I had the sad realization last week that I have less than one month left in Dublin. There are so many places that I want to visit yet, but I know it is virtually impossible. I feel like I just started to get to know the city and my favorite places and I've met so many wonderful people, and it seems this will end just as soon as it started.
It is bittersweet, because I'm also really looking forward to coming home. I miss everyone more than they probably know and there are so many things to look forward to over the next few months/year.
Anyways..I have 4 classes and only three days until the end of term. I end classes this week and then our two weeks of finals don't start til the 5th of may. My finals don't start til the 7th so I decided to a bit of traveling during my reading break. I will be spending 4 days in Berlin with Brian, Jeff, and John (the other three students from Wisconsin). Then I will be traveling to Budapest to visit my friend Elliot! So i will spend a few days in Budapest and then head to Vienna before heading back to Dublin--where I'm sure I will spend the rest of my time in the library or cafes.
My last few weeks have been pretty amazing though. My parents came to visit over Easter and I had so much fun! We spent a day in Dublin/Howth (a small town on the coast just north of Dublin). We then headed to Cork where we traveled North to the Dingle Penninsula. I had wanted to go there since before I came and it was not a letdown in the slightest. I think it was best that we had rented a car also--even though it was a bit nervewrecking watching my father drive -- just kidding, he did great...except for the time that the metal pole almost went through the window :). I think my favorite part of the dingle penninsula was a beach that was tucked in the curvature of the cliffs. I made my mother come in the ocean with me. I managed to stay completely dry, but she was not as skilled as I and got a bit wet :) We also saw beautiful scenery and some really interesting old churches/cemeteries. The dingle penninsula was also very intersting for me because we had spent some time in my irish history course discussin the famine. Throughout the pennninsula you could still see the walls that once separated the properties and the ruins of the old houses. The penninsula has never been repopulated to the extent it was in the pre-famine era and since the land is not ideal for farming, the ruins of these lands still remain.
That night we headed back to Killarney-where we were staying-and grabbed some dinner at the pub conencted to our hotel. I enjoyed some delicious seafood chowder and a bailey's coffee :) We also had the privilege of listening to the best Irish folk band that I have heard in my time here!! They played a song by Christie Hennessy with which I am now obsessed.
The next day we set out early to do the ring of kerry--a 120ish km drive around another penninsula on the west coast. On our way to Kenmare, we stopped at the Killarney National Park to see the Muckcross House and Torc Waterfall. We stopped a bit prematurely though and I forced my parents to do an 8km walk--which could have been completely avoided. They may have been cursing me under their breath, but they were pretty good about it and it turned out the walk was beautiful (or at least I thought so). The ring of kerry was a lot different than I expected. It kind of showed a different side of Eire. Everybody always sees the beautiful green scenery and rolling hills and such. But the mountains here were extremely rocky and more brown than green. I found still found it beautiful, but for different reasons. I also got to enjoy my first ferry ride along the ring! However, I was too busy trying to take a picture of the GPS and our car being in the middle of the ocean to realize we were even moving. Oh well...turns out I have my blonde moments in Ireland too.
The next day we had to wake up EARLY to head back to Cork on our way back to Dublin. I was more than surprised to find starbucks in the Cork Airport--but I certainly wasn't complaining. I think my parents were pretty impressed with the efficiency of RyanAir and we actually made it back to Dublin 20 minutes early--on our 30 minute flight.
That was Monday then, and we headed to the Kilmainham Gaol and the GUinness Storehouse. I had wanted to do the Gaol for a very long time because I heard it was really interesting. It was and I think my parents enjoyed it. So much history and so many famous Irishmen/women have been held/killed there. I think it was one of the best things I have seen yet in Dublin. Afterwards we headed to the Storehouse--an essential stop on any trip to Dublin. It was my third time and I think I officially have the tour memorized! It was still fun though to be there with my parents. Every other time, I have pulled my own pint, but this time I finally enjoyed my pint in the gravity bar. It was delicious as always. My father even drank his whole pint--despite being allergic to beer. He survived though--I think it just proves the superiority of Guinness (especially over German Beers such as Kolsch--right Sara?)
While my parents were here they also visited the two Cathedrals, Dublin Castle and the Old Jameson Distillery. I also made sure they made it to Temple Bar--touristy but a very crucial stop on their visit! My father made fun of my mother for taking a picture--until he saw about 50 other people doing the same.
Since I have been busy trying to study--which is so much harder to do than back in Madison. But I think I'm starting to get the hang of it again. Saturday, though, I went on my last trip with my study abroad group. We went to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. It was an early morning but I'm so glad I got up for it. We climbed to the top of one of the mountains and I surprisingly didn't fall--even though we climbed up about 200 meters in a muddy stream. I think it was my favorite trip of all the ones we did. Our guides were pretty cool and the scenery was beautiful. It was also an old monastic settlement so we found out a bit of history of the site. There was a cemetary there that had been in use for almost 1300 years (i think that was how many--maybe more). THe weather was beautiful too, which always helps and we got two free meals and a free pint.
