DOOBLIN!

It has taken me forever and a day to write this blog, because finals are this week, and its one of my last blogs, which makes me sad. My exciting adventure is slowly coming to end!
Well lets talk Irish! First off, I loved Ireland, sucky weather and all. It really was a marvelous trip and I am so glad I did it. I definitely would love to spend more time in Ireland, there's so much to see and the people are great.  

sidenote: since it was raining so hard I didn't take as many pics as I'd like, Cyrus has some more, so when I get those I'll add them to it!

Thursday morning I left Florence around 930am. I arrived in Dublin around 1130 pm. What?! I know. So I took the 10 am bus to Pisa for my 1 pm flight to Paris. From Paris, arriving at 240 pm, I had a 6 hour layover. This part was not my favorite part of traveling. I was alone, in the Paris airport, in a section where there was no one. I wasn't scared as much as I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND. Since space was limited, I couldn't bring much to entertain me (like my computer or something). So my kindle was my lifesaver and I read all of the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, in one sitting. Now while I admit that this book grabs ya from the getco, and it keeps you going,  I would NOT recommend it for someone, particularly a girl alone in a deserted part of the airport at night. I was fine though, and hey, I got a good read I've been meaning to fit in! Another downside to being bored, was the food situation. 20 euros for 2 of the worst meals I've ever eaten. 2 meals,why 2 you ask? Well because the first one was actually inedible. I find myself not a picky eater, but this "salad" (call it what you will) was not going anywhere near my mouth. After that though, the flight to Dublin was smooth sailing. I stayed with my friend Cyrus who studies at Trinity college. So he met me at the aiport when I arrived. We took the bus to his apartment and pretty much crashed. We caught up on our lives and made plans for the day, but traveling for 12+ hours really got to me. Luckily his roomate was gone for the weekend so I had a room to myself. Score! I passed out instantly.

The next morning we planned to go to the West side of the country to Galway, where we would take an all day Cliffs of Moehr tour, YES the same cliffs featured in Harry Potter. SCORE! We were out the door by 7 since the bus ride to Galway was about 3 hours. So I fit in some more sleeping, total bonus. The weather in Dublin looked promising as we left...However, this was NOT the case in Galway. It not only was not promising, but not even friendly. This weather was ANGRY! But more on that later. We hopped on the tour bus which was suprisingly small, only 8 of us. We met our tour guide, Steve. An irish gem, let me tell you. I can't imagine a more quintessential Irish man. The accent, the jokes, his cheery attitude, he had it all. When the weather turned he kept asking if we wanted to turn around and instead of a tour make a pub crawl. I loved him. We couldn't have asked for a better and more fun tour guide. So we took a tour through Galway and these small villages on our way to the Cliffs.
THANK GOD cyrus happened to bring me a rain jacket because it was absolutely POURING!!

Unfortuantely, the jacket was noooot that happening. In addition to being bright yellow and down to my knees, I had it over my heavy peacoat, so needless to say the pictures, as I'm sure you see, are not that great. But we laughed everytime we looked through the pictures we took since I took absolutely outrageous. Let me just say... I've never been or seen weather like this. There were times when I actually thought the wind might actually knock me over. Steve kept telling me that my hair was stunning and that I saved myself 80 euro to get it done in the salon, and there was several shoutouts via the bus microphone to "the girl with the best lookin hair" if that gives you any idea how windy it was. Despite the weather, the Irish country side is amazing. Even in the dark clouds you could see green everywhere and all these cool old, castle-like buildings. It was great. Steve made us get out all the time for pictures, and I'm glad he did. We braved the weather and got to see some pretty cool stuff.

 *note the happy face* hahaha- it was sooo windy, i could barely smile

We finally made it to the cliffs and had 2 hours there. At the cliffs however, the weather got even sour-er. Cyrus and I laughed the entire time we walked around because it was raining so hard, and it was so windy that every now and then the wind would pick the ocean waves up, and they would hit you in the face like a slap. It was so funny. When we were done walking around and seeing all we could, we walked inside to the museum part and water was pouring off my face. We ran around looking for those bathroom dryers for your hands to try and dry ourselves off but they were no where to be found. Damn. We then took these pictures of what they cliffs were supposed to look like, had we been on a nice day. Even though the weather was gross, the cliffs were amazing. I can only imagine what they would look like on a bright blue day. I'm so glad we did it and the weather just made the whole experience all the funnier.

