Cordoba and Sevilla

So sorry I have totally been slacking on this... but on the weekend of March 11-12, my program took me and half of the other students with my program to Cordoba and Sevilla.

Cordoba was first, and it was like a 4 hour bus ride. No offense to Cordoba, but it has been my least favorite city in Europe so far. Don't get me wrong, the bridge was cool and the mosque/cathedral was really pretty, but there is not much to do in this city.

We got a walking tour of the city that took place in the rain, unfortunately. My favorite part was the street with all the flowers. We saw the university, which I'm pretty sure is the oldest university in Spain. Then we got a tour of the mosque/cathedral. I'm not totally sure how it can be both, maybe it used to be a mosque and now it's a cathedral? I really need to start listening more when the guides talk...but I was too busy trying to take pictures. That was not as easy as it sounds, the building was super dark.

After our lunch at like 4, we sat in a cafe and had coffee, and I hate coffee. But then finally it was time to get on the bus again and drive another 2 hours to Sevilla. I had been to Sevilla technically twice before, when I flew out of Sevilla to go to Rome and then back from Rome to Sevilla. It was gorgeous then and it still was a really beautiful city, but when we got there it was kinda rainy. We headed straight for the hotel.

The hotel was incredible. Lindsay and I shared a room. I could not wait to see what our room would look like!! First of all, there was a shower! Like a real hotel shower! Then there were 2 huge beds and a TV! And, wait for it, a closet! With full length mirrors for doors! It was so exciting! Now if this was a normal vacation, I would be like wait really? Why am I staying here? But considering the circumstances, I was so thrilled with the room. The real surprise came when I turned on the TV and NCIS was on!! Hello, could life get any better?

NCIS on TV!!

our room

Actually it could have. We went downstairs for a free dinner at the hotel buffet. It was Friday, I couldn't eat meat, so I tried spaghetti, salad, french fries, bread, and yogurt. Not gonna lie, the only things I liked were the bread and the yogurt. But whatever, we went back upstairs, watched Jersey Shore and Glee online, and then went to sleep.

The next day in Sevilla was bright and sunny. We did a bus tour of the city first, then we went to the Plaza. (It is apparently where they filmed one of the Star Wars movies.) It was a huge building with a big outdoor courtyard. There was a river and bridges and a fountain. We took lots of pictures and walked all around.

fountain

me on the bridge

Then it was back on the bus and we went to a garden, where we took more pictures.

photoshoot

with the palm trees

Then we saw the Palace. I guess royalty comes to visit sometimes... which makes sense, the place was gorgeous! We got to walk up into the palace and see the fountain and all the palm trees. Then we walked into this building that looked like a mini-Alhambra.

palace

mini-alhambra :)

We went to the cathedral after, where we learned that the 3 biggest cathedrals in the world are 1) The Vatican, been there 2) Sevilla, was there and 3) Granada, live there. I was so excited! We walked into the cathedral for free with our program and it led into a courtyard with more palm trees. Then we went inside and saw where some royal people can get married. Then in the back of the cathedral is a big stone box and inside is Christopher Columbus's bones. We didn't stay in the cathedral very long, and then Lindsay and left and headed for another very historic, very important monument in Sevilla that was one of the highlights of the trip. Yes, I am talking about Starbucks.

cathedral

they had just gotten married and were dancing outside the cathedral!!

I had a vanilla frapp and it tasted just like the ones in the US. It was so amazing because I missed Starbucks sooo much. I don't have it that much in Illinois, but just seeing it made me feel more at home. Plus we got to sit outside with our drinks in the sun. Then we went shopping! I bought a red shirt at H&M. Then we got back on the bus for a 3 hour ride home!!

It started raining on the way home, but that's okay, because we got to see a full double rainbow. I have never seen one of those before, and it was so beautiful. :)

Cliffs of Moher

Sunday was our last full day in Ireland. We loved the city, but we really wanted to see the countryside often portrayed in movies, like in PS I Love You. Plus we had heard about the Cliffs of Moher, so we booked a tour bus for the day.

We had to wake up super early, as in 5:30am. Plus, the night before, our lovely French roommates had come into the room at 3am totally wasted and laughing and screaming and making weird noises. I think one girl had the hiccups. Thankfully, one of the German girls told them to be quiet. I figured I would get revenge knowing my alarm clock was set for 5:30am.