We have our farewell dinner tomorrow which is our last event of the semester. I can't believe how quickly this time has gone by!!
Miss you all, but I will see you soon! I will be heading back to the states on the 16th and then to Minneapolis sometime in the last few days of May.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
needless to say, its been awhile..
before my last post i had yet to travel out of ireland, i have now been in four other countries, one twice.
there is so much to tell that i cannot even begin to write it all down, but i will do my best here...
ITALY:
My first trip away from Ireland was to Venice, Italy. I was fortunate enough to travel there during Carnevale, perhaps their biggest festival of the year. It is, I believe, the 10 days before Ash Wednesday. We ended up staying in a hotel on the island a Mestre, just a short bus trip onto the main island, Venezia. It is basically impossible to go to Venezia with a plan/map. There are so many streets and alleys, all nameless, which makes it virtually impossible to navigate. Thankfully, it didn't really matter to us. As soon as we got to Venezia our first night, I begant to fully comprehend the scale of Carnevale. There were tons of little stands set up selling masks and capes and other traditional italian accessories.
We were lucky to get there right around dusk and so we saw the sun set as we meandered our way through the streets and along the canals. That night I got my first Italian gelatto (sorry Madison, it was far better than Paciugo). We also happened upon a band/dj playing in one of the piazza's. After walking around a bit, we headed back and ended up just drinking some wine and dancing in the middle of the piazza. It felt surreal, but it was a great way to start off the trip.
The above photo is a picture of a canal on my first night.
The next day then, our one goal was to find San Marco Basilica. I think if you knew exactly where you were going it should have taken about an hour to walk to. Considering we just kind of meandered, turning when we pleased and stopping to look at shops along the way, I was rather impressed we got there in just over 2 hours. The Basilica looks out onto San Marco Piazza and it was fantastic. From the balcony of the basilica you can see both water and the piazza which was just filled with people.
THe first picture is of the Basilica, second is a view of the piazza from the balcony of the basilica, and the third is an example of how many people were dressed.
Our final day in Venice we spent trying to visit some of the other islands. 2 of my friends and I first when to Venezia though, and while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive we got our faces painted!
After that we headed to Lido, a small island that you could probably walk around in about an hour. There is a very famous beach there, and I felt the need to go step in the Mediterranean Sea despite it being February still! We were almost the only people on the beach.
We went to the island of Murano after, it would have been really awesome to tour the glass factory there, but being Sunday and now evening, it was closed. We walked around a bit, but then headed back to Venezia and the San Marco Piazza for our last evening in Venice.
THe next day we took a train to Bologne (that's where we were flying back to Dublin from). We walked around the city for a bit, and saw Pluto's fountain (i think it was called) and I got a cappuccino at a cute little cafe while some of the other's went shopping.
I then came back to Dublin late Monday night and spent about 48 hours catchiing up on school and preparing for my trip to Spain the next weekend!
SPAIN (part a)
I went to Spain to visit my old roommate Maria. I left on Thursday for Madrid and spent the better portion of the day walking around the city. I saw the Templo de bod, the Plaza de Espana, Palacio Real, San Francisco Basilica, and many many many other things. I did A LOT of walking. My favorite part, though, was the Catedral Almuneda. I paid to go to the to top and it was totally worth it. There were a few balconies: one looked over the courtyard of the Palacio Real, and the other ones looked out over the rest of the city. The cathedral was so different than any other church I had been in, and I really enjoyed how the sun hit the beautiful colors inside.
On Friday, I did a lot more walking around the city center and also visted the Museo del Prado (their national museum). I also made a point to visit the Retiro Gardens--one reason I am now obsessed with Spain. It was not just the Retiro Gardens that I loved, but every garden I visited. They are extravagant and beautiful. The type of place where I could just casually walk through or sit and read a book or have a picnic or do an endless amount of other things. As soon as I walked through the entrance gate, I felt completely relaxed; it was like entering into a different world, but I was still in the city center of Madrid.
Both of these photos were taken in the Retiro Gardens.
The real reason I went to Spain, as I mentioned above, was to visit my roommate Maria. It was beyond fantastic to see her, and seeing her really made me realize how much I missed having her by me every day. In Madrid, she took me out for my first Tapas experience--it will certainly not be my last. Then, on Friday afternoon we headed to Valencia--which is where she went to University. We spent the night there and the next day her and Julio took me around to see the sights of Valencia. It turns out the architect who built the famous art museum in Milwaukee, is actually from Valencia and has been designing a whole mall of buildings in their city. They have a theatre, aquarium, science museum, playground, and many other things -- just designed by him. I guess he is also the architect in charge of the 9/11 memorial. This picture shows most of the buildings...but there are still a few left out.
