In May I ended up booking three weekend trips in a row for June/July! I originally thought I would be done editing my thesis and would only have my internship to worry about...of course I was wrong considering my tendency to procrastinate. Besides the constant worry in the back of my head of "however will I get things done in time", I had a wonderful time in all of these cities. As I had been to all of them at least two times, I did not have to be the tourist, therefore relax, wander and enjoy.
Barcelona
I had the pleasure of having Cleo and Liza join me for yet another little European trip. Unfortunately I did have lots of experiments to run, but it worked out that the computer was malfunctioning and devices not working properly giving me a bit more time to spend with them! We had wanted to go to a warm European city and had decided on Barcelona! Booking an awesome apartment with a terrace via AirBNB, we stayed in El Raval, a few blocks a way from La Rambla and the famous Boqueria market.
As you most likely have heard or seen photos of, Barcelona is home to the La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi and still in construction. This church is one of my top favorite buildings of all time (and probably everyone else who has seen it). As I had seen it December 2011, there weren't quite as many changes like in 2008, but the towers were a bit bigger, some more work was being done on the Passion facade and there were more stained glass windows put in.
While Cleo and Liza went to see more of Gaudi's work, I did a day trip to Montserrat (mountains outside of Barcelona) and Sitges (village on the coast) with a group recommended by a Dutch acquaintance. I had a lovely hike in Montserrat with a gorgeous view and then a nice swim in the Mediterranean at Sitges. That night Cleo, Liza and I went to Razzmatazz (finally, three times a charm!) - this a popular club with several rooms of mainly club/dance music and sometimes experimental. We were having a nice time, but sadly the gypsies came and spirited Cleo's phone away to Morocco.
This particular weekend we went happened to also be the same time as the Festival of Saint Joan, which celebrates the start of summer with lots of parties and fireworks! It seems like all the young people descend to the beach at Barceloneta in droves, so we joined of course. We walked up the beach while dancing, drinking and enjoying all the festivities...I particularly enjoyed Cleo's and Liza's reactions to all the fireworks (this would never happen in American cities) and to be fair, I was also a bit startled during New Year's in the Netherlands with the fireworks going off in all directions.
We also made another fish dinner like we did in Bodrum, Turkey last year by going to the local market picking up a fish and other produce and putting together a nice dinner. The fish is always quite good thanks to Cleo and Liza - that is something I still need to learn.
Well
Cleo and Liza both came back with me to Utrecht, they got to see where I live and work, we slept in my room like a pack of sardines (still comfortable),
biked to a nice pancake house outside of the city and got them hooked on Agricola (awesome board game...you should all play)!
Rome
Cleo and Liza left on a Thursday morning and the following evening I left for Rome to eventually meet up with a college friend of mine. Upon checking into the Yellow Hostel, I was told that I was randomly selected for one night's free stay and then given a free shot of limoncello - what a greeting!
Saturday I went to the coastal town of Sperlonga, an ancient Roman resort that has some of the nicest beaches a day trip out of Rome. The lunch I had right on the beach was honestly one of the best - a huge plate full of spaghetti, mussels and clams along with some house white wine, yummy! The water was of course wonderful and it was relaxing to be a town with few tourists and mostly locals.
That evening I met up with my friend, Pisei, and her boyfriend and wandered around the old town and naturally eating some gelato. On Sunday went again to the old town for gelato and then Trastavere, had some 7€ orange juice (still refreshing) then on to the Catacombs of St Callixtus right off of Appian Way (the old road that led to Rome). These catacombs were pretty cool to see as I hadn't had a chance to see them earlier. This particular set occupies 15 hectacres, is almost 20 km long, was where 16 popes and 50 martyrs were buried among many other Christians mostly from the 2nd to 4th centuries. After the catacombs tour we went back to Trastavere and had pizza for dinner followed by yet more gelato!
It was really nice to catch up with Pisei as the last time I saw her was in Paris as well as to enjoy good Italian food and sun!
