Slainte Ireland, One Final Time
My time in Europe has come to an end. Luke and I arrived safely in Ireland, spent one day in Dublin, one full day in Galway and taking a day trip with a delightful old tour guide to see West Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher, and then caught the bus to the Shannon airport early the next morning and flew home. Oregon, how I have missed you. Goodbye Ireland, and goodbye Europe.
First, I just want to say thank you to everybody who read the blog, or sent emails, cards, packages, life updates, Facebook messages, or anything else feigning interest in my life and my travels abroad, and updating me on the life I left behind. I also want to say thanks to all my close friends and family for being patient with my ridiculously slow internet connection in Ireland, and for trying time and again while Skype worked only when it wanted to, probably about 40% of the time. Thanks especially to Mom and Dad, whose weekly/sometimes daily emails, skype chats, and care packages made me feel like 4,500 miles really wasn't that far away, and who supported the six most expensive months of their daughter's life, ever. Thank you to everybody for putting up with the communication barriers and the 8 hour time difference for 6 months.
My study abroad experience has been an incredible one. I would have been lucky to have been able to visit one country, let alone many. After six months, dozens of flights and train rides, and thousands of dollars, I can truthfully say my time in Europe is complete. All in all, I was able to visit 10 countries: Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Greece.
I have had irreplaceable experiences. I have been able to indulge in incredible food, I mean absolutely incredible food. I celebrated my 21st birthday in Ireland. I was in Spain when Barcelona beat Real Madrid to advance. I laid on the beaches of the gorgeous Algarve Coast in Portugal. I swam in the Mediterranean Sea in three different countries. I smoked in Amsterdam. I met family I had never met before in Germany. I drank my first Guinness in Ireland, and tried innumerable beers in Belgium and Germany. I devoured Belgian chocolate. I climbed the Eiffel Tower, twice. I hiked the Burren in Ireland and the trails of Cinque Terre in Italy. I walked so much I wore out my tennis shoes and flip flops. I took a gondola ride through the canals of Venice. I was able to travel with great friends, and with family I have missed dearly. I watched the sun set over the Acropolis in Greece. I have shopped until I have dropped. I have literally laid off the edge of a cliff. And I have met some absolutely lovely people along the way that have made my experience so much more enjoyable.
My homecoming is bittersweet. I have missed my family and friends dearly. I have missed Jake's slobbery kisses and deadly wagging tail more than I thought I did. And seeing the sight of my own front porch again for the first time, my home and all the comforts it brings, literally made me cry. Of course I have also missed my own bed, a shower where I am not required to wear flip flops for hygienic precautions, and a kitchen with a dishwasher. And I don't mean you Dad, I mean a real dishwasher. I have missed clean clothes. I have missed drinking fountains, the fresh air of Oregon, and being able to walk anywhere without inhaling somebody else's huge puff of cigarette smoke. I have missed free public restrooms, and free ketchup in restaurants that serve food that requires ketchup. And of course, I have missed Mexican food, macaroni and cheese, and Cold Stone ice cream. Typical American.
But I know I will miss my time in Ireland and elsewhere. I will miss the cheery Irish hello, the traveling experience, and even the challenges of living out of a backpack for weeks on end. I will miss the people I have met along the way. I will miss the simplistic life of traveling, with no cell phone and limited responsibilities. I will miss learning about and experiencing other cultures and languages. I will miss the life I have created in Ireland and as a backpacker traveling and eating her way through Europe.
Thanks again to everybody who kept up with my travels, wished me well, and kept in contact while I've been away. Your enthusiasm, encouragement, love, and support are sincerely appreciated. And should anybody want to see more pictures or to chat about what I've learned, I have now caught the traveling bug and would love to share it with you!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Ciao Italia
Ciao Italia
This might be almost the last update before I return to my normal life where people aren't interested in reading about all the things I get to do, places I see, and food I eat. But for now...
After Florence, we jumped on yet another train to Rome. Sadly, this was my last train in Europe. My Eurail pass is completely full, which is great since it's falling apart and the envelope it was in literally ripped at the seams. For all the money that pass cost, you'd think they could have sent me a real cover for it. Nonetheless, we spent the next two days in Rome exploring all the sites.
The first day, we went to grab some lunch, did a little shopping, and then took a nap. Then, we took the metro to the Colosseo. We had perfect timing because the sun was setting right when we got there so we got some great pictures. Then we took the metro to the Trevi fountain. By the time we got there, it was dark, so we got to see the Trevi fountain all lit up! We did some more shopping, and then had a really late dinner. By the time we walked back to the metro station around 11.30 it was closed. Oops. But really, what big city closes it's public transportation systems at 9 PM?! Apparently Rome does. So then we had to walk back to our hostel, although luckily it took less than an hour.
The next day, we took a bus tour of Rome. We saw all the major sites from the top of our bus, all the while working on our tans. If you haven't picked up on it already, tanning is a major priority of this vacation, after eating and shopping of course, and I suppose sightseeing, only because we know that when we get back to good old Oregon, we won't have the sun or the time necessary to tan like we can here.
We hopped off our bus at the Vatican, and as we were walking to the square, the Pope was speaking! I mean, could our timing have been any better? I think not. Apparently, the Pope talks every Wednesday, and we showed up on a Wednesday at the perfect time. Even better than seeing the pope, though, was waiting in short lines to get into the Sistine Chapel. Maybe because everybody stayed outside to hear the Pope finish speaking, or maybe just because it was a good day, we waited in line for probably a half hour and then we were in. There were lots of people inside, but I think bypassing all the hot, sweaty, slightly annoying tour groups was still worth the museum and having the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. And Omi: Michelle, Luke and I got you a rosary from the Vatican!
After that, we hopped back on our bus and went back to the hostel for some desperately needed showers. Maybe this is a good time to mention that although we love working on our tans over here, it is incredibly hot, all the time, and we sweat incredible amounts, all the time. Most places in Europe don't have air conditioning, so even inside stores, or at night with the windows open, we sweat. I don't think I've used a sheet in days now just because it's that hot in our rooms and I'm sweating just laying still in the middle of the night.
Anyway, enough about how gross the sweating situation is here. After showers, we met Luke's good friend Jack and his sister for some snacks. It worked out perfectly that our last night in Rome was the day Jack and his family arrived, and their hotel was within walking distance from our hostel! Luke went to dinner with their family, and then Jack and his sister came back, and we took Luke out to his first bar experience, ever. His first as far as I know, at least.
Some friends Michelle and I had met in France also happened to be in Rome that night, so we met up with them, and then went for a drink. We all enjoyed our last night together before we would go our separate ways in the morning.
Luke and I had to be up at 3.30 AM to catch our flight to Greece at 6.40, so we said goodbye to Michelle and Kevin, and tried to sleep for a couple hours. Michelle, safe and fun travels for the next few weeks, and good luck in your big tournament Kevin! Luke and I had a fantastic time traveling with you both!
The next morning, Luke and I arrived in Athens! This is our last stop before Ireland, and then home. We did a little shopping, ate our first Greek gyros, which were incredible, and then headed up to the Acropolis. We walked around, saw the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Hephaestus.
We stopped to have our second gyro of the day for dinner on our way back to he hostel, then headed up to the rooftop bar for happy hour. Because our hostel is so close to the city centre, we had an amazing view of the Acropolis as it lit up at night, and we enjoyed the sunset with some new friends from the rooftop bar.
The next day, we took a day trip to the closest island to Athens, called Aegina. We spent the day exploring the island, swimming in the beautiful, clear blue water, and tanning. I mean, what else are we supposed to do in the country with gorgeous island beaches and not a cloud in the sky?
On our way back, we picked up yet another gyro, our best yet, and headed back for showers and more happy hour rooftop bar time. The gyro we had this night really was divine...hot pork, perfect tomatoes, yummy red onions, and the most delicious tzatziki sauce with real cucumber chunks I have ever had. If anybody knows of anywhere in Portland, or possibly even in the state of Oregon if they're authentic, that I can get a proper Greek gyro, please let me know as soon as possible.
The next day, our last day in Greece, we tried to go to the old Olympic stadium, but since Athens is hosting the world Special Olympics, we were not allowed inside. The more recent Olympic stadium was also being used for the Special Olympic games and ceremonies so we couldn't see that one either.
But don't worry, we just used the rest of our day to work on our tans of course. We took a bus to the beach, and took our last swim in the Mediterranean ocean!
Tonight we'll probably grab some more gyros, we've only had one our of our two a day quota so far, and then enjoy our last Greek sunset before our full day of traveling from Greece to Italy to Ireland tomorrow.
See you soon America!