Saturday afternoon, then Maria, Julio and I headed to Gandia (Maria's hometown). I was able to meet her family--who were WONDERFUL, and enjoy a traditional Spanish siesta with them. The only difficulty was they didn't speak English and my Spanish is a bit worse than terrible. :( Maria served as our translator though, and if I ever have the opportunity to go back I plan on being much more proficient in my Spanish skills. Afterwards, we walked around Gandia and took a short drive to the beach (for which Gandia is famous). We got 'dinner' then with some of their friends--however we didn't start eating until 11:45 p.m. Then after finishing around 1:00, we headed to a bar. A bit of a different time schedule than home, or even Dublin. :) It was perfect though and I had a really wonderful time.
Finally, on Sunday we headed back to Valencia on route to Madrid. It was the first of March and the start of Fallas--a huge festival in Valencia. It seemed like the entire city was gathered in the city centre and we headed there around 2:00p.m to watch a 10ish minute firework display. It was quite the experience, which you can pseudo experience if the video below actually works! :)
We then returned to Madrid Sunday night, so I could get ready for my flight on Monday. I then spent about 72 hours back in Dublin preparing for my first week and a half of spring break! (ALREADY!)
PARIS
This was the first stop on my spring break. I actually had no intent of going to Paris while I was here becaue I didn't feel like a weekend spent there would be enough time for me to truly get what I wanted out of it. But, when the opportunity presented itself to spend 5 days there I simply couldn't resist. I have wanted to come to Paris for as long as I can remember. I remember being in grade school and seeing my dad's pictures and movies set in paris (passport to paris obviously :)!) and I formed an obsession with the city. It was even the setting of the mystery 'book' I wrote in 6th grade. It was also the entire reasoning behind me taking french in high school. So, naturally, I had high expectations.
We were supposed to arrive in Beauvais (a city just north of Paris, have to love Ryanair's locations) at around 9:00 a.m. and then take a bus Paris. We flew above Beauvais for about an hour before they determined it was too foggy to land. As a result, we got diverted to Lille -- an airport even further from Paris. After landing there we had to take a bus to Beuvais, then transfer to another bus which would take us to Paris. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got to Paris around 5:00 p.m--a bit later than planned. It didn't end up mattering though, because Paris ended up exceeding my highest of expectations.
After checking into our hostel we took the metro to Trocadero. From Trocadero we walked to see the eiffel tower. I can't even describe how I felt the first time I saw it--it was just one of those perfect moments. We got off the Metro and we couldnt see the tower which was supposed to be really close. Then as we turned the corner of a building, there it was. To make it even better, after about staring at it for about 10 seconds the light show started. I couldn't say anything, I just gaped and actually almost cried. If I would have left Paris that night, I think I would have been satisfied. Here is a photo from my first night there...
This started my obsession with the eiffel tower, and I probably have about 60 photos of that alone. Anyways, I was in Paris for 5 days, so I was able to see many many things. We toured the Notre Dame, Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triumphe, Sacre Couer, and Moulin Rouge. We made a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower and climbed the stairs up it, visited the Jardin de Luxembourg, Pantheon, and did some shopping (window shopping that is) on the champs-elysees. On top of that, I indulged in countless crepes, gaufres, and other delectable pastries. I think my diet mostly consisted of carbs those 5 days--i just couldn't resist! Our hostel roommate also recommended this place called Angelina's. It is renowned for its hot chocolate. My friend Ann and I each got one, and while it looked small it was perfect. So rich and thick and amazing. We also went to L'aduree which is a restaraunt that is famous for its desserts. I got a macaron (specialty of Paris). I have forgotten the exact name, but it had carmael and apples and amazingness all sandwiched between the two parts of the macaron.
I traveled there with my friends Lyndsie and Ann. On one of the days we also decided to take the train to Versailles. The palace itself is more immense than I imagined. The gates are covered in gold, and it emits this essence of history (if that's possible). We walked through part of the gardens (which if you were to do the entire thing would take you more than a day in itself) and also to Marie Antoinette's estate. We walked through a few of her buildings and also her 'village' she set up. It was cute, I felt like I was walking in candyland or something (minus the candy--but with that sense of mysticism). For some reason we sat on her farm for awhile, looking at the pigs, cows, ducks, roosters, horses, etc. I'm not sure why we stayed there for so long, but it was enjoyable.
I have so many pictures from Paris, I don't even know what to show you. But here are a few I hope you enjoy!
SPAIN (part b)
From Paris, I flew directly to Barcelona. There I met up with one of my friends and a bunch of her friends from UCD. It turned out to be so much fun! I didn't get in until after 11p.m. my first night and either did they. We went out for some kebabs, but then decided to call it a night.
Our next day we went to the most acclaimed tourist attraction in Barcelona--La Sagrada Familia. I was unaware that the church was not yet completed; in fact, it won't be finished for another 20-30 years! Considering they started building it over a century ago, I found that rather impressive! La Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi. During my time in Barcelona, we also visited La Pedrera (one of his apartment buildings) and Park Guell.
I also got my version of a 'relaxing' spring break in Barcelona. Almost every afternoon, we would head to the beach!! We stood in the water, but it was a bit too cold for swimming yet. Instead, we just layed around, chit chatting, playing frisbee, and enjoying the general atmosphere of the barcelona life style. My favorite moments from Barcelona, were those spent on the beach I think. When I was there, I remember thinking there is no place right now that I would rather be.
