The last three weeks have continued to be extremely busy and exciting. Three weeks ago I flew out to London for a lovely weekend. Before I made it to the UK though, I endured a minor obstacle. Two days before I left Madrid I heard the airline I was flying went bankrupt. Not only was my ticket canceled, but I could not be refunded. So, I immediately had to find another flight. Looking back, it is more comical than frustrating that the airline I was flying went out of business merely two days before I left. Anyways, besides this small difficulty, I made it to London. I learned a great amount about the history and culture of England on this trip. Every museum and attraction I went to (ie The British museum, the wax museum and more) had some sort of lesson on the history of the country or historically famous people. I also got to see the beautiful cathedrals and sights around the center of London like Big Ben. My favorite part, though, was the London Eye. I could see the whole city from the top; it was magical.

The following weekend, Shikha, my high school friend visited. We spent a long weekend exploring Madrid. I learned even more about this fascinating city. We tried new restaurants like a hummus bar, a fondue restaurant, and many more. We also visited the Prado and the Reina Sofia, which both had a lot of interesting Spanish history. I always love the weekends I stay in Madrid and learn even more about the rich culture and past; this time I got to do it with one of my best friends.

Last Thursday, I went with a group of 4 others to Budapest, Hungary. I absolutely loved this trip. The city reminded me a lot of New Orleans' exotic culture. The whole weekend was packed with things to do and see. We began our trip by visiting the parliament and castle. The castle was on a large hill, so you could either hike or take a very large machine type elevator that took you up and down the hill. The top of the hill was a gorgeous small city. Here we visited the labyrinth that Dracula was said to live in. It was frightening, but so enjoyable. Later that day we went to the famous Budapest baths. It was basically a lot of people in a huge hot tub. As pretty as the place was, we didn't stay in very long. The idea of that many people in a huge hot tub freaked us out. For dinner we ended up eating at a nice traditional Hungarian restaurant. I tried Goulash soup and I loved it. I highly recommend it.

On this trip we also did an escape room. Budapest is known for their escape rooms, so we couldn't miss the opportunity to do one. Ours was based around a death in a motel room. We were able to make it out!! We also visited the second largest temple in the world which was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt after. This synagogue was beautiful and had a lot of information on the Holocaust.

My favorite part of Budapest were the chimney cakes. The outside part is basically a churro, so I choose cinnamon flavor. Then on the inside they put a sauce, like jam or Nutella, so clearly I got Nutella. Then they put ice cream and a choice of toppings for the top (see picture). You are not fully living until you try one of these. Another special aspect of Budapest were the bars. Many of the bars and cubs we saw and visited were ancient ruins. They were very different than what I am used to. They had lots of colors and secret rooms with different music in each.

These past weeks have been three of the best weeks of my life. I have learned so much about the cultures, histories, and overall countries through the food, museums, and sights. Stay tuned to hear about Barcelona this weekend!!