COFFEE AROUND THE WORLD

BEAN AROUND THE WORLD...WHO HAS THE BEST BREW?

As a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, I took it upon myself to find out who does coffee best in Europe. 

The contenders:

England 

(not exactly the coffee capital of Europe)

Spain

Greece

Scotland

Ireland

Italy

Amsterdam

 

France

·  The results are in and the winner is…………………IRELAND (who doesn't love an Irish coffee?)!!!!

-AMV

THE LONDON COFFEE FESTIVAL

What better place to go first thing in the morning than London’s Coffee Festival?

Everyone that knows me knows that I have a slight addiction to coffee and that I plan to open my own coffee shop one day in the future, so this was the perfect opportunity to do some research!Upon our arrival to the festival we were greeted with a bag full of coffee loot (who doesn’t love free stuff), from there we proceed to all the free samples (livin' la vida mochaaaaaaa).

The London Coffee Festival was so much more than just coffee samples. The overall vibe of the festival was amazing, there was live music with a funky fresh seating area. 

The festival also offered expositions to educate people on coffee and what constitutes the "perfect" cup. The "lab" provided talks and tutorials on all things coffee, with different topics throughout the morning. The festival also hosted the UK Barista competition 2014. Since today was the last day of the festival we got to watch the finals! I never seen people take coffee as seriously as the final barista as well as the 8 people judging him, I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

By the end of the morning I was vibrating (drinking a lot of coffee can cause a latte problems) due to caffeine overload, but that didn't stop me from one last coffee...made by yours truly (barista in training).

But for now its back to the daily grind, but in the mean time stay grounded but don't forget to espresso yourself and take life one cup at a time (I'm done with the puns now...you're welcome).

 -AMV

OLYMPIC PARKS & PILLOW FIGHTS

As my time is coming to a close in London it is important to make everyday count and today was no exception. Tiffany and I woke up early this morning to check out Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park, it took us forever to get there but when we finally did it was worth it. Tiffany and I have come to realize and enjoy that some of our best stories come from the journey rather than the destination (this is another to add to that list).

From the Olympic Park we headed to Trafalgar Square because today (April 5^th, 2014) was International Pillow Fight Day! Trafalgar square was packed with people and their pillows, feathers flying everywhere. It was the biggest pillow fight I have and probably will ever witness (it made carrying my pillow around all day worth it). It was fun to be able to walk through a crowd and not only allowed to hit into people but encouraged to nail them with your pillow (my kind of scene). It was unlike anything I have ever experienced and I know I’m gonna be finding feathers all over my room for days to come.

-AMV

BACKSTREET BOYS

Last night the Backstreet Boys headlined at London’s O2 Arena and my childhood dreams came true (sounds dramatic but it’s the truth). 

I never considered myself to be a crazed fan but something magical happened when the Backstreet Boys took the stage and sang “The Call” (and by magical I mean I screamed and cried a little…I was actually shocked by my reaction). At that very moment I was brought back in time to when my sister, cousins and I would sing our hearts out to the Backstreet boy and argue who was hottest one (Nick vs. Brain).

As everyone is already aware the Backstreet Boys were the biggest boy band of all time and last night was a testament to that, even after 20 years since they first came together as a group they were able to sell out London’s largest arena! Unlike most boy bands of the 90’s the Backstreet Boys still got it. They brought their A game last night, between their stellar dance moves and their classic white suits (that provoked some serious ‘90s nostalgia).

The In A World Like This tour was a perfect balance of their old and new songs, all of which were amazing. Not only did they bring back the 90’s but they delivered some awesome acoustic performances (Nick Carter was shreddin’ hard on the guitar).

While its hard to pick a favorite song, I must say that “As Long As You Love Me” and “The One” were total standouts but the Backstreet Boys ended with what can be considered the holy trinity of their success: “I want it that way”, “Everybody” and “Larger than life” (if I was emotional at the beginning of the concert you don’t even want to know what I was like at this point). The atmosphere of the arena was pure hysteria. While the Backstreet Boys may have aged they sang and dance just as good as ever, Backstreets Back (but in all honesty they never really left)!

****A special shout out to Tiffany for coming with me and putting up with me last night****

Until next time....

-AMV

AMSTERDAM

This weekend I took a trip to Amsterdam!

At 3:45 Friday morning I was off to the airport, so I hoped in a black cab and it took me to the train station, which eventually got me to the airport (50 mins before my flight). This trip was different than any other because I flew by myself and at first I didn’t think that I was going to make it. The train was delayed getting me to the airport and then security was all backed up, I got to my gate only 15 minutes before it closed….but once all that panic was over I was good to go. 

The flight to Amsterdam from London was only 45 minutes long so before I knew it we were already landing. I must mention that the airport in Amsterdam is massive; I was so tired that before I even made it through the airport I stopped to take a quick nap. After my brief rest I headed to catch a train to bring me to Central Amsterdam where I met Tiffany and her sister Meghan.

Surprisingly I found my way to the hostel without getting lost and on my way a nice man gave me a flower and told me I was pretty (great start of the trip haha). 

The hostel was in the perfect location so once I met up with the girls we dropped our bags and headed out. 

Our first stop was food and from there coffee…. then we wandered around Amsterdam taking it all in.

We spent the whole day doing whatever we wanted, no plan, no time restraints…just going wherever life took us. 

Fast-forward a few hours and we were getting dutch pancakes for dinner then strolling through the red light district. I could not believe my eyes, it was totally unbelievable but like a car accident you can’t stop looking even though you know you should. After the casual stroll through the district we chilled some more getting more food and retired to our room at 3 am or so.

         

The next morning we woke up and headed to a specific breakfast destination, from there we went on a canal tour, which was pretty awesome. We were able to stop by the outside of the Ann Frank house but we couldn’t go in because the presold tickets were sold out and the line was too long (why waste precious time). We spent a lot of our time in Amsterdam eating which I can’t complain about because the food was awesome.

This trip was super relaxing and fun and I know that I will be back one day for sure (maybe in 2 weeks, who knows). I don’t even know how to begin to explain Amsterdam in order to do it justice but I’ll try. The canals and the color palate of the city is so peaceful and beautiful. The whole city seems like it is a kingdom with cobblestone roads, trams and canals. The trees and buildings line the canals perfectly and there are probably more bikes than people. The people there are so friendly and nice and the quality of life just seems higher. The whole time I was in Amsterdam I though of it as the sweetest sin, everything that we are accustomed to being illegal and that we are told is wrong is in the clear. There are no rules but the lack of rules does not leave chaos.

Even in all its abundance, Amsterdam is able to achieve an atmosphere of tranquility…and I just couldn’t get enough.

-AMV