I was only in Barcelona for 3.5 days, but I also went to the Olympic Stadium, the Boqueria and Las Ramblas in general, and to this tourist attraction where they had set up a pseudo traditional spanish town. It's kind of hard to explain, but you could walk around and see different craftsmen at work. For example, I saw one man molding glass figurines and another making guitars from scratch!
One of the evenings we went to a bar called Espito Chupitos. It was quite the experience. It was a shot bar and they had over 550 differnt types of shots!! They even had one called a harry potter (which I obviously had to try). It was a shot with a orange slice on top of it. They would then start it on fire and sprinkle cinnamon on the fire to make it spark like a wand! Clever to say the least.
I was both sad and happy to leave Barcelona. Sad because I had such a wonderful time, but happy because when I returned to Dublin, I was to wait at the airport for my friends arrival!!!!!!
IRELAND
For their spring break, three of my friends (Sarah, Maggie, and Angie) came to visit. Little did the emerald isle know what they would be getting themselves into with the arrival of my three friends from Madison. All 4 of us had next to no sleep, but instead of resting for a bit, we decided to get our trip started!!!! We went out to lunch at this cafe called the Queen Bee (a place that I had wanted to try for awhile) and then headed to tour the Old Jameson Distillery. It was there that Angie and I received our accreditation as Official Whiskey Tasters. (see how much I'm learning here!)
The dates of their spring break were very fortunate as it meant they were here for ST PATRICKS DAY. I think it was single handedly one of the best days of my life. No Joke. All decked out in our feather boas and various head accessories we decided to brave the parade. The parade in itself was semi-dissapointing, but from there we decided to make an impromptu round around temple bar with some others from UCD. It was SO MUCH FUN. I don't know if it was just being with my friends or being able to pretend that I was Irish and semi pull it off or hereing Galway Girl 6-7 times, but it was a really fantastic day.
Here's a photo to show you just how Irish we can be (even if its only at heart):
While in Ireland we also took a trip to Howth (a small port town just north of Dublin), visited the GUinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and Grafton Street for some shopping. After traveling to Scotland, which I will talk about below, we had two more friends join us! Elliot and Amyx! My flat was a bit cramped...but it was great to have them here for a few days!!
The day after St. Patricks though, we had a flight to Edinburgh--at 6:30 in the morning. That meant we had to be at the airport by 4:30 a.m. Brutal. But we were all in pretty good humor. I think we established early on that none of use would be getting very much sleep!
In Edinburgh our one goal was to see Edinburgh Castle. It was right next to our hostel and shouldnt have been that difficult. However, after wandering the city for our first day the castle was closed by the time we actually made it there. It ended up being ok though. Edinburgh itself was far more beautiful than I anticipated. The buildings are majestic, as is the scenery. Supposedly, JK rowling got her inspiration for hogwarts somehwere in Edinburgh--but I really never found out where. After wandering around for most of our first day, we booked a tour to Loch Ness and the highlands for day 2.
The tour itself was 12 hours!!!! We made a few stops along the way for photos and food. At one stop we had the privilige of meeting Hamish--some sort of Scottish Animal. It looked tame when we approached it for a photo, but as soon as we stood by him he started rearing his head and thrashing his horns. I wonder which one of my friends smelled. hmm. At that stop, Sarah and I also tried Haggis which is Sheep heart, liver, lungs mixed with oats and a slew of other things. I think its better I didnt know what it was before trying it!
This is us and Hamish:
Eventually we made it to Loch Ness and went on a boat tour. We sadly didn't see Nessie (any of the supposed 18). But it was still worth it I think. Loch Ness is actually HUGE. I didn't really comprehend it. If you took all the water out it would hold the world population (I think 3x, but maybe it was just once). We drove along it for almost an hour before we got to the dock of the boat tour--one huge lake.
The next day we took a bus up to St. Andrews to see the links course. I had a lot of fun at St. Andrews and seeing the course (well the 6 or 7 of them) was quite an experience. I know my dad, or any golfer really, would have enjoyed it immensely. We also walked through the St. Andrews Cathedral--or what was left of it--and walked by the ruined Castle.
After three pretty packed days then we headed back to Dublin!
It was really fantastic to have my friends here. I really really miss everyone back home, so it was nice to have some company here! I was very sad to have them leave, but I couldn't have been happier that everyone came. I know some of my favorite memories from my entire trip will be from their visits! I will see everyone in about a month and a half, except Elliot! I will get to see him in just about a month when I go visit him in Budapest!!!
Anyways, since then I have decided to start hanging around ireland a bit more and also start cracking down on some school work! I even went to the library twice!!
Last weekend though, I toured Leinster House (the parliament building for the republic of ireland) and then traveled up to Belfast with my study abroad group. We there toured Stormont, which is there parliament building. The Northern Ireland parliament was a bit more impressive than Leinster House, maybe because it is modeled after Westminster. At stormont, we got to eat in the members only dining room too!
