Category is: countries starting with the letter S

Well well well…. I know what we are all thinking. Liv! Olivia! What the heck, (wo)man? You left us hanging! And to that, I say yeah :/ soz. I was genuinely busy walking, breathing, and trying not to stress out about everything. Btw it works if you flee the country and force yourself into isolation! Or almost isolation. Since I last posted I’ve gone to Spain and Scotland. Clearly, I’m a little bit behind.

Note: No pictures with this post, but I’ll post a mini photo album of pictures from each country/ city when I have a moment.

Also note: I did not realize that the subscription thing at the bottom of the website doesn’t notify people when I post. Or that’s what my family is telling me? I get emails every time someone puts in their information (thank you to the people that put in their email no less than 10 times to try to remain updated…. appreciated!) I’m not sure how to fix that or how it works and honestly, I feel a bit like I don’t care! If I can’t get it working, maybe just check in every once and a while. Always feels free to text me as well and I can let you know the last time I posted. Plenty of people are doing that anyways.

Back to the regularly scheduled program. I left off in Paris. Nothing extreme happened in my last week. I met up with one of my Chiptole on 29th Street (Colorado Chipotle) friends who happened to be doing a little European tour with his mom. It was nice to see a familiar face! A few days later I packed my bags and headed to the minuscule Charles-de-Gaulle airport. I do not recommend it. After waiting hours in a packed room with three terminals, no AC, and a million bugs that love young American girls in the sweltering heat, I got on the plane and headed to Seville, Spain!

I was excited to go back to Spain (for all of you newbies, I went on a school trip a handful of years ago that pit-stopped for a few nights in Madrid) but there was one major thing I did not fully consider: the heat. I was focused on finding somewhere social, highly recommended, and beautiful. Seville has all of those things! And 110-degree heat every waking moment. Although I was lucky enough to stay in a nice hostel that provided decent AC, I was in a common space with some people that did NOT like the decent AC. I’ll get to that in another post. In terms of the heat, I have learned to deal with it. I still enjoyed Seville but dully note that the south of Spain in mid-July will turn your frizzy hair into FRIZZIER hair.

The hostel had a pool, a bar, and a hell of a happy hour. One euro Sangria. YEAH. danger-mode. It was advertised as a social hostel to meet people, so I spent my entire first day reciting these exact words: “I’m Liv, nice to meet you, from Nebraska/Colorado… yeah I don’t know what Nebraska is either but I went to school near Denver… the Rocky Mountains… oh you’re from Australia?” and things of the sort. Eventually, I landed sitting at a table with about five girls from across the world: the UK, Australia, South Africa, and Germany. I ended up spending the next couple of days surrounded by the girls. All very kind, all very much on a similar solo-travel adventure. Since I was with them, we spent more time together than exploring. The heat was a bit of a hindrance, but I found my way outside near the end of my week.

I walked around the Plaza de España, the Royal Alcázar, and some other popular attractions. Very beautiful, but still very hot. I tried some of the tapas from around the area and frequented a popsicle shop. A seriously delicious popsicle shop. Imagine really solid ice cream with optional chocolate drizzle and cookie crumble coating. Yummy.

By the end of the week, I was more than ready to escape the weather to my ideal weather- in Scotland. This catches us up to my most recent week. I obviously stayed with Grace (and roommates). For some reason, I spent the entire week telling people I was there for two weeks (highly untrue and skewed my perception of time). Since I had already been to Edinburgh and done all of the “rubbish” as Grace’s coworkers would call it, I had all the time in the world to contemplate my existence under an ancient volcano. I even had a designated rock I sat on every day! Yes… every. day. Mostly I read or listened to music and enjoyed the cold air that I’m sure I won’t feel again for months to come. I celebrated my mom’s 52nd (and 3rd heavenly) birthday. Other than that I walked around and met Grace’s friends and pet some dogs.

That brings us to this moment! Right now! As I write this! I have about 45 minutes left on this train that takes me to London. This is where all of the real fun begins. Next week I meet up with some old friends for some fun in Italy, I have some things planned in the Balkans in the coming months, and a bunch more to come. Time is moving fast!

I thought maybe I could drop some media I’ve been indulging in to keep myself busy in case anyone was interested, as well. If anyone has noticed, there is a music box on the home screen of livspassport.com that I update every time I post. I might start including lists like the one below of what I’m liking. We’ll see!

Books:

• Carrie by Stephen King - Good book! I knew the ending, of course, but for being the only English book in France, it could have been much worse.

• Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood - I needed something not demented after King’s work, and Grace gave this recommendation for a lighthearted romance.

Movies:

• Oppenheimer - Of COURSE I was a part of the Barbenheimer weekend. Oppenheimer was first, followed by Barbie (the other way around is seriously not an okay choice imo). To Grace’s surprise, I actually liked the movie a lot! I am a notorious movie theatre hater, but I was wide awake and engaged. Just because I know my criticism of everything is most likely (not) missed, I do have additional thoughts. One, Christopher Nolan is not a spectacular person. Two, this movie is a great example of the erasure of marginalized perspectives! For a movie involving the mass destruction of Japanese people, not a single Japanese cast member. And yes, I hear the argument that the film is not necessarily about the Japanese perspective. To that, I argue that indigenous people should have had some recognition. Los Alamos is indigenous land (as is all of the United States btw) and there was no mention of the mass displacement of people or the effects that the Manhattan Project had on indigenous people. I’ll spare everyone my tangent but do keep in mind that the film is made by a white man for white people. And yes, I know I’m white. Being white is not an excuse for arrogance - allyship and perspective is important!

• Barbie - On a completely different note, also a great movie! For wholly different reasons! I was told that this movie is not recommended for people with Mommy Issues (that’s me!). I do think, however, that disclaimer was meant for people that have a rocky relationship with their mothers… not for girls that do not have mothers. So I was safe! I thought it was a good message, good casting, and Greta Gerwig is brilliant. That’s that.

Music:

• Words I Used - The Backseat Lovers

• Will I See You Again? - Thee Sacred Souls

• Say Yes - Elliott Smith

• However You May - Jacob Slade

• Unknown / Nth - Hozier

Okie dokie. I don’t have a thought to spare and my train stops soon. I’ll try to get my little story about the not-so-nice Italian that hates air conditioning out within the week. Sorry for the delays.

Bye!

Liv