This might be almost the last update before I return to my normal life where people aren't interested in reading about all the things I get to do, places I see, and food I eat. But for now...
After Florence, we jumped on yet another train to Rome. Sadly, this was my last train in Europe. My Eurail pass is completely full, which is great since it's falling apart and the envelope it was in literally ripped at the seams. For all the money that pass cost, you'd think they could have sent me a real cover for it. Nonetheless, we spent the next two days in Rome exploring all the sites.
The first day, we went to grab some lunch, did a little shopping, and then took a nap. Then, we took the metro to the Colosseo. We had perfect timing because the sun was setting right when we got there so we got some great pictures. Then we took the metro to the Trevi fountain. By the time we got there, it was dark, so we got to see the Trevi fountain all lit up! We did some more shopping, and then had a really late dinner. By the time we walked back to the metro station around 11.30 it was closed. Oops. But really, what big city closes it's public transportation systems at 9 PM?! Apparently Rome does. So then we had to walk back to our hostel, although luckily it took less than an hour.
The next day, we took a bus tour of Rome. We saw all the major sites from the top of our bus, all the while working on our tans. If you haven't picked up on it already, tanning is a major priority of this vacation, after eating and shopping of course, and I suppose sightseeing, only because we know that when we get back to good old Oregon, we won't have the sun or the time necessary to tan like we can here.
We hopped off our bus at the Vatican, and as we were walking to the square, the Pope was speaking! I mean, could our timing have been any better? I think not. Apparently, the Pope talks every Wednesday, and we showed up on a Wednesday at the perfect time. Even better than seeing the pope, though, was waiting in short lines to get into the Sistine Chapel. Maybe because everybody stayed outside to hear the Pope finish speaking, or maybe just because it was a good day, we waited in line for probably a half hour and then we were in. There were lots of people inside, but I think bypassing all the hot, sweaty, slightly annoying tour groups was still worth the museum and having the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. And Omi: Michelle, Luke and I got you a rosary from the Vatican!
After that, we hopped back on our bus and went back to the hostel for some desperately needed showers. Maybe this is a good time to mention that although we love working on our tans over here, it is incredibly hot, all the time, and we sweat incredible amounts, all the time. Most places in Europe don't have air conditioning, so even inside stores, or at night with the windows open, we sweat. I don't think I've used a sheet in days now just because it's that hot in our rooms and I'm sweating just laying still in the middle of the night.
Anyway, enough about how gross the sweating situation is here. After showers, we met Luke's good friend Jack and his sister for some snacks. It worked out perfectly that our last night in Rome was the day Jack and his family arrived, and their hotel was within walking distance from our hostel! Luke went to dinner with their family, and then Jack and his sister came back, and we took Luke out to his first bar experience, ever. His first as far as I know, at least.
Some friends Michelle and I had met in France also happened to be in Rome that night, so we met up with them, and then went for a drink. We all enjoyed our last night together before we would go our separate ways in the morning.
Luke and I had to be up at 3.30 AM to catch our flight to Greece at 6.40, so we said goodbye to Michelle and Kevin, and tried to sleep for a couple hours. Michelle, safe and fun travels for the next few weeks, and good luck in your big tournament Kevin! Luke and I had a fantastic time traveling with you both!
The next morning, Luke and I arrived in Athens! This is our last stop before Ireland, and then home. We did a little shopping, ate our first Greek gyros, which were incredible, and then headed up to the Acropolis. We walked around, saw the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Hephaestus.
We stopped to have our second gyro of the day for dinner on our way back to he hostel, then headed up to the rooftop bar for happy hour. Because our hostel is so close to the city centre, we had an amazing view of the Acropolis as it lit up at night, and we enjoyed the sunset with some new friends from the rooftop bar.
The next day, we took a day trip to the closest island to Athens, called Aegina. We spent the day exploring the island, swimming in the beautiful, clear blue water, and tanning. I mean, what else are we supposed to do in the country with gorgeous island beaches and not a cloud in the sky?
On our way back, we picked up yet another gyro, our best yet, and headed back for showers and more happy hour rooftop bar time. The gyro we had this night really was divine...hot pork, perfect tomatoes, yummy red onions, and the most delicious tzatziki sauce with real cucumber chunks I have ever had. If anybody knows of anywhere in Portland, or possibly even in the state of Oregon if they're authentic, that I can get a proper Greek gyro, please let me know as soon as possible.
The next day, our last day in Greece, we tried to go to the old Olympic stadium, but since Athens is hosting the world Special Olympics, we were not allowed inside. The more recent Olympic stadium was also being used for the Special Olympic games and ceremonies so we couldn't see that one either.
But don't worry, we just used the rest of our day to work on our tans of course. We took a bus to the beach, and took our last swim in the Mediterranean ocean!
Tonight we'll probably grab some more gyros, we've only had one our of our two a day quota so far, and then enjoy our last Greek sunset before our full day of traveling from Greece to Italy to Ireland tomorrow.
See you soon America!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I mean...
I mean...this guy.
Time for another update I suppose...
Michelle and I enjoyed the rest of or time in Paris. We spent lots of time walking around sightseeing the city and meeting more great people at our hostels. And then finally we picked Luke up at the airport on the 14th.
Luke arrived late after more than a 4 hour delay in Toronto. But luckily he wasn't too tired when he got to Paris, so we dropped our stuff at the hostel, and set off for the Eiffel tower.
We took the stairs up the first two floors, because it's good exercise an it's cheaper, and we're all about exercising and saving money around here since we enjoy far too much European desserts. Then we took the elevator up to the top, got the birds eye view of Paris, and went down.
We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, saw Notre Dame and the outside of the Louvre, then headed back to our hostel. By that time it was around 10 and Luke had been up for over 24 hours straight, so he went to bed. But, that day was Michelle's birthday, so we went down and had a few bottles, I mean glasses, of wine with a couple guys we had met the night before.
The next day we saw a little more of Paris, then caught our plane to Venice. Au revoir for the last time Paris!
Kevin picked us up at the airport, and we headed to his house to settle in for the next three nights. The next day, he took us on base and signed us on so we could do laundry. Let me just say that I have never, in my entire life, been more excited to do laundry. Ever. After laundry, we went grocery shopping, and since it's an American base, they have an American style grocery store with American foods, so I stocked up on all the essentials: sun chips, BBQ potato chips, reese's peanut butter cups, and premade cookie dough.
We came back to Kevin's and prepared our Mexican fiesta. I still had Taco Bell meat seasoning in my backpack from the package mom sent me, so we had tacos with good meat, refried beans, and homemade salsa courtesy of Kevin. And some margaritas. Then Kevin had some friends over, and we finally celebrated Michelle's birthday and Luke's graduation properly. Quite the party. I think that's about all we need to say about that night.
The next day, we caught an early train to Venice and spent the day in Venice. Unfortunately, it poured while we were there, so we came back to Kevin's for dinner, which was, in my opinion, the best part of the day because...
We had Taco Bell for dinner! I know you might all think that's ridiculous. I mean, I'm in Italy and I'm eating Taco Bell?? Yes. I am. I haven't had Taco Bell since I left the States, there are just none anywhere in Europe. But, Kevin's base had a Taco Bell, and I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.
After dinner, we all packed and fell asleep early to try and catch up on some sleep from the night before. The next morning, we headed off to Cinque Terre.
We caught another early train from Venice to Cinque Terre. We stayed in the second village, Manarola. We had to walk up a significant hill to get to our hostel, but luckily it wasn't as bad as the epic trek mom and I had to climb to get to our place. We checked in, then set off to find some dinner. We enjoyed our dinner, then picked up some wine on the way home, and went back to the hostel.
Let me just say...this group lovesssss playing cards. I'd consider it a minor obsession. Our favourite games are 13, lucky, and garbage.
We spent the rest of that night enjoying the wine, our cards, the Italian sunset, and each other's jokes.
The next day was our hiking day. We got up early, took the train to Corniglia, walked up the hundreds of stairs, then hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, and then from Vernazza to Monterosso. Later in the day we also hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We hiked soooo many stairs and had a nice morning workout, but really enjoyed the exercise and the beautiful views.
Luke ran up some of the stairs because he said he wanted a better workout, and on my way up behind him, he ran past a lady who turned around to watch him run behind her, and then asked her friend what the word was for 'crazy' or 'nuts' in Italian.
After our hikes, we laid on the beach for a couple hours, swam in the ocean, ate some paninis, and worked on our tans. This is such a hard life.
After that, we went back to Corniglia to eat at the restaurant that mom and I ate at so many times. I, of course, got pesto lasagne once again, and bruschetta. Luke and Kevin go pesto lasagne too. Michelle was feeling adventurous so she ordered the pruschitto and melon. It was a cantelope cut into slices and just topped with tons of pruschitto. Not bad.