Afterwards we did a tour of Belfast and saw the main buildings, the shipyard where Titanic was built, the most bombed building in the world (Europa Hotel), and also many of the wall murals. The murals were very interesting as they were a depiction of the conflict between the Unionists and Nationalists. We also saw some wall murals pertaining to america--many in a not so positive light.
It was interesting/intense to be in Belfast last weekend. A few weeks ago, two guards were murdered by the IRA (Irish Republican Army). This marked the first political murders in over 10 years. I really was unaware of the extent to which there still is a conflict. We didn't go searching for trouble, but we ended up running into a few men who had been involved in a riot that broke out outside the football match. They were accompanied by police in riot gear, armored cars, and helicopters flying overhead. I wouldnt exactly call that 'fun' but it was definitely an experience.
From Belfast, then, three of my friends and I took a bus up to Giant's Causeway. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Island of Ireland. We were able to walk the cliffs looking down on the causeway before actually heading there. There are a bunch of myths about how the causeway was formed, but I think its generally accepted its just a very unique volcanic rock formation. I haven't uploaded my photos yet from last weekend, but I will try to remember to post them the next time.
After visiting Giant's Causeway we took a bus to a rope bridge. After a nice walk, we arrived at the rope bridge which is suspended between two cliffs. I'm not afraid of heights, but I expected a little bit of anxiety before I crossed. I really didnt find it terrifying at all, maybe because the scenery was beautiful. I felt like I was in Hawaii or the carribean, minus the fact that it was rainy,windy, and just a bit chilly. The water was gorgeous and there were coves built into the cliffs that you could see after crossing the bridge. I could have stayed there for a very long time just staring at the scenery.
Well.. thats brought you up to speed on all my travels for now. If you made it this far I am very impressed. I don't have anything too huge planned for this weekend. I will be going to newgrange tomorrow, which is an ancient tomb. Supposedly it is older than either stonehenge or the pyramids. Then I'm hoping to FINALLY hit up the market they have on saturday mornings in temple bar.
As for other things going on in my life..the flat next to mine started on fire early this morning. So at 6 in the morning I got herded out of my flat, barefoot. Of the maybe 60 fire alarms we've had so far this semester, I was actually surprised to find this one was legit. They've been cleaning the apartment all day, which looks all together ruined. I've been trying to air mine out all day; but its been futile. It still smells like smoke after more than 12 hours. Thankfully, though, there was not any damange to my flat or any of the others.
I hope you all have great weekends and are getting ready for Spring! It's been beautiful here the last few days...about 60 degrees AND SUNNY!!! (its a new concept for us :)!)
Miss and Love you all,
Lisa
before my last post i had yet to travel out of ireland, i have now been in four other countries, one twice.
there is so much to tell that i cannot even begin to write it all down, but i will do my best here...
ITALY:
My first trip away from Ireland was to Venice, Italy. I was fortunate enough to travel there during Carnevale, perhaps their biggest festival of the year. It is, I believe, the 10 days before Ash Wednesday. We ended up staying in a hotel on the island a Mestre, just a short bus trip onto the main island, Venezia. It is basically impossible to go to Venezia with a plan/map. There are so many streets and alleys, all nameless, which makes it virtually impossible to navigate. Thankfully, it didn't really matter to us. As soon as we got to Venezia our first night, I begant to fully comprehend the scale of Carnevale. There were tons of little stands set up selling masks and capes and other traditional italian accessories.
We were lucky to get there right around dusk and so we saw the sun set as we meandered our way through the streets and along the canals. That night I got my first Italian gelatto (sorry Madison, it was far better than Paciugo). We also happened upon a band/dj playing in one of the piazza's. After walking around a bit, we headed back and ended up just drinking some wine and dancing in the middle of the piazza. It felt surreal, but it was a great way to start off the trip.
The above photo is a picture of a canal on my first night.The next day then, our one goal was to find San Marco Basilica. I think if you knew exactly where you were going it should have taken about an hour to walk to. Considering we just kind of meandered, turning when we pleased and stopping to look at shops along the way, I was rather impressed we got there in just over 2 hours. The Basilica looks out onto San Marco Piazza and it was fantastic. From the balcony of the basilica you can see both water and the piazza which was just filled with people.
THe first picture is of the Basilica, second is a view of the piazza from the balcony of the basilica, and the third is an example of how many people were dressed.Our final day in Venice we spent trying to visit some of the other islands. 2 of my friends and I first when to Venezia though, and while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive we got our faces painted!
After that we headed to Lido, a small island that you could probably walk around in about an hour. There is a very famous beach there, and I felt the need to go step in the Mediterranean Sea despite it being February still! We were almost the only people on the beach.
We went to the island of Murano after, it would have been really awesome to tour the glass factory there, but being Sunday and now evening, it was closed. We walked around a bit, but then headed back to Venezia and the San Marco Piazza for our last evening in Venice.
