and quickly showed me some of the locations that were used in the film, like the building that served as the Jaja Ding Dong Bar, the bus stop where Lars and Sigrit were dropped off after their Eurovision performances, the house where Lars lived, and the harbor area where the children’s choir performed. What a great conversation I had that allowed me to gain local insights and perspectives into Husavik!

After taking a photo of the shop owners and bidding them a farewell and thank you, we continued our stroll through town and checked out the local Eymundsson bookstore and the picturesque and iconic Husavikurkirkja, Husavik’s wooden church. Cynthia, Minh, and I briefly walked inside and around the church before walking back out to meet my parents. 

By this point, people were getting hungry so we decided to eat in Husavik instead of waiting to get back to Akureyri. After briefly scrolling through TripAdvisor and the streets for food options, we decided to stop to eat at Salka, a restaurant located near the harbor and right on the main street running through Husavik. And Salka was a great choice because the food was delicious and the weather outside was fantastic for spacious outdoor dining. We ordered four dishes for the family and the dishes were tiger prawns with risotto and salad, a fried shrimp main course with creole rice and veggies, ling (the fish of the day) served with mash potatoes, rice, and roasted veggies, and a seafood soup starter with shrimp and mussels in a creamy tomato base. The hot food was so flavorful and so delicious! So very good! 

We headed out of town and back home once lunch was over to drop Cynthia off for work. We didn’t stop at home for very long before continuing our day sans Cynthia. The next stop was Aldeyjarfoss, located right off of the F26, one of Iceland’s highland mountain roads that require you to have a 4WD car in order to drive on the road. Aldeyjarfoss was located about a 1h20m drive from Akureyri and getting to the waterfall itself required that we drive on a dirt gravel road for a while before starting the F-road section of the drive. Luckily for us, the drive on the dirt gravel road was as smooth as it could be in our Kia Sportage and we zoomed down the road at a safe 100kph with barely anyone else on the road with us. Eventually, we arrived at the section of the road where I wasn’t quite sure if we’d be able to drive any further given that F26 around this area was supposedly closed based on the government maps online. But not seeing any road closure-specific signs or chains blocking the way, we continued on up the now-rougher mountain road until we reached the Aldeyjarfoss parking lot where one other car was parked.  

The wind was blowing hard and crazily when we exited our car to hike 10-15 minutes down to see the waterfall. Because of the conditions and her knee, my mom stayed in the car and skipped out on the hike down. So my brother, dad, and I hiked down the dirt path toward Aldeyjarfoss. Once I started hiking down, my right heel started acting up again but I dealt with the pain and continued onwards until I got down to the waterfall. My dad didn’t actually make it all the way down and, instead, saw the waterfall from a windy distance before turning back to the car to shelter himself from the dusty gusts.

It took some time for me to get to the waterfall viewing spot but eventually, I made it to Aldeyjarfoss. The views of the waterfall rushing over the edge of the cliff lined with basalt columns was beautiful and extraordinary. However, given the mid-afternoon sun and lighting, the views were less picturesque than I had hoped for. Regardless, it was a stunning sight and worth the trip out after missed opportunities on previous Iceland trips. 

I spent less time than originally expected at Aldeyjarfoss before heading back to the car. With plenty of time and afternoon sunlight left to enjoy, we continued two kilometers further up into the highlands on F26 toward the only other stop we could get to in this specific area (because we finally found the road closure sign chained across the road): the waterfall Hrafnabjargafoss. 

Hrafnabjargafoss was a super cool waterfall located off the main F26 and right after a stretch of very rocky side road. It took some slow, careful driving to get the car safely out to a parkable area of dirt next to the waterfall but eventually we made it. The views of the waterfall were spectacular, grand, and so very different from the ones we got at Aldeyjarfoss. What a hidden gem! My dad, Minh, and I wandered around the waterfall taking photos of the waterfall and each other before we finally headed back to the car to make our way back to Akureyri for an early dinner, a first for this trip. 

We made a short gas and car washing stop on the way back home before finally arriving at the AirBnB, where we got started on cooking our homemade dinner to try and use up as much of our leftover ingredients as possible to avoid having to lug it with us to our next destination on the east coast tomorrow. With all of our leftovers, I was able to concoct a pretty good mi xao (fried egg noodle) dish, which included sausage/ham, scrambled eggs, egg noodles, spinach, bell peppers, onions, and carrots, for the family to enjoy. It was a pretty good meal despite being the result of a simple goal of finishing up leftovers!