Then, we headed back to take showers, drink wine, and play cards...again. Our hostel was nice, but had lots of restrictions...one being a five minute shower per day limit. Every day, we got one token for a five minute shower. But we all decided to save our token the first night and use both the second night to have 10 minute showers. This plan worked for everybody - except me. You couldn't put both tokens in at the same time, so you had to shower for 5 minutes, then get out and put in the other 5 minute token - slightly annoying but would have been fine except the machine ate my second token. So I'm standing there in my swimsuit, soaking wet, conditioner still in my hair, wondering how I'm going to run down to the front desk to tell the nice man that the shower machine ate my token. But luckily another girl in he bathroom witnessed my plight,and went down and got another token for me.
The next morning we got up early, again, to take the train to Florence. Since Michelle and I have rail passes, our ticket was free. The rail passes have saved me quite a bit of money I think. We spent the rest of the day shopping around Florence an bartering with the sellers. With Michelle and I both bartering, we got some killer deals!
Think that's about all for the logistics of our lives. Otherwise, we have just been having a great time all hanging out. And eating. Here's a couple quick highlights of our lives:
Lucas is really enjoying the food. He has been trying all the different foods, and has officially decided that the Italians have the best food. He is also enjoying being legally able to drink over here.
I am enjoying hanging out with the fam, but am starting to get really anxious to get back home! I cannot believe it's been almost six months already!
Michelle and Luke really enjoyed Cinque Terre. They both said it was their favourite place so far.
Michelle is enjoying Italy, and the bartering and street vendors. She is also enjoying Kevin. I mean, really enjoying Kevin. I'd say the feeling is mutual, at least according to Luke and I's observations.
In all honesty though, Kevin has been a great addition to this crazy family vacation. We have all really enjoyed his company.
We named Luke's backpack Giovanni.
We have lots of artwork now, since the street vendor liked my eyes, and gave us some serious deals on the paintings. He would have given me a free one for a kiss, but I thought was a little too desperate, even for my style, so I refused.
We are all starting to sound the same. We have started a quote board on a placemat we got. But, since we have been spending so much time together, we are starting to say the same phrases.
Okay, enough typing for now. Ciao
PS - sorry for all the typos, it's sort of hard to type this much on a little tiny iPod keyboard, so just substitute your best guess for a word if it's completely wrong.
Time for another update I suppose...
Michelle and I enjoyed the rest of or time in Paris. We spent lots of time walking around sightseeing the city and meeting more great people at our hostels. And then finally we picked Luke up at the airport on the 14th.
Luke arrived late after more than a 4 hour delay in Toronto. But luckily he wasn't too tired when he got to Paris, so we dropped our stuff at the hostel, and set off for the Eiffel tower.
We took the stairs up the first two floors, because it's good exercise an it's cheaper, and we're all about exercising and saving money around here since we enjoy far too much European desserts. Then we took the elevator up to the top, got the birds eye view of Paris, and went down.
We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, saw Notre Dame and the outside of the Louvre, then headed back to our hostel. By that time it was around 10 and Luke had been up for over 24 hours straight, so he went to bed. But, that day was Michelle's birthday, so we went down and had a few bottles, I mean glasses, of wine with a couple guys we had met the night before.
The next day we saw a little more of Paris, then caught our plane to Venice. Au revoir for the last time Paris!
Kevin picked us up at the airport, and we headed to his house to settle in for the next three nights. The next day, he took us on base and signed us on so we could do laundry. Let me just say that I have never, in my entire life, been more excited to do laundry. Ever. After laundry, we went grocery shopping, and since it's an American base, they have an American style grocery store with American foods, so I stocked up on all the essentials: sun chips, BBQ potato chips, reese's peanut butter cups, and premade cookie dough.
We came back to Kevin's and prepared our Mexican fiesta. I still had Taco Bell meat seasoning in my backpack from the package mom sent me, so we had tacos with good meat, refried beans, and homemade salsa courtesy of Kevin. And some margaritas. Then Kevin had some friends over, and we finally celebrated Michelle's birthday and Luke's graduation properly. Quite the party. I think that's about all we need to say about that night.
The next day, we caught an early train to Venice and spent the day in Venice. Unfortunately, it poured while we were there, so we came back to Kevin's for dinner, which was, in my opinion, the best part of the day because...
We had Taco Bell for dinner! I know you might all think that's ridiculous. I mean, I'm in Italy and I'm eating Taco Bell?? Yes. I am. I haven't had Taco Bell since I left the States, there are just none anywhere in Europe. But, Kevin's base had a Taco Bell, and I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.
After dinner, we all packed and fell asleep early to try and catch up on some sleep from the night before. The next morning, we headed off to Cinque Terre.
We caught another early train from Venice to Cinque Terre. We stayed in the second village, Manarola. We had to walk up a significant hill to get to our hostel, but luckily it wasn't as bad as the epic trek mom and I had to climb to get to our place. We checked in, then set off to find some dinner. We enjoyed our dinner, then picked up some wine on the way home, and went back to the hostel.
Let me just say...this group lovesssss playing cards. I'd consider it a minor obsession. Our favourite games are 13, lucky, and garbage.
We spent the rest of that night enjoying the wine, our cards, the Italian sunset, and each other's jokes.
The next day was our hiking day. We got up early, took the train to Corniglia, walked up the hundreds of stairs, then hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, and then from Vernazza to Monterosso. Later in the day we also hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We hiked soooo many stairs and had a nice morning workout, but really enjoyed the exercise and the beautiful views.
Luke ran up some of the stairs because he said he wanted a better workout, and on my way up behind him, he ran past a lady who turned around to watch him run behind her, and then asked her friend what the word was for 'crazy' or 'nuts' in Italian.
After our hikes, we laid on the beach for a couple hours, swam in the ocean, ate some paninis, and worked on our tans. This is such a hard life.
After that, we went back to Corniglia to eat at the restaurant that mom and I ate at so many times. I, of course, got pesto lasagne once again, and bruschetta. Luke and Kevin go pesto lasagne too. Michelle was feeling adventurous so she ordered the pruschitto and melon. It was a cantelope cut into slices and just topped with tons of pruschitto. Not bad.
Then, we headed back to take showers, drink wine, and play cards...again. Our hostel was nice, but had lots of restrictions...one being a five minute shower per day limit. Every day, we got one token for a five minute shower. But we all decided to save our token the first night and use both the second night to have 10 minute showers. This plan worked for everybody - except me. You couldn't put both tokens in at the same time, so you had to shower for 5 minutes, then get out and put in the other 5 minute token - slightly annoying but would have been fine except the machine ate my second token. So I'm standing there in my swimsuit, soaking wet, conditioner still in my hair, wondering how I'm going to run down to the front desk to tell the nice man that the shower machine ate my token. But luckily another girl in he bathroom witnessed my plight,and went down and got another token for me.
The next morning we got up early, again, to take the train to Florence. Since Michelle and I have rail passes, our ticket was free. The rail passes have saved me quite a bit of money I think. We spent the rest of the day shopping around Florence an bartering with the sellers. With Michelle and I both bartering, we got some killer deals!
Think that's about all for the logistics of our lives. Otherwise, we have just been having a great time all hanging out. And eating. Here's a couple quick highlights of our lives:
Lucas is really enjoying the food. He has been trying all the different foods, and has officially decided that the Italians have the best food. He is also enjoying being legally able to drink over here.
I am enjoying hanging out with the fam, but am starting to get really anxious to get back home! I cannot believe it's been almost six months already!
Michelle and Luke really enjoyed Cinque Terre. They both said it was their favourite place so far.
Michelle is enjoying Italy, and the bartering and street vendors. She is also enjoying Kevin. I mean, really enjoying Kevin. I'd say the feeling is mutual, at least according to Luke and I's observations.
In all honesty though, Kevin has been a great addition to this crazy family vacation. We have all really enjoyed his company.
We named Luke's backpack Giovanni.
We have lots of artwork now, since the street vendor liked my eyes, and gave us some serious deals on the paintings. He would have given me a free one for a kiss, but I thought was a little too desperate, even for my style, so I refused.
We are all starting to sound the same. We have started a quote board on a placemat we got. But, since we have been spending so much time together, we are starting to say the same phrases.
Okay, enough typing for now. Ciao
PS - sorry for all the typos, it's sort of hard to type this much on a little tiny iPod keyboard, so just substitute your best guess for a word if it's completely wrong.
Friday, June 10, 2011
When in Bruges...
