TRX

Posted on Tuesday, 7 October 2014, 22:09 by Alexandra

This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

Today was my first day of working out and I feel awful. Right when the TRX class ended I was sore. I couldn’t lift my arms and my legs transformed into spaghetti like right away. And I guess it is only gonna get worse from here. TRX again on Thursday doesn’t sound so fun right now. But I am gonna be serious about this now, no skipping work out days! And working out is the best medicine for muscle soreness.

My super green and healthy lunch; spinach, cucumber, avocado, grapes and pearl couscous and an egg. I definitely get my share of greens here. My problem (especially now when I am gonna start working out seriously) is protein. I am thinking about buying protein powder and drink shakes. Anyone know a good brand? I’ve hard that the best is the 100% whey protein powder and I found a brand on bodybuilding.com called Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard. It’s 100% whey and according to their site it is the best protein powder 9 years in a row. Half price right now. I should probably try it. Salads are healthy, but I need more.

It was pretty hard going to class after that. I was tired and it hurt, but the class was over pretty fast and I was done 45 minutes early so that was nice. We were learning a GIS-program (Geography Information Systems) called ArcMAP. Thursday is all individual and we have to show the teacher what we learned today. He didn’t call it a test, but it seems like it is. I feel okay about it though. I’m doing pretty well so far. I haven’t gotten any grades in any class yet except for that class (transportation engineering lab), but I am doing good. On the first assignment I got 10/10 and now on the second I got 19/20 on the paper and 8.5/10 on the presentation. He is gonna add all points at the end of the course and that will be the final grade. So far I have an A or A- I think. Not too bad for someone who aims for a C.

This morning we got our second homework, this time in transportation engineering. 8 problems that we need to solve before Tuesday, and the midterm is on Thursday. I solved the first one today, but all the other one were like Greek… I will study with Eric probably Friday. I feel lost. Usually I have some clue of what to do, but this was just weird.

Tomorrow I will stay in bed all day reading ARCH history. I have a lot of catching up to do. And now I will go to bed. Early for once! Which means I can get up early tomorrow and get things done, like calling the DMV office in Sacramento. So looking forward to that.

Pizza and candy

Posted on Friday, 12 September 2014, 0:44 by Alexandra

My last day in Sweden is over. It ended the same way it started in February, with Swedish candy and pizza. First of all, what happened today was that I moved to mom’s and Felix moved to my place. We drove back and fourth twice and on the way back to mom’s she and I did a little grocery shopping so I could have something on the ridiculously long flight tomorrow. I changed my mind in the last second at ICA Maxi and decided to get a bag of candy anyway. I also bought a few bars and Vaniljgifflar (Swedish tiny cinnamon rolls but with vanilla flavor) and knäckebröd. I will get food on the plane, but I wanna make sure that I don’t have to be hungry.
That would suck…
Pretty much right after that mom drove me to Andrea’s place where I, Andrea and Emma had a cozy girls night with wine and pizza. We hung out for three hours, having a great time and then it was time for the goodbye. I will miss those two, that’s for sure!

On the bus home I listened to Maroon 5’s latest album “V”. It is so amazing. I hope there will be a possibility to charge the phone on the plane so I can listen to music. It is a bit hard to believe that I will be leaving this country again tomorrow. Last time feels like a dream and getting a second chance at moving to California is so small it shouldn’t be possible. It is too good to be true!

I have had a great time in Sweden these last seven months and it will be hard leaving. I am leaving more behind now than I did last time, but on the other hand I will only be gone for ten months instead of thirteen.

This is my company for the night. My beautiful and cuddly Chip! ❤

I am really excited and more than ready to start a new adventure!
Goodbye Gothenburg and Sweden!
Hello San Luis Obispo, California and USA!

Parties and packing

Posted on Tuesday, 9 September 2014, 0:38 by Alexandra

Yesterday was a busy day. First I got up pretty early so I had time to get myself ready to go out to Stora Lövsjön where there was a big birthday party for Karin among others. I knew almost everyone there and I had a nice couple of hours out in the woods. We barbecued and the food was really good. I had bread on a stick for the first time since I was probably eight. And shrimps marinated in a chili sauce and beef and a good pesto salad. I wouldn’t have mind staying for a while longer but I had to go home to prepare the for the party.

