The Gift of Gab

Alysha and I decided to go on another Paddywagon tour during the study week and we invited Claire to come along as well.  After almost missing the bus, we headed down to Cork with our fellow tourists and stopped just outside the English Market.  This market was basically a smaller scale version of la Boqueria which Claire and I visited in Barcelona, so we felt right at home.  It wasn't quite lunch time but our tummies were grumbling a bit being surrounded by all the delicious food, so we decided to all pitch in and get a fresh loaf of hazelnut soda bread.  It was divine!  We walked up and down one of the main streets of Cork peeking in shop windows and admiring the gardens before finally heading back to the bus.

Our next stop was the quaint town of Kinsale.  The tide was out an a few small boats were left leaning precariously on the exposed sea floor.  The streets were lined with brightly colored homes and shops, and as the three of us explored, we even stumbled upon a farmer's market set up in a small square.  On either side of the hills overlooking Kinsale, there are two forts, Charles Fort and James's Fort.  In the past a long, underwater chain was strung between the two forts to prevent hostile ships from entering the cove.  In more recent history, the Lusitania was sunk 11 miles off the coast of Kinsale and some of the survivors and the deceased were brought to the town.

As we drove towards the small town of Blarney, our bus driver started to tell us about the Irish language.  I had of course noticed how all of the road signs were written in both English and Irish all around the country, however I was surprised when our driver told us that even the laws were written in both English and Irish.  In fact, if a guard is trying to arrest you and you request that he tell you your rights or why you're being arrested in Irish and he fails, then he is not allowed to arrest you.  Apparently there have been a few people who have gotten away because a guard hasn't been fluent in Irish haha!

When we finally arrived in Blarney we headed straight to the castle.  I must say that Blarney is definitely the coolest castle I have seen in Ireland.  It was in pretty good condition and it seemed to me to be the nearest to a home.  When I say that it's like a home I mean that it had separate rooms for different members of the family.  It did not just have to bedrooms and forced everyone else to sleep in the great hall.  It actually seemed to have been built to house a family, their guests, and their servants.  Most of the other castles we have visited had large rooms that were shared and they seemed rather primitive in comparison.  We climbed up and explored all of the rooms floor by floor until we had finally reached the top.  This was it.  The moment we had all been waiting for.  Our chance to kiss the Blarney Stone.  Before we had arrived, I had imagined a large boulder that we would have to kiss.  I knew that you were supposed to kiss it upside down and I was confused as to why someone would have to go upside down just to kiss a big rock sitting in the middle of a room.  I soon found out that my expectations for the Blarney Stone were far from accurate.  The stone was not some rock but rather part of the wall of the castle.  To kiss it I had to lay down and bend backwards off the edge of the wall while a man held my legs and made sure that I didn't fall.  It was scary but now I have the gift of gab!  The rest of the grounds at Blarney were cool too. We went through the Poison Gardens after passing a sign warning us not to touch, smell, or eat any of the plants.  We also checked out the other gardens, a watchtower, and the large house near the castle.

Our final stop on the tour was Cobh, a larger harbor than Kinsale and home to a naval base.  This city was also the last stop the Titanic made before heading over to America.  On top of a hill in the middle of the city stands St. Colman's Cathedral.  It has a tower with a grand total of 42 bells in it!  The inside was quite beautiful as well.  Alysha, Claire, and I walked through the town and along the edge of the water before the cold air drove us into a small cafe where we drank tea until it was time to head back to Dublin.

No Patty-Fingers if You Please!

It was our study week so my friend Alysha and I decided to check out some more of Ireland.  We booked a day-trip with Paddywagon Tours and headed over to the west coast early in the morning.  Our tour guide was Darren and he explained some of the history as we went.  There were only five of us on the small bus so we were able to spread out and get comfortable.






