so being back in london is nice. its a different london than before christmas. francesco has a job which he works everyday from 10 until 6, which leaves me plenty of time to do anything and everything that i want or need to do....(or time to do absolutely nothing at all which happens more than id like to admit). and then by the time he gets off of work we are both ready to do something fun and something together. its nice; no more of this awkward position where we are both not working but not fully on vacation, suspended in a temporary place that neither of us can define. now its only me there...haha. but living like this does make london seem more real on a daily basis instead of just a big city that i MUST explore every day because im on holidays...
i do have a few projects going on....the biggest and scariest of all is the idea of a photography exhibition with some of my pictures from my travels this year. i have been selecting and printing some off, organizing, and stuff. i dont think ill be able to get it together for something i london (since im roughly planning on coming home the beginning/middle of may) but perhaps by the time i get home i can find some small coffee shop willing to display some pictures. any suggestions?
also...ive been to prague and back. my friend maria from university came for a week's vacation, her first time out of the united states! we spent 2 super quick days in london, and then went to prague for 5 days so we could explore a new place together. prague is amazing! the streets are small and made of stone, winding under archways and between buildings. the squares are full of life and surrounded by churches; the churches are inspiring in their grandness, with ionized copper spires/domes on top reaching towards the sun.
we spent two of our days exploring the castle on the hill, imagining dragons and queens living among the stained glass windows and old stones. we walked aimlessly through the neighborhoods surrounding the city center, hoping to find underground art scenes and the perfect chocolate store (maria is a choco-holic). we ate all the pork and cabbage and sour kraut and potato pancakes and bread dumplings that we could handle and we made sure to sample all the czech beer that we found. we listened to jazz in a cave and pretended we were rebelling against the communists. we caught big fat snowflakes with our tongues. we smiled at the czech people we met and they smiled back.
now she is back to new york and i am back in london. on thursday i go to portugal with francesco for a long weekend. then he makes a short trip to italy for an interview at a school close to florence for his phd. if he gets accepted....it means automatic funding and 4 years living in the tuscan countryside....and of course a super good school/supervisors. i am staying in portugal for a few extra days while he does that....i hear its warm enough to go to the beach...and i fully intend to take advantage as much as possible.
eventually i have to book a ticket home.....but its depressing....so im putting it off as long as possible. probably a bad idea.
here are pictures of prague (FIRST and SECOND) there are two links, make sure you see both! hope everyone is well....! and see most of you soon (relatively...whats waiting two months compared to all winter?!)!
