Tuesday, March 24, 2009
St. Andrews, Scotland
My second spring break destination was Scotland...
I flew directly from Madrid to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then found my way to St. Andrews, a process that required several buses. My sister, Sam, met me at the bus terminal and took me straight to her favourite eatery in town, Butlers (where I had the best wrap ever, The Pookie: feta cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, pesto...). I then wandered around town (and got lost for a few hours) while Sam had a medical placement in the adjacent city of Dundee. That night, I helped Sam sell knickknacks for Red Nose Day - a big British charity comedy event, and met up with my friend, Ashleigh, who I used to sail with in Toronto.
Ashleigh and I grabbed Italian dinner and then met up with some of her friends. We called it an early night, and I stayed over at Ash's flat. The next morning, Ash and I grabbed delicious panninis at Harbour House, a really adorable cafe that has a very New England feel. (I'm starting to think that my entire trip revolved around food...) I then accompanied Ashleigh to her class on the spleen, during which I wrote loads of postcards and understood few of the medical terms being thrown around.
On Friday night, I went out with Sami and her residence friends to a fashion show afterparty, called Don't Walk. The party was held at a nearby farm that serves as an event venue, and there was bus transportation to and from the party. I got to meet tons of Sami's friends, and got to dance with a good chunk of the school's population.
The next morning, Sam and I met up with Ash for a tour of the town. Sami's campus is absolutely gorgeous and has ocean views, a beach, and castle ruins. On the beach we met a Hungarian filmmaker who ask Ashleigh to run on the beach in circles for him like a dozen times, he was only slightly creepy ha. We also walked around the Old Course - the oldest golf course in the world, which is gorgeous and on the seaside. I then caught a plane back to Dublin on Saturday night, and was sorry to leave since the campus is truly gorgeous and the company fantastic!
I flew directly from Madrid to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then found my way to St. Andrews, a process that required several buses. My sister, Sam, met me at the bus terminal and took me straight to her favourite eatery in town, Butlers (where I had the best wrap ever, The Pookie: feta cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, pesto...). I then wandered around town (and got lost for a few hours) while Sam had a medical placement in the adjacent city of Dundee. That night, I helped Sam sell knickknacks for Red Nose Day - a big British charity comedy event, and met up with my friend, Ashleigh, who I used to sail with in Toronto.
Ashleigh and I grabbed Italian dinner and then met up with some of her friends. We called it an early night, and I stayed over at Ash's flat. The next morning, Ash and I grabbed delicious panninis at Harbour House, a really adorable cafe that has a very New England feel. (I'm starting to think that my entire trip revolved around food...) I then accompanied Ashleigh to her class on the spleen, during which I wrote loads of postcards and understood few of the medical terms being thrown around.
On Friday night, I went out with Sami and her residence friends to a fashion show afterparty, called Don't Walk. The party was held at a nearby farm that serves as an event venue, and there was bus transportation to and from the party. I got to meet tons of Sami's friends, and got to dance with a good chunk of the school's population.
The next morning, Sam and I met up with Ash for a tour of the town. Sami's campus is absolutely gorgeous and has ocean views, a beach, and castle ruins. On the beach we met a Hungarian filmmaker who ask Ashleigh to run on the beach in circles for him like a dozen times, he was only slightly creepy ha. We also walked around the Old Course - the oldest golf course in the world, which is gorgeous and on the seaside. I then caught a plane back to Dublin on Saturday night, and was sorry to leave since the campus is truly gorgeous and the company fantastic!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Spring Break Shenanigans, Part I - Madrid
For spring break, I decided to try independent travel, and it was fantastic. Over the first weekend, my friend Patty came to visit Dublin from Barcelona with 10+ people from her program. I showed them around, and took them out during the evenings. It was great craic (fun)!
On Sunday night, my friend Agi's college friends, who were in Dublin for spring break, and I cooked a big dinner together since we were all parting ways. We made a rather makeshift baked ziti, since her kitchen doesn't have an oven, but it was delicious nonetheless. A couple bottles later, I realized that in order for me to make my 6:30 am flight to Madrid, I was going to need to leave campus for the airport at 3:30 am, and it was currently 2 am!! So, I hurried home to pack, and pulled my first all-nighter of the trip...
Upon arriving in Madrid, I checked into my hostel, and set out to see the city. I first headed over to el Palacio Real (the Royal Palace) and its accompanying gardens. I then toured the Cathedral, which was gorgeous. I strolled down Gran Via, the largest street in the city, and found my way to the Reina Sofia Museum. The museum is home to Picasso's Guernica (which is huge and its room was constantly crowded with every kindergarden class in the country), and loads of Joan Miro, Georges Braque, and Dali. The museum has a great semi covered courtyard and a very open feel. After completing the museum, I headed over to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The garden was enormous and had a really relaxing atmosphere, which was nice after such a jam-packed day.