This time I had a goodbye party and I probably should have had that last time too. It was a huge success and everyone had a great time. Since I haven’t been working or doing anything at all this week I have been planning and been excited about the party. I didn’t have that much alcohol to serve so I decided to have a lot of snacks available. Like chips, candy, exotic fruits, the hot spinach and artichoke dip I made a week ago, punch and vodka marinated watermelon. The last three were the most popular. People asked for the recipe for the dip and the 4.5kg watermelon was gone long before the evening was over. The punch was made from Asti Cinzano which is a delicious sparkling wine, and raspberry soda. Frozen raspberries and grapes kept the punsch cold for the short while it was still some left.

We played Cards Against Humanity and talked all night. The last people left at 5am when the trams and buses had started going again. Such a fun evening!

Blomman took my phone for a while and took some photos. Why hadn’t I thought about that?

Before I went to bed I actually took a lunchbox with korv stroganoff and I think that was why I wasn’t hungover today. I got up at 1 pm and another reason for not being hungover might have been the clean apartment. I cleaned everything up at like 4am. I did it very slowly so most people didn’t even notice. I have realized that cleaning up after a party before going to bed is the best thing to do. You don’t really mind when you’re still drunk. While emptying bottles and cans while hungover is one of the worst things you can do. Even if I wasn’t hungover I felt like eating something unhealthy anyway. So I took a little walk to Max Hamburger and brought it home. I remembered that last year I really missed Max so I thought that if there was a time to eat it, it was the day after a party. And it was really good!!! Goodbye Max!

After that my brother and his girlfriend came over for a while to help me pack a bit and tell me what I could leave. They stayed for a while but not too long. And the rest of the day was more packing for me. The whole kitchen table is full o everything except clothes and toiletries I will bring to California on Friday. And I actually think everything in the apartment that my brother didn’t want is packed in boxes. We will probably drive most of them to mom’s tomorrow. And then we will see when they want to move in. I am starting to think that I want to live with my mom the last few days. I’m really gonna miss her…

The clock just ticked away and it is already 12:30am. I think I should go to bed and read for a while.

Lunch with my brother

Posted on Thursday, 4 September 2014, 22:52 by Alexandra

Yesterday I got up at 8:30 to put the meat in the oven. Felix and his girlfriend Sara was coming over to take a look at the apartment and eat lunch with me. Pulled cow was as good as pulled pork and they decided to take the apartment. Before they left they had applied for a couple of courses at Gothenburg University which is needed to stay in this apartment, even if it is just for ten months. I am relieved that this worked out, even if my brother wasn’t too excited about taking a German class in addition to all the other courses he will take at another school (which for some reason doesn’t count).

For the rest of the day I installed some computer games and played. I installed World of Goo and Spore. I played Spore until 3am last night which was a bit stupid. It is a fun game, but I can’t remember how to play the tribe stage. I don’t remember anything about it!

And speaking of computer games. The Sims 4 was released today! I am seriously thinking about buying it.

Today I was up early as well to do another interview for Cultural Care. On my way home I decided it was time to go to Liseberg and empty my locker.

At home I had leftovers from yesterday’s lunch and then I’ve played more Spore and also a bit RollerCoaster Tycoon 1. Then I got bored and watched Maleficient. That movie was amazing! So extremely sad and had kinda the same story as Frozen. Not an evil person, but a good person turning evil for a while. If you haven’t seen it, you all definitely should!!

Now I will actually go to bed. I didn’t get much sleep last night and dad is gonna come over pretty early with some boxes and something from grandma and grandpa. I wonder what it is! He was actually here today with some wooden plates to put on the floor in the basement to avoid water damages whenever there’s a leakage which happens now and then.

Free

Posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2014, 2:39 by Alexandra

With no work, no studies, no nothing, the energi just keeps flowing. It has been a very productive day and I have done so many things. This morning is so far away so the earliest I remember doing was going to downtown for some errands. First I bought a noteboook for my upcoming year abroad. I need somewhere to collect all my to-do lists, budgets and just things I want to write down linked to Cal Poly. I’ve already made a nice front page and written down a lot of things. For example, I did an approximative budget for the whole year. I already got my first (of three) payments from CSN. I got almost 52000 SEK today! I will also get my last paycheck and the holiday pay on September 15th and that will be quite a lot I guess. And in October-November I will get the scholarship from Chalmers for being a part of this exchange program. I didn’t put that in my calculations so without those incomes I will have around $350 each week after the rent is paid. Food is not part of the calculations, but I think I will have a pretty sweet life this year aswell. I will not shop as much, but travel and save. I have a big trip planned for Christmas.