After finishing dinner and watching some soccer, we all left home and walked to get ice cream nearby at Ísbúðin Akureyri. The shop was poppin’ with people at 10pm with tons of people lined up for a late night treat. And I could see why with all the options they had in terms of ice cream, soft serve, shakes, and toppings. So many options! I ended up buying a cone of vanilla soft serve topped with oreos and crunch sphere things. And it was really good! Once everyone received their orders and had enjoyed half of their ice creams at the tables outside the shop, we walked briefly around downtown Akureyri before heading back home, with Cynthia and I taking a different path home in order to show Cynthia more of Akureyri. 

By the time Cynthia and I arrived home, the sun was starting to set slowly in the sky but the night was still young. With a potentially beautiful sunset on tap for the evening, Minh and I left the AirBnB to drive north toward the town of Laufas with the goal of finding some random but unique photo opportunities along the way. During our thirty minute drive out of town, we found two photogenic scenes to stop at, the first being a sun-glazed pasture where some horses were wandering around and grazing and the second being a stretch of road lined with lupines with the sun setting in the distance. Despite two stops, it was hard to find the right photo opps on our brief excursion and after an hour or so out and about, we turned back and called it a night, knowing that there would be a long day ahead tomorrow with our trip from Akureyri to Seyðisfjörður. 

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. There are approximately 2500 people who live in Husavik. And even in a small town like Husavik, the people here didn’t get star-struck or bat an eye when celebrities (namely Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams) hit the streets of town to shoot a movie. They just go on living their normal, Icelandic lives on the north shore. 

2. According to the gift shop owner Abba, not much has changed in Husavik (like travel traffic, tourists, restaurants to feed tourists) since the filming and release of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga in 2020. That is mostly because of the way that the pandemic limited international travel to Iceland and Husavik. But something that the film and resulting Oscars nomination performance did bring to town was the start of a new children’s choir, something Husavik didn’t have prior to the Oscars performance and something the kids in town are really excited about! 

3. In Iceland, car washing is important because of the crazy weather conditions that can cake volcanic ash, dust, dirt, etc, onto your car. And you can see the emphasis that is placed on car washing in Iceland when you stop by certain gas stations. Some gas stations provide big free-to-use broom brushes with a hole in the middle of the bristles where water from a water hose flows out of that is used to wash your car! It’s an incredible and ingenious contraption that makes the squeegees of America look primitive and caveman-ish. We should have these broom brushes in Los Angeles for sure! If you saw it and had a dirty car, wouldn’t you want to use it too? Oh, the satisfaction in rinsing off all that crap from your car! 

4. So, how do you know if certain F roads are closed at certain times of the year? Check out www.road.is for the most up-to-date information on road closures and driving conditions. Sometimes, even the maps on there are hard to figure out and you’re not quite sure if things are open or closed based on how things are labeled. Fear not, if an F road is closed and not driveable, there should be chained signs at certain points along the road that block access to those not-yet-driveable sections of F roads (at least, that’s what it looked like on F26). I learned this first hand on the way to Aldeyjarfoss and Hrafnabjargafoss. 

5. Driving can sometimes be kind of crazy in Iceland with two-lane highways and people speeding along the road when they’re in the middle of nowhere. With so many sheep  grazing close to the roads and not necessarily protected behind wired fences, it’s incredible not to see more dead sheep road kill in Iceland! Maybe it’s because we see them from a distance and we expect them and look for them to cross the road all the time. What’s even crazier, though, is that there are way more roadkill birds in Iceland (along our drive, at least) compared to dead sheep or dead any other animal. That’s incredibly weird!

[187days]

Reflections On My Spain Trip

They say that after traveling one should sit with the experience for a bit before writing anything down, so- aside from tweeting about it a couple times- that’s what I’ve done. Now, though, it’s time to write...

I think it was a fantastic trip, overall. For me, it was a chance to return to a country I'd visited when I was in high school, to share my favorite things with my students, and also to see new things with them. For Mr. W, I think it was largely the same. And, for the students, it was just a massive experience. They’re small town kids. Most of them had ever been to foreign countries before, and none of them were really used to traveling in cities. But they all embraced the adventure wholeheartedly; they took in all the opportunities to learn, they tried everything, they spoke in Spanish... I’m very proud of them for that.

We flew into Malaga, a beautiful beach town on the Mediterranean with perfect weather (at least while we were there). It’s a slow-paced place, and we were free to wander around, hang out at the beach, listen to live music, etc... until dinner that evening. That’s when we met our tour guide, Laura, and the other two groups we would be traveling with. Unfortunately, our students didn’t really gel with the others (ours were a little older, more capable of speaking Spanish, and- how do I put this?- markedly less privileged), but they didn’t really mind. And Mr. W and I did get on well with two of the other teachers, which was nice. 

In the morning we traveled from Malaga to Granada to see La Alhambra, which I was super excited about because I’d never seen it before. I think that was one of our students’ favorite sites, too, because it’s so stunning. We had a great tour guide, as well. She was really good at explaining things in an engaging way. Lunch in Granada was also amazing; we were seated on the rooftop of this cool little restaurant that made awesome tortilla espanola (I assume they made awesome everything, but that’s what I ate). 