My mother has left the continent and my cousin Michelle has arrived. Let the second part of this vacation begin.
Michelle arrived in Paris on Tuesday. I picked her up at the airport, and then we explored a little bit of Paris the first day. When we got off the Metro, we met a group of guys with their backpacks on the front and back and their map spread out - we can spot fellow travelers anywhere, even if they don't have their backpacks on, and it turns out they were trying to find the same hostel we were, so we just all went together. We ended up hanging out with them for part of the day. Mom, so far our trip has been what you thought ours would be - meeting fellow travelers in every city.
Update 1: Gertrude and Hans now have twinsies! Michelle also has the lovely traveler look going with one backpack on the front and one on the back. Gertrude's counterpart is Martha, and Hans' new best friend is Hubert, affectionately knows as Huey. Perfect.
Back to our life. Paris was rainy, so we just bought a bottle of wine, enjoyed the views of Paris from indoors, and caught up on some family drama. The next morning, we set off for Belgium.
We took the train from Paris to Bruges, and spent the next two nights in Bruges. We sampled plenty of local Belgian beer, and enjoyed way too many waffles, chocolates and fries. Seriously. Our hostel had a bar on the first floor, and we met lots of great people in our hostel on both nights.
On the full day we were in Bruges, we spent the day sightseeing, taking a canal tour, touring the local brewery, taking a walking tour, enjoying more food and beer, and meeting more people at our hostel. The dorm rooms were pretty big at this hostel, and some of our roommates were down hanging out with us. Before we even told them which beds we were in, one guy guessed simply by the magazines and enormous toiletry bag Michelle had hung up from the bottom of my top bunk.
Update 2: Michelle has a huge toiletry bag. And, every time we get to a new city or new hostel, she unloads her whole backpack, hangs up her toiletry bag from my bunk, and gets organized. After the accurate identification of Michelle based on her toiletry bag alone, she is now referred to as the one girl with the magazines and huge make-up bag. The guy we met in our room who noticed her bag - Stan - is also coincidentally going to be at the same hostel we are staying in when we get to Paris tomorrow, and he told us that he'll be sure to recognize us by the magazines and toiletry bag. Stan - we'll hold you to this.
Anyway, after our great day in Bruges, we settled back in at our hostel, met some more great people, and introduced our new friends to Kings Cup. We met some Australian boys who played it a little different than we did, but we all played for hours, tested more Belgian beer, and had a great night laughing until we couldn't breathe.
The next day, we caught a train to Brussels, and today we saw the atomium, which was built for the World's Fair, and the famous statue of the little boy peeing. We even got to hold the Heineken cup - the real Heineken cup.
Update 3: The Heineken cup is much heavier than it looks. It's the highest trophy for rugby you can win in Europe.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris again, where we will stay for the next three nights, then go pick up Luke at the airport, spend one more night in Paris with all three of us, then jet off to Italy! Luke, we can't wait for you to get here! We have big plans already for your graduation celebration/Michelle's birthday!
Just a few other updates in my life...
4: I have slowly been shedding items from the backpack. People of Europe - be on the lookout for other presents from me. So far, I have left a sweatshirt, a hat, a pillow, and some other random clothing items, but my backpack is starting to get heavier and heavier, despite my shopping drought, so there may be many more surprises coming soon.
5: I have never had a more desperate laudry situation. I am trying very hard to hold out until we get to Kevin's house on Wednesday night, but it's getting a bit gross. I officially am out of socks and underwear. I have worn the same pair of jeans four days in a row. My towel is starting to smell. I am wearing every item a minimum of three times before I deposit it into my laundry bag. And, today was a new low. I had to rummage through my dirty clothes bag to find my least smelly pair of socks, spray them with Michelle's odor eliminator spray, and then put them on for today's adventure.
Think that's about it for the moment. We are off to shower, catch up on some sleep, and then make our way to Paris tomorrow.
And Luke - congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I'm so proud of you, and can't wait for you to get here and update me on your life for the last 6 months.
Michelle arrived in Paris on Tuesday. I picked her up at the airport, and then we explored a little bit of Paris the first day. When we got off the Metro, we met a group of guys with their backpacks on the front and back and their map spread out - we can spot fellow travelers anywhere, even if they don't have their backpacks on, and it turns out they were trying to find the same hostel we were, so we just all went together. We ended up hanging out with them for part of the day. Mom, so far our trip has been what you thought ours would be - meeting fellow travelers in every city.
Update 1: Gertrude and Hans now have twinsies! Michelle also has the lovely traveler look going with one backpack on the front and one on the back. Gertrude's counterpart is Martha, and Hans' new best friend is Hubert, affectionately knows as Huey. Perfect.
Back to our life. Paris was rainy, so we just bought a bottle of wine, enjoyed the views of Paris from indoors, and caught up on some family drama. The next morning, we set off for Belgium.
We took the train from Paris to Bruges, and spent the next two nights in Bruges. We sampled plenty of local Belgian beer, and enjoyed way too many waffles, chocolates and fries. Seriously. Our hostel had a bar on the first floor, and we met lots of great people in our hostel on both nights.
On the full day we were in Bruges, we spent the day sightseeing, taking a canal tour, touring the local brewery, taking a walking tour, enjoying more food and beer, and meeting more people at our hostel. The dorm rooms were pretty big at this hostel, and some of our roommates were down hanging out with us. Before we even told them which beds we were in, one guy guessed simply by the magazines and enormous toiletry bag Michelle had hung up from the bottom of my top bunk.
Update 2: Michelle has a huge toiletry bag. And, every time we get to a new city or new hostel, she unloads her whole backpack, hangs up her toiletry bag from my bunk, and gets organized. After the accurate identification of Michelle based on her toiletry bag alone, she is now referred to as the one girl with the magazines and huge make-up bag. The guy we met in our room who noticed her bag - Stan - is also coincidentally going to be at the same hostel we are staying in when we get to Paris tomorrow, and he told us that he'll be sure to recognize us by the magazines and toiletry bag. Stan - we'll hold you to this.
Anyway, after our great day in Bruges, we settled back in at our hostel, met some more great people, and introduced our new friends to Kings Cup. We met some Australian boys who played it a little different than we did, but we all played for hours, tested more Belgian beer, and had a great night laughing until we couldn't breathe.
The next day, we caught a train to Brussels, and today we saw the atomium, which was built for the World's Fair, and the famous statue of the little boy peeing. We even got to hold the Heineken cup - the real Heineken cup.
Update 3: The Heineken cup is much heavier than it looks. It's the highest trophy for rugby you can win in Europe.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris again, where we will stay for the next three nights, then go pick up Luke at the airport, spend one more night in Paris with all three of us, then jet off to Italy! Luke, we can't wait for you to get here! We have big plans already for your graduation celebration/Michelle's birthday!
Just a few other updates in my life...
4: I have slowly been shedding items from the backpack. People of Europe - be on the lookout for other presents from me. So far, I have left a sweatshirt, a hat, a pillow, and some other random clothing items, but my backpack is starting to get heavier and heavier, despite my shopping drought, so there may be many more surprises coming soon.
5: I have never had a more desperate laudry situation. I am trying very hard to hold out until we get to Kevin's house on Wednesday night, but it's getting a bit gross. I officially am out of socks and underwear. I have worn the same pair of jeans four days in a row. My towel is starting to smell. I am wearing every item a minimum of three times before I deposit it into my laundry bag. And, today was a new low. I had to rummage through my dirty clothes bag to find my least smelly pair of socks, spray them with Michelle's odor eliminator spray, and then put them on for today's adventure.
Think that's about it for the moment. We are off to shower, catch up on some sleep, and then make our way to Paris tomorrow.
And Luke - congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I'm so proud of you, and can't wait for you to get here and update me on your life for the last 6 months.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Austria and Italy
Let's just continue on from last time...
After Germany, we took a train to Wien, and spent the next two days there. We loved Vienna! We had very hot weather, and we enjoyed lots of sightseeing, attending an opera at the famous Viennese opera house, and taste-testing many new combinations of gelato. This might be sacreligious, but I think the gelato in Vieanna was better than any gelato I've had in Italy. My best combination so far has been nutella and banana. I think in my next life, or maybe later in this life if teaching doesn't work out, I'll open up an ice cream shop and spend the rest of my life coming up with new ice cream flavors.
After two days in Vienna, we took a night train to Venice, Italy. Let me just mention that the night train was quite the experience. Maybe we were just a little shocked since we only had a vague idea of what we were in for, or maybe we just aren't used to this vagabond lifestyle. But nonetheless, we get to Vienna with plenty of time to spare. We find our train, find our car, and set out to find our bunks, and then...