Our first stop was the one I was most excited about: Cong!  We got to walk through the village where parts of The Quiet Man were filmed!  We found Pat Cohan's pub right away, but we decided to see more of the town before we went in.  We headed down the road past Squire Danaher's Bar and came across the ruins of Cong Abbey, an old Augustinian abbey.  Nearby, they also had a replica of The Quite Man cottage that was home to a little museum.  After looping through the town again we went back to Pat Cohan's because I just couldn't visit Cong without having a pint there.  As I walked in, I was greeted by Fiona, who owns the pub with her husband, and The Quiet Man playing on a tv in the corner (I took it as a good omen that I walked in at the part where John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara are in the cemetery).  As she poured me a Guinness, Fiona chatted with Alysha and me about how Cohan's used to be a grocery and souvenir store until she and her husband renovated the inside to match the Hollywood set seen in the movie.  She also talked about how fun it was to pour Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne's daughter a pint at The Quiet Man festival.  Fiona even put Alysha and me behind the replica bar and, after slapping a hat on my head, took a few photos.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Ashford Castle because there was a wall built around the grounds to keep the castle private for guests and keep out tourists like us.

After Cong, we headed over to Kylemore Abbey where we grabbed lunch and then walked down the path to explore the abbey.  The abbey was first built as a castle for the private residence of Mitchell and Margaret Henry.  They lived there for many years with their nine children.  Eventually it was sold to another couple who could not afford to keep it so it was bought by Benedictine nuns and converted into an abbey.  We also popped into the Gothic church just down the path from the abbey.  Henry built this in memory of his wife after she died.  It was beautiful with it's pillars made of different-colored marbles,
                                                                                                               carved walls, and stained glass windows.

Lough Corrib

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving through the Inagh Valley with its beautiful mountains and lakes.  We also made a brief stop at the breathtaking Lough Corrib, the second largest lake in Ireland.  As we drove, our guide told us that part of Connemara is a Gaeltacht or Gaelic speaking area.

Before driving back to Dublin, we stopped in Galway and wandered down Shop Street peeking at the windows and enjoying the mild weather.  Darren became our hero on the way home because he dropped us off right in Maynooth instead of taking us all the way into Dublin, so we didn't have to spend an hour getting back home.  It was a truly fantastic day!

Saint Paddy's Day!

Happy Saint Paddy's Day! (even though I might be a bit late)  On good ole' March 17th, I woke up early with my friends and we all caught the train into Dublin.  We started off our day by having Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's haha!  I had never had one before and I thought what better time or place than Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin!  We spent the rest of the morning chatting and holding our spot in the crowd so that we could watch the parade.  It rained for a bit, but I was glad because it would have felt somewhat sacrilegious not to have rain on Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland.

The parade was like a cross between a Beatles song and Cirque du Soleil.  In other words, it was a bit trippy.  The best part of the parade was when the Notre Dame marching band came by.  I was standing with two other SMC girls and we immediately broke out into the fight song and did the student section cheers.  We were surrounded by people from about every place except Ireland and they all just stared at us like we were crazy (although if they had been Irish, they probably would have stared just the same).

We grabbed lunch and walked around a bit before meeting up with a few of my frisbee friends at the Porterhouse Pub (which has some really interesting beers that they brew themselves).  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the rugby matches and hanging out.  Unfortunately Ireland lost to England.  Fortunately, I've learned enough about rugby that I actually enjoy and understand the matches (I now fully appreciate having my apartment windows overlook the rugby pitches).

We split up to grab dinner and walk around Dublin in the madness of Paddy's Day.  The Temple Bar District, Grafton Street, and O'Connell's Street were absolutely insane with crowds of people dressed up in green and pints in their hands, but the moment you stepped outside these areas, Dublin became a ghost town.  It was a bit eerie to see the streets so empty.

Most of the girls went back home after dinner, but three of us went back to the Porterhouse and hung out there until it closed.  It was a blast!  We met funny and interesting people from all over.  I spotted a man with a Notre Dame t-shirt on standing in a corner with his wife, so of course I had to introduce myself and tell them that I go to Saint Mary's.  The couple actually live in Germany.  He is with the army and she is a dentist.  They have been traveling around ever since they moved to Europe and they had the most interesting stories about the places they've been to.  You just have to love that South Bend connection!