It took us two and a half hours to get to Galway. It actually surprised me that we could cross the country in less than 3 hours. Our tour guide got on the bus and drove us south. We stopped along the way to look at castles, Wedge Tombs, Fairy Fort (where leprechauns are from!!), and more. We even met this group of students from New Hampshire who were studying in Granada!! We stopped at this town called Doolin at 1pm at a pub for lunch. Angie and I had brought sandwiches, muffins, and mandarin oranges to save money and we had a picnic. This was another way to avoid the Irish food that I really did not want to eat. We did go inside the pub to see what it looked like, and it was really cool. There were groups of people sitting around tables playing instruments and making music. Apparently this was only because it was music week or something.

castle

me and melissa at the tombs

the irish pub

me at fairy fort (where the leprechauns live!!)

We had some time before the tour took us to the Cliffs of Moher, so we walked down this street and saw the Atlantic Ocean. Now obviously, I have seen the Atlantic Ocean numerous times, but I have never seen this side of it. It was so cool to know that on the other side of that ocean was home. Being in Ireland really does remind me of home, mostly because I have been in Spain for the past 2 months, but at the same time it really does feel European. There were cliffs on the side and I saw the ocean hit the sides of the cliffs. The waves were huge. It was so pretty.

me!!

atlatic ocean

We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher at 2:20pm and were told we had until 4pm to get back on the bus. There were a bunch of us and we all walked around the Cliffs. We saw this tower that was really pretty. Then we went to the other side and walked along this path past the “Do Not Cross: Private Property” sign. We took tons of pictures. Melissa and I were both walking close to the side away from the cliffs, holding onto the rock wall. Everyone else was sitting on the side, dangling their feet of the edge. Then Angie and Anna started running, and I saw them slide themselves down the side! I totally screamed and freaked out and thought my 2 sorority sisters were going to fall off the Cliffs of Moher. I really did not want to have to explain that to our exec board… Turns out they just wanted a picture.

the picture i totally freaked out for

pretty tower

i felt like rapunzel!!

the cliffs of moher!!

sorority sisters

It was super windy, but it was also sunny. And it was not as windy as I thought it would be. The wind did make for some real interesting pictures though…

We got back on the bus and rode 3 hours back to Galway. On the way we passed cowsheep, saw Leprechaun Mountain (you can only see the face if you believe…), and the Bay. Our tour guide, Ray, said sometimes you can see dolphins in the bay. Naturally, I literally stared at the water for the remainder of the coastal drive. I ended up falling asleep, but woke up to everyone on the bus singing Irish songs. We were in Galway again, and had half an hour until the bus ride home at 6:30. Of course, we went to Subway. Best decision ever. Then we got on the bus and rode home. I fell asleep for a little bit, watched Meet the Fockers, and thought about our amazing day.

We got home, showered, slept, and woke up the next day at 4:15am to get on a bus to the airport. I got to sit in the front!! On the left side. I felt like I should have been driving. Then we sat in the airport for a few hours and then left for Madrid and took another 5 hour bus back to Granada!!

Ireland was the one country that I could not leave Europe without seeing. I am one fourth Irish, I have been Irish Dancing since I was 10, my saint is St. Brigid, I’ve seen it in movies, and I love the culture. The luck, the leprechauns, the superstitions… I love it all! Plus it reminded me of a mix between Chicago and what I think London would look like, but Anna said she liked Dublin more than London. Ireland totally exceeded my expectations, which was surprising. I felt so at home there. It was like the US, but it was very clear we were in Europe. I loved it all so much! I really want to come back someday. This weekend was, without a doubt, one of the best weekends of my life. I can’t even describe how incredibly happy I was just to be in Ireland and how blessed and thankful I am that I had this amazing opportunity. This has been my dream for so long, so, in the words of Flynn Rider, now I guess I get to go find a new dream.

All About Dublin

If I did not study abroad, then Friday February 25^th would have been spent driving to the Wisconsin Dells with my family, cousins, and family friends. I would have hung out in the water park of the Wilderness Resort and had a blast. However, I spent the day in Dublin, and I had so much fun I surprisingly didn’t even think about the Dells at all. They all had fun without me and I miss them, but I do love Ireland.