THe next day we took a train to Bologne (that's where we were flying back to Dublin from). We walked around the city for a bit, and saw Pluto's fountain (i think it was called) and I got a cappuccino at a cute little cafe while some of the other's went shopping.
I then came back to Dublin late Monday night and spent about 48 hours catchiing up on school and preparing for my trip to Spain the next weekend!
SPAIN (part a)
I went to Spain to visit my old roommate Maria. I left on Thursday for Madrid and spent the better portion of the day walking around the city. I saw the Templo de bod, the Plaza de Espana, Palacio Real, San Francisco Basilica, and many many many other things. I did A LOT of walking. My favorite part, though, was the Catedral Almuneda. I paid to go to the to top and it was totally worth it. There were a few balconies: one looked over the courtyard of the Palacio Real, and the other ones looked out over the rest of the city. The cathedral was so different than any other church I had been in, and I really enjoyed how the sun hit the beautiful colors inside.
On Friday, I did a lot more walking around the city center and also visted the Museo del Prado (their national museum). I also made a point to visit the Retiro Gardens--one reason I am now obsessed with Spain. It was not just the Retiro Gardens that I loved, but every garden I visited. They are extravagant and beautiful. The type of place where I could just casually walk through or sit and read a book or have a picnic or do an endless amount of other things. As soon as I walked through the entrance gate, I felt completely relaxed; it was like entering into a different world, but I was still in the city center of Madrid.
Both of these photos were taken in the Retiro Gardens.The real reason I went to Spain, as I mentioned above, was to visit my roommate Maria. It was beyond fantastic to see her, and seeing her really made me realize how much I missed having her by me every day. In Madrid, she took me out for my first Tapas experience--it will certainly not be my last. Then, on Friday afternoon we headed to Valencia--which is where she went to University. We spent the night there and the next day her and Julio took me around to see the sights of Valencia. It turns out the architect who built the famous art museum in Milwaukee, is actually from Valencia and has been designing a whole mall of buildings in their city. They have a theatre, aquarium, science museum, playground, and many other things -- just designed by him. I guess he is also the architect in charge of the 9/11 memorial. This picture shows most of the buildings...but there are still a few left out.
Saturday afternoon, then Maria, Julio and I headed to Gandia (Maria's hometown). I was able to meet her family--who were WONDERFUL, and enjoy a traditional Spanish siesta with them. The only difficulty was they didn't speak English and my Spanish is a bit worse than terrible. :( Maria served as our translator though, and if I ever have the opportunity to go back I plan on being much more proficient in my Spanish skills. Afterwards, we walked around Gandia and took a short drive to the beach (for which Gandia is famous). We got 'dinner' then with some of their friends--however we didn't start eating until 11:45 p.m. Then after finishing around 1:00, we headed to a bar. A bit of a different time schedule than home, or even Dublin. :) It was perfect though and I had a really wonderful time.Finally, on Sunday we headed back to Valencia on route to Madrid. It was the first of March and the start of Fallas--a huge festival in Valencia. It seemed like the entire city was gathered in the city centre and we headed there around 2:00p.m to watch a 10ish minute firework display. It was quite the experience, which you can pseudo experience if the video below actually works! :)
We then returned to Madrid Sunday night, so I could get ready for my flight on Monday. I then spent about 72 hours back in Dublin preparing for my first week and a half of spring break! (ALREADY!)
PARIS
This was the first stop on my spring break. I actually had no intent of going to Paris while I was here becaue I didn't feel like a weekend spent there would be enough time for me to truly get what I wanted out of it. But, when the opportunity presented itself to spend 5 days there I simply couldn't resist. I have wanted to come to Paris for as long as I can remember. I remember being in grade school and seeing my dad's pictures and movies set in paris (passport to paris obviously :)!) and I formed an obsession with the city. It was even the setting of the mystery 'book' I wrote in 6th grade. It was also the entire reasoning behind me taking french in high school. So, naturally, I had high expectations.
We were supposed to arrive in Beauvais (a city just north of Paris, have to love Ryanair's locations) at around 9:00 a.m. and then take a bus Paris. We flew above Beauvais for about an hour before they determined it was too foggy to land. As a result, we got diverted to Lille -- an airport even further from Paris. After landing there we had to take a bus to Beuvais, then transfer to another bus which would take us to Paris. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got to Paris around 5:00 p.m--a bit later than planned. It didn't end up mattering though, because Paris ended up exceeding my highest of expectations.
After checking into our hostel we took the metro to Trocadero. From Trocadero we walked to see the eiffel tower. I can't even describe how I felt the first time I saw it--it was just one of those perfect moments. We got off the Metro and we couldnt see the tower which was supposed to be really close. Then as we turned the corner of a building, there it was. To make it even better, after about staring at it for about 10 seconds the light show started. I couldn't say anything, I just gaped and actually almost cried. If I would have left Paris that night, I think I would have been satisfied. Here is a photo from my first night there...