After the Porterhouse closed down, the girls and I caught the late bus back to Maynooth.  I felt exhausted climbing into bed at five in the morning but it was well worth it.  I absolutely love Saint Paddy's Day!

Sisters, Sisters...

Mary Ellen flew into Dublin to go on adventures with me in Ireland!  She arrived on Maynooth campus at about 6 in the morning, and I woke up to meet her and lead her back to my apartment.  Our reunion was so exciting that when we got back to my room we both went straight to sleep.  I had class that morning, but ME was grateful because then she had a chance to sleep more.  My classes finished just as a rugby match was starting on the pitches outside my window.  The cheering fans had woken up Mary Ellen and we went into the kitchen to watch a bit of the match through the huge corner windows.  I introduced her to my roommates, and we chatted for a bit.  My roommate Niamh was especially impressed with Mary Ellen since she had met President Obama.  She kept asking question after question about the president, his wife, and their daughters haha!  We went for walk around town so Mary Ellen could see what had changed and what had stayed just as she left it.  ME: A LOT had changed in the little town of Maynooth in the past 11 years. It made me feel very old! The new pub and grocery store that was completed in 2000 suddenly seems small and outgrown so the pub got a face lift and grocery store looks like a super-sized Walmart. We also walked up to Carton House, which is a large, beautiful estate that has been turned into a country club and golf course.  Afterwards we picked up a few groceries and made dinner, before all my friends came to hang out and meet my big sis.  The SMC chicks peppered her with questions and the frisbee team was up to its usual shenanigans.  ME: I learned from the frisbee team that you can fit three pints in an upside down frisbee – WHO KNEW?! Haha!  Afterwards, we headed down to Brady's pub for a pint before finally going to bed.

Mary Ellen and I caught a train to Galway the next day.  Unfortunately we were stopped for an hour which we later found out was due to some kind of crash on the tracks.  We had to laugh though because a few passengers near us were loudly speculating that there were "engine problems," but they immediately changed their tune upon hearing news of the crash.  We arrived in Galway at about 5 and checked into our B&B called the Eyre Square Townhouse (did someone say Jane Eyre?).  Next we headed down a pedestrian street lined with shops (cleverly named Shop St.) and explored a bit.  Most of the stores were closed, but it was fun to wander and peek in the windows.  We ended up in a pub called the Quays where we had fish and chips (ME) and salmon and potatoes (me) for dinner and a pint of Bulmers.  We were still pretty tired from the night before so after dinner we headed back to the B&B and slept to prepare for the next day.

In the morning, we stopped in the main square to rent a car and then began our odyssey down the west coast of Ireland.  ME: Maureen was an excellent co-pilot and kept an eye on the road signs/map and we only got turned around twice.  Our first stop was a rather epic one: the Cliffs of Moher!  They were magnificent!  Mary Ellen and I walked up both sides of the cliffs and I even climbed up to the top of the lookout tower.  The sky had been cloudy but once we arrived the sun started to peek through a bit, so it was a good day to see the cliffs.  We continued on, driving through the expanisve, rocky Burren until we reached the small town of Bunratty.  We walked around checking out the castle and Durty Nelly's Pub.  We also stopped in the ginormous Woolen Mills Shop.  Before tipping off, Mary Ellen let me drive down a quiet road for about five minutes.  It felt so weird to be on the left side of the road!

After driving a while more, we finally arrived in Killarney.  We pulled up to the Algret House and were greeted by the lovely Greta who owned the B&B.  We dropped off our things in the room and then walked into the center of town.  We even stopped inside Uncle Jack's favorite pub, the Laurels, for a pint and dinner.  The next day we had a delicious Irish breakfast and then spent the morning over at the Muckross House, situated close to the shores of Muckross Lake, amidst the beautiful scenery of Killarney National Park.  During the 1850s, Henry & Mary Herbert undertook extensive preparation for Queen Victoria's visit in 1861.  They say that she enjoyed her visit so much that if her husband hadn't died shortly afterwards, she would have bought her own residence in Kerry.  We explored the beautiful gardens and walked down by the lake which could not have been more like glass.  Back at the house our tour guide Patsy led us around describing some of the different furnishings and rooms.  All of the chairs had a prickly holly leaf on them to keep visitors from trying to take a load off haha!  ME and I both agreed that the best part of the house was the kitchen.  It was so interesting to see all of the cooking utensils, stoves, and ice coolers the servants would have used to prepare, store, and transfer food from the kitchen to the dining room.  After our tour, Mary Ellen I drove down the road a bit to see Torc Waterfall.  It's funny, but every time I see something beautiful, I think about how unique it is or how much it reminds me of Skaneateles.  And let me tell you, Torc Waterfall would be right at home in Skaneateles.