We find the room, if you can even consider it a room. It's six beds (two bunks, each three beds high) with little space between bunk beds. I had the top bunk on one side, and mom had the middle bunk on the other side. We had quite an ecclectic collection of couchettemates, including one middle aged woman from Turkey who was studying computers in Austria, one younger man from Asia who spoke a little English, two American tourists trying their best to prepare themselves for their upcoming 12 hour couchette adventure (mom and I), a younger woman, and her sort of boyfriend (from what we gathered) whose bag smelled like smoke. I only know it reeked of smoke because he stored it two inches from may face for the duration of the train ride - except when he periodically got it down to whip out his wine bottle, plastic cups, extra stash of cigarettes, or hair gel for his morning after reapplication. And yes, that wasn't a typo, he did indeed bring two bottles of wine and plastic cups which he happily passed around to his maybe girlfriend, his other friend who came in our room, and the bunkmates in our couchette. Yes, that's also correct, Mom accepted his offer and shared in the wine celebration.
Somehow, nobody fell off the bunks all night - probably because everybody had the same strategy: sleep as close as possible to the wall and don't move for 12 hours - and we all managed to get a few hours of sleep. We ate our breakfast on our beds, and stepped off the train in the morning at the Venice train station. Tcheuss Wein, and buon giorno Italia!
We spent the next two days in Venice, where we literally walked for dayssss. We walked so much in Venice. Luckily, we didn't have to walk too far to get to our hotel with our backpacks. Did I mention my backpack is the size of a small child? Literally, it's the size of a small child, and weighs probably about the same. Because it is so big, we have given it a name: Gertrude - Gertty for short. I also have to carry around my computer in another backpack, which we have deemed Hans. Mom and I must look absolutely ridiculous carrying all our stuff around from place to place. Here's just a little snapshot:
I carry Gertty like a normal backpack and Hans on the front. Mom rolls her suitcase along, and then carries a backpack as well, along with a smaller, over the shoulder bag with food and my neck pillow. As we've gone from place to place, we've also accumulated a few more things. We've had to make room for these new additions in our packs - so now we tie our tennis shoes to the outside of our backpacks. It's quite the sight, really. The two of us wading through the crowds of other tourists with our combined three backpacks, one suitcase, one bag, one neck pillow, and two pairs of shoes swinging behind us.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed Venice. Particularly, we enjoyed the canals and the shopping in Venice. There are no cars allowed anywhere on the actual islands of Venice, only canals, boats, and lots of confusing streets for walking.
We met four other people on our first day randomly (two moms and two daughters) who wanted to share a gondola ride with us. Our gondola driver was named Allesandro, and we had a great time on our small tour through the canals of Venice. We also saw St. Mark's Basilica, and toured the Doge's Palace. We sampled plenty of gelato, and ate some pasta, although we weren't too sure about everybody's ravings about Italian food until...
We arrive in Cinque Terre! Time for another food diary entry:
Food diary of the Germer fam entry #1 for Italy: The pesto lasagne is probably the most delicious thing I have tasted, maybe ever. It's made from homemade pasta, homemade pesto (Cinque Terre is famous for their pesto), and cheese. It's incredible. We ordered some the first night we were in Cinque Terre from a restaurant just down the street, and loved it so much we went back the second night to the same restaurant - at least we tried different things on the menu the second night.
Entry #2: The bruschetta is incredible as well. The one I ordered yesterday even had pesto on part of it - such a great idea!
Entry #3: Unfortunately, I don't think the gelato is that great in Italy - it's more icy than creamy, and as a diehard fan of the creamiest ice cream, I haven't been converted. Although, Mom has liked every flavor she's tried in Italy.
Entry #4: The focaccia bread here is really great as well! You can get slices from lots of little vendors on the street, almost anywhere. You can eat it plain, with cheese or any other variety of toppings, or like a pizza with sauce, cheese and whatever else you might want baked on top.
Besides the food here, Cinque Terre is really great. We did two of the four hikes - the other two are closed indefinitely, and we have enjoyed soaking up some Italian sun and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very slow, relaxed pace of life. Time just seems to pass slower here.
We leave Italy tomorrow to fly to France, where we will spend one night before Mom flies back to real life and Michelle arrives.
Grazie Italia for the delicious food and great weather, I'll see you in a week again with new traveling companions by my side!
After Germany, we took a train to Wien, and spent the next two days there. We loved Vienna! We had very hot weather, and we enjoyed lots of sightseeing, attending an opera at the famous Viennese opera house, and taste-testing many new combinations of gelato. This might be sacreligious, but I think the gelato in Vieanna was better than any gelato I've had in Italy. My best combination so far has been nutella and banana. I think in my next life, or maybe later in this life if teaching doesn't work out, I'll open up an ice cream shop and spend the rest of my life coming up with new ice cream flavors.
After two days in Vienna, we took a night train to Venice, Italy. Let me just mention that the night train was quite the experience. Maybe we were just a little shocked since we only had a vague idea of what we were in for, or maybe we just aren't used to this vagabond lifestyle. But nonetheless, we get to Vienna with plenty of time to spare. We find our train, find our car, and set out to find our bunks, and then...
We find the room, if you can even consider it a room. It's six beds (two bunks, each three beds high) with little space between bunk beds. I had the top bunk on one side, and mom had the middle bunk on the other side. We had quite an ecclectic collection of couchettemates, including one middle aged woman from Turkey who was studying computers in Austria, one younger man from Asia who spoke a little English, two American tourists trying their best to prepare themselves for their upcoming 12 hour couchette adventure (mom and I), a younger woman, and her sort of boyfriend (from what we gathered) whose bag smelled like smoke. I only know it reeked of smoke because he stored it two inches from may face for the duration of the train ride - except when he periodically got it down to whip out his wine bottle, plastic cups, extra stash of cigarettes, or hair gel for his morning after reapplication. And yes, that wasn't a typo, he did indeed bring two bottles of wine and plastic cups which he happily passed around to his maybe girlfriend, his other friend who came in our room, and the bunkmates in our couchette. Yes, that's also correct, Mom accepted his offer and shared in the wine celebration.
Somehow, nobody fell off the bunks all night - probably because everybody had the same strategy: sleep as close as possible to the wall and don't move for 12 hours - and we all managed to get a few hours of sleep. We ate our breakfast on our beds, and stepped off the train in the morning at the Venice train station. Tcheuss Wein, and buon giorno Italia!
We spent the next two days in Venice, where we literally walked for dayssss. We walked so much in Venice. Luckily, we didn't have to walk too far to get to our hotel with our backpacks. Did I mention my backpack is the size of a small child? Literally, it's the size of a small child, and weighs probably about the same. Because it is so big, we have given it a name: Gertrude - Gertty for short. I also have to carry around my computer in another backpack, which we have deemed Hans. Mom and I must look absolutely ridiculous carrying all our stuff around from place to place. Here's just a little snapshot:
I carry Gertty like a normal backpack and Hans on the front. Mom rolls her suitcase along, and then carries a backpack as well, along with a smaller, over the shoulder bag with food and my neck pillow. As we've gone from place to place, we've also accumulated a few more things. We've had to make room for these new additions in our packs - so now we tie our tennis shoes to the outside of our backpacks. It's quite the sight, really. The two of us wading through the crowds of other tourists with our combined three backpacks, one suitcase, one bag, one neck pillow, and two pairs of shoes swinging behind us.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed Venice. Particularly, we enjoyed the canals and the shopping in Venice. There are no cars allowed anywhere on the actual islands of Venice, only canals, boats, and lots of confusing streets for walking.
We met four other people on our first day randomly (two moms and two daughters) who wanted to share a gondola ride with us. Our gondola driver was named Allesandro, and we had a great time on our small tour through the canals of Venice. We also saw St. Mark's Basilica, and toured the Doge's Palace. We sampled plenty of gelato, and ate some pasta, although we weren't too sure about everybody's ravings about Italian food until...
We arrive in Cinque Terre! Time for another food diary entry:
Food diary of the Germer fam entry #1 for Italy: The pesto lasagne is probably the most delicious thing I have tasted, maybe ever. It's made from homemade pasta, homemade pesto (Cinque Terre is famous for their pesto), and cheese. It's incredible. We ordered some the first night we were in Cinque Terre from a restaurant just down the street, and loved it so much we went back the second night to the same restaurant - at least we tried different things on the menu the second night.
Entry #2: The bruschetta is incredible as well. The one I ordered yesterday even had pesto on part of it - such a great idea!