That evening we headed to Sevilla, which is one of my favorite cities. The other two groups opted to do a river cruise thing after dinner, but we decided to stay on land and have a wander. One of our boys, amusingly, found a Dunkin Donuts and ran in to see if it was any different from the ones here, but otherwise we stayed away from American things. The only bad bit: I discovered that in the summer (I’d only ever been there in the winter), Sevilla is full of horse-drawn carriages. For those of you who haven’t been following along at home, I have a severe allergy to horses (the kind I need an epi pen for), so I had to be pretty ninja in avoiding them. Bless my students for their patience, and for looking out for “los caballos” every time we went somewhere new.

I got really nervous the next day when we went to La Catedral de Sevilla and ALL the carriages were lined up right outside. Buuuut I had an allergy mask, Benadryl, and a guide who convinced the ticket folks to let me cut the line and get inside quickly. So, y’know, I managed. And I got to climb La Giralda again. That’s the old minaret that’s now the cathedral tower. In high school, me and one of my idiot friends actually ran to the top. It was too crowded- and I’m too old- for that this time, but the view was as amazing as I’d remembered it being.

After we climbed down, our group decided that we wanted to get away from the super touristy area around the cathedral (and away from los caballos!), so Laura took us on a search for awesome tapas. She asked random locals on the streets to give directions to their favorite places, and we did our best to hit all of them. The hands down best place, according to our students, was called La Gitana Loca. But there was also this gorgeous restaurant on some random side street- low lighting, artwork everywhere, and a flamenco stage that they let us climb on for pictures- that served us fabulous oxtail stew. That may not sound good, but IT IS. And the waiters were so nice! One of my students said that if we’d been at home, she’d have figured they were being nice to get a good tip, but there is no tipping in Spain, so they were genuinely being that nice to us. I said it’s because good travel manners go along way; we were speaking the language, appreciating the food (and the rest of the culture), behaving politely... All of that is important, and it has a big impact on one’s interactions. 

So that was a great lesson. 

From Sevilla, we travelled to Madrid, with a stop along the way in Cordoba to visit La Mezquita. Cordoba is a fun place to wander around- all narrow streets, white walled buildings, and little shops- and I think we all bought a lot of souvenirs there. I got my oldest nephew a chess set similar to one I’d gotten my brother back in high school; he gave his away to another friend of ours years ago- with my blessing- so I figured it would be a cool thing to get. 

After few hours on the bus- during which Mr. W and I chatted with Laura and our James Bond-y (so our students said) driver, Alfonso- we reached Madrid. This is my favorite city in the world; it’s a treasure trove of history and culture, the site of some of my best high school adventures, the home of my favorite soccer team (Real Madrid)... It’s always going to have part of my heart, you know? 

We arrived during Pride, and there was a metro strike (if you want a fun teaching moment, take kids who have never ridden a subway ever onto a jam-packed one in a foreign country), so it was crowded, chaotic, and totally awesome. The structured tour time was pretty cool; we went to the museums (I loved that way more than Mr. W because I love art and got to geek out about it to our students), the monuments, the palace- and it’s all beautiful. There was one day when we were exhausted because we’d stayed up super late eating junk food and playing games, so that made the pace feel a little rough. No regrets, though. And that night we had a really cool dinner at this place on the outskirts of the city that teaches Spanish cooking- the chefs had the students cook and serve all of us teachers- and we all perked up.

Our free time was the best because, with Pride going on, there were all these cool events everywhere. Our group actually got one whole day free (the other two groups went to Segovia), so went to Santiago Bernabeu so Mr. W and I could get our Real Madrid fix. Then we went into Plaza Mayor, and Mr. W and I found a table where would could sit, drink some tinto, and people watch while the students explored (with boundaries and using the buddy system) on their own. I think we all loved that.

We spent our final day in Toledo, which I only had vague memories of from my high school visit. I don’t know why it didn’t stick with me more because it’s amazing. Nothing else looks quite like the old city. I love, too, that inside the Cathedral’s sacristy there are a bunch of Greco paintings just kind of there. I think the students’ favorite part was the damascene workshop (I think it was Mr. W’s favorite, too, because he could buy knives there). I did remember that from my previous visit; I still have the damascene jewelry I bought back then. I bought some new bracelets, and an icon of La Virgen for my friend who is a priest. Then we had lunch near Puente de San Martin. The restaurant served us lamb and potatoes, and it was delicious. I think that’s my favorite meal. 