That whole morning the temperature had been rather mild but the sky was cloudy and we experienced a few light showers.  However, as we drove towards Dingle, the skies were getting more and more blue and the clouds were turning from gray and ominous to puffy and white.  No sooner had we arrived at the Greenmount B&B and dropped off our things then we were back in the car and driving up the Slea Head road.  The sun shone on the green hills and the sheep perched on precarious ledges gazing down at the white surf smashing itself against the rocks.  ME told me the old joke about the sheep in Dingle being born with two legs shorter than the others so that they could stand on the hills haha!  Slea Head drive was beautiful!  I enjoyed looking out at the Blasket Islands (even the Sleeping Giant who looked like Abraham Lincoln!).  We stopped at a quaint, little pottery shop on the way called Louis Mulcahy.  All of the pots and plates had colors that blended and melted into each other.  They were really pretty!  There was also a small bridge nicknamed the "Backwards Bridge" because water flowed over it instead of underneath.  We took a short nap when we got back to the B&B and then walked into the town to go to mass.  The priest spoke half in English and half in Gaelic and it must have been the family mass because during the homily, all of the children stood up right next to him and he talked straight to them.  The priest also commented on the unusually small numbers at mass.  Mary Ellen and I didn't really understand what he meant until after mass when we went just down the street to have a few pints at a pub that was filled with drunken men singing.  It couldn't have been past seven, so we knew that there must be a pretty important match on for them to skip mass and be that drunk that early.  We weren't very hungry so ME ran into the shop across the road quickly to grab some bread, cheese, and digestives which we feasted on back in the B&B before falling asleep.

In the morning we had another delicious Irish breakfast.  On a side note, Ireland has completely converted me to the wondrous powers of a "cuppa tae."  I now drink it all the time, although Mary Ellen says that I don't do it right because I like to add a bit of milk and sugar.  She's a purist!  After our delicious breakfast we loaded back into the car and drove down Connor's Pass.  It wasn't quite as sunny as the day before but the early morning mist was very beautiful.  We kept driving until we reached Tarbert where we caught a ferry over the River Shannon and continued to a little town of Doolin just north of the Cliffs of Moher.

We checked into the Atlantic Sunset B&B where Mom and Dad had stayed when they were in Ireland in 2003.  We chatted with the owner Bea (who has a nephew who studies at Maynooth but I haven't been able to find him) a bit before driving down into the town (all one block of it) and parking by the beach. The sun was so bright, especially on the water, that I wished I had brought sunglasses!  I climbed down the rocks to the water and spent some time collecting shells for Leigha, Kiera, and Fiona.  Mary Ellen and I decided to explore a bit and drove to Lisdoonvarna host to a matchmaker's
                                                                                                               festival in September.  We grabbed lunch
                                                                                                               there and drove back to eat by the beach.