After buying the notebook I went to Forex to exchange money. I had a lot of cash and got $350 cash. I hate cash, but I don’t know when I can have an American bank account up and running. The line was long, so I took a number and went to vote in the upcoming election. And when I was done it was just a couple of minutes until my turn. Perfect!

Right after that I went to the gynecologist to do more tests. I talked to the doctor before the tests and he told me what would happen if this showed some abnormal results as well and we decided how we would handle it. It took a while and several tests were done and I was told that the results wouldn’t be ready for another six weeks. But I was told that cell changes were visible through the microscope. Fuck! How severe they were couldn’t be told, but apparently there are three stages of cell changes. Stage 1 and 2 isn’t dangerous and they aren’t treated, just checked more frequently to see if it gets better or worse. And if I have those I will just get a new appointment as soon as I get home to Sweden again next year. Stage 3 on the other hand means that it needs to be treated pretty much right away. And if I have that, it will be a bit problematic. I will have two choices, either do it in the US and pay between 5000 and 10000 SEK for the surgery, or I can go home and do it for free. Both options suck. My insurance in the US won’t cover this kind of thing, I’ve already asked them. I should probably call them again.

I feel okay now about it. I will be going to California, but I will forget about it for six weeks and deal with the problem when it comes.

My next errand was emptying my locker at Liseberg. But when I got there Kläderiet was closed because they were in a meeting for the rest of the day. So typical! Now I need to go there tomorrow again. It’s a good thing I don’t have that much to do right now.

After that I went to 4-gott and bought a bag of candy, I felt that I needed it after the rough news earlier today. I did some grocery shopping too. But when I got home the gynecologist appointment was completely forgotten. By instinct I felt that I should log in to my Chalmers account and see if they had posted the result document for the structural engineering exam. And they had! When I saw the document my heart started racing. I didn’t want to wait and make myself more anxious, so I opened it and I passed!!! When I saw the grade 3 (3 is pass, 4 is more than pass, and 5 is the highest grade) my heart almost jumped out of my chest! I did it! I fucking did it!! No spare points, but that still counts. I am so relieved I can’t put words on it. I’ve tried four times over the past two years. This means that if all goes well next year I will have my bachelor degree of science in building and civil engineering in June next year. I am so happy!!

The day went on in that mood. When I am happy I am so productive. I did the budget, wrote a thorough packing list, made two Rainbow Loom bracelets (I removed the three Hawaii bracelets, they were getting worn out and I didn’t want them to get broken, so I thought I would remove them before that happened), I’ve planned some things for the party on Sunday (it will be epic), gone through all my papers I need next year and sorted them into different plastic folders. I’ve packed two bags with Chad’s things that he forgot and I’ve cooked dinner. And oh, what a dinner! I made hot spinach and artichoke dip with crispy bread. The dip was easy to make and it was so good! I bought a small baguett and was planning on making garlic bread and dip in the dip. But I didn’t have any garlic. Not even garlic powder so I had to improvise, but it turned out good. But I did forget about the bread in the oven and it was way harder than I was planning it to be. But it was good too and probably better like this.

Here’s the recipe if anyone wants to try:

Ingredients
1 cup (2,4dl) thawed, chopped frozen spinach
1,5 cups (3,5dl) chopped artichoke hearts
6 ounces (180ml) cream cheese
0.25 cups (0,5dl) sour cream
0.25 cups (0,5dl) mayonnaise
0.3 cups (0,7dl) grated parmesan
half a red bellpepper, sliced
salt and pepper

Directions
Boil spinach and artichoke in 1 cup of water until tender. Drain the water.
Heat cream cheese and grated parmesan in the microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft.
Mix all the ingredients and serve it hot.

I didn’t follow the exact measurements and it turned out well anyway, so don’t be afraid of the weird measurements.

Yesterday I had my last day at Liseberg. It was a bit sad. I said goodbye to all the attractions on Berget but not the people. We hung out at a bar at night and most of them are coming to my party on Sunday. It was a nice last day and I will be back next season. I look forward to having that to look forward to when I come home from Cali. Last time I didn’t have anything to look forward to when I came home.

When you have your last day at work you’re supposed to bake (or buy) something and give to your colleagues. I got up extra early that morning and baked my chocolate muffins. They were as appreciated at Liseberg as they are at SCA :).