I did have some killer gazpacho back in Madrid that night, though, after a final wander around the city. There were mounted police out (there were lots of police in general, but, y’know, I’m not allergic to them if they’re not on horses), so I was a bit twitchy and irritable- and I’m sure I annoyed our students- at first. But we found a concert in Puerto de Acala, we danced, we laughed, and then we had that awesome dinner. So it was a good way to��end our trip.

Wv flew home the next day, and went back to our little lives. I’ll close by saying again how proud I am of our students, and how happy I was that I was able communicate in Spanish myself. I hadn’t studied it since AP class my senior year of high school; the other chaperons had all studied the language in college- and Mr. W is a native speaker- so I was worried about my ability to keep up. It was difficult to follow conversations, at first, but after about half a day I acclimated. I probably said a few things incorrectly, and I know I spoke more slowly than anyone else did, but I did it. Woot.

[toraonice]

Yuri on Ice interview translation - Animage 2017/01 (p20-23)

I was going to post this last week but gave priority to the BD stuff. This will be the final interview from the booklet that came with January Animage! There’s still an interview with Kenji Miyamoto left untranslated, but it will be taken care of by @whiteboxgems​ whenever she has time! I’ll reblog it when it’s around.

This is actually 2 interviews, I’m posting them together because they were one after the other and (main reason) because the second one is very short. A few notes below to better understand the interviews.

The first one is with Yuuichirou Hayashi, the one who created the ending (ED = ending by the way) footage. I have the feeling someone previously posted translations of the captions under the ED screenshots, but I don’t remember where and I’m pretty sure it was just the captions and not the interview parts, so here you have it complete. This one is pretty interesting because he explains in detail how they created the ED, and has some extra information on cut scenes etc. Definitely a must read in my opinion!

The second one is a short interview with Kayoko Ishikawa, the one who did the costume designs. Here you might think: didn’t Chacott design the costumes? I’ll explain. It’s more or less like with Mitsurou Kubo and Tadashi Hiramatsu: Kubo created the original designs for the characters, from scratch, and Hiramatsu transformed them into designs specifically created for animation, therefore with simpler lines, detailed expression sheets and so on. Likewise, Chacott did the original designs for the costumes, from scratch, based on the indications by Yamamoto and Kubo, and then the anime’s costume designer simplified and modified them so that they would be suitable to be animated. (Before actually animating them there’s a further step: the anime’s color designer is going to decide the exact colors, shadows and highlights included, that will be used inside the anime. I translated an interview with the color designer Izumi Hirose some time ago)

I usually don’t add pictures but this time I felt that it would be better to add them as an immediate reference. However, they are just for reference and are not meant to be visually stunning, so please bear with the quality because I just took photos of the magazine with my phone and quickly edited them.

Translation under the cut! (kind of image-heavy)

***If you wish to share this translation please do it by reblogging or posting a link to it*** 
***Re-translating into other languages is ok but please mention that this post is the source***

Yuuichirou Hayashi ED storyboard, direction, key animation “I paid attention to the sensuality”

The faint sensuality and physical beautiy created by fireworks & water.

—The ED of “Yuri on Ice” has been highly praised by the fans too. How did you feel when director Sayo Yamamoto offered you the job?

I was told by MAPPA at quite an early stage that they wanted to ask me to do the ED. Director Yamamoto is known for her stylish animation, and I was sure from the start that it would be a challenge. Before the meeting I was really anxious to know what kind of instructions I would receive. —What instructions did director Yamamoto give you?

She already had a concrete image in her head, and she told me that the concept would be to “show candid shots of the skaters”. Real figure skaters actually use Instagram and other SNS a lot, and often post pictures. She showed me the pictures they posted and we talked about how to make the ED. Director Yamamoto really knows a lot about figure skating, and she explained many things to me from a fan’s point of view (LOL). I could feel her love for figure skating very strongly. I also watch it on TV, but my knowledge is limited to knowing the names of the most famous athletes, therefore it was very interesting information for me. —The fireworks in the beginning are very striking.

First of all I created the storyboard and drew all the candid shots I could think of. Then I decided the order of appearance based on the song and did some adjustments like removing the shots that wouldn’t fit, but I was really torn about the first and last pictures… After all, I wanted it to start with a shot of Yuuri, Victor and Yurio having fun together. Real figure skaters too get along well outside of tournaments and post pictures together with other athletes on the SNS. Still, the time the three of them spent together in Japan is actually very short. Yurio returns to Russia around May, and fireworks are a bit weird for that time of the year, but you know… why not?, I thought (LOL). —Why did you choose fireworks?

When I was thinking about what would be nice to see them doing I thought that, since Hasetsu is on the sea, fireworks could be a good idea. Since the concept is SNS and candid shots the footage would be made by a slideshow of still pictures, therefore we could use the kind of pictures taken with the camera shutter left open to effectively show the traces of light drawn by the fireworks. I paid attention to sensuality, not just in this scene but in the whole ED. I thought that motifs of fireworks and water would be good to represent the beauty of colors and of the trained bodies of figure skaters. —The last shot is also with fireworks, but it only has Yuuri in it.