London
Again left Friday evening for the weekend. The main reason of going to London was to see the Mumford & Sons concert at the new Olympic Park that Saturday. Friday night I planned to meet up with some Australian friends I met on my ski trip to Austria. To kill some time I wandered around Covent Garden and discovered that it was the opening day for Shake Shack. And as I hadn't had a decent hamburger in a good time I figured...well this 1 hour line doesn't look too bad. While standing and waiting, ended up talking with a brother and sister behind me as well as the owner of Shake Shack. The hamburger, custard and ginger beer (imported from Louisiana) were definitely worth it and I left fully satisfied that more people would be exposed to what a burger should be like! In the Netherlands I just make them from scratch otherwise it is not up to my standards, therefore inedible :P
That night I was able to catch up with my friends, James and Mez, and see how they have been doing in London or where they have been traveling to within Europe. Both are on Youth Mobility Visas, which allows one to stay and work in the UK for up to 2 years. Often people use the visa as a way to thorough explore Europe in addition to not breaking your bank account and working in between trips. As I have a Canadian citizenship, I could also apply for this visa after my masters - the only catch is I must apply from within Canada, bummer! At least I know it can be a good backup option if I find a company I can work for in the UK, but it is easier to get the Youth Mobility Visa vs getting a visa through them.
Saturday I spent the morning walking along the banks of the Thames River and stopping off at the Borough Market before heading off to the concert at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The park is yet to be officially opened, but they have been holding musical events throughout the summer and has plenty of space in order to do so. This particular event was headlined and set up by Mumford & Sons, who handpicked bands from the US and UK that they wanted to play with in their "Gentleman of the Road" 2013 concert series. The bands playing that day (in order) were Bear's Den (UK), Haim (3 awesome girls from LA), Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (very chill, laidback 11 person band from the US), Ben Howard, Vampire Weekend (from NYC and hadn't seen since a free 2007 concert in Central Park), and lastly Mumford & Sons.
Really all the lineup was amazing, as the day progressed the music and atmosphere just got better and better and made me want to dance all the more. Two sisters sitting next to me were also in the dancing mood so we had a good time together having ciders, singing at the top of our lungs and just dancing for the shear joy of it. As the weather in London was also splendid (warm and not a cloud in the sky) on top of excellent music...I'd say it will be hard to top a concert like this. I shall have to make a note of going to more Mumford & Sons concerts in the future because of the good mood I was in for many days following...and in all honesty relaxed me so much that I was able to really sit down and want to finish my thesis.
That night I still had the energy to go out to a club with James and his friends and dance until 3 am! Naturally I slept very well that night :) I met up with my dad's cousin, Susannah, in Chiswick (west London by Heathrow) and had a nice lunch on the banks of the Thames. Was able to see firsthand how far-reaching the tides affect the Thames! Afterwards, headed back into London to see my Welsh friend, Kathryn, who just arrived into town for some job interviews (fingers crossed!). We caught up and also ate at a Jamie Oliver restaurant (UK chief that I only really heard of this past year, but has some really nice recipes!) before I left for Utrecht via Heathrow.
So how is that for a whirlwind of weekend trips? Kept me sane after so many weekends of not traveling and internship/thesis work, which had made me restless and unproductive!
Next post should be up about my summer vacation to California, British Columbia and New Jersey (Preview: activities include riding a dolphin at Seaworld, sea kayaking or going to a music festival in the middle of nowhere).
I was able to obtain a visa to stay in the Netherlands for up to another year while I determined my next step. While waiting, I made a trip back to New Jersey as well as attend a good college friend's wedding in the Dominican Republic. This was a lot of fun as I was able to catch up with friends I had made in the Geology bachelor's program. It has be awhile since some of us had been together! You guys have to come to Iceland now :)
Of course I had some big news just in time for Christmas as I was interviewed for a PhD position at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik and was then accepted!! The position came fully funded by the EU for 3 years and is a part of a larger research network within Europe and all I had to do was submit all the visa paperwork and move. Well 3 months later, I was finally able to get on a plane with 4 pieces of luggage and 5 boxes sent via post. While waiting for this process, I was able to hang out with friends in Utrecht for awhile more and also go to the Canary Islands to meet the people in my Europe research network, CO2-React.
So come mid-March, landed in Iceland for the first time; I seem to like to move to new countries without knowing much about them beforehand. Luckily I found a splendid apartment near downtown Reykjavik with roommates that turned out not to be creeps, plus the graduate students at the university are a very welcoming supportive crowd! Therefore it goes without saying, that the transition to Iceland was not very tough (of course some normal Icelandic paperwork hassle) and I was able to purchase a car, find a bike in addition to making some lovely friends! 