I think I need to go to bed now. I actually wanted to go to bed at 10pm, but I felt that I had too much to do. Like going through my purse and taking out everything I won’t need in California. I tried playing some RollerCoaster Tycoon but got bored right away. So many tiny things I want to do. Tomorrow I have an interview for Cultural Care and then I think I will read and prepare more for the party. In the evening I am scanning all my German school books so I don’t have to bring them to California when I am going through it all before my German class after Christmas. That’s German II and it was a year ago I took German I so I will need to rehearse.

Good night!!

Late evening

Posted on Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 0:16 by Alexandra

Shit, I should already be in bed and sound asleep. What happens with time during the night? And why do I always feel like procrastinating when I really can’t do it? Tonight I have emailed a lot of people at Cal Poly asking how I will pay for my rent and Week of Welcome. Since Cal Poly is blocking web addresses from out of country I need to use PeerTransfer and it works okay. So my first rent will be paid tomorrow, $838.75 (=5957 SEK). It’s retarted that I have to pay that much for a tiny tiny bedroom. Well well, I pay for the experience of living abroad again, it’s worth it.

When it comes to Week of Welcome it’s not so clear though. I really want to be a part of it, but I don’t get any answers from the board of WoW on how to pay. When I use PeerTransfer it gives m four options for what kind of payment it is, Registration and Tuition Fee, Housing, Dining or Continuing Educataion. What to choose if I am paying to an orientantion event? I need them to answer soon. Orientation starts in less than three weeks!

Today I was up early (compared to yesterday when I slept until 12:30pm. I didn’t do that much studying. I did two problems and read through all the theory questions like six times. I didn’t want to try to learn anything new, that would have juts made me confused. So I’ve played RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 today. I will so enjoy my free time after tomorow. I have a lo of things to do tomorrow after the exam, but after that will be free!!

Dinner was almost ready when mom came home from work. Pulled pork in tortilla bread. It has smelled amazing the whole day. But I have to admit that it tasted more last time. I don’t know if it was because we marinated the meat over the night or if it was because of the gas oven instead of my electrical one. But with some extra bbq sauce it was really good anyway :). We were both full as a small-pancake though (that Swedish saying wasn’t translated very well…).

So, the exam is tomorrow. I have to wake up at 6:30 am, and the hours until then are disappearing faster than I would have wanted. But at least I am tired now. Yesterday I couldn’t fall asleep until 3am, wasn’t tired at all!

Wish me luck on tomorrow’s five hour exam on Structural Engineering. My fourth try. And I think I might have a good feeling about it this time.

Good luck, me!

Thank you, me!

Sangria and taco night

Posted on Friday, 15 August 2014, 1:53 by Alexandra

I had such a lovely evening with my girls Andrea, Emma and Julia. We were at Andrea’s place eating tacos (and I thought them that it is possible to put pineapple in it) and drinking homemade sangrias. We talked about everything and nothing for several hours and later in the evening Andrea’s boyfriend and friend joined us. They told us they were having a blast. Two guys who could participate in girls’ talk was apparently fun.

Andrea had her last day of work today and on Saturday she is going to Greece for a week. After that we decided to have another girl’s night where we will go out after a typical girl’s preparty. I look forward to that!

Work today went on fast. I only had 6 hours of work. I had a couple of hours at Höjdskräcken, a couple at Helix and one hour at the end at Balderado. So far I’ve been at Balderado five full days, one half day and three hours spread out over three different days. I chose Ponnykarusellen and Kristallsalongen for my last hour. So awesome!

At my one break there were cookies and candy in the break room because three different people had their last day today. It is always a bit nice when people have their last day and put out cookies and stuff but it is also very sad. I am gonna bake chocolate muffins when I have my last day in two weeks.

New haircut

Posted on Wednesday, 16 July 2014, 1:47 by Alexandra

My computer was kaputt last night, so even if I had a lot of interesting things to write about, I couldn’t. My weekend is over and it was over way too fast. I wouldn’t have minded another week or so. My Friday was celebrated at Stage Door (a bar) with some of my colleagues. A very nice evening that ended at 1:30am.