Actually, before thinking of the three of them playing with fireworks, the first image that popped into my mind was Yuuri dancing alone. The first storyboard also started with a picture of “Ice Castle Hasetsu” seen from the outside. However, there are episodes ending with Ice Castle Hasetsu too, so it would have been boring to have the ED start with that too, and that’s when I thought that it would be interesting to add Victor and Yurio to Yuuri’s solo scene that I had imagined first. Lots of love for the characters! Inside stories about how the candid shots were born.

—The SNS pictures of the skaters are also very realistic. It seems that the fans are curious about what is written in the captions too.

The production team recreated the social media screens very carefully, from the account name to the icons, and we made them slide fast on purpose so that it would be difficult to read the text. After all the ED is meant to show the names of the staff, and we thought that it wouldn’t be nice if some other text caught the viewers’ attention too much (LOL).

—It’s also realistic that the number of “likes” for every character is different. Some characters will enjoy writing long posts, while others like Seung-gil only write one word. I really think that the pictures are successful in representing each character’s personality. —How did you decide the order of appearance of the candid shots?

We didn’t follow this pattern for all of them, but since this show is set in various parts of the world, I decided to pay attention to the time difference. The shots in Europe are set around noon and the ones in Asia from evening to night. The director also said that “they come from different countries and live in different places, so there is a time difference”, therefore I tried to reflect this in the pictures. —What did you have a hard time with?

I was the only member of the staff working on this, so the schedule was quite tight (LOL). I thought about how to make it the most effective while still being something that I would be able to do alone. However, and this is not just regarding “Yuri on Ice”, it’s not like I had a hard time. I’m the type who tends to forget any hardship when it’s over (LOL). —Who is the character that caught your attention the most?

I like Victor. I like that, even though he always acts as he pleases, only thinking about himself and not really the others, he also has a playful side and you can’t hate him. Working on this series I could really feel the love that Mitsurou Kubo-san, director Yamamoto and the rest of the staff have for the characters.They really like everyone. That’s also why I naturally felt that I should express “love” in my work as well. —Are there any shots that you had to cut and never saw the light of day?

There was a shot with Yuuri and Victor eating soba. It’s a dish of Hasetsu and you eat it topped with various kinds of ingredients, but since Yuuri tends to gain weight easily he just ate soba without anything on it. While Victor looked all pleased with his soba full of toppings. Unfortunately, when putting the pictures in order we realized that there were too many and it would become chaotic, so we had to cut it. —Did the way you look at figure skating change after you worked for this series?

It feels much closer than before. I didn’t even know that skaters posted pictures on the SNS. It happened that I started checking them out as a reference, but they were so interesting that before I knew it I’d spent lots of time just doing that… —The show is getting closer to the climax.

I’m happy to see that the show is getting a huge response. I feel that Kubo-san and director Yamamoto’s overflowing love for figure skating and the characters is reaching the viewers. I still don’t know how it ends either, so I’m very curious to see whether Yuuri and Victor will be able to win this tournament. Please watch over their battle until the end!

**Captions**

Fireworks on the beach On Hasetsu’s beach. Yurio is covering his ears because he is not used to Japanese stick fireworks that you hold in your hand. In the beginning he’s cautious, but then he gets carried away and starts waving it around. Maybe he will try to shoot at Yuuri the type of fireworks that you place on the ground (LOL).

Wine is the protagonist? This is a picture uploaded on the SNS by a skater and it’s just the landscape. It’s set in France and it’s meant to show that he is just leisurely drinking wine. It would look a bit too crowded to only put pictures of people, so I added this to have a visual break.

Christophe Giacometti The figure skating season is from autumn to winter, and summer is a time for vacation. In this scene he relaxes at home playing with his cat. This is based on something director Yamamoto said in a meeting: “it would be nice if all the skaters had a pet”, and “Giacometti would have a cat”. When I asked her about Christophe’s image she said “anyway, sexy”, and I spent quite some time wondering how I could express sexiness in your everyday life (LOL).

Phichit Chulanont He’s buying some snacks to eat from Bangkok’s food stands. He likes SNS, and he’s probably looking for new stuff to post and uploading his selfies every day, therefore I thought it would be nice to use a really simple everyday life scene. I drew it so that it would look like it’s conveying “I’m having fun!” and “this is delicious!”.

Seung-gil Lee Together with his pet dog in his house in Korea. The dog is a Siberian husky. At the meeting I was told that Seung-gil isn’t really interested in fashion, so I made his casual clothes very plain and uninteresting. Originally I was planning to show him very loosely idling around at home in a sweat shirt, but I though maybe that was too much (LOL) and I changed it to this version.