Entry #3: Unfortunately, I don't think the gelato is that great in Italy - it's more icy than creamy, and as a diehard fan of the creamiest ice cream, I haven't been converted. Although, Mom has liked every flavor she's tried in Italy.
Entry #4: The focaccia bread here is really great as well! You can get slices from lots of little vendors on the street, almost anywhere. You can eat it plain, with cheese or any other variety of toppings, or like a pizza with sauce, cheese and whatever else you might want baked on top.
Besides the food here, Cinque Terre is really great. We did two of the four hikes - the other two are closed indefinitely, and we have enjoyed soaking up some Italian sun and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very slow, relaxed pace of life. Time just seems to pass slower here.
We leave Italy tomorrow to fly to France, where we will spend one night before Mom flies back to real life and Michelle arrives.
Grazie Italia for the delicious food and great weather, I'll see you in a week again with new traveling companions by my side!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Eins, Zwei, Drei...Deutschland (and Wien)
Hallo from Europe (Germany and Austria)
I am way behind on updating everyone in the life of a backpacker and her mother as they traipse across Europe, slowly accumulating more baggage (and more pounds) from our shopping excursions and gelato tasting extravaganzas, but here's my super quick update:
We started out in Germany. Doris (Mom's cousin) and her husband Dirk picked us up at the Frankfurt airport. With the little German that Mom knows, and the pretty good English that Dirk and Doris speak, we were able to get along well. We spent four nights in Bendorf, Germany with Doris and her family. The first night, we also went for coffee and cake at Claudia and Rolf's house (Claudia is another of Mom's cousins - the sister of Doris).
The next day, Mom and I took the Rhine River cruise. Unfortunately for us, Monday was half-price for senior citizens, so we were by far the youngest and most able people on the ship. The walkers, wheel chairs, and shoes with socks style was overwhelming.Nonetheless, we enjoyed our day relaxing as we soaked up the sun and many castles and schloss' on the Rhine until....
Just one slight mishap - we missed the boat for the return trip. We spent nearly six hours riding the boat down the river, and we got off at the last stop to do a little shopping. Unfortunately for us, Germans leave early, and Mom's watch was two minutes behind the clock of the dock operator. So here we are, two lovely American tourists running, waving and yelling (in a slight panic voice) to just "stop, wait, wait, WAIT" but we didn't have a chance. We arrived at the dock just as they were sailing away. Maybe if we would have been thinking faster we could have run and leaped the space and jumped on the boat, but then maybe that's just a little wishful thinking. After another 20 minutes of running in the sun, many unwanted hot flash episodes, some foul language (not on my part, of course), slight menopausal breakdowns, sweating ridiculous amounts - we can contribute that to the sun, the hot flashes, the menopause, and the increase in stress levels - and some minor panic attacks (after trying unsuccessfully to find any taxi ANYWHERE in the entire town) we walked to the nearby train station, hopped on the train, and found our way back to our starting destination. Crisis averted. Mom reallyyyyyy loves those castles. And hot flashes. She reads too many romantic novels, I think.
The next day Rolf graciously took us (as part of his business outing) to the BUGA (a traveling flower festival in Germany). We enjoyed looking at flowers, sampling some foods, and then taking another boat trip to visit Schloss Stozenfels on the Rhine, but this time we could go inside. And this time we didn't miss the boat. We were able to tour the schloss inside and see beautiful views from the outside. We also saw the Deutsche Eiche up close and personal.
The next day we went to visit Kim and her husband in Marburg (Kim is Doris' daughter). We had a lovely day in Marburg, and I really enjoyed meeting Kim (she is a teacher as well). We came back in the evening, visited with Waltraud, and also met Dirk's mother and her friend. Then, we spent our last night with Doris and her family. Doris, if you read this, thank you very, very much for all of your hospitality and enjoyable coversation for the five days you hosted us. Dirk, thank you for all of your taxi, chef, and computer extraordinaire services. Alexander, danke for allowing us into your home. Rolf, thank you for being so generous and for taking us with your business trip to the BUGA. And thank you all for the many laughs and great conversation. We hope you will come visit us in America someday so we might return the favor.
The next day, we took the train to Rothenburg, a medieval town that is surrounded by a wall. We took the nightwatchman's tour, which we loved. Very funny. We shopped for Christmas goods, and walked the wall. The next day, we headed off to Munich, mostly just to tour Dachau.
Although neither of us were huge fans of Munich, we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience of visiting Dachau. We took a guided tour, and we learned a lot! We enjoyed the modern, educational, informational and reflective attitude of our guide Gordon and the memorials.
Yikes, seems I am not good at condensed versions of updates. I'll save Vienna, Austria for another day.
Auf Wiedersehen
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Mum Has Arrived!
My mum has finally arrived to Ireland!
After a long flight from Portland to Ireland (with many stops in between), Mom arrived in Ireland on Tuesday afternoon. We took the bus from Dublin to Galway, and then just spent the rest of Tuesday in Galway.
On Wednesday, we went to the largest of the Aran Islands called Inishmore. We took a bus from Galway to a little town on the coast, then took a very rough ferry ride over to the island. For anyone who has ever seen that show on the Discovery channel called Deadliest Catch, that's what our ferry ride reminded me of. (I have recently discovered that show on one of our 12 channels over here, and have been learning all about the risks and triumphs of Alaskan crab fishing in my spare time here. I'm convinced that is one of the most difficult jobs ever.) Of course, I'm being a tiny bit dramatic about our particular ferry ride and obviously the water we traveled over was nothing like the Bering Sea, but it was a pretty rough ride over.
Nonetheless, we arrived on Inishmore, and hopped in a van tour with a lovely local guide named Neal. He shuttled us around the island for half the day, telling us interesting facts and quite a few jokes along the way. While on the island, we went to the Cliffs, hung off the side, and looked below. For everybody that Mom has recommended the movie Leap Year to, these cliffs are the ones in the movie! Yes, this was a full circle moment in case anyone was wondering.
After surviving our ferry ride back to the big island, we spent Wednesday night in Galway again before heading off to Dingle. We spent the last two nights sampling the local pubs and music in Dingle, and biking the Dingle peninsula. We have had pretty bad, very wet and windy weather since she got here, but luckily for the time we were biking out around the peninsula we lucked out and it stayed dry. The wind, however, was in full force, which is why we look ridiculous in our hoods and coats in the pictures.
That's about it for Ireland. Tomorrow we are off to Germany. Here's a few pictures from Inishmore and Dingle...
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| Aran Islands |
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| Yes, we have seen cows before. But still... |
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| Dingle - Look Dad, the self-timer works. Our hoods make us look ridiculous, but it was so windy! |
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hello Sunshine People
Mom, Dad: Don't panic, but I think I want to rearrange my life plan just a tad and move to Spain for a few years. Nothing permanent of course, I'll be back before your grand kids come. I just think the Spaniards really know how to live, and I'd like to try out their lifestyle for a tiny while. Never mind I don't speak any Spanish, that's just a minor speed bump really, and I'm quite resourceful. Plus, what better way to learn Spanish than to move to Spain anyway, right?
In all seriousness, our trip to Spain and Portugal was phenomenal. Both countries are absolutely beautiful, with beautiful people, beautiful music, and beautiful food (except tripe soup, but more to come on that minor disaster later). Amanda and I spent thirteen days traveling around Spain and Portugal, and we loved every minute...well almost every minute - never mind that one horrendous overnight bus ride with raging, impatient, furious passengers about to break out in fights periodically throughout the night. Oh, and that other time we missed our bus by mere minutes and had to wait an entire day for the next bus. But really, the rest of our trip was perfect.
We started out in Barcelona, and I think after visiting everywhere else, Barcelona is my favorite. We spent three nights in Barcelona, and just enjoyed exploring the city. We went to the beach and dipped our toes in the Mediterranean Sea, and visited many of the main tourist sites. My favorite tourist site was the Sagrada Familia, which is an incredible church by the famous architect Gaudi. After over 100 years of building, it remains unfinished (that's how intricate and detailed nearly every surface on the church is). Many of his designs might be considered a bit outrageous by US standards, but really his buildings are works of art and very fun to see. We also explored the local markets, drank fresh fruit juice, and bonded with our roommates in our hostel while we sampled the local nightlife. And we shopped. Nothing major of course, we had to carry everything we bought in our backpacks around two countries, multiple bus stations, three airports, and then back to Ireland. But this is me we're talking about, so of course we found time for a little shopping.
After Barcelona, we took the worst bus ride we have ever taken, and finally made it to Granada, although at times we weren't sure we would ever make it. Let me just give you a brief preview of our bus ride...
1. We get on the bus in Barcelona absolutely fine around 6 PM. We each have our own seats, and after about an hour of window gazing, I fall asleep.