There's Christy next to ME

We took a quick nap at the Atlantic Sunset and then went to Gus O'Connor's Pub for some fish and chips.  We stayed around and had a couple pints and were so happy that we did.  The band started to set up right next to where we were sitting!  It seemed like every single person in the pub was musically talented.  They all took turns playing instruments or singing.  My favorite song was called "Caledonia" and it was sung by a younger woman with just a guitar playing softly in the background.  She sang slow and kind of sadly but it sounded beautiful.  Of course, there were some lively tunes as well.  We ended up chatting with a few members of the band and some of their friends who sat beside us.  Noel played the flute and his daughter even joined in with what looked like a small accordion.  His wife Terry is actually the daughter of the original owners of Gus O'Connor's but they sold the pub a few years ago.  Noel's best friend Frank sat with his wife while he played.  He started chatting away with us and buying us round after round of pints (he called our Bulmers "apple juice").  He told us that he had a girlfriend who lived in America and that he had met her last September (we speculated later that he had met her at the matchmaking festival!).  We also met Christy who is in his late 70s and drives around a small tourist bus in the area. He is sweet as can be and enjoys listening to the music and sipping on  a cup of tea. Frank also told us all about his cow farm and how a calf had been born just that morning.  When we were finally kicked out of the pub at three in the morning, Frank took Mary Ellen, Christy, and I over to see the cows.  They were so cute, especially the calf!  Mary Ellen was on cloud nine being surrounded by her favorite animal, but her flats did not survive the mucky farm.  ME: Mom and Dad loved receiving a call from us at 9 p.m. Illinois time saying we had followed two Irish men into a cow barn at 3 am HAHA.  We finally collapsed into bed at four very tired but very happy.

On our final day of traveling we had an early breakfast and chatted with Bea before driving back to Galway.  We returned the car after having used a little over half a tank of petrol and driving 745 kilometers (approximately).  We walked back through Galway and stopped in the different little shops looking at all of the souvenirs, sweaters, and Guinness mugs.  We also went into Thomas Dillon's, the original maker of the claddagh ring.  And because Mary Ellen is the best oldest sister in all the land, she got a ring for me as well as herself.  We went to the train station and began the journey back to Dublin where we grabbed the bus back to Maynooth.  We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few supplies for dinner.  I have nicknamed the six of us SMC girls who have stayed in Ireland for all year the Yearlings, and three of them came over to eat with Mary Ellen and me before we had to go to Roberta's class.  It is quite rare that we get a good meal cooked for us so we ate with gusto.  ME: I was amazed that spaghetti, sauce, frozen garlic bread and ice cream cake would be so yummy to these girls! Haha!  Mary Ellen and I were too tired to go out that night so we spent it hanging out in the common room with my roommates until we could no longer keep our eyes open.

The dreaded morning finally came.  After packing up all of her things, Mary Ellen and I headed into Dublin where I made sure she got the bus to the airport.  It was an absolutely spectacular week and I was sad to see her go.  However, I hope she knows that I'm already scheming our next Irish adventure, and this time Shannon will have to be there too!

Just Call Me Queen Maureen

The NUI Maynooth Marvels!

A new semester means new classes, new SMC chicks, and new adventures!  I've been so busy with everything going on over here but I'll try to catch you up a bit.  The spring semester Saint Mary's girls are here and they are fabulous!  As much as I miss my friends from last semester, I must say that it is has been a lot of fun to meet the new girls and it's really nice to have more than six of us on campus again.  I'm really excited about the courses I have this semester too!  I'm taking Irish History, English (we're reading Tennyson and Middlemarch!), Christiology (with all the seminarians again), and Logic.  So far Logic has been my favorite.  I love looking at arguments and determining their validity.  I've also been super busy with the Frisbee team.  We've had several tournaments which have been insanely fun but tiring at the same time since we usually play between four and six matches a day.  I'm still not very good but I've improved a lot since September.

With the start of the semester comes the start of Roberta trips!  We've gone back to a few places we saw last semester but it was fun to see them again.  We have also been a couple of new places too.  A few weekends ago, we loaded onto Eugene's bus and drove over to Newgrange.  Newgrange is a bit of a mystery because no one is exactly sure what it is though some speculate it has religious significance or is a grave site.  What they do know is that during the winter solstice light is able to enter through the narrow passageway and illuminate the small circular room at the center of the mound it is built inside (our guide used a light bulb to demonstrate what it would be like inside during the winter solstice).  There are also large stones all around the mound that have swirling designs carved into them.