Michele Crispino The siblings spending some free time together. They are taking a souvenir photo in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Michele looks like he’s having fun with his beloved sister.

Jean-Jacques Leroy JJ is spending his time off at a high-class hotel in Singapore where celebrities gather. I drew him as someone with a satisfactory real life, as if he’s saying “I’m going to a party” (LOL). He looks like he would always be surrounded by girls, but to be considered toward his fans he’s taking the picture so that you can’t see the girls’ faces. He’s the only one looking at the camera.

Otabek Altin A picture from when he goes back to his country Kazakhstan during his time off. It’s taken on a very long escalator in a station of the subway. I made some research about Kazakhstan sceneries, but I couldn’t find anything that gave me a good idea for a situation with Otabek. When I consulted with the director, she told me about this long escalator.

Guang-Hong Ji The picture is taken in front of a sports center and shows him going to practice with his new bicycle. This is also based on something I heard from the director. She said that one day, when she went to watch a figure skating tournament in a certain country, she spotted one of the skaters going to the arena with their bicycle. I thought it was amusing that it was like he’s just going to play in the neighborhood, and I created this situation.

Yuuri and Victor facing each other on a train Yuuri and Victor coming back from practice. I didn’t really mean it to be a parting picture, but the setting sun coming in from the window and the symmetrical layout give the scene a slightly melancholic and lonely feeling. I wanted to use a vehicle, and for this scene I used as a model a train that is actually running in Kyushu*. I carefully researched the interior too when drawing it. [*translator’s note: It should be the 305 Series train that runs on the Karatsu line, look it up on Wikipedia and you’ll see that the seats are like that]

Yuri Plisetsky A picture of him waiting for the train on his way back from practice, in St. Petersburg in Russia. Since he’s a punk he’s lying on the bench sideways checking his phone (LOL).

Yurio and the lion statue Together with the lion statue in front of a museum in St. Petersburg. Since in Hasetsu Yurio was attracted by an animal T-shirt, I was looking around to see if there was a good place that could be used to show his punkiness. With this lion & lion picture I obtained the effect I was looking for.

Victor Nikiforov This is Victor taking a selfie as he’s going on a drinking spree in Nakasu, a place in Kyushu (LOL). In the anime he was also shown going to eat Nagahama ramen while having Yuuri and Yurio practice “eros” and “agape”, so I wanted to draw a picture in the style “meanwhile, Victor… (LOL).

Sneak shot of Yuuri and Victor Victor arranging Yuuri’s hair when they are trying out costumes at Yuuri’s house. I created this picture aiming for an indirect, subtle sensuality. I guess the sneak shot was probably taken by the 3 skating otaku sisters (LOL).

By the sea 1 It’s after Yurio returned home, so it’s mainly Yuuri and Victor. I aimed for a retro feeling, as if the picture was taken with a camera from the 70s. I used this scene in a moment where the ED song changes to a slow pace. Instead of showing the characters up front, I chose a soft look to give importance to the atmosphere.

By the sea 2 They are getting the salt off their bodies after playing by the sea, the place is Niji no Matsubara in Kyushu. There are actually showers like this on the beach. They have this curious shape because they’re meant to be used by people facing each other. I was told that this scene was originally planned to be used in the show, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible in the end, so I decided to at least use it in the ED.

Yurio full of cats Taken at the training place in Russia. The scene shows Mila having fun covering Yurio in cat plushies. Since Yurio has a cat, it’s common for fans to throw cat plushies in the rink after his performances.

Yuuri and fireworks When I was creating the ED, the first image that came to my mind was Yuuri dancing alone on the beach. He’s already dancing on the ice in the show, so I wanted to make this scene different, more fluid, as if he’s dancing ballet.

Cool! Sexy! Cute! Costume designer Kayoko Ishikawa

What is interesting in designing costumes different than normal clothing

—How did you start working for the costume designs in “Yuri on Ice”?

The first instructions I received from (Sayo) Yamamoto-san concerning the design of skating costumes were to make arms and legs longer than in normal character design and to show muscles (especially on the butt and thighs). I then asked what image Chacott-san had in mind when they designed the costumes, with what image Yamamoto-san wanted to proceed, and I started working. —Could you tell us what was difficult and what was interesting about designing figure skating costumes?

The designs by Chacott-san were just full of interesting elements that you cannot find in normal clothes. While keeping the interesting parts and the overall image, I reconstructed them, simplifying them as much as possible to make them less difficult to animate and adding some extra things. At the beginning I found them hard to understand, but I gradually started having fun designing them. I aimed to make them cool! Cute! Sexy! —Do you have a favorite character?

