London Town, with a dash of Ireland

Check out latest pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2263312&id=5507730&l=7f6a6

I'm baffled. I simply don't know where time goes in Europe! Today is the second day of March and already, I've been living in London for 2 months exactly. I've reached the point where I'm no longer awaiting the feeling of comfort, as I do feel at home now. However, I'm soon reaching the point when everything I do will come with the thought "I'd better enjoy this 100% as this might be my last chance to do it!". I'm not a pessimist, but I do have a turbulent love/hate relationship with time.

As my friend Judd put it, my lack of unresponsiveness in the blogosphere has certainly not been due to lack of adventures. Again, no time! But let me make a quick list of the highlights of the last month:

1. I went to two musicals at the West End (the London Broadway equivalent), jamming to the MJ tunes of Thriller Live (yes, there's a musical about Michael Jackson) and the kid-friendly Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (not bad, not my favorite)

2. Went to the Absolut Ice Bar, a bar made completely of ice! My friend Jessica who was in town and I were fitted with thick cloaks and gloves and sat on seats made of ice, got our drinks over a bar made of ice and drank our vodkas out of ice glasses...needless to say we were only allowed to stay in intervals of 45 mins, but after 20, we were ready for a hot cup of chocolate by a fire to dethaw our frozen bums!

3. My friend Richie took me to Notting Hill to experience the Portobello Road market like a true Londoner, drinking a pint at noon in a little side pub, buying some olives and fudge in one of the little tents, perusing antique tea sets and finishing the day with some spiced mulled wine. Simply delightful!

4. I went to Ireland for the first time! It was fantastic really. I met up with two very close family friends from Mexico and we spent the weekend playing tourists around Dublin, hopping on and hopping off the typical double-decker tourist buses. At night we went to a dinner show and ate fantastic Irish food (basically a lot of meat and potatoes), downed a Guinness and listened and watched live Irish music and dance (a la Lord of the Dance- amazing!). On my last day there I went solo on a tour of Ireland's countryside, famous for being the backdrop of various famous films (or "filims" as our Irish tour guide called them) like P.S. I Love You, Bravehart, Excalibur, and Ballykissangel (a show on the BBC apparently, beats me...). The countryside was truly breathtaking and I met a kind man from Los Angeles who was also touring solo and we became each other's photographers throughout the journey.

Future highlights:
Heading to the States for 2 weeks! I'll be back in the homeland for a work conference and training starting March 13-29. Will try to give some of you a call while I'm there! Love to all!