Yesterday I woke up at 1pm I think. It was awesome to sleep in that long for once! I had an ambition to study some, but I realized I had lots of time so I decided to do some other necessary things. I called Radiotjänst again and asked them if they could give me back the last 500kr for wrongly charging me for the TV-license. They told me I would have it by the end of the week. The phone call, waiting including, took almost 30 minutes… After that I tried to call Kosmetisk Kirurgi to make an appointment for hair removal. I have two left since 2012 and thought I should get at least one done before I leave again, or hopefully both, but they have vacation now until the beginning of August, so I will have to wait. Not many people know it, but I have been going through some IPL treatments to remove hair under my arms. I am not done, but what an improvement after 6 (I think?) treatments. I can go one or maybe even two weeks without shaving, when I had to do it every day before.

My third call that day was to the hairdresser, they had an appointment just a couple of hours after I called so I took it. I like being spontaneous. I knew my hair was getting pretty damaged, even if it didn’t look too bad. But 6 months since last time, it was needed. It felt kinda stupid afterward though. I paid 400kr and the before and after picture look exactly the same… It feels better though and it definitely is healthier now with no split ends. I wanted to have the hair in the front a bit shorter as well, so there is a little bit of difference actually. I will post the before/after picture just because it’s so silly to pay that much for that little…

On these pictures it actually looks better on the before picture, probably because I am newly showered and the light is better. And I suck at taking selfies… Tomorrow my hair will look awesome after a shower and a hair mask and when I can style it the way I want.

I walked around in Nordstan (downtown) after that, tried to find a place who could fix my sunglasses. My engineering skills aren’t that good yet. No one could help me so I decided to make one final serious attempt to fix them. I bought thin iron thread and made a new loop and with some glue and tape it actually seems to be working. I just have to be careful and not put them in my purse anymore. If this doesn’t work I’ve actually found a website that sells those spare parts and I will order some if they break again. I know I am stupid for trying so hard to fix a pair of sunglasses that just cost $4, but they are so cool and so me and I love them. I don’t want another pair unless they look the same!

I did some grocery shopping on the way home because I had a very special plan when it came to dinner. Pierogi (according to Google Translate)! I had found a recipe for pierogi with spinach and feta cheese with pink pepper, parsley, hazel nuts and garlic. It wasn’t as perfect as it sounds, but definitely edible and a little more. Probably not the best with vegetarian food for me right now though. I’ve realized I probably don’t get enough proteins anymore. Poor and no time to cook real food have made me a temporary vegetarian. I like vegetarian food, but I think I need to focus on the meat now when I have money again. I have 17 000 right now in my account! But as I’ve said, I am a saver from now on.

And just when I was about to start updating the blog yesterday my computer pretty much died. No, it didn’t, but I couldn’t go to any webpages that required a login, like Facebook or my blog or even Google. It said something about an SSL problem. I googled it on my phone and after a while decided it was time to reinstall it. I probably got some virus… That’s what I did this morning inbetween my study sessions. Now it is working perfectly fine again. I tried the option to reinstall the operative system without removing my personal files (which is stupid when I have a virus, I know, but it worked!). It went’ smoothly and I just had to reinstall some programs.

I studied for a few hours, but I only managed to solve two problems. The easy wooden and steel pillar problems are done and I am now getting myself into the concrete ones. I hate concrete… But it started out pretty okay, I understood what I did and just when I reached for a new paper to continue the problem on, I realized all of them were out. It was raining outside but I was in such a good flow, so I took a break, went to Nordstan (where by the way, hundreds and thousands of million people were!! On a Tuesday afternoon?), bought two notebooks, a new deodorant and went home to continue on the problem. That’s everything I did actually when it comes to studying, but I am trying to understand what I am doing, not just copying the answer key, so it’s okay that it takes time. I will do some more tomorrow before work.

I had another pierogi for dinner and then played a few hours of Guild Wars 2 before I noticed the late hour. Time just flies when playing that. What’s so awesome about GW2 is that they are always updating the game. They release new seasons of the game with new storylines and map changing quests. The first season I missed because I was in California. It was a fun one I’ve heard, maybe it is possible to go through it by reading about it or something. I know the biggest thing that happened, and that was that the biggest city on the map got completely wiped out. I was so surprised when I logged in after a year and saw it and had no idea what happened. This time though I am playing through season 2 from the start. Today the second part of it was released and it turns out that another big-ass dragon is awaking! So much fun! I love this game, it’s not just the same thing over and over, but they are always changing it, good job, ArenaNet, you have really succeeded in making a great game!