Upon taking a quick nap in my hostel, I met up with my roommate from freshman year, Dianne. Dianne has been studying in Madrid since September, so she knows the city quite well. We met up in Chueca, the gentrified gay area of the city, and grabbed a plate of nachos at an adorable little Mexican restaurant. Following dinner, we went to a very, very popular hole-in-the-wall bar called El Tigre. For every drink that you purchase at this bar, you are given a medium sized plate of tapas. It's a pretty decent business strategy since the food's a little salty and negates the effects of the alcohol consumed, leading to people buying more drinks. While in the bar, Dianne recognized a kid from Skidmore, who's on her program (Tufts and Skidmore have a joint program in Madrid), so we sat down with him and his girlfriend. Also at the table was a girl named Dana, another Skidmore student who was visiting Spain for spring break. Coincidentally, Dana and I were staying at the same hostel, as well, Dana told me that she was planning on doing a day trip the next day to Alcala. Alcala is a town outside of Madrid, where one of my really good friends from school, Erica, is studying. I asked if I could come along for the trip to Alcala and we made plans to meet up the next morning.
Dana and I headed out for Alcala mid-Morning on Tuesday, and were joined by Dana's friend Amy, who had been studying in Madrid with Skidmore since January. We hopped the 45 minute commuter train to Alcala, and spent the day touring the town. Alcala is home to a gorgeous University that dates back to the 1400s. Alcala is also the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the famed author of Don Quioxte. The entire town seems to revolve around recognizing Cervantes's achievements. At the centre of the city is Plaza de Cervantes, the plaza is famous for the trees that line its walkways that have grown into a single tree via their limbs. Alcala is also famous for its huge number of storks that perch on the top of all of the town's buildings, according to wikipedia, Alcala is home to nearly a hundred storks, and they serve as a tourist attraction as well. I parted ways with Dana and Amy in the afternoon, following a quick tanning session in one of the city's parks.
Erica and I met up after her classes were completed for some cafe con leche at a great little coffee-shop. It was great to catch up with her, and we talked for a few hours. Once we finished our coffee, we ordered hot chocolate, which is much thicker (more pudding-like) in Spain. Spaniards love to dip churros or croissants in their hot chocolate, as a snack. After saying our goodbyes, I hopped the train back to the city and met up with Dianne and her Tufts in Madrid friends. Five of us grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant, and the food was quite tasty. Afterwards, we headed over to the cave bar, El Chapandaz. We ordered the house drink, which comes in a HUGE glass: the bartender throws cinnamon and sugar into the glass, as well as 7 varieties of alcohol, and the piece de resistance is when he presses a button and milk pours out of a stalactite in the ceiling straight into the glass. Needless to say, the drink was pure deliciousness. (Better pictures than I was able to take are on the bar's website, http://www.chapandaz.com/). Back at my hostel, I met some fellow Canadian girls, from Edmonton, who were traveling Europe together for a few months and had just begun their adventures.
The next morning I recognized one of the girls at the table next to mine at breakfast. I discovered that she lives in one of the six apartments in my "house" in Dublin, and was touring Madrid with 7 other students from Notre Dame's Dublin program. I spent the morning touring the other two galleries in the city, the Prado Museum and the Thyssen. The Prado is enormous and houses many old paintings, particularly those of the Spanish masters. The Prado's most famous works are Velazquez's Las Meninas, and Goya's Second of May are the museum's most well-known works.
The Thyssen museum is home to the works collected by a famous Spanish baron and his wife (Miss Spain of 1961). The Museum is arranged chronologically and covers the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum was much less oppressive than the Prado, as it is very open and airy with salmon pink walls. I then met up with Dianne and some more Tufts people for lunch and a stroll around el Parque del Buen Retiro, the Central Park of Madrid. The park was enormous and filled with green spaces, as well as a large lake for paddle boats.
Dianne had to head over to the Tufts program centre for classes, so I headed out to discover Salamanca, the poshest neighborhood of the city. There is a huge shopping street in the area which I explored, yet didn't buy anything, it is a lot like Bloor St. in Toronto or Newbury St. in Boston. I headed back to Park Retiro to relax in the afternoon sun, before heading back to my hostel for a nap.
That evening I went to the Tufts-Skidmore program centre to meet up with Dianne, Erica, and some others for wine and tapas following their monthly conference. It was nice to get to see everyone in the program, as well as drink on Tufts's dime, ha. Afterwards, Dianne and I met up with my friend Susie, who's from Tufts but isn't on the Tufts in Madrid program for ice cream. It was nice to catch up with Susie and all of her homestay drama, as well as introduce her to Dianne. After Dianne headed home and we were kicked out of the ice cream shop because it was closing, Susie and I made our way to a local dive-bar for a couple glasses of wine. I then went back to my hostel for a 2 hour nap, before heading off to Scotland. I'll write up on my time in Scotland as soon as I get a chance!
