As a friend told me before I left, "I won't be surprised if your blog postings get less and less frequent as the trip goes on." Her prediction turned out to be true, but less due to lack of interest in retelling my adventures, and more because the nature of my adventures was different over the last couple of months. Since leaving Bariloche, Argentina, I've been spending the majority of my time in modern cities and, just as I have a hard time with taking interesting urban photographs, I have a tough time telling interesting urban stories. It's not that I haven't been having fun and doing interesting things, it's just that they aren't the "snorkeling with whale sharks" and "dealing with Indian traffic accidents" sort of events that I like to blog about (they're more like the "drinking in pubs with ghost tour guides*" and "how many consecutive meals of tapas can I eat before it gets old**" sort of adventures). But, it wouldn't be fair to neglect a month of travels just because the countries I was visiting had clean toilets and microbrewed beer, so before I start posting about SCUBA diving, lack of electricity, and televised cockfighting (yep, roosters killing each other for sport on Filipino local TV), here's a recap of May.

My favorite view in London: St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge

This statue is in the middle of Inverness. Since I didn't see a plaque, I assume it's there to commemorate the last unicorn killed on Scottish soil

To start with, my plans for May were shifted slightly due to the fact that my backpack - containing my computer, camera, passport, and various other items - was stolen while I was in Buenos Aires. I only mention this to highlight one thing: the only real effect it had on my trip was to cause me to stay in the UK a couple additional weeks than planned while my passport was replaced. Yes, I had a moment of panic when I realized I hadn't been paying attention to my surroundings and my bag was missing, but once I got over that, it took me two hours to file a police report, cancel my credit card, change my reservations for the next stop, and contact the US embassy about getting an emergency replacement passport. Within a week, I had a gotten a new temporary passport, moved on to London, replaced all the missing electronics and gear, and applied for a new permanent passport, which was shipping to my friends' flat in London. When I started planning out my trip, I had intended for everything to be I was taking with me to be replaceable or redundant, and more than anything else, I feel pleased it worked out that way when it needed to. However, I had to stay in the same country for an extra two weeks while my permanent passport was being prepared, and since I've developed an allergic reaction to staying in the same city for more than 5 days, I took the opportunity to get out of London and explore more of the UK.

A panoramic view of Inverness, with the River Ness running through it

On a walk in Lake District

First up was a long weekend in Inverness, Scotland, a nice little city next to a very famous lake, Loch Ness. I'm happy to report that Inverness is not just one big souvenir shop for Nessie; in fact, you have to work hard to even find references to the monster while in town. And although the river cruise on Loch Ness I took was scenic and full of the landscape I had gone up to Scotland to see (plus rain), there were no signs of any prehistoric beasts beyond the stuffed animals they sold on the boat. From Inverness, I headed back south into England to visit York, one of the oldest cities in England and center of enough events to make a history nerd like me quite happy. If you've ever been to London and though it just didn't feel "English" enough for you, go to York. It has all the tiny winding alleys, classic neighborhood pubs, and remnant stone gates into the city you could want, plus vikings, ghost tours, and a city-wide cat statue scavenger hunt. Even better, I got to visit a friend I met volunteering in the Maldives, as well as making a few new ones at one of the best hostels I've stayed in all year. Last on the UK itinerary was Windermere, in England's Lake District. The Lake District is where the English go to holiday in the summer, when the weather has a chance of being pleasant in England (as opposed to the rest of the year), and the landscape and scenery is spectacular, and perfect for hiking and biking. After a few days in Windermere going hiking and refilling burned calories with hearty English breakfasts at the B&B, I headed back to London to pick up my passport just in time to leave for Spain.

The gardens in the Alhambra

A cathedral in Granada, Spain

In Spain, I met up with a friend from DC to celebrate our birthdays, which fall a couple of days apart from each other, and just generally eat delicious food and drink sangria every day until the wee hours of the morning, with a little light sightseeing. OK, I'm joking about the "light" sightseeing; we actually hopped from Madrid to Málaga to Granada to Barcelona over the course of week, but it was a lot of fun and we got to see historic sites, beautiful architecture, and some great beaches. I love the vibe in Spain, even when I can't get a morning coffee because the cafes don't open early enough, and it's hard not to get swept up in the "what's your hurry?" feel of the country. Even though I've been spending much of the last year on tropical islands, the only times I've spent entire days just sprawling out on beaches have been in Greece and Spain - there's something about the Mediterranean that just fills me with the urge to do absolutely nothing. It's a good thing.

Some of the beautiful stained glass in La Familia Sangrada in Barcelona

A dizzying view down the staircase inside the tower in La Familia Sangrada

Part of the Passion Facade at La Familia Sangrada

The vaulted ceiling inside La Familia Sangrada

* A guide who leads tours about ghosts, not the spirit of a deceased tour guide.

**Trick question, it never gets old. I even discovered breakfast tapas this trip; they're like dinner tapas, you just have coffee with them instead of sangria.