This started my obsession with the eiffel tower, and I probably have about 60 photos of that alone. Anyways, I was in Paris for 5 days, so I was able to see many many things. We toured the Notre Dame, Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triumphe, Sacre Couer, and Moulin Rouge. We made a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower and climbed the stairs up it, visited the Jardin de Luxembourg, Pantheon, and did some shopping (window shopping that is) on the champs-elysees. On top of that, I indulged in countless crepes, gaufres, and other delectable pastries. I think my diet mostly consisted of carbs those 5 days--i just couldn't resist! Our hostel roommate also recommended this place called Angelina's. It is renowned for its hot chocolate. My friend Ann and I each got one, and while it looked small it was perfect. So rich and thick and amazing. We also went to L'aduree which is a restaraunt that is famous for its desserts. I got a macaron (specialty of Paris). I have forgotten the exact name, but it had carmael and apples and amazingness all sandwiched between the two parts of the macaron.I traveled there with my friends Lyndsie and Ann. On one of the days we also decided to take the train to Versailles. The palace itself is more immense than I imagined. The gates are covered in gold, and it emits this essence of history (if that's possible). We walked through part of the gardens (which if you were to do the entire thing would take you more than a day in itself) and also to Marie Antoinette's estate. We walked through a few of her buildings and also her 'village' she set up. It was cute, I felt like I was walking in candyland or something (minus the candy--but with that sense of mysticism). For some reason we sat on her farm for awhile, looking at the pigs, cows, ducks, roosters, horses, etc. I'm not sure why we stayed there for so long, but it was enjoyable.
I have so many pictures from Paris, I don't even know what to show you. But here are a few I hope you enjoy!
SPAIN (part b)
From Paris, I flew directly to Barcelona. There I met up with one of my friends and a bunch of her friends from UCD. It turned out to be so much fun! I didn't get in until after 11p.m. my first night and either did they. We went out for some kebabs, but then decided to call it a night.
Our next day we went to the most acclaimed tourist attraction in Barcelona--La Sagrada Familia. I was unaware that the church was not yet completed; in fact, it won't be finished for another 20-30 years! Considering they started building it over a century ago, I found that rather impressive! La Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi. During my time in Barcelona, we also visited La Pedrera (one of his apartment buildings) and Park Guell.
I also got my version of a 'relaxing' spring break in Barcelona. Almost every afternoon, we would head to the beach!! We stood in the water, but it was a bit too cold for swimming yet. Instead, we just layed around, chit chatting, playing frisbee, and enjoying the general atmosphere of the barcelona life style. My favorite moments from Barcelona, were those spent on the beach I think. When I was there, I remember thinking there is no place right now that I would rather be.I was only in Barcelona for 3.5 days, but I also went to the Olympic Stadium, the Boqueria and Las Ramblas in general, and to this tourist attraction where they had set up a pseudo traditional spanish town. It's kind of hard to explain, but you could walk around and see different craftsmen at work. For example, I saw one man molding glass figurines and another making guitars from scratch!
One of the evenings we went to a bar called Espito Chupitos. It was quite the experience. It was a shot bar and they had over 550 differnt types of shots!! They even had one called a harry potter (which I obviously had to try). It was a shot with a orange slice on top of it. They would then start it on fire and sprinkle cinnamon on the fire to make it spark like a wand! Clever to say the least.
I was both sad and happy to leave Barcelona. Sad because I had such a wonderful time, but happy because when I returned to Dublin, I was to wait at the airport for my friends arrival!!!!!!IRELAND
For their spring break, three of my friends (Sarah, Maggie, and Angie) came to visit. Little did the emerald isle know what they would be getting themselves into with the arrival of my three friends from Madison. All 4 of us had next to no sleep, but instead of resting for a bit, we decided to get our trip started!!!! We went out to lunch at this cafe called the Queen Bee (a place that I had wanted to try for awhile) and then headed to tour the Old Jameson Distillery. It was there that Angie and I received our accreditation as Official Whiskey Tasters. (see how much I'm learning here!)
The dates of their spring break were very fortunate as it meant they were here for ST PATRICKS DAY. I think it was single handedly one of the best days of my life. No Joke. All decked out in our feather boas and various head accessories we decided to brave the parade. The parade in itself was semi-dissapointing, but from there we decided to make an impromptu round around temple bar with some others from UCD. It was SO MUCH FUN. I don't know if it was just being with my friends or being able to pretend that I was Irish and semi pull it off or hereing Galway Girl 6-7 times, but it was a really fantastic day.
Here's a photo to show you just how Irish we can be (even if its only at heart):
While in Ireland we also took a trip to Howth (a small port town just north of Dublin), visited the GUinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and Grafton Street for some shopping. After traveling to Scotland, which I will talk about below, we had two more friends join us! Elliot and Amyx! My flat was a bit cramped...but it was great to have them here for a few days!!The day after St. Patricks though, we had a flight to Edinburgh--at 6:30 in the morning. That meant we had to be at the airport by 4:30 a.m. Brutal. But we were all in pretty good humor. I think we established early on that none of use would be getting very much sleep!