On Sunday night, my friend Agi's college friends, who were in Dublin for spring break, and I cooked a big dinner together since we were all parting ways. We made a rather makeshift baked ziti, since her kitchen doesn't have an oven, but it was delicious nonetheless. A couple bottles later, I realized that in order for me to make my 6:30 am flight to Madrid, I was going to need to leave campus for the airport at 3:30 am, and it was currently 2 am!! So, I hurried home to pack, and pulled my first all-nighter of the trip...
Upon arriving in Madrid, I checked into my hostel, and set out to see the city. I first headed over to el Palacio Real (the Royal Palace) and its accompanying gardens. I then toured the Cathedral, which was gorgeous. I strolled down Gran Via, the largest street in the city, and found my way to the Reina Sofia Museum. The museum is home to Picasso's Guernica (which is huge and its room was constantly crowded with every kindergarden class in the country), and loads of Joan Miro, Georges Braque, and Dali. The museum has a great semi covered courtyard and a very open feel. After completing the museum, I headed over to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The garden was enormous and had a really relaxing atmosphere, which was nice after such a jam-packed day.
Upon taking a quick nap in my hostel, I met up with my roommate from freshman year, Dianne. Dianne has been studying in Madrid since September, so she knows the city quite well. We met up in Chueca, the gentrified gay area of the city, and grabbed a plate of nachos at an adorable little Mexican restaurant. Following dinner, we went to a very, very popular hole-in-the-wall bar called El Tigre. For every drink that you purchase at this bar, you are given a medium sized plate of tapas. It's a pretty decent business strategy since the food's a little salty and negates the effects of the alcohol consumed, leading to people buying more drinks. While in the bar, Dianne recognized a kid from Skidmore, who's on her program (Tufts and Skidmore have a joint program in Madrid), so we sat down with him and his girlfriend. Also at the table was a girl named Dana, another Skidmore student who was visiting Spain for spring break. Coincidentally, Dana and I were staying at the same hostel, as well, Dana told me that she was planning on doing a day trip the next day to Alcala. Alcala is a town outside of Madrid, where one of my really good friends from school, Erica, is studying. I asked if I could come along for the trip to Alcala and we made plans to meet up the next morning.
Dana and I headed out for Alcala mid-Morning on Tuesday, and were joined by Dana's friend Amy, who had been studying in Madrid with Skidmore since January. We hopped the 45 minute commuter train to Alcala, and spent the day touring the town. Alcala is home to a gorgeous University that dates back to the 1400s. Alcala is also the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the famed author of Don Quioxte. The entire town seems to revolve around recognizing Cervantes's achievements. At the centre of the city is Plaza de Cervantes, the plaza is famous for the trees that line its walkways that have grown into a single tree via their limbs. Alcala is also famous for its huge number of storks that perch on the top of all of the town's buildings, according to wikipedia, Alcala is home to nearly a hundred storks, and they serve as a tourist attraction as well. I parted ways with Dana and Amy in the afternoon, following a quick tanning session in one of the city's parks.
Erica and I met up after her classes were completed for some cafe con leche at a great little coffee-shop. It was great to catch up with her, and we talked for a few hours. Once we finished our coffee, we ordered hot chocolate, which is much thicker (more pudding-like) in Spain. Spaniards love to dip churros or croissants in their hot chocolate, as a snack. After saying our goodbyes, I hopped the train back to the city and met up with Dianne and her Tufts in Madrid friends. Five of us grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant, and the food was quite tasty. Afterwards, we headed over to the cave bar, El Chapandaz. We ordered the house drink, which comes in a HUGE glass: the bartender throws cinnamon and sugar into the glass, as well as 7 varieties of alcohol, and the piece de resistance is when he presses a button and milk pours out of a stalactite in the ceiling straight into the glass. Needless to say, the drink was pure deliciousness. (Better pictures than I was able to take are on the bar's website, http://www.chapandaz.com/). Back at my hostel, I met some fellow Canadian girls, from Edmonton, who were traveling Europe together for a few months and had just begun their adventures.
The next morning I recognized one of the girls at the table next to mine at breakfast. I discovered that she lives in one of the six apartments in my "house" in Dublin, and was touring Madrid with 7 other students from Notre Dame's Dublin program. I spent the morning touring the other two galleries in the city, the Prado Museum and the Thyssen. The Prado is enormous and houses many old paintings, particularly those of the Spanish masters. The Prado's most famous works are Velazquez's Las Meninas, and Goya's Second of May are the museum's most well-known works.
The Thyssen museum is home to the works collected by a famous Spanish baron and his wife (Miss Spain of 1961). The Museum is arranged chronologically and covers the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum was much less oppressive than the Prado, as it is very open and airy with salmon pink walls. I then met up with Dianne and some more Tufts people for lunch and a stroll around el Parque del Buen Retiro, the Central Park of Madrid. The park was enormous and filled with green spaces, as well as a large lake for paddle boats.
