They all went to Heaven in a little rowboat, clap hands...

I've been really obsessed with rediscovering Tom Waits lately. Not sure what spurred this, aside from a conversation with a friend in Leicester a couple of weeks ago but now I can't remember why he was brought up in the first place!

So anyway, it's been a while since I've posted, and I have saved up lots and lots to show and tell. It's been a hectic, frantic and happy month, with super fun excursions to England  (London, Manchester and Leicester) with my flatmate Elisabeth and our friend Lisa, and of course some time in good ol' Berlin.

I started off my England travels in Berlin with a new/old acquaintance... Kerry Maeve, whom I met many years ago in Buffalo (just once!) and am now proud to call a friend. Kerry graciously hosted me the night before my flight to London out of Berlin while she was hosting another friend, and then had me back again for almost a solid week (I must be a good houseguest!) when I returned from "the insel." Berlin was as it generally is; awesome. Aside from yummy home cooking, street-art photography missions and visiting the Hamburger Bahnhof art gallery, there were the customary late nights out and late sleep-ins. There was dancing until dawn, and cabbing around to random clubs with DJ friends. Basically living the rockstar lifestyle.

Some great street art in Berlin

The Spree... near Ostbahnhof

Speaking of rockstar lifestyle, England held a bit of that for us as well. Our nights out in Manchester were nothing less than epic dance-a-thons and meeting and dancing with cool new people (even though those new people tended to be tiny babies like 19-20 years old...) My flatmate Elli's bestie Ellen hosted us and showed us the sights, and brought us out to clubs with names like "5th Ave" and "42nd Street," where we danced really late into the night to sometimes good/sometimes bad "indie dance music."

Manc

Angela's Ashes?

Manchester has a ferris wheel too!

Oxford Road

After a few days in Manchester being well looked after by Ellen, we headed down to Leicester on the train. English countryside is infinitely beautiful. Someday I hope to spend some time in a little English hamlet.

England from the window of a speeding train. Sheeps!

In Leicester I was introduced to some really cool Rockstars (with a capital R) who play in a band called I Am In Love. They let us crash for two super fun nights and I'm really glad to have met them. They'll be playing in Germany too, so we'll all meet again soon!

Leicester

Propaganda Party, Leicester

Propaganda Party, Leicester

After a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in Leicester, we were headed once again to my Favorite City on Earth so far; LONDON. We only had one full day there, which we spent gamboling about Brick Lane and Camden. I know in my bones I belong in London, for some amount of time, even if it's only a few months, or maybe a year. I just know I have to live there. It'll happen. 

Mind the gap between the train and the platform.

mmmmmm

Wazzup leather shorts?

Street art in London by an artist I saw work by in Manchester as well.

Leaving London turned out to be a bit of a fiasco. My flight left later than Ellie and Lisa's, and from a different airport. I had to take a bus there, and that bus decided it should be about an hour late. Which afforded me almost zero time to make the flight. I considered not even taking that bus, and just bumming around in London for a few more days. But that would have meant having to buy a new plane and bus ticket, which I didn't presume I could really afford. Since I already had the bus ticket, I decided to take the bus (however late) to Stansted and see if I made the flight. Another VERY NEAR miss, but after running through the airport at what for me were breakneck speeds, and clutching at least 10 Kilos of crap in my bag, I managed to catch the plane by (literally) 2 minutes. Swear to God. Two minutes. And I was off to Berlin. 

Next adventure: Italy with my mom! She flies on Friday, and Annika and I head to Berlin Friday to pick her up when she arrives Saturday morning. It's going to be a blast!!!