 Now below is what the pictures advertised... so beautiful!

 We got back on the bus and made our way back down to Galway with a couple stops here and there. Including this, "the matchmaker bar" where Steve informed us that he had an eye on a girl on the bus with the best looking hair (imagine that) and that he was single and looking for fun no commitment. Now before you scroll down, imagine Steve in your mind. Now look at the picture...WINNNNER! Right? What a catch, not. I took the picture with him anyways and we laughed the whole trip home. Cryus and I were also referred to by Steve as the lovely young couple, who was about to get engaged. We numerous times assured him we were NOTHING of the sort, but he kept insisting. He was too much fun.

 Afterwards the bus dropped us of at a Galway Christmas market right by the train station. We had time to kill so we walked around, got a delicious German sausage from the market, and then boarded the train for the 3 hour ride home. We got in around 10 and quickly got ready for our night out! Cyrus' friends from school were coming over to have drinks before we went to a pub or club. I met his two friends Orlaih and Kevin, both who were studying at Trinity. They were awesome. We headed to this club called "Coppers" an infamously "American" *in a bad way* club. Kev and Orlaih warned me it wasn't Ireland's best, but it was an experience. And it was. Kev, who's gay, and I got seperated from the other two. So we wandered around while Kevin was on the mission to find me "Irelands hottest bachelor". After numerous turn downs on my part, there were no lookers in this club let me tell you, we wandered up to the VIP section. Where this gross, older man was hitting on me. I was not interested in the least bit, while Kevin kept assuring me that I should keep talking to him. After walking away I was informed that that was Irelands number 1 soap opera star! I couldn't stop laughing. Kevin and I danced the night away till 6 am. It was so much fun. We found Cyrus eventually and headed home.


Cyrus and I planned on seeing Dublin at 9, but that just wasn't going to happen. We left the apartment at 12 to get some Coffee (seen ahead) you know i can't function without it, and sight see. It was actually sunny and blue skyed when we left. It started as a beautiful day. In Dublin, you can get a bike card which allows you to rent, almost, bikes from any of the stations all over the city by swiping your card and entering your pin. You then drop the bike off at any of the station and it locks electronically. Cyrus' roommate left me his card for the weekend, so biking was our mode of transportation. It was awesome. Trust me, after 4 months of pasta and carbs, any physical activity is much appreciated. We stopped and got burritos, YUM! Not as good as the ones at home, but nice to have anything that wasn't Italian. We then biked towards the beach since I told Cyrus I wanted to see it. We biked around the ocean and then through the park on this trail, we ended up off roading for awhile but ended up at this sweet lighthouse. It ended up turning into a 5+ hour bike ride.

When we turned back to head home from the lighthouse, the wind really picked up and the weather turned. It started to drizzle. Plus we were riding against the wind, so for awhile we had to walk and push our bikes. Around 6 we stopped at a grocery store to get stuff for dinner.  Back at the apartment, Cyrus insisted on making dinner, so I watched Despicable Me. I know, totally lucked out there. We had an awesome meal of chicken and fried rice and broccoli. Yep, my first time in 4 months to have broccoli. I was in heaven. We were so beat from the night before and the bike ride that we turned on another movie and went to bed.

Sunday, my last day in Ireland :( We woke up and headed out to see the city. We took the bikes again and biked through the main city part of Dublin, and got off and walked around. It was great because everything was decorated for Christmas. Trees and lights everywhere! It finally felt like Christmas time. It made me excited to come home and see everyone for my favorite holiday season!
 

We then went to Trinity, where Cyrus goes to school to look at the campus. Don't get me wrong, I love LMU but Trinity is so much prettier. Everything is old and majestic looking. Kinda hogwarts-esque for those Harry Potter fans out there. There's tons of greenery and beautiful gray stone buildings. I would love to go to school there! We then went to see the "Book of Kels" the first color book. We sorta breezed through (I had to go to the airport by 1) but it was pretty cool to see. After the seeing the Book, we walked through the library part of the museum, which contain all these old leather bound books that were a hundred or so years old. It was beautiful. Definitely not the San Pedro library, let me tell ya!

