A Magical Weekend in Ireland

I may not have seen any leprechauns, but this weekend was absolutely magical. Thursday night I met Blake (my Chi O big sis who is studying in Scotland) and Nikki (past and future roommate who is studying in Vienna) in Dublin. After long flight delays due to French air controllers on strike, we made it to our hostel at 2am. The time did not stop us from venturing around town and searching for our first Irish pint, however. We went to Temple Bar, THE bar of Dublin if you will, and had our first Guinness. We certainly loved the black magic brew, and to experience Irish culture properly, made sure to drink our weight in it throughout the trip.

On Saturday we were Super Tourists and hit up all the big sites in Dublin. Christchurch Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Jameson Distillery, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle. The city is pretty compact so besides getting turned around with the map, we manged to walk around everywhere easily.

St. Patrick's Cathedral had a beautiful green park.
We didn't see any rainbows, but at the Jameson Distillery we found gold - We learned all about how the famous Irish whiskey is made and drank some too!

At Guinness, we learned about the science behind the beer, and the tour ended with a pint at the Gravity Bar overlooking Dublin.

Saturday we took a day trip to the Wicklow Mountains and the town of Glendalough. Our bus tour took us south along the coast and through the Irish countryside, where we saw babbling brooks, sheep in meadows, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, and valleys. It was spectacular.

In Glendalough, which means "Glen of the Two Lakes," there are two glacial lakes nestled in breathtaking mountains which turn purple in the summer from the heather flowers. There are also ruins of churchs, a tower which may have housed Rapunzel, and a cemetary filled with Celtic crosses. The beauty of nature was overwhelming.


For our last night in town, we took the DART train to Howth, a small fishing town about 30 minutes out from Dublin, for dinner. Imagine this: You are sitting in a pub on the coast of Ireland. In this small fisherman's town, you are the only tourist. You sit in a pub with a plate full of the most delicious fish you ever ever had, fried and served with "chips." Guinness in hand, you sit and watch Ireland win the National Rugby Champtionship game. You feel as if you too are Irish, as the people in the bar decked out in Ireland apparal cheer on the team. It was beyond wonderful, and as with absolutely everything I did that weekend, I said "surely this is the pinnacle of the trip, and maybe even my life!"

Sunday we spent the last few tearful hours in Ireland walking around St. Stephen's Green and doing a last bit of shopping. I didn't want to leave! St. Stephen's Green is certainly called a "green" for a reason, and the park had numerous fountains and statues of famous Irishmen. Nikki and Blake had earlier flights then me, so I went off to the National Gallery Museum and saw some Irish art, as well as works by Peter Brueghel, El Greco, and "Lady Writing a Letter" by Vermeer.

On my walk back, I heard music playing in the distance, which I of course followed. There was a live band and what seemed to be all of Dublin was celebrating in the street to welcome home their Rugby champions. A green flag was put in my hand, which I enthusiastically waved along with the crowd and cheered as the Rugby team drove by.

I hope to go back to Ireland some day soon, and I know the luck of the Irish will draw me back.

This Must Be Paradise: Tarragona

Saturday I took a day trip to Tarragona, an hour train ride south of Barcelona, with my friend Missy. This weekend has been total beauty overload. Missy and I were joking that our cameras might explode because they can't handle capturing all the prettiness. Likewise, my eyes can hardly believe themselves and process all the things I have seen.

In the warm sun, we were giddy to explore the ancient town. Tarragona is an ancient Roman city, and many ruins remain today, including an amphitheater, aqueduct, Cathedral, and walls.

(ruins of the amphitheater)

We walked, and walked, and walked without a care in the world, and had a 2-and-a-half hour lunch at a charming restaurant. After three courses complete with wine, we could barley move. A parade of some sort went through the town all day, and I supposed it was related to Lent.

The day was capped off when we reached the beach. We walked along streets above and right next too the beach, but figuring out how to find a bridge, go across trains tracks, and actually get to the water proved difficult. We got there in time for sunset and waded in the Mediterranean with our rolled up jeans a big sigh of utter contentment.

Why not climb a mountain after class?