After seeing Newgrange, we headed over to the Hill of Tara which is where the old Irish kings were crowned.  In fact, they had to "drink ale and symbolically marry the goddess Maeve to achieve high-kingship."  There is a small stone pillar there called the Lia Fáil or Stone of Destiny.  Legend has it that whoever sits on the stone and hears a roar is the king (or queen!) of Ireland.  It's quite difficult to climb but I was proud that I could do it all by myself.  I know you're wondering and the answer is yes, I did hear a roar, so just call me Queen Maureen!

On another Roberta trip we went to Mellifont Abbey.  The abbey is now in ruins but it was once the model for all Cistercian abbeys built in Ireland.  We had a blast running around and climbing where we shouldn't.  It was so sunny out that we all felt too energetic and happy to behave haha!

Afterwards, we went to Monasterboice which is home to a round tower, the ruins of a church, a cemetery, and Muiredach's High Cross.  Muiredach's High Cross was named after an abbot and is considered by some as the best high cross in Ireland.  It is covered with carvings from the Bible and has survived without much weather damage.  My favorite carving was a small one at the bottom of the cross depicting two men pulling each others' long beards.

We won't have another Roberta trip until May when we go to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands, so I'll have to make my own travel plans around Ireland from now on!

Barcelona

Before I begin to talk about my time in beautiful Barcelona, I need to rewind back to Seville.  I completely forgot to write about one of my favorite moments!  As Claire and I explored the Alcazar Palace, I kept seeing this familiar looking guy walking around.  Finally, it clicked where I had seen him before.  He was on one of the walking tours in Munich! I walked over and introduced myself and we started talking.  He had been traveling around Europe ever since Munich and he was able to give Claire and me some great advice for Barcelona.  The whole situation was such a coincidence!

Anyways, after catching a plane to Barcelona and settling into our hostel, Claire and I took the metro to see la Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Antoni Gaudí.  Gaudí was a famous architect in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and his buildings seem quite modern for his time.  I could have stared at la Sagrada Familia for hours and still not seen enough.  The church is extremely detailed.  Every inch of the outer walls is carved into a different scene from the Bible or is a mass of curving patterns.  The inside is made of tall arches that resemble palm trees and huge windows filled with colorful stained glass.  La Sagrada Familia was started in 1882 and is still under construction.  It is estimated to be finished around 2026 which is the centennial of Gaudi's death.

After admiring the magnificence of la Sagrada Familia, Claire and I headed over to Parque Güell which was by far my favorite place in Barcelona.  The park was designed by Gaudi as well and it was simply beautiful!  Most of it was like a desert mountain trail with large somewhat skeletal structures made of warm-colored rock.  However the best area was the large terrace fenced in with curving benches covered in broken tiles.  Claire and I just reclined on those benches soaking up the sun.  We even got a little sun burnt which was surprisingly refreshing after all the clouds of Ireland.  We walked down the steps and discovered that there was a patio under the terrace we were just on.  The ceiling was dimpled with tiled sun-shaped designs and in front of it was a fountain with a large tiled salamander.  Gaudi designed a few buildings within and at the edge of the park which were spectacular as well.

Grumbling tummies finally forced us to leave to the park and we headed to a grocery store and grabbed bread, cheese, and sangria.  We wanted to watch the sunset from the beach so we packed up our dinner and took the metro as close as we could get.  We were too late for the sunset but we decided to keep going anyways.  We walked down the boardwalk a ways until we found a spot we liked and we parked ourselves in the sand to enjoy our simple feast.  We splashed about in the Mediterranean a bit but the water was so cold it made our feet hurt!  With socks and shoes back on Claire and I went back to the hostel to get some sleep and prepare for our next day.

We awoke bright and early and walked down a long street of restaurants and shops called Las Ramblas.  The street is also lined with small stands and kiosks selling anything from flowers and post cards to rabbits and birds.  After wandering a bit, Claire and I joined a walking tour of Barcelona, but it was rather disappointing.  Next we headed over to la Boqueria, a market like the one we visited in Madrid but at least three times bigger.  There were long counters covered in ice and different kinds of fish.  They even had sea sponges for sale!  The best part was the huge stands with different kinds of freshly squeezed juice lined up in cups and just waiting for a straw.  They had every combination of fruit imaginable!  I got some sort of mango concoction that was absolutely scrumptious!