I woke up that morning at 7:15am, and believe it or not, that was the most sleeping in I did in Ireland. We did the Dublin free walking tour and learned all about the history of Ireland.

If you want to know a little about the history, feel free to read this paragraph. If not, you can skip over it. Ireland, like the US, was under British rule. They rebelled and fought for independence. My great-great-grandmother Ellen came over to America when she was 16 to get away from the British who were taking over the country. The Irish had an Easter Rising, which I heard a lot about. It’s kind of a long story, but it was actually pretty interesting. A group of like 19 Irish guys were going to invade Dublin Castle, which was headed by the English, on Easter. The British found out and had to stand guard all day, but the Irish never showed up because they had this boat coming of weapons and it sunk. Then the Irish went the next day, but all the British guards wanted the day off since they had to stand guard all day on Easter. They were all at the horse races when the 19 Irish guys walked into the deserted castle. Their plan was to raise the Irish flag and all the citizens would come running and be a part of the rebellion. But they were so spooked that no one was around- they thought it was a trap! So they left. They held the rising later, and obviously, eventually Ireland became its own country. I am pretty sure the guide said that Ireland became an independent country in 1922. Now the relationship between Ireland and England is good! The Vikings also came to Ireland in the past. We learned about the Potato Famine that struck in 1845. 8 million people lived in Ireland at that time, and after, there were only 5 million. Some died and some moved to other countries, like America. Now, I think the population of Ireland is just over 4 million people. The people needed potatoes to eat, and I don’t blame them, the rest of the Irish food is not exactly what I would call good. However the British kept sending food off to other countries while the Irish were starving, so the Irish really wanted independence even more after that. We also learned about St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. (Along with St. Brigid.) St. Patrick was actually British, and he was enslaved and brought to Ireland. He was able to escape and get back to England after 5 years, and he hated his time in Ireland, obviously. But then God came to him in a dream and told him that he needed to bring Christianity to the High King of Ireland. He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick’s Day used to be a very religious holiday where everyone went to church- you used to not even be able to buy alcohol. Then we, in the lovely United States of America, made the celebration a party, and now it’s a party in Ireland too!! I was so happy to learn that our country made a mark on Ireland. He also explained about Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland- Dublin is in the Republic of Ireland, or simply called just Ireland. They are currently 2 separate countries, and I’m pretty sure they are that way because of religion. They might become united someday, but only if they all vote for it or something. We learned about the different colors of the flag of Ireland. For those of you who have not seen the flag, there are 3 vertical stripes of color: green, white, and orange. The green represents Christianity and the orange represents Protestants. Can you guess what the white represents? Peace. J

Our first stop on our tour after our history lesson was Dublin Castle. I was so excited to see a castle! It was pretty much just a courtyard with a building surrounding it. There was a turret left from the original castle and a part that used to be used as a prison. The castle was really pretty. Then we went to go see a garden. It was a huge field of grass and the guide said that they sometimes use it for helicopters to land. Honestly, I wasn’t really listening to this part of the tour, I was too busy taking pictures and being really excited to see green grass.

dublin castle

green grass :)

We saw Christ Church, Trinity College, and Parliament. I was really excited to see Trinity College because in Irish Dance, they always talk about the Book of Kells at Trinity College. We learned all about the Book of Kells and got to walk around the campus of Trinity. Our guide actually went to school there.

christ church

trinity college

The weather, may I point out, was fantastic. It was warm, and I was perfectly content in my Hollister sweater and North Face jacket. It was even sunny!!

At the end of the tour, our guide Peter told us about this pub crawl that his company was doing that night at 7:30pm. We should meet at this one pub if we wanted to go. We all decided that would be fun. Then we went to have lunch. Angie and I made and ate peanut butter sandwiches that we had bought at the grocery store, then met back up with Anna, Melissa, and Karina for a day of shopping!! I bought a Claddaugh ring and some souvenirs. In the store, they were playing Riverdance music!! I was so excited and it brought back many good memories. :)

Then us 5 girls went to Penney’s, H&M, and, get this, Forever 21!!! Melissa and I had seen people carrying around Forever bags for the past 24 hours and we finally just went up to a group of girls and asked where the store was located. It was so beautiful- 3 stories tall, bright and cheery, with tons of clothes disorganized over racks and shelves surrounded by tons of accessories and jewelry. It was like heaven.