Last Friday was a beyond beautiful day in Barcelona. The sun was shining, begging us to come out and play. After class, three classmates and I packed a picnic and laced up our sneakers to hike Mount Tibidabo. The amusement park and castle at the top of the mountain were always seen as a distant speck in the city skyline, and we wanted to see it up close.


The hike was spectacular, with jaw-dropping panoramic views of the city. We could pick out landmarks and see the Mediterranean Sea glittering in the distance. I looked out on the view in front of me, flabbergasted and thought: wow this is my city.

Getting to the top was definitely worth it. We found out that what we thought was a castle was actually a church (although castle-looking) and the amusement park was charming, although unfortunately closed. We sat on a grassy patch, and with a smorgasbord of cheese, cookies, muffins, and wine, watched the sun set over the mountains and Barcelona.


I tried my best to capture it on camera, although it doesn't do it justice. You can see them on the link to my picassa album--and there's a video!

I've been hanginaround this town on the corner...

Although I have been traveling and adventuring a lot, I do actually live in Barcelona and even go to school. So here's a little about my typical week in Barcelona.

At 7:30 I am awaken by the beepbeepbeep of my alarm, which I smack repeatedly until finally crawling droopy-eyed out of bed 30 minutes later. After a quick shower and nutella toast breakfast, I hustle out the door for my 23 minute walk to school. Coffee in my system, ipod in my ears, and sunshine on my face, I am ready for the day. I can't help but grin while hussling along the sidewalks in the sheer joy of my life and love of Barcelona.

But then joy is always slightly rubbed out once reaching my destination: Media and Politics class.

After class, I venture around town before heading home to make myself a sandwich of sorts for lunch. My favorite place in town to walk is the Gothic Quarter, which is the ancient part of the city. The weight of history always blows my mind, as Barcelona has been around for 2,000 years. While walking the cobble stone streets and tiny alleyways full of shops and cafes, I like to think about all the people who have walked there before.


And whenever I walk around, I seem to stumble upon something new or interesting, like a group of people doing a traditional Catalan dance, odd things for sale, or a truly talented street musician. I am soaking it all in.

Another favorite past-time is chocolate, churros, and journaling. A wonderful combination.

Or I can mosey down to the beach.

Once my appetite beckons, I head home for lunch and pretend to do the assigned readings for my following classes, which I am freed from at 5:15. Dinner is around 8:30, and it's always delicious. My roommate and I don't have too much interaction with my host parents, but they are very nice, and my homestay is a good mix of comfort and independence. For the night, I have to choose between sleep and fun--book vs. bar, computer vs. friends. Usually I rest up when I have 9ams.

Snowy mountains, castles, and a fountain of wine

Last weekend, To culminate the end of the not-so-studious "study week" IES took us to Navarra, an autonomous region of Spain. Like the U.S., Spain is broken up into separate states, called autonomous regions, each with their own pride and some with even their own language. Barcelona is in Catalonia, where there are some of the most extreme nationalists.

We were all apprehensive about IES's choice to take us to Navarra. My host parents said "Why are you going there? There is absolutely nothing!" and even some of my professors admitted "Yeah, I don't know why they picked Navarra." Nevertheless, it was another opportunity to explore the country.

Navarra was different from parts of Spain I have seen so far. It is much more rural and FREEZING. It was the first time I had seen snow abroad. I guess I have become so used to my tropical paradise in Barcelona I forget that it's still winter in other places. After getting home today from my sunshine walk in shortsleeves, I heard from Pat that it's snowing in Tulsa. Hope everyone is staying nice and warm!

In Navarra, we stayed in Pamplona, the capital, but actually spent most of our time on the bus touring small towns. In Navarra, there are several significant stops for the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, which I found that very interesting. One of the stops is in Ayegui, which is very small and charming and houses a wine vineyard. We toured the winery and saw LOTS of wine.

And got to drink some too! There was a wine/water drinking fountain for the pilgrims. How genius is that! As you can see "vino" is the left tap and "agua" is the right.