Claire is big fan of art, so after we got lunch at la Boqueria, we walked over to the Picasso Museum.  I really enjoyed the museum because they showed the evolution of Picasso's art.  He started off painting very realistic pictures but eventually he move to cubism.  He even did his own cubist version of Las Meninas, so it was fun to see that since we had just seen the real thing in Madrid.

Casa Milá

After Picasso, Gaudi invaded our lives once again as we headed back down las Ramblas to see two of his famous houses.  We stopped outside Casa Milá also nicknamed la Pedrera (the Quarry) because of all the stone used.  Casa Milá's whole facade is curving stone with iron balconies.  Peeking above the roof are several unique chimneys.  Claire and I didn't go inside because we were saving our money to go into Casa Batlló which was our next stop.  Casa Batlló was spectacular!  The whole building was designed to resemble water and fish.  The inside uses blue tiles and stained glass help with the underwater effect.  The roof is curved like the back of a large dragon or serpent.  To be honest, I could write a whole blog post on Casa Batlló, but it would be rather worthless because you need to be standing in front of the windows, the walls, the banisters, the doors, the everything to be able to understand the genius and purpose behind Gaudi's design.

Casa Batlló

Claire and I were absolutely famished after all the walking we had done that day, so we went down las Ramblas once more and sat outside at one of the restaurants for dinner.  We ordered paella of course and it was delicious!  It tasted much more like Susie's than the kind we had in Madrid.  With full bellies, we got back to the hostel and packed up all of our things before collapsing into bed.




In the morning, Claire and I had just enough time to grab some chocolate chip muffins and go back to the beach for breakfast.  We spent our last few hours putting our feet in the water (which wasn't nearly as cold with the sun shining), collecting shells, and lying back in the sand just enjoying the sun.

I absolutely loved Spain, but even with all the sunshine and warmth, I was happy to finally be back home on Irish soil (rain, cold, wind and all!).

Seville

Early Monday morning Claire and I hopped on a train to Seville.  As we traveled we got to watch the sun rise over the Spanish countryside.  There were the most interesting trees spread across the grassy plateaus.  When we finally arrived in Seville we picked up a map at the train station and made our way to the hostel.  It was a bit confusing finding it amid the tangle of streets but we succeeded!  The hostel is run by a woman named Silvia who was incredibly welcoming and friendly.  She gave us a tour of the hostel and kept calling it our home.  Our "home" was about 500 years old and was a beautiful four floor building with three rooftop patios.  Claire
and I hung out in the hammock on one of them
while we planned our day.

Before I go any further I have to take a moment to talk about my favorite part of Seville: the orange trees.  They are everywhere!  Every street and garden is filled with row after row of orange trees.  The branches are heavy with large oranges too!  Claire and I took a moment to try one and it was super sour!  It tasted more like a lemon than an orange!  Later on we also heard the story of why there are so many orange trees in Seville.  Once upon a time the king of Seville married a woman who was from a city near the mountains and brought her to live in his palace.  The woman thought Seville was beautiful but she missed her home and told the king that Seville could never be as great because it never had any snow.  The king thought about this for a while before he started to plant orange trees all around the city.  People thought he was crazy since the oranges were bitter and couldn't be eaten.  However, when spring came the trees filled with blossoms and the white petals fell over the whole city.  The king had brought a bit of snow to
                                                                                    Seville!

Claire had brought a travel book with her, so we decided to do the suggested walking tour in it.  We started off with the Church of El Salvador.  The outside had dark pink walls and white trim but the inside was even more surprising.  The walls were plain stone but the altars lining the walls were elaborate with gold and statues covering them.  The stained glass windows weren't typical either.  Instead of depicting images from the Bible, they had simple, large geometric patterns.  This was actually ingenious because the simple patterns allowed a more intense color in the stained glass so the light coming through created the prettiest rainbows across the floor and columns.  There were also two baptisms going on when we walked into the church.  The babies were so cute in their white gowns!

