From November 11-13, Alli and I took a trip to Ireland. It was a really fast-paced, whirlwind trip, but SO AWESOME!! We arrived in Dublin around 11pm on a Friday night, and I don't even remember what time we got to our hostel, but as you can imagine, it was really late. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if we didn't have to meet for our tour at 6:50 the next morning! Needless to say, we didn't sleep much that night. Our tour the next morning was to Cork, Blarney Castle (and of course Blarney Stone), and the Rock of Cashel. The most exciting part of the trip: we got to kiss the Blarney Stone! That's definitely something I'll always remember. But in case I were to ever forget, I have a souvenir picture to remind me! ;)
Blarney Castle
Rock of Cashel
While in Ireland, I began the hunt for a Claddagh ring. I had wanted one for so long, and since I was in Ireland (home to the Claddagh ring), I might as well get one right? I am proud to say that I was able to find a beautiful Claddagh ring in Cork for only 25 euro... another highlight of my trip, and the best souvenir I could have possibly gotten in Ireland. I am so proud of it!
Before our flight out on Sunday, we decided to explore Dublin, since we really hadn't had a chance to before. We walked along the river, walked across the Ha'Penny Bridge, went to an awesome wax museum, had lunch at a place called Eddie Rocket's, saw the Book of Kells, and finally finished off our day wandering around St. Stephen's Green, eating gelato, and just generally enjoying the wonderful city of Dublin. Because seriously, Dublin is wonderful. I fell in love with Ireland, and I will be actively looking for my next opportunity to go! :) It's still my favorite place that I've visited so far.
After Ireland, we took a couple weeks off from traveling outside of the country and went on a couple of incredible ISA excursions to Beamish open-air museum (which was amazing!) and to York. But of course you can't keep us from traveling for long - this last weekend we got to explore a non-English speaking country for the first time in Barcelona, Spain! The first thing we did upon arriving in Barcelona? Went out to find the beach, of course!
And we couldn't possibly go to the beach without sticking our toes in the water:
Afterwards, we went back to a cozy little pub that we had found while trying to get to the beach. We got to enjoy some lovely tapas as well as the drink of the day: sex on the beach! Both were delicious, although the vodka was a little too strong for my liking.
On Friday, we went on a great city tour of Barcelona where we got to see all of the main sights of the city. I was especially excited about Parc Guell and La Sagrada Familia, and basically anything by Antoni Gaudi. His style is impressive! It's so different and fun, which is why I like it so much.
Friday night we got to experience flamenco! It was amazing. I had watched videos of flamenco before in various Spanish classes, but it is so much more impressive in person! You can just feel the passion in it. We also tried the AMAZING paella for the first time! I was so hesitant to try it at first since I'm generally not a big Spanish rice fan (and I always thought paella just looked gross in general), but I am so glad I went for it. It was one of the best things I've ever had! Seriously. We were definitely spoiled with the food in Barcelona - Spanish food is delicious! I definitely see what the hype is all about.
On Saturday, we took a tour to the beautiful city of Girona and to the Costa Brava. Wow. I felt like I was in some sort of beautiful Spanish storybook the entire time. I have a thing for pretty, narrow streets and alleys, and Girona had plenty of them.
And of course Costa Brava = the beach. Need I say more? Never mind the fact that it is pretty much dead at this time of year, so it was super quiet and pretty peaceful. The little town of Calella, which is where we stopped along the Costa Brava, is so picturesque! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves here.
That night, due to our tour guide's strong recommendation, we went down to the Placa Espanya to see the Magic Fountain in action. It was beautiful! Music was played and the fountain "danced" and turned colors. Incredible!
And finally on Sunday before we headed to the airport, we got to witness an intense game of futbol at the park. ;) It was pretty cool to get to see some locals play.
I also got to use my Spanish more than I had planned on or thought I would, which was awesome! It renewed my love for the language, as well as my motivation to keep studying it. It was encouraging when the locals could actually understand me, and when I could understand them when they spoke back. ;) Overall, it was such an amazing weekend in Barcelona! I'd definitely love to go back to Spain sometime too. It's beautiful there!
Well, this coming weekend I'm off to Paris. This will be my last big trip before I head home! I'm pretty excited to get back home and see my family, but also feeling a little bit sad to leave Newcastle. It's been a great host city for the past 3 months, and it will be missed! I'll definitely be back though, it's just a matter of time. :)
