psychicspies

In less than three months – I will be in Zaragoza.

Sleeping, eating, laughing, crying, studying, procrastinating…living. In Zaragoza.

Oh. My. God.

Broughton Castle is so lovely. With numerous other stately country houses around – such as Blenheim – Broughton is often passed over.

Ah well, the tourists’ loss. The whole feel of this Elizabethan-era (or older?) castle is completely different than the very Georgian, very stately showpiece that is Blenheim.

We met the Lord and Lady Saye and Sele before getting to wander around their home. And we decided that we were marrying into the family to get the house. :) Yay for English nobility; yay for silly American-Anglophile-teens !

There is, in fact, a Starbucks in the Forbidden City.

O.o

so i’ve decided that my honeymoon is going to be an amazing silk road adventure. from the heartland of my beautiful china all the way through central asia and up to italy.

camel and/or caravan is the preferred mode of transportation, but not necessary.

and being single, seventeen, and not in the least incline to get married, it is an excellent decision on my part :)

ha. i should get married for the sole purpose of travelling the silk road.

imagine seeing this…in the middle of july

:)

I visited Stonehenge for a school project (yep, it was awesome convincing parents to let me go to england for school!) and it was excellent.

The circle was surreal, reminescent at times of an older Britain, until you look around at the tourists – all holding strange cell-phone-like tour things – and, when i went, getting sprayed by the sprinklers.

:) good times…

Chairman Mao once said, “If you never visit the Great Wall, then you cannot be a good Chinese.” And the tourists – Chinese and foreign – have flocked to the wall since.

I’ve been there twice, both times at Badaling, the MOST touristy part of the wall. You will be in awe no matter where you go, but if you want a super experience, stay away from Badaling. It’s so crowded and so not worth it. Go somewhere remote. Camp on the wall. Underneath the stars. Walk it from end to end. See the ruins of the wall. But avoid Badaling if at all possible.

I once spent three weeks sailing around these beautiful islands. They were my first tropical islands – my devirginizing experience of them, you could say – and nothing can compare. No matter what other tropical beach getaway experiences I’ve had/will have – Puerto Rico, Hawai’i, etc – I’m always comparing it to the BVI. And maybe for nostalgic reasons alone, the BVI wins.

A little overrated, but worth visiting nonetheless.

My favorite parts were the parts with less tourists. Maui was BEAUTIFUL. And the local surfers were so nice (not to mention hot…)

LOVED.

[update later.]