We headed back out into the sunshine and walked to the Plaza Mayor.  On maps the Plaza Mayor won't be marked because residents of Seville are very proud of their city and believe it is beautiful and unique.  Every other city in Spain has a Plaza Mayor so people in Seville don't recognize their Plaza Mayor.  They would have fooled me if it hadn't been for a sign proclaiming it to be the Plaza Mayor haha!  Anyways, in the plaza there is a giant structure that is called Metropol Parasol but residents have nicknamed it Las Setas because of it's mushroom shape.  Las Setas is home to a market as well as a Roman and
                                                                                                               Moorish archeological site.  You can even
                                                                                                               go up to the roof to see the city!

Continuing on our self-guided tour, Claire and I passed by several more churches before we found Pilate's House.  Apparently an rich resident of Seville was inspired by Pilate's home when on a visit to Jerusalem and decided to replicate it in Seville.  Claire and I wandered a little more before heading over to St. Mary's Cathedral to receive a guided walking tour of Seville.

Our tour was fabulous!  I'll share a few of my favorite things I learned.  Our guide explained how to help keep Seville cool during the excruciatingly hot summers the Romans started to pave the streets with small rocks so that air could flow between the rocks.  The streets are also very narrow and the homes are built tall so that the sun can't reach the street and heat it.  Our guide also talked to us about Mudejar architecture which is a mixture of Moorish and other styles.  Instead of destroying something and starting over, Mudejar architects focused on taking the old and adapting it into something new.


Our guide also took us through the Jewish Quarter.  We learned that the streets weren't just made narrow and twisting to keep the sun out, but also to make it difficult for authorities to capture the Jews during times of persecution.  They would get lost in the maze of streets or they would be unable to turn around on their horses.  There is a street called Calle de Muerte or Street of Death because it was the site of a large number of executions.  In fact, a young Jewish girl named Susana who was in love with a Spanish soldier lived on this street.  She overheard her father and other men planning their revenge against the Catholics and she ran to warn her boyfriend.  He used the information to kill all her family and friends, so she hung herself.  I know it's a depressing story but the interesting part is that she requested that her skull be placed in the wall beneath the window as a warning to other girls who chose their lovers over their families.  Creepy!





The next day, Claire and I had breakfast in our "home" before heading over to la catedral.  While the cathedral was beautiful, my favorite part was the bell tower called la Giralda.  La Giralda was originally a minaret, so a man would go up to the top five times a day to call all Muslims to prayer.  Climbing hundreds of steps five times a day would get pretty tiring so instead of steps, la Giralda has one coiling ramp that a donkey would walk up while carrying the man.  The view from the top is quite beautiful too!

After climbing back down la Giralda, we headed across the street to Alcázar Palace.  I felt a bit like Aladdin as I passed through the large arches into rooms covered in bright tiles that reflect off the water in the pool etched into the middle of the floor.  Even better than the palace were the gardens just behind it.  They were filled with beautiful plants, fountains, and a hedge maze.  There was also a whole family of peacocks living there!  Claire and I spent hours walking down the different paths.

Feeling a bit hungry, we grabbed baguettes and sat down by the river to enjoy our lunch in the sunshine.  We watched a few couples go by in paddle boats and kayaks before we finally got up and walked over to the Torre del Oro, a watchtower that overlooks the Guadalquivir River.  After stopping to check it out, we continued on towards the Plaza de España.  The plaza reminds me a bit of Venice with all its bridges and canal.  I absolutely loved it!  The building is lined with small benches each with its own tile design.  It's absolutely spectacular! 




As the sun set, Claire and I hurried back to the hostel where we ate our dinner on the highest of the rooftop patios.  Afterwards we went and saw a flamenco show!  I loved watching the flamenco dancer kick up the long ruffled red train of her dress as she stomped her foot faster than I knew was possible!  There was also a male dancer and his style was completely different from the woman's.  He would stamp his foot fast as well but he would also do these crazy leaps.  It was amazing!  There were also two men playing the guitar and singing.  They kept shouting out "Olé!"  After the show, Claire and I went back to bed to rest up for our flight to Barcelona!