After that, we pretty much had to head back towards the apartment, which was more on the outside by the river, so I could make it to the airport on time. It was a quick trip, but I loved every moment of it. Cyrus was such a great host and I got to see so much of Ireland, from a local's point of view. I can't wait to go back! It took me another 12+ hours to get back to Florence, including waiting in an Italian airport alone at 11pm, but I made it home. It was a really good experience traveling by myself. I really had to use my Italian while I was waiting to figure out where the bus was going to pick me up and how to navigate myself around. I knew I could do it all along, but it was nice knowing that I did it. It was a great trip, and I'm so lucky to have gone. I can't believe my last trip of the semester is over!!!!!

THE PARENTS ARE HERE!!!!

WOOOOHOOOOOO! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR MONTHS FOR THIS! but really.

Finally! I woke up early Friday morning to surprise them and meet them at the airport. I got a little teary eyed, not gonna lie, but I ducked behind a column so they wouldn't see my wiping my eyes. Haha. It was so nice having them here. I planned on staying part time in the pensione and part time with them at the hotel.  I guess I underestimated how much I missed them because I spent every single night at the hotel, and most waking moments that I could with them. I just didn’t want to waste any time with them! The first couple days we just walked around and showed them Florence.

While I was in class, they went to the standard museums and walked around the city. I would meet them after class at night and we went shoe shopping (scored on some awesome boots) and then we went to dinner. Boy did we eat well, not that you had any doubts we wouldn't! But it was wonderful meals, I couldn't bring myself to order any pasta (can you blame me, once a day is killing me!) so I finally got my first red meat since being here. They don’t serve it in the Pensione and it’s too expensive on a college budget, but oh man was it delicious. We had some great food, awesome wine, and even better laughs. Asks mom for a good mozzarella bar joke :) (inside joke) The only thing missing was John. Really! I missed him lots, the family dynamic without him just isn't the same.

 

        Wednesday we took a train to Luca, an old medieval town about 2 hours outside Florence. The original city wall is still in tact! Simply amazing. We rented bikes and tooled around the wall and inside the city before stopping for lunch. It was a great way to get outside of Florence for awhile. Not to mention it was a beautiful fall day. The leaves were all turning a beautiful color and it was sunny, yet still cool.

And before we knew it, it was Thursday! Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving, being one of my favorite holidays, made me a little homesick. If mom and dad hadn’t been with me, I don’t know how I would have managed. But do not worry, the homesickness did not ruin the day at all! We took a fabulous tour with Monika, the same woman I had my prior wine tour with (in the post below). We went through all of Chianti (which is a wine area in Tuscany). It’s so funny 15 minutes outside of Florence, and you feel like you’ve been transported to a movie set. (think: Under the Tuscan Sun). It is simply beautiful. You know, I don’t think I could live in Florence for my whole life, but I ABSOLUTELY could live in Tuscany with a vineyard or olive trees. It’s amazing. Monika set up a great day for us, from 11am till 7pm of Tuscan adventures. What’s great about Monika’s tours is she doesn’t have a set itinerary, she just calls up her friends the morning of to see who’s home and who she can bring us too. The woman can talk to just about anyone and knows all of Tuscany practically. It was more like spending the day meeting friends, rather than being on a “tour” per say.
Our first stop was to see Lucia, who is this 78 year old Italian woman who makes all her own wine and olive oil. We got to taste the olive oil, which is more like “olive juice” as Monkia said since it was just pressed about 8 or so days ago. We tasted it with spoons, which gives you an idea of the informal setting we were in. When Dad asked to take her picture with me, she responded (in Italian) “No, no, please, I’m so beautiful my pictures are all already around the world” We laughed and she bottled up some olive oil for us, right then and there. Pretty sweet. We left Lucia’s and headed through scenic Tuscany, stopping frequently so dad could hop out and take some beautiful pictures.