In Edinburgh our one goal was to see Edinburgh Castle. It was right next to our hostel and shouldnt have been that difficult. However, after wandering the city for our first day the castle was closed by the time we actually made it there. It ended up being ok though. Edinburgh itself was far more beautiful than I anticipated. The buildings are majestic, as is the scenery. Supposedly, JK rowling got her inspiration for hogwarts somehwere in Edinburgh--but I really never found out where. After wandering around for most of our first day, we booked a tour to Loch Ness and the highlands for day 2.
The tour itself was 12 hours!!!! We made a few stops along the way for photos and food. At one stop we had the privilige of meeting Hamish--some sort of Scottish Animal. It looked tame when we approached it for a photo, but as soon as we stood by him he started rearing his head and thrashing his horns. I wonder which one of my friends smelled. hmm. At that stop, Sarah and I also tried Haggis which is Sheep heart, liver, lungs mixed with oats and a slew of other things. I think its better I didnt know what it was before trying it!
This is us and Hamish:
Eventually we made it to Loch Ness and went on a boat tour. We sadly didn't see Nessie (any of the supposed 18). But it was still worth it I think. Loch Ness is actually HUGE. I didn't really comprehend it. If you took all the water out it would hold the world population (I think 3x, but maybe it was just once). We drove along it for almost an hour before we got to the dock of the boat tour--one huge lake.
The next day we took a bus up to St. Andrews to see the links course. I had a lot of fun at St. Andrews and seeing the course (well the 6 or 7 of them) was quite an experience. I know my dad, or any golfer really, would have enjoyed it immensely. We also walked through the St. Andrews Cathedral--or what was left of it--and walked by the ruined Castle.
After three pretty packed days then we headed back to Dublin!
It was really fantastic to have my friends here. I really really miss everyone back home, so it was nice to have some company here! I was very sad to have them leave, but I couldn't have been happier that everyone came. I know some of my favorite memories from my entire trip will be from their visits! I will see everyone in about a month and a half, except Elliot! I will get to see him in just about a month when I go visit him in Budapest!!!
Anyways, since then I have decided to start hanging around ireland a bit more and also start cracking down on some school work! I even went to the library twice!!
Last weekend though, I toured Leinster House (the parliament building for the republic of ireland) and then traveled up to Belfast with my study abroad group. We there toured Stormont, which is there parliament building. The Northern Ireland parliament was a bit more impressive than Leinster House, maybe because it is modeled after Westminster. At stormont, we got to eat in the members only dining room too!
Afterwards we did a tour of Belfast and saw the main buildings, the shipyard where Titanic was built, the most bombed building in the world (Europa Hotel), and also many of the wall murals. The murals were very interesting as they were a depiction of the conflict between the Unionists and Nationalists. We also saw some wall murals pertaining to america--many in a not so positive light.
It was interesting/intense to be in Belfast last weekend. A few weeks ago, two guards were murdered by the IRA (Irish Republican Army). This marked the first political murders in over 10 years. I really was unaware of the extent to which there still is a conflict. We didn't go searching for trouble, but we ended up running into a few men who had been involved in a riot that broke out outside the football match. They were accompanied by police in riot gear, armored cars, and helicopters flying overhead. I wouldnt exactly call that 'fun' but it was definitely an experience.
From Belfast, then, three of my friends and I took a bus up to Giant's Causeway. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Island of Ireland. We were able to walk the cliffs looking down on the causeway before actually heading there. There are a bunch of myths about how the causeway was formed, but I think its generally accepted its just a very unique volcanic rock formation. I haven't uploaded my photos yet from last weekend, but I will try to remember to post them the next time.
After visiting Giant's Causeway we took a bus to a rope bridge. After a nice walk, we arrived at the rope bridge which is suspended between two cliffs. I'm not afraid of heights, but I expected a little bit of anxiety before I crossed. I really didnt find it terrifying at all, maybe because the scenery was beautiful. I felt like I was in Hawaii or the carribean, minus the fact that it was rainy,windy, and just a bit chilly. The water was gorgeous and there were coves built into the cliffs that you could see after crossing the bridge. I could have stayed there for a very long time just staring at the scenery.
Well.. thats brought you up to speed on all my travels for now. If you made it this far I am very impressed. I don't have anything too huge planned for this weekend. I will be going to newgrange tomorrow, which is an ancient tomb. Supposedly it is older than either stonehenge or the pyramids. Then I'm hoping to FINALLY hit up the market they have on saturday mornings in temple bar.
As for other things going on in my life..the flat next to mine started on fire early this morning. So at 6 in the morning I got herded out of my flat, barefoot. Of the maybe 60 fire alarms we've had so far this semester, I was actually surprised to find this one was legit. They've been cleaning the apartment all day, which looks all together ruined. I've been trying to air mine out all day; but its been futile. It still smells like smoke after more than 12 hours. Thankfully, though, there was not any damange to my flat or any of the others.
I hope you all have great weekends and are getting ready for Spring! It's been beautiful here the last few days...about 60 degrees AND SUNNY!!! (its a new concept for us :)!)
Miss and Love you all,
Lisa
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