Grumpy old ladies

Posted on Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 1:24 by Alexandra

Yesterday morning when I was on the tram to work something weird happened. I was standing up, listening to music and texting with mom, when all of a sudden I feel someone kick me on my shin. I look up and on the seat in front of me is an old lady who seems to be wanting my attention. I gave her a very questioning face and listened to what she had to say. She was telling me that I should sit down instead of standing up. The trams do a fast and hard stop and when it does I could easily fall on her. That’s everything I registered from what she was saying. I think she actually had talked to me for a while and sat there for many stops without me falling in her lap.

The only things I said to her was that it is very rude to kick people (it actually was a pretty hard kick) and that I can stand up if I want to, I am young and won’t fall over. Then I just plugged my music in again and ignored her for another 20 seconds before getting off.

This is the second time in a very short amount of time that an old lady yells at me. Do I look provocating to old ladies? Or are they just jealous because I am young? Annoying nevertheless.

At work yesterday I called on the security guards for the first time since I started four weeks ago. I was at Höjdskräcken and a bunch of annoying boys came to go on the ride. They didn’t listen to me when I asked them to calm down, they totally ignored me and showed no respect at all. I don’t think some guests at Liseberg understands that we actually work there. Anyway, I told them that I was gonna call the guards if they didn’t stop, they didn’t. So I put them on the attraction and pretended the safety restraints were troubling while I sat down and waited for the guards.

My heart was beating like crazy and I almost felt a little bad. But they were making my job harder than it should be and I just couldn’t focus on them and operating the attraction at the same time. It was hard calling the guards actually, but from now on I don’t think it will be that hard. I mean, the security’s job is to take care of disturbance in the park. And those guys were definitely a disturbance.

I got off at 8pm last night and my last half hour was on AtmosFear. After letting people in to the attraction my colleague told me that there were some famous people on the ride. They were from America but she had no idea who they were. So I went up to them and asked them who they were, and it turned out they were Avenged Sevenfold! I haven’t listened very much to them so I apologized for not recognizing them. They have good music though and I probably should have listened more to them when I was more into Hard Rock. I was very starstruck when I talked to them and checked their safety restraints. They filmed with a GoPro camera while I was doing it. I hope I don’t look too stupid…

When I came home I cooked two dinners, Korv Stroganoff with quinoa and feta/pesto salmon with root vegetables. Both were really good and I got 9 lunchboxes.

This morning I went to the dentist with my all of a sudden tooth ache. My upper left wisdom tooth has started hurting and is now growing into my chin. Two months ago it wasn’t. Weird. The dentist told me he could extract it right away, but I had a ten hour day ahead of me at Liseberg so that wouldn’t be a very good idea. Instead of getting it removed today he cleaned it and gave me an appointment in August! I don’t wanna wait until then. It hurts now. I want it gone now! I don’t want to go through this shit again. I hope it will start hurting again on July 7th so I can call the emergency dentist and ask them to remove it on the same day so I have a couple of days at home to recover.

At work I had three hours of Höjdskräcken. Like almost every day. I think it is okay though. I like that attraction, even if I am working there alone. But that means I talk to the guests instead. I both opened and closed it and my last hour, between 10 and 11pm I had fun. Just a few guests and even fewer rides. When they did show up there though I asked them how many times they wanted to go and just pressed the go-buttons right when they came down. Happy guests = happy Alexandra.

I told myself today that I was just gonna go home, brush my teeth and then go to bed. As usual, that didn’t work. I feel that I need to calm down after work and before bed. And if that is between 1 and 2 am, then there’s not much I can’t do…

Shopping

Posted on Saturday, 17 May 2014, 0:51 by Alexandra

My body is pretty much dead right now. My feet hurt and so does my back and thighs. This much walking can’t be good for you. Around 16 000 steps. It is needed though, the food we are eating isn’t the best one and I am swollen like a dead pig… I miss Sweden!

We slept a little longer today and didn’t leave the apartment until 11am. We took the Tube up to Oxford Circus and started to walk along Oxford Street which is one of the biggest shopping streets in London. I actually wasn’t in a shopping mode, at least not for clothes, so I didn’t buy much. In the first store, a bag store of the brand Carpisa, I bought a new wallet. I didn’t really need one, but it was onlt £8 and so cute. Always good to have two of everything in case the first thing breaks. Or something. It was worth buying anyway!