We also saw some sweet Spanish castles in other towns, and I should definitely be a Spanish princess so I can live here:
In Pamplona, where we stayed, the main places we saw were the bull ring and the cafe Ernest Hemmingway frequented. Hemmingway was very inspired by Pamplona and set some of his works in Spain (correct me if I'm wrong English majors out there). The big festival in Pamplona is Dia de San Fermin, celebrated with crazy bull runs through the streets. Not the ring. The streets. With actual bulls. Check out the photo link to my picassa albums to see pictures of Pamplona and more of Navarra.

Musings of an American Abroad

Frighteningly, I am half way through my time here in Barcelona. I haven't been homesick at all, just people sick. I know that by the time May rolls around (which will come sooner than I think I'm sure) I won't want to go home. So far, I have traveled a lot, taken tests, learned about culture and language, met new people, expanded my world view. But here are some of the littler things and random musings:

I think Spanish children may just be 5,000 times cuter than American children. I might just steal one. Ok, well if I can't steal a child, I might just steal a puppy, because there are tons of cute ones of those too.

Spanish food is surprisingly bland. I was expecting spice and OLE OLE! but they like their mild paella and custards

I feel really cool and cosmo riding the metro, but I actually prefer to walk. People think I'm crazy but I usually walk at least 5 miles a day.

Americans should wear scarves more often. I have bought an embarrassing amount of them and feel naked without one now.

I'm nervous that I will return to America a huge jerk due to the influence of big city life. Walking down the street, people are in their own little world listening to their ipods with their "I dare you to even smile at me" face. There's not usually tipping at restaurants or customer service, and I miss the Midwest friendliness.

I may also return to America weighing 300 pounds. Please be my friend anyway. I am addicted to Spanish chocolate and all of its products, especially Nutella (which goes best on everything) and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate here is literally chocolate that is hot, like a melted candy bar, so thick you eat it with a spoon. So good, and enhanced all the more by dipping churros in it.

I am now a smoker. Not by choice. Second hand smoking here is equivalent to smoking 5 cigarettes a day.

Spaniards have dinner around 9pm. I don't know if I will ever adjust to that.

Parking lots do not exist in Europe.

I don't care for all the globalization and tourism here and at times wish I were the only American.

It is considered rude to not have both of your hands visible at the dinner table.

I am in love with cafe con leche and all of the cafes hidden in little streets.

I aspire to be a wine-o and Euro fashionista.

All of my travels have only inspired me all the more to see the world and made me realize how much more I have to see. At the end of my trip, I will have been to 7 countries, but will have barely scratched the surface.

So far, I have taken 1,212 photos.

Often having to figure out things on my own and in a different language, I feel much more confident and independent.

Although I am living in Spain and with a host family, I am not magically fluent like I thought I would be, but am trying.

Things I miss the most: my guitar, Mexican food, grass, driving with music and the windows down.

I love Barcelona!

Life Lately

Hello friends!

Didn't want you avid readers out there to go a week without hearing from yours truly. I feel like whenever I update this thing, it has to be with big events or fabulous trips, filled with photos and witty remarks. Sometimes though, even in Spain, we simply have our routine and live life day to day.

This week is study week, and so I don't have anything as crazy as Carnival to report on (although I have not been the least bit studious). We don't have class this week in order to have time to prepare for midterms and go to a set of academic conferences (ug). The "academic week" is concluded with a trip to Navarre, a region in the north of Spain, which we are leaving for tomorrow. My whole program is taking a bus trip through the region, stopping in little cities along the way. There are 500 students in my program, so we'll see how it goes! With all my time off this week, I thought I would be determined to get a jump-start on studying and paper writing, but instead I have been enjoying sleeping in, wandering around town, and accidentally buying things.

Last weekend I had some special visitors! Jill and Jessica, sorority sisters and former roommates.

I played tour guide, and we hit up all the big sites on Friday and Saturday--Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, took a cable car to the castle on top of Montjuic, Las Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Port Vell, everything! We were certainly tired by the end of it all. I'm fortunate to have so many friends studying abroad right now because we can travel together and I can go visit. At the end of my program, I plan on visiting Jessica and Rome for a week.

Miss and love you!
Elizabeth