I was shocked by the gap of Yurio and Otabek*. [*translator’s note: I believe she means the gap between their normal appearance and when they are on the ice] —What clothes would you like Yuuri, Victor and Yurio to wear except for the ones you designed this time?

Yuuri had lots of black and dark outfits, so I would like to see him wear something uselessly flashy, cool and over-the-top. Like bright red bondage…… —Bondage! (LOL) What about Victor and Yurio?

I want Victor to do the macho man costume skit Plushenko looked like he had a lot of fun doing years ago! I’m sure it would be amusing. And I would like Yurio to wear make-up and a black leather jacket like KISS (the band) over a cute coquettish ballerina costume like in the masked ball of the “Phantom of the Opera” (opera ver.). Only Yurio would be able to wear both at the same time. It would be such chaos. —Lastly, please tell us the highlights of the climax!

You will be showered with surprising developments (LOL). And the way it ends is very moving. I hope you will watch it until the end!

**Design point**

Yuuri Katsuki I wanted Yuuri’s costume to be sexy, so I designed it with underwear and bondage in mind.

Victor Nikiforov For Victor I used a stoic and prince-like image. I’m glad the gradation successfully looked nice in the show.

Yuri Plisetsky Yurio’s costume is midway between stoic and neat. It’s designed in the image of feathers and flames.

Phichit Chulanont Phichit’s is a mix of neatness and cool-cuteness.

Christophe Giacometti Chris’ SP was the hardest. Until it was colored I couldn’t understand what the final impression was going to be.

Jean-Jacques Leroy JJ is a crazy character, but his costume is quite conventional.

Otabek Altin I purposely incorporated a certain design in Otabek’s costume. Check it out when it airs in the show!

Leo De La Iglesia I like both the music and costume of Leo’s SP. His image reminds of Michael* and it’s both cool and cute. [*translator’s note: Michael Jackson]

Random note #1: Not sure whether I should be happy or sad that the shower scene was not featured in the anime, as I find it very beautiful how it’s shown in the ED. But I’m sad we couldn’t get to see the soba scene.

Random note #2: I’m sure no one couldn’t care less, but actually one of the pictures of the ED is set in my hometown, lol.

Random note #3: The costume designer seems such an amusing person. I mean, she wants to dress Yuuri in red bondage...! I’ve yet to see that even in fanart, lmao. Someone should draw that, AND Victor in the macho man costume AND Yurio with the ballerina dress + leather jacket and KISS make up (which by the way sounds like something he could’ve used in his exhibition performance considering the song...).

EDIT: Just a note because I’ve seen some extreme interpretation of Yuuri’s SP costume being inspired by underwear and bondage, but please remember that the costume was originally designed by Chacott, and the designer said "Since the song is performed from the point of view of a woman, I designed it with the concept of “a femme fatale who seduces men”.” (you can read the full interview here). In this interview the costume designer means that she took inspiration from how bondage and underwear look to edit the design, she doesn’t mean that within the anime the costume was created based on bondage.

[ericacheeks-blog1]

Mind the Gap

This weekend was one for the girls. Nicole, Jackie, and I decided to explore London and Munich all in three and a half days. Our flight to London was in Terminal 1 this time since we were flying to a country outside of the Schengen Area. The terminal was set up a little differently than Terminal 2 and really every other airport I’ve been to; instead of one big security check in which all passengers, no matter what gate they’re assigned, go through, there were mini security checks located in front of each gate. We weren’t a fan of this system, because we had to empty out our water bottles from dinner in the airport before getting to our gate. 

Like always, I knocked out for the entire flight. Once there we felt like we had things under control with transportation to the hostel, but our train got cancelled last minute. The strange part was that nothing was announced in the station so we were extremely confused and had to ask around. It felt nice being able to ask the locals for help in English.   On our way to the hostel, Nicole spotted a Five Guys and was jumping up and down from excitement. As you can imagine, we were all feeling a little homesick for “American” food. We decided to figure out dinner after dropping our bags off, but once at the hostel there was no one at the reception for a good 20 minutes. A pretty bad first impression of Clink261.   We made our way back to the Five Guys that was only a three minute walk away. Once there, Nicole tugged on the door and it wouldn’t open… It was closed. I still can’t imagine the disappointment Nicole must’ve felt. We were starving at that point and decided to find something nearby. We walked across the street and found a little Mexican grill called Burrito Café. Its concept was very similar to Chipotle’s. Jackie got nachos and I ended up with a burrito bowl that was a bit spicier than I expected. Back at the hostel, the lights were out and everyone in our room was asleep. Jackie, Nicole, and I struggled to make our beds and get ready for bed in the dark, but we all fell asleep pretty quickly. We made a “brunch” reservation at Sketch, which was recommended by my friend back from UT, Nadia. She visited London just the weekend before and gave us some good recommendations. Anyway, I put brunch in quotes because the only available time was at 8 in the morning. Unfortunately we got ready by 8 AM and the trip to Sketch would’ve taken another 15-20 minutes. As a group we decided to leisurely enjoy the complimentary breakfast at the hostel instead. To start off the jam-packed day, we went to King’s Cross station on the hunt for Platform 9 ¾. I think we spent a good half hour taking pictures and browsing the gift shop.

