During the past few weeks, I have been dedicating myself to the true purpose of this trip: learning and exploring<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Saturday, November 26th was quite the eventful day. I woke up and headed out to one of my favorite places so far: London\u2019s famous Portobello Market. The market takes up over ten blocks in the Notting Hill area and it hosts an eclectic mix of smells, colors, tastes, and sounds. I arrived and was instantly mesmerized by all of the cheap yet beautiful and unique clothes sold by the Street vendors. After making a few purchases, I made my way to the food \u00e1rea and indulged in the variety. Vendors sold delicious foods from a variety of countries; there was Ethiopian, Mexican, Lebanese, Jamaican, Spanish, and much more. I felt genuinely happy to look around and see dozens of happy people selling and enjoying different kinds of food. I made my way through the rest of the market, following the cheerful sounds of reggae music played by the vendors. I then admired the beautiful pastel-colored houses of Notting Hill and enjoyed the rest of my afternoon. This market was a key part of my time in London.<\/p>\n
The next day, I went to Brixton. This place also caught my attention in the best of ways. As soon as I exited the tuve station, I was met by a bustling street. Everyone was hurrying to and fro; it was shocking yet fascinating. I bought some flowers and made my way to what I had gone to see: the David Bowie tribute. Chills rushed through my body as I read the hundreds of heartfelt messages people from all over the globe left behind. I paid my respects to the legend and felt thankful to be able to see the shrine made in his honor, as he is one of my favorite artists. I continued my journey through Brixton by walking down Electric Avenue. Here, I went down a Street filled with tens of Caribbean markets selling everything from produce to hair products. The mood was hectic but happy. I found a Colombian restaurant in a dark alley and treated myself to some of my home country\u2019s food. This was the highlight of my day because I was growing increasingly homesick and I missed my mother\u2019s traditional Colombian cooking more than ever. After falling in love with Brixton, I made my way home.<\/p>\n
The week following my exciting weekend was smooth and uneventful. I went to classes and to my internship; furthering my learning experience in the city.<\/p>\n
One exciting weekend was followed by another. As Friday rolled around, I grabbed my suitcase and headed for Amsterdam. This solo journey was life-changing. I arrived in the city and made my way to my hostel. After resting for a bit, I got down to business. I rented a bicycle and set out to explore this beautiful place. I rode round for about an hour, making my way down a few canals, some shopping streets, and more. As I tried to make my way back to the hostel, I realized that I was lost. It took me two hours to find my way back and I woke up feeling the worst soreness in my legs but I embraced this as part of the journey and got ready for more. I went to see the Banksy and Warhol exhibit at the Moco museum and was blown away. Bansky is one of my favorite artists and I had to pinch myself while I was there, as it felt unreal to be seeing his eye-opening and beautiful Works in person. After the museum, I went to Amsterdam\u2019s famous Central Station and was blown away by its magesty. From there, I embarked on a Canal tour of the city. This gave me a great view of the city\u2019s present and its past. I grew increasingly awe-struck as we navigated through old but beautiful architecture. I finalized my day eating Amsterdam\u2019s famous pancakes with nutella. Everything was perfect. On the last day of my trip, I had the privilege of going to the Van Gogh Museum. Although I had to stand in a long line and the temperature was mercilessly cold, everything was worth it once I went inside. Seeing such beautiful works was both humbling and inspiring. After this, I walked around a few other museums and then sadly made my way to the airport. This trip helped me not only learn about a new place but also about myself and I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to go there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During the past few weeks, I have been dedicating myself to the true purpose of this trip: learning and exploring Saturday, November 26th was quite the eventful day. I woke up and headed out to one of my favorite places so far: London\u2019s famous Portobello Market. The market takes up over ten blocks in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":505,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-capa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/505"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15567,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7270\/revisions\/15567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}