The day after my parents left to go back home, I packed up my own things to head to Dublin, Ireland with three amigas for four days. My goodness was I surprised at how much I loved Ireland! Maybe it was just because it was a nice get away from speaking Spanish, and it seemed a lot more Americanized, but the scenery and just everything about Dublin was beautiful! I absolutely adored it. We arrived Thursday afternoon and mostly just hung around a bit because we were tired from traveling, but we did go to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery, where we learned all about the process of how the whiskey is made and what not. It was very interesting, and I learned that Irish whiskey is the only whiskey that is distilled three times before it is sold to customers. Jack Daniels is only distilled once. At the end of the tour, I was chosen among seven others to be an official "taste-tester" of three different whiskeys (Irish, Scottish, and American). It was really interesting to taste the differences between the types, but I was a little bias and I thought that the American one tasted the best. I received a certificate for my job well done and then we called it a day. Afterwards we went to go see "The Hunger Games" in theaters because (HOORAY) in Ireland they speak English!
On Friday we went to a few different churches, which of course were interesting to see... but to be honest they are all starting to blend in and look the same to me now. I'm sure I will miss the beautiful sight-seeing when I am back in America, though. We also went to a huge garden/park called Saint Stephen's Green which was beautiful and I never thought I could have been happier to see grass in my life! Hahaha. Later that evening we went to the Guinness Storehouse where we also learned how they brew the beer and all sorts of random information. We even got to pour our own pints of Guinness, so now I am an official bartender... but not really. It tasted good, though! That evening we walked around town and we ran into some hilarious street performers that were quite entertaining... and we ate at an awesome restaurant called the Badass Cafe, where I ordered a Crazy Cowboy cheeseburger. It was a delicacy.
On Saturday we went to Saint Patrick's Cathedral, which was HUGE and very beautiful! As I said before, it is similar to a lot of the other churches I have seen so far, but the park surrounding it was gorgeous. All the cathedrals in Europe are so beautiful, the architecture is amazing. I will never get over it. After that, we tried to enter the Dublin Castle but unfortunately all the tickets were sold out for the tour. We were bummed, but we did get to go visit the free part which was enjoyable.
On Sunday we packed up and left, and it didn't really feel like Easter :( But, we got back in Granada in the afternoon and rested up and felt better. Europe isn't as big into Easter as Americans are, but it's all good. It was awesome getting to see a lot of the processions take place beforehand, anyway.
The next week (this past weekend), I went to Córdoba and Sevilla (two Spanish cities) with my program. Unfortunately, on the bus I was somehow plagued with conjunctivitis (pink eye), so it hindered my visibility quite a bit, but I tried not to let it affect my mood and my ability to enjoy the trip so much. We only stayed in Córdoba for about five hours, but I really loved it. I bought a clay recorder which I quickly fell in love with and started playing Lady Gaga, the Titanic theme song, and some other random tunes... We visited the huuuuuge mezquita, which was so so so awesome and we had a little bit of free time to wander around and hang out. For lunch we decided to go to Burger King and I found it hilarious that they bag up every little item you order and put it in its own separate bag. I had a bag inside a bag inside a bag, and I was given two big bags to carry. I felt like a fattie, but it was awesome to have some American food. Unfortunately, as I was 3/4 into my burger, the last little bit fell into the river we were sitting by, and I about had a heart attack. I was depressed. It would be okay, though, I quickly got over it. After we visited the mezquita, we were on our way to Sevilla where we stayed for two nights in a pretty nice hotel. I stayed with two of my good friends and we had some good bonding time together! It felt nice having a "slumber party" and hanging out because we aren't allowed to have guests in our homes with our host families.
On Saturday we went to the famous Castillo similar to the Alhambra and also the Cathedral. Both of them were amazing... I don't really know how to describe them because they are pretty much replicas of what is in Granada... except in a different city. The Cathedral was very interesting because it was conquered by like three different religions, so there were different sections for each different religion. I think it is the second largest cathedral in the world, but don't quote me on that. On Saturday night our program directors took us out to a local bar and we had a few drinks, then went back to bed because we were pooped!
On Sunday we went to the famous Plaza de España, where each Spanish city is represented by a different plaque sort-of thing. It was so pretty! And we went on a boat ride and had all kinds of fun. We stayed there for a few hours or so and then we were back on our way home to Granada!
Overall it was a very exciting two trips that I went on and my eye is feeling much better now. I can't believe that I only have just over a month before I come back to the United States again... time has flown by so quickly since I've been here! Here are some photos:
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