Next on our itinerary was Buckingham Palace, but on the way there we diverged into a London souvenir shop. I bought some great postcards; my favorites being cutouts of Queen Elizabeth’s face and a plate of fish ‘n chips. Jackie forgot to pack underwear so being the good friends we are, Nicole and I pressured her into getting a set of three thongs with the British flag printed on them.

We finally got to Buckingham Palace and the area was extremely crowded because of the changing of the guards. We decided it wasn’t worth the time to stick around for the ceremony and wandered around the area, taking pictures instead. On our way past the main gates, we spotted an Erasmus friend back from Prague, Big Mike. We weren’t absolutely sure it was him, but decided to shout his name, hoping for the best. He turned around and gave all of us hugs. What a small, small world!

Luck was on our side that morning. As we were crossing the street, getting further away from the Palace, a set of guards on horses walked right by us. It was as if we got front row seats! We continued our stroll to Westminster Abbey, where William and Kate got married. The gothic church was absolutely stunning. Soon enough we spotted both Big Ben and the London Eye. 

After taking our solo shots, selfies, and group pictures, we all got hungry and took the tube to get some fish ‘n chips (veggie burger ‘n chips for Jackie) at The Laughing Halibut. They had an assortment of sauces to pair with the meal – ketchup, mayo, tartar sauce, and two different brown sauces. One tasted similar to A1 sauce and the other was vinegary. Right outside the restaurant there was a street filled with mini food venders. The delicious smells wafted towards us and we were tempted to get a second or third meal. Before falling into the trap, we routed the GPS to Camden Market. I’m glad we made time to visit the market. The area was filled with colorful shops and stalls, selling clothes, accessories, paintings, candles, etc.

Nicole found a crepe stand and we couldn’t resist. The crepe was a little more pancakey than we were expecting, but it was a great pick-me-up to get us excited for Abbey Road. Once there though, I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed. It was just a typical two-way street, but with tourists (like ourselves) posing for pictures and almost getting run over by the angry drivers.

Next on our to-do list was Tower Bridge. However, when asking for directions, we ended up asking for London Bridge, which was a big mistake. The difference between the bridges is pretty drastic. Luckily, the older gentleman helping us out told us that we’d be disappointed and bored with the London Bridge within 20 seconds and directed us to the Tower Bridge instead. The teal detailing was a sight to see, but by this point in the day I was losing steam.

We went back to the hostel and sat around the lobby for an hour or so since we already checked out. We were all drained and so were our phone batteries. Eventually we changed into more suitable clothes for the pub-crawl and headed out for dinner. We wanted to give Five Guys another try, but realized there was a Nando’s nearby. Even Nicole was swayed and we all got our fix of chicken and creamy mash. We were on a time crunch for the initial meet up at Piccadilly Circus for the pub-crawl and had to take our dinner to-go. We ate at the train station and of course, I didn’t finish my meal until we were actually on the tube. 

Although we were cutting it close on time, we finally spotted a telephone booth that wasn’t 1) actually being used or 2) obstructed by gates, and we had to snap a few pictures. After all, did you actually go to London if you didn’t take a picture in the red, iconic booths?

The pub-crawl we booked was called the Banana Pub Crawl. They instructed us to look for the guys in banana suits and once we found them, we got our wristbands and welcome drink coupons and headed into the first pub. We met up with our friend from back home, Brittany Thum, and her friends who are all studying in Bath. Nicole, Jackie, and I left the pub-crawl pretty early in order to sneak back into the hostel and get one last shower before heading off to the airport. Our flight to Munich was at 6 in the morning so we decided to sleep in the airport that night. When planning the trip, Nicole and I thought that was such a great idea – you get to skip out on paying for a hostel and you don’t have to travel to the airport super early in the morning! Let me just say that we’re never doing that again… We ended up sleeping on the floor because the airport we were at was really small and all the chairs/benches were taken. There was a chilly draft that kept hitting us, making it even harder to fall asleep. I think we ended up getting a total of 2-3 hours between the three of us… Do not recommend.

To summarize London, I think the team did a fantastic job with the limited time we had, but I’ll have to go back to get the real experience (if anything, for the London Transport Museum haha). Hostel wasn’t the best, but we definitely got our money’s worth by sneaking in that last shower. The food surprised me since I had such low expectations. We are now huge fans of the tube (probably my favorite thing the city has to offer). We hate the Luton airport.