2. I wake up to find our bus, and all it's agitated passengers, just sitting in a gas station parking lot on the side of the freeway. Just sitting.
3. I inquire: "how long have we been sitting here?" Amanda replies: "about an hour"
4. I think to myself that this situation is a bit odd, but what can I do, really? I don't speak Spanish, the bus drivers don't speak English, and most people around me seem to be remaining relatively calm.
5. The relatively calm mood in the bus starts to falter.
6. People are beginning to get VERY agitated. After sitting for two hours, I understand why they might be a bit agitated.
7. Said agitated people start to pace the aisles and begin yelling at bus drivers in Spanish.
8. Minor panic ensues.
9. More yelling, more agitation, more pacing, and now there is even face to face yelling.
10. Meanwhile, Amanda and I are worried that we could possibly: a) be somehow injured in a fight we are sure is about to erupt between the very angry elderly man behind me and anyone in his way b) be stuck in this bus on the side of the road for days, months, or even forever maybe c) a very slight possibility, but we could die here, on the side of the highway, in a parking lot, in a bus, in Spain
11. Then we get ahold of ourselves, and we take action. Actually, just Amanda takes action. I continue to sit on the seat and try and read my book in an effort to tune out the yelling and cursing in Spanish happening all around me while Amanda attempts to investigate.
12. Amanda finds out from a very nice woman who speaks some English that we are waiting for somebody who missed our bus.
13. Finally, the other bus arrives. People get on. Amanda and I still have our own seats, and we think we might get away with it until...
14. THEY arrive. They being three homeless, drunk passengers who continue drinking on the bus, popping beer after beer after beer, while simultaneously starting fights with the already agitated elderly passengers around me.
15. This fighting continues for much of the night. As does the drinking. As does the stench from the said passengers.
16. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Bottom line, we made it to Granada alive.
So, we made it to Granada and settled in to our new place for the next three nights. We enjoyed Granada very much. Granada came highly recommended to us by numerous people, so we had high hopes. Although many stores and shops were closed for Semana Santa (holy week), we still found plenty of things to do. This was probably better for my bank account anyway.
In Granada, we toured the local town, visited the Alhambra, took a free walking tour with Aric, walked up an aqueduct barefoot, met some great people in our hostel, tried and became minorly addicted to Sangria, sampled the local nightlife once again, and even experienced an Arab bath. I had no idea what an Arab bathhouse was before I went to Granada, but after visiting, I highly recommend it to everyone. We got a massage (body scrubs were also available), and then you have two hours to just relax in one of three pools - hot, medium, or cold - the steam room, or hot stones throughout the building. Tea is provided. It was honestly the most relaxing thing I have ever done. After enjoying Granada for three days, we were sad to leave, but excited for our next town.
Ahh wait, I almost forgot about tripe soup! We went to eat tapas one night since Granada was famous for tapas. Sadly, we picked a restuarant where absolutely nobody spoke any English, and we felt bad about leaving, so we stayed. We thought in might be fun to be a bit adventurous and just order random things off the menu that we had no idea about. Unfortunately, one of our random choices was callos a la and. Warning for anybody and everybody: DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING WITH CALLOS IN THE TITLE. Callos translates to tripe. Yikes! (Just a tiny piece of necessary information: tripe is the inside lining of an animal's stomach - in most cases a cows stomach). Whoever came up with this dish must have been crazy. We had, in fact, ordered tripe soup, complete with boiled blood, beans, and of course, yummy tripe. Even the smell was enough to elicit the gag reflex, although we both sampled a tiny spoonful. Never again. Luckily for us, we later had other tapas experiences that were much more enjoyable, so all hope is not lost for tapas. Although all hope is certainly lost for tripe.
So, we hopped back on a bus, and made our way to Lagos, Portugal.
Lagos is a tiny beach town on the Algarve coast of Portugal (very Southern coast of Portugal). We had amazing weather, and spent the next two days relaxing, eating, reading, getting sunburns, and exploring the local beaches. The beaches in Lagos were gorgeous - beautiful, clear water, white sand, and really close red/orange stone cliffs backing up the beach. If I could have a vacation house anywhere, I might build one on the Algarve coast. Our hostel was excellent, and we just enjoyed our time relaxing in the sun, reading and eating - a perfect vacation in my book.The hostel receptionist named Arthur was particularly delightful, and greeted us with a "hello sunshine people, let me see your sunburns."
After Lagos, we took the bus to Lisbon, where we attempted to catch another morning bus to Madrid, but we missed the bus by nine minutes. Unfortunately, the next bus to Madrid wasn't until the night, so we had the entire day to wait, not to mention another dreaded night bus. Fortunately, the ladies who sold us our bus tickets were nice, and they let us keep our backpacks in their office while we set out to explore Lisbon. After some emotional eating, we decided to make the best of our situation, and we enjoyed our day in Lisbon as much as possible. (Mom, just a note - I've been rationing the skittles and starbursts you sent here since they have no candy to even compare in much of Europe, and I had brought along a pack or two of skittles on this trip for dire moments. This was one such moment, and those skittles were very helpful).
After exploring Lisbon, we finally caught our night bus to Madrid. Luckily, this time our bus was normal, and we arrived in due time with no major incidents.
By the time we got to Madrid, we were pretty tired. We probably weren't as adventurous as we could have been, but we did visit some great places, one museum, and went on a walking tour. As usual, I did a little local shopping, although nothing too exciting. We got to Madrid the day after FC Barcelona had played Real Madrid in quite the controversial game, so we heard lots of news about soccer. In anyone was unaware, Spaniards are fairly passionate about their soccer. Then, after two nights in Madrid, we headed back to Ireland. Good to be home, but sort of sad to leave the sun and siestas in Spain.
In other news: the murse (man purse) epidemic rages on in Spain and Portugal. Unfortunately, the murse is not contained to France as I once hoped. I have now accepted that the murse is a must-have accessory for nearly every male over the age of 15 in Europe. I can only hope this hideous phenomenon does not catch on in America. What can a man possible need a murse for anyway? I mean what else does he possibly need besides a wallet, maybe a water bottle, and perhaps a camera if he's feeling a bit touristy? Your guess really is as good as mine.
Anyway, enough for now. Adios.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
It's April and school is...over?
Hello!
It is April, and school is indeed over! As I sit here eating chocolate and procrastinating my last paper (the usual), it seems odd that I haven't even mentioned school in the last three months, but I think now is the perfect time to mention my studies...and celebrate their end!
I have been attending the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) for the past three months. We started in early January, and classes were officially over the 1st of April. The school system is much different over here, so it's taken a lot of getting used to. And then just when I thought I had things figured out - it's over. I took a total of 30 credits here, which will transfer to 18 credits at Linfield (that's considered a full load, which is what I usually take at Linfield). I took six random classes that I probably would not have had time to take at Linny. I was enrolled in the following classes...
1) Psychology, Society and Human Values - This class met for a total of two hours a week on Mondays from 11-1. I really enjoyed this class, and had a fantastic professor. We had one midterm essay, one group project, and one final research paper, and those three assessments combined will make up my entire grade for the class.
2) Social Psychology - In my next life, I think I want to be a psychologist (or a lawyer), and since my schedule at Linfield is pretty much planned for me with education classes, I only had time to take one psychology class there. So, what better time than in Ireland to take two psychology classes? This class also met for a total of two hours a week - on Thursdays from 8-10 AM. This was my earliest class, and sometimes quite a struggle to get up early and walk through the wind and rain to make it to class by 8, but I only skipped once. Pretty good I think. Once again, I really enjoyed this class, and had two fantastic professors (they tag-teamed our class). We had two research papers and one final multiple choice exam, and combined, those three assessments will make up our entire grade for the class.
3) The History of Modern America - This class was sort of my easy class, as I know a few things already about the history of modern America. However, I did think it would be interesting to learn about America from a non-American perspective. Although our professor was fairly boring and asked far too many rhetorical questions, the content was interesting. This class met twice a week for one hour a day - Monday and Tuesday 2-3, and then met every other week for a one hour tutorial - Thursday 3-4. Our assessments for this class are limited: one mid-term research paper and one final research essay.
4) Imagining Modern Ireland - This class was also very interesting, and I had wonderful professors. Three professors taught the three different sections of Irish history. I think I learned the most in this class simply because I knew very little about the history of Ireland before I came here. My favorite part was learning about the literary movement in Ireland. We met once a week on Wednesdays from 11-1. Our entire grade is determined by our final exam on May 5th. Yikes!