After that, we went back home and got ready for the pub crawl. I wore my strapless flower dress from Forever 21 that I bought last summer, and of course I paired it with leggings, a cardigan, and my North Face. Dublin gets really cold during the night, especially in February. Then we all met up at the Purty Kitchen, which was the first pub on the list. We had to tell the people outside our guide’s name and get these totally fashionable neon orange paper wristbands that said something like TourEurope on them. So not touristy at all.

How the pub crawl worked was we paid like 11 euros (it was normally 12 but we got a discount!!) and they would take us around to 5 pubs all night, spending 40 minutes at each pub. We would not get carded or questioned, even though the drinking age was 18. We would get a free beer at the first pub, and any full priced drink throughout the night that we ordered would come with a free shot. But that’s not all! We would also get free admission to a night club at the end, where the tour would end and we could stay as long as we wanted.

So the first pub was kind of empty, I think because it was early. In Spain, no one goes out til like 2am so 7:30 felt early to us. I had my free beer- which turned out to be Coors Light- and Anna didn’t want hers so I had like half of hers too. About 40 minutes later, the guys in charge of the pub crawl got us all to leave and then took us to the next pub. I didn’t drink, but everyone I was with got this strawberry beer, which I tried and it was amazing. I decided at the third bar to get a Guinness because they are famous in Ireland and I really wanted to try one. It was actually pretty good, to my surprise. Since I ordered a drink, I got a shot with it. At this pub, we went downstairs and I felt like I was in a frat house. There was another bar, and there were actually people playing beer pong. It was so crowded, but we met these 2 twin girls our age who were from Illinois! When we left the third pub, we were standing outside waiting for people, and my friends told me to Irish Dance. So I did. It was so awesome!! I was dancing in the streets of Ireland surrounded by all these random people clapping and cheering for me. My friends looked surprised that I could actually Irish Dance… haha. It was so fun. Pub 4 had lots of stairs and levels to it, and by pub 5 we were done drinking and kind of bored. So we went to this pizza place that started with an A and had pizza! It was so good. Then we met up with the pub crawl people again and walked with them to the night club. We walked in…and pretty much walked out. It was crowded and we were tired and it smelled weird. We went back to our hostel and went to sleep.

guinness

one of the bars we went to

Saturday we kind of got to sleep in. but Angie and I woke up before our alarm. We took showers and went souvenir shopping again. We met up with everyone else at the train station to go to this place called Howth. It is still technically Dublin, but it’s on the ocean or sea or whatever the body of water is between Ireland and England. Our friends even brought one of their couch surfers with them who is from Latvia I think. There were 9 of us.

On the 25 minute train ride to Howth, we were commenting on how Dublin is a lot like Chicago. I felt so at home, and I felt like I was just taking a train into Union Station. Then the scenery changed, and we saw an ocean and mountains. So not Chicago. Okay I think it’s called the Irish Sea, but I could be wrong. We saw these seals in the water and took pictures with them. They were so cute!!

We walked down this cement-pier-dock thing. We saw rocks and countryside and we took a lot of pictures. There were also green islands in the water that were pretty to look at. Then we headed over to the beach part.

I took of my boots and socks and put my feet in the water. It was freezing, but eventually my feet became numb so I didn’t feel the cold anymore. It felt amazing to feel sand on my feet. We took tons of pictures on the beach. Who would have thought my first European beach would have been in Ireland in February?

After the beach excursion, and I put on my shoes again, we had lunch. Angie and I brought food and ate our picnic looking at the sea and the rocks. Then some of us went back to the city and went shopping again around the city and in the mall. Melissa needed new shoes and found some really cute ones at Forever 21. This was also when something very important happened- I felt a raindrop. Okay, it rained for like 5 seconds before I went into a store, but still, I saw rain in Ireland!!

Angie and I had bought a cheap frozen pizza for dinner, but the hostel oven was broke. We looked at each other and said “Subway?” so off to Subway we went!! We were laughing the whole time because we were so excited. For all you reading this in the comfort of your own American homes, you really do not appreciate how amazing you have it. You can’t get sandwiches in Europe. Or fast food for under $10. So we ordered our Subway sandwiches and literally ran back to our hostel to eat them. Best weekend ever? I think yes.