I don’t remeber all the stores we went in to, and I guess it doesn’t matter. We walked to a tea shop called Postcard Teas, but that was nothing for me. Too expensive and not my cup of tea. We then walked to Selfridges & CO, a huuuuge shopping mall. I usually never have troubles with too much perfumes in one place, but the ground floor of this mall was too much. It was awful! The reason we went there was to eat lunch. The food court was big. A lot of things to choose from. I had a mushroom soup because my throat is hurting today. It helped a bit. I am afraid I’m getting sick. I hope that’s not true, I have a test coming up in a little more than a week…

After that we split up, Gudrun went t-shirt hunting and the rest of us went to Victoria’s Secret. Wow, that store was amazing! So luxurious and fancy! Several levels, black walls, crystal candelabras and banisters. It was nice. I bought three pair of panties.

Then we walked along Bond Street which also is a big shopping street but more suitable for rich people. Lots of jewelery stores and expensive brands. It was fun to see. The next store we walked into was Abercrombie & Fitch. And that was also wow! First of all, we were greeted by a half naked guy with a very nice six-pack. The store was also very fancy with lots of small rooms, and a second floor from which you could see the first floor. Glass cases with clothes in them and of course, the moose head. Super expensive though, so I didn’t buy anything. But I enjoyed the smell and got a little piece of home :).

Next store was a secret store. In case that person reads. And then we went to Europe’s biggest bookstore. I was planning on on buying Inheritance, but this country only have big pocket books, and I want small. So I didn’t buy anything else than a cup of hot white chocolate in the cafe in there. The store had 8 floors, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so tired.

We split up even more after that so it was just me and mom for the rest of the evening. First we walked up to Oxford Street again and on the way say the Hollister store. I just had to go in. It was also very fancy and cool or how to describe it. It was more small rooms inside the store, with half-stairs going down to them. It was like a very cool apartment turned into a store. Three levels which were connected by a stair. On one of the four walls was a big ass flat screen and on it were waves from California with surfers. The three others were mirrors, so it looked like the surfers where all around you and it felt like I was back in California again. It felt like home. I didn’t buy anything there either.

We went back to the Carpisa store because I found a carry-on bag for only £35! It had a cute turtle on it and I really couldn’t resits. I don’t have a carry-on so it wasn’t an unnecessary thing to buy.

Down in the Underground tube again and this time we went to Hyde Park Corner where Hard Rock Cafe was located. The waiting was 45-60 minutes, but then I showed the guy a Priority Seating ticket I’ve earned. We got the nxt available table. They said 25 minutes, but it didn’t take more than five or maybe ten. I had a hard time deciding what to eat, the local didn’t sound very appetizing and they didn’t have the California Burger with guacamole on it. Eventually I decided to have a Magical Mojito (elderflower and lime in it) and a Mushroom/Swiss Burger. It was good, but not as good as the other ones I’ve tried (like the Local Legendary on Maui with Pulled Pork and grilled pineapple!). The food only took like 15 minutes and we were done with the dinner after an hour since we got there. Perfect.

We were really full and decided to walk it off. We took a walk all the way back to the apartment, which wasn’t that far, but took forever since Buckingham Palace was on the way. We took some photos and I have come to the conclusion that the Palace isn’t straight horisontally. It’s an optical illusion. Because how many times I tried to take a panoramic photo of it, it didnt’t turn out straight!! Extremely frustrating.

Anyway, I think the Queen was home, the flag was up. The Beefeaters were outside guarding and many people outside the gates taking picture, even at 10pm.

Back home I sat down, had a cup of tea and some candy and just relaxed. My whole body is so sore and I don’t know how I will manage almost three more of these days!

Oxford Street. A display window of the Selfridge & CO mall. Another one. Inside the Victoria’s Secret in London. Three floors. Abercrombie & Fitch in London. Only two floors, but by far the most exclusive A&F store I’ve ever been in!! Waterstones. Europe’s biggest bookstore, with 8 floors. Hollister in London. Also by far the fanciest Hollister store I’ve ever been in. Hard Rock Cafe London, #11 My 11th Hard Rock Cafe visit! 🙂 Before this I have 4 drink glasses and 6 shot glasses. Today I bought a pint glass.Buckingham Palace from afar. The panoramic picture of Buckingham Palace. What happened?? I did exactly like I did with all the other photos, and they are fine… Two days of shopping. Might be more in the end :).