 (i hate the above picture, but i had to show how she bottles the oil)

We then headed to “the Academy of Good Taste” where Stefano was waiting for us. Talk about a character. Here we sampled 5 different types of olive oil and vinegar. I had no idea there was even a difference in any of them. But they all tasted good, and it was an experience we’ve never had and will never forget. He was a funny man, as you can tell from his get up. Next Monika took us to another friends for a burger. This butcher, is a little crazy, Monika said. She told us that when mad-cow disease became prevalent in Florence and restaurants outlawed serving Florentine beef steaks for awhile, he made a coffin for the meat and had funeral procession through town…. Does that give you a picture!? Haha, but it was a really cool restaurant on top, with a butcher shop downstairs. When we walked downstairs, it was like a party was going on rather than people working. The butcher was eating what he cut for customers, as he cut, and everyone was gathered around laughing. Just enjoying their time together, which totally the attitude here. Just enjoying time together over food, no worries type of thing. So we went back upstairs and ate a giant burger that was amazing!! No bun, just good and tasty meat. We ran into a little bit of car trouble so Monika left quickly to change cars.

We then headed towards Roberto’s vineyard for some more wine. His house/vineyard looked like it came out of a story book. The house itself was built in the 1400’s (I believe?) or 1600s. I think the former. Either way, INCREDIBLE. Most everything was the same on the inside, and a large fire was burning when we walked in. We sampled 2 of his chianti classic’s and talked. I would kill to live in a house like this! After that, we stopped in a 30 person town. I’m not kidding 30 people. We walked the one road and looked at the castles and homes. It was surreal. We had an espresso at a little old woman’s cafe, where she and a friend were visiting, and some Ricciarelli, traditional Tuscan cookies. They were made of almond paste and melted in your mouth. To die for! We had to buy some for snacks later, obviously :)

After that we were on our way to our final wine destination, Fernando’s. Fernando, was also our last stop on my first tour with Monika (this was the only repeat I had). Fernando, is 72 years old, and lives in Montefiorelle, a town in Tuscany. Here he makes about 10,000 bottles of wine per year, and some olive oil. But 1500 of those bottles he saves for his family (3 families, 1 bottle per day!) He is the sweetest old man who only speaks Italian, but last trip, I was the only one who could communicate with him (not very well though, but hey I tried!) so he loves me. We went and sampled all 8 of his wines from the years from 2005-2009. He made us some bread and meat and cheese too. It was another great stop! Our final destination was a butcher shop in town which had tons and tons of prosciutto hanging from the ceiling. A little disturbing, but it tasted great! We then headed back into Florence. Talk about an amazing and once in a lifetime Thanksgiving!!

 Fernando!

    Friday morning we woke up and made the day a shopping day. We got cool items but my favorite is the necklace Dad bought me. I really wanted to have one from Florence since I don’t have that many necklaces. I guess I shouldn’t share about it since it IS my Christmas gift, but I’m too excited not too! It’s a bronze coin shape, which has the Florentine symbol on it an Iris, and the flip side has St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence on it. It’s BEAUTIFUL! I will always have a piece of Florence with me, and it is the perfect gift of my trip. After I write this, I will forget about it (wink) until Christmas and I open it! After shopping, we had a picnic of cheese & prosciutto that we bought at the butcher shop the night before and Lucia’s wine. We ate it at Piazza Michelangelo, which in my opinion has the best view of Florence from above. It was a clear, beautiful day. The best day I’ve been up there.

After that we walked up to San Miniato, an old Church to hear the Gregorian priests chant. Except we sorta got stuck at mass, which was nice, since the ceremony felt like we were back in 800. Then we went back to the hotel to regroup and have dinner. After another awesome meal, we walked around and went back to the hotel. Oh! And this whole week they have been working on putting up christmas lights all over the city! And on mom and dad’s last night they got a peak of some of them lit up! The city looked beautiful. I’m so glad they got to see them lit, what a great last night.

   

    It’s Saturday morning, they just left about 2 hours ago, and I miss them already. Everyone is traveling this weekend...literally there are only 4 people from Gonzaga here. And only 1 other person in the pensione this weekend. Kinda creepy. So I’m sitting here, blogging, eating the peppermint taffy mom left me listening to Christmas music (shoutout to the classic holiday jam: “donde estas santa claus?) . Naturally..it’s my favorite time of year, the buildup to Christmas, plus let’s be real I’ve been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies (with Nicole and Hanna) since MID November :) I’m so excited to come home for the most magical time of year and see everyone. I have such mixed feelings on leaving. I don’t want to say goodbye to this amazing adventure, but I know there will be nothing like coming home. That’s for sure. Dublin next weekend, my last trip of the semester! It should be magical. Love you all. Eat some leftovers for me! And Fight On SC! Ciao belle!