5) Children and Young People in Irish Society - This class was my letdown class. The class description looked SO good in our course book, and I had all these ambitious notions about how much the class could teach this future teacher about the place of children and young people in today's society...but the class was nothing like the description. It was two straight hours of lecture and monotone student presentations every Thursday from 11-1. Our assessment for this class is comprised of my presentation on 'the effects of domestic violence on educational attainment,' one mid-term research paper, and one final research paper.
6) Service Learning - Literacy Project for US Visiting Students - This class was great, and our professor was simply phenomenal. We focused on literacy in schools, how children acquire literacy, and the importance of literacy in today's world. To pass the class, we were also required to attend a local homework club once a week. We met for class on Tuesdays from 9-11 and Thursdays from 10-11, and then I attended a homework at a local school on Wednesdays from 2:30 - 4:00. My experience at the homework club was rough at first, although after I met William and he showed me his Michael Jackson dancing, I began to enjoy homework club a bit more. Our assessment was one final in-class essay, a portfolio of our journal entries and various other projects, and attendance. Oddly enough, this is the only class in which I received any credit for actually showing up. Perhaps this is why Irish students attend, on average, less than 50% of their classes?!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my classes here. I have had the opportunity to take classes I was not able to take at Linfield, and have enjoyed learning the new content, and also simply observing the European education system. The education system at NUIG is very different from Linfield's (and I would venture most American colleges') style. Most notably, the assessment style is different. Linfield has lots of formative assessments that combine to make up your final grade for a class. Here, three, two, or even just one paper or exam make up your entire grade.
In addition, I only received credit in one class for actually showing up. It seems odd to me that Irish students would skip so many classes, but really I can understand why they claim it's unnecessary to attend class if you don't get credit for coming, and you have papers instead of exams. Often, the teachers give you the essay topics at the beginning of the course, and most essays are research based. Thus, even if you come to class, you still have to go to the library to research your essay topic, so most students just attend class on the few days their particular topic of choice will be discussed, and then simply don't come to the majority of the other classes. NUIG professors actually like American students because they come to class and are more focused on their academic lives than most Irish students.
The final huge difference that I noticed between here and home is that professors often don't give you any feedback on assignments or grades until they assign your final grade. I have written nine papers, given two presentations, and taken one exam, and have not received a single grade yet. Most likely, I won't received any feedback on most of these papers or assignments until I receive my final grade this summer. This doesn't really make sense to me because this doesn't give the student any chance to improve their work as the term progresses, but I guess it's just a different style.
Nonetheless, it's been quite an enjoyable semester academically and otherwise, and despite my exceptional ability to procrastinate, I only have one paper and one exam left to go!! I can see the finish line. I just need to finish the paper by this weekend, and then I can begin the next round of travels - Belfast and Northern Ireland next week, and then Spain and Portugal for two weeks at the end of April!! Can't wait. Time to trade this rain in for some sun!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Bruges and Amsterdam: Another Adventure
Two weekends ago, our apartment (plus Amanda's friend Will) went on another weekend excursion - this time to Belgium and the Netherlands. There are five girls in our apartment in Galway - Amanda, Andrea, Christy, Katie...and me.
We left early Friday morning - took our usual route (bus from Galway to Dublin airport) - and then flew from Dublin to Brussels. From the airport, we took an hour bus into the city of Brussels, then took a train to Bruges. We spent the rest of the day exploring Bruges.
We got lucky once again, and had perfect weather. It was even warm enough in Bruges that I was able to shed my trusty, puffy Northface jacket for the afternoon and get by with just a raincoat and scarf. Bruges was delightful. Highly recommended by Rick Steeves, this small town in Belgium was the perfect place to spend the day wandering and eating. We did a lot of both - maybe even a little more eating than wandering. But who could blame us...with Belgium being a country famous for it's chocolate, waffles, and french fries, we had to take full advantage and sample the local fare...multiple times.
We checked into our lovely little hostel called the Snuffle Backpacker Hostel, dropped our bags, and set out. We picked up some gelato as our first snack on our way out.
First food diary entry - gelato = delicious. Since there's no ColdStone ANYWHERE in Ireland or Europe so far that I've found, I'm beginning to look for suitable substitutes. Gelato might just be the answer.
After gelato, we visited the Bell Tower, where we climbed all 366 stairs to the very top. Then, we wandered around town. We stumbled upon a church, went inside, and found the 'Madonna and Child' - a sculpture from Michaelanglo. It is said to be one of the only pieces by him ever to leave Italy. We mosied along some more after that, visited a few local parks, marveled at the many canals, and then decided it was snack time, again.
This time, we found a chocolate shop. We bought some divine chocolate truffles, and savored every bite.
Second food diary entry - I think Belgian chocolate might be unmatched in this world.
Still hungry, we then found a great place to try some french fries. We ordered the biggest size, some mystery sauces, and dug in.
Third food diary entry - french fries were lovely. The guys running the restaurant were friendly, they recommended some mysterious sauces for us to try, and we oblidged. We ate our fries with the little tiny baby forks that came with the fries.
By this time, it was getting dark, and most of the stores had closed. We were leaving early the next morning, but we still had to find a place to try the waffles. On our way back to the hostel, we found a waffle stand (lucky us). I ordered the chocolate waffle.
Fourth food diary entry - chocolate waffle was probably the best life decision I've made thus far.
From there, we wandered back to our hostel. We played some board games, drank a few Belgian beers, toasted to Christy's 21st birthday, and went to bed.
The next morning, we took the train from Bruges back to Brussels (a little over an hour) then hopped on another train from Brussels to Amsterdam (around three hours). We spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday exploring Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is...unlike any place I've ever been. I'm sure everyone has heard the crazy stories about Amsterdam, but really, it isn't that crazy. Our first day, we explored a bit of the city on our own, visited the Anne Frank house, and experienced a local coffee shop. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, and then went back to our hostel.
The next morning, we woke up, and went down to the complimentary breakfast provided by the hostel.
Fifth food diary entry of the weekend - this breakfast was ridiculous! The hostel had everything you could possible think of: bread, jam, butter, meat and cheese for sandwiches, oranges, granola, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and an espresso machine. The best part though: the free chocolate bars for breakfast! I'd say I got my money's worth for the hostel in chocolate bars alone.
After breakfast, we went down to the main square in town, and took the free walking tour of Amsterdam. We had a fantastic tour guide name Jo, and we even got free cheese on our tour. She told us all about the history of Amsterdam, the Red Light District, the legalization of marijuana and prostitution, Amsterdam's involvement in WWII, and anything else we might want to know.
Following our tour, Amanda, Will and I went to the Heineken factory and took the Heineken Experience (tour and free beers at the end). We enjoyed learning about the history of Heineken and seeing how it's made. I think this tour was better than the Guinness Storehouse tour we took in Dublin. Then, the three of us went back to the city center of Amsterdam and took the night tour of the Red Light District. This was very interesting. Jo was our tour guide again, and we learned more about the history of prostitution in Amsterdam, and how the Red Light District came to be what it is today.
Then, Monday morning, we took the train from Amsterdam back to Brussels, took the bus to the Brussels airport, flew to Dublin, took the bus from Dublin to Galway, and walked our exhausted selves home around 1:30 AM Tuesday morning. Another successful trip!
Here's some pictures from Bruges in Belgium, and then Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Bruges:
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| Lots of canals in both Bruges and Amsterdam - Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice. This canal is in Bruges |
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| Bell tower in Bruges - yes we climbed all the way to the top. |
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| Bells in the Bell Tower |
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| Church |
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| Our chocolate!! |
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| Showcasing the precious chocolate. |
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| Katie and I enjoying our Belgian fries with our little baby forks |
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| Roomies of Apartment 85 |
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| Yesss, we do love chocolate. |
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| But we might love chocolate waffles even more!! |
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| We took a lot of trains and buses this trip... |
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| Our group enjoying waffles in Bruges |
Amsterdam:
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| Yay Holland. |
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| Enjoying the Heineken Experience |
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| Amsterdam LOVESSS their bikes! Fun fact: There are actually more bikes than people in Amsterdam. |
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| Apartment 85: Katie, Christy, Amanda, Audrey, Andrea |
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| In the Red Light District: yes, this is a hand caressing a breast. Only in Amsterdam. |
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| Some cool graffiti in Amsterdam |
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| Iamsterdam sign |
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| All the A's- Andrea, Audrey, Amanda |
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| Probably can't see it that well - but a room at the Heineken Experience had a ceiling made entirely of Heineken bottles! |
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| Condomerie - crazy condoms in Amsterdam. |
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| Our hostel in Amsterdam - actually really nice. And, we had a room just for the six people in our group both nights, so that was really nice. |
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