Dianne had to head over to the Tufts program centre for classes, so I headed out to discover Salamanca, the poshest neighborhood of the city. There is a huge shopping street in the area which I explored, yet didn't buy anything, it is a lot like Bloor St. in Toronto or Newbury St. in Boston. I headed back to Park Retiro to relax in the afternoon sun, before heading back to my hostel for a nap.
That evening I went to the Tufts-Skidmore program centre to meet up with Dianne, Erica, and some others for wine and tapas following their monthly conference. It was nice to get to see everyone in the program, as well as drink on Tufts's dime, ha. Afterwards, Dianne and I met up with my friend Susie, who's from Tufts but isn't on the Tufts in Madrid program for ice cream. It was nice to catch up with Susie and all of her homestay drama, as well as introduce her to Dianne. After Dianne headed home and we were kicked out of the ice cream shop because it was closing, Susie and I made our way to a local dive-bar for a couple glasses of wine. I then went back to my hostel for a 2 hour nap, before heading off to Scotland. I'll write up on my time in Scotland as soon as I get a chance!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hi All,
This past weekend my sister, Sami, came to visit from St. Andrews, Scotland (where she's at university). Sam arrived on Thursday evening and her mobile wasn't working in Ireland, so it was quite the challenge to find her. Fortunately, she made some friends (as usual) who brought her onto campus to find me.
Although Sam visited Dublin last spring when she was interviewing at colleges here, she didn't really get a chance to properly see the city, so I spent Friday showing her the sights. I gave her my now standard tour of Dublin, and we called it an early night, since we were both exhausted.
Saturday was spent in an Australian sports bar, called the Wool Shed, watching the big Ireland vs. England rugby match. Although the game didn’t start until 5pm, we were in the bar with some of my friends from 3pm – 11pm. We kicked off the game with a round of “Springbuck” shots, a South African favourite that physically look Irish, with a green mint liqueur base and a layer of Bailey’s on top. This match is particularly huge, because there is an 800 year rivalry between England and Ireland, and the tensions can still be high today. The bar was packed, and the game was very exciting. The match came down to the wire in the last few minutes, but thankfully Ireland still won with 14 points, to England’s 13. Later on, Sami and I stopped by a club where her best friend from St. Andrew’s, Naheed’s girlfriend was celebrating her 19th birthday party.
Sunday, I showed Sami around my favourite neighbourhood in the city that is filled with cute boutiques and cafes. Afterwards, we found ourselves some cozy chairs in the back corner of a Starbucks and spent the afternoon studying. We finished up the day with some Italian dinner, at one of Sami’s favourite European franchise restaurants (Milano / Pizza Express).
All in all, it was a nice, relaxing weekend. I’m psyched for my upcoming trips to Madrid and Scotland over spring break, and I’ll keep you posted on all my other excursions!
Love,
Erin
This past weekend my sister, Sami, came to visit from St. Andrews, Scotland (where she's at university). Sam arrived on Thursday evening and her mobile wasn't working in Ireland, so it was quite the challenge to find her. Fortunately, she made some friends (as usual) who brought her onto campus to find me.
Although Sam visited Dublin last spring when she was interviewing at colleges here, she didn't really get a chance to properly see the city, so I spent Friday showing her the sights. I gave her my now standard tour of Dublin, and we called it an early night, since we were both exhausted.
Saturday was spent in an Australian sports bar, called the Wool Shed, watching the big Ireland vs. England rugby match. Although the game didn’t start until 5pm, we were in the bar with some of my friends from 3pm – 11pm. We kicked off the game with a round of “Springbuck” shots, a South African favourite that physically look Irish, with a green mint liqueur base and a layer of Bailey’s on top. This match is particularly huge, because there is an 800 year rivalry between England and Ireland, and the tensions can still be high today. The bar was packed, and the game was very exciting. The match came down to the wire in the last few minutes, but thankfully Ireland still won with 14 points, to England’s 13. Later on, Sami and I stopped by a club where her best friend from St. Andrew’s, Naheed’s girlfriend was celebrating her 19th birthday party.
Sunday, I showed Sami around my favourite neighbourhood in the city that is filled with cute boutiques and cafes. Afterwards, we found ourselves some cozy chairs in the back corner of a Starbucks and spent the afternoon studying. We finished up the day with some Italian dinner, at one of Sami’s favourite European franchise restaurants (Milano / Pizza Express).
All in all, it was a nice, relaxing weekend. I’m psyched for my upcoming trips to Madrid and Scotland over spring break, and I’ll keep you posted on all my other excursions!
Love,
Erin
Monday, March 2, 2009
Howth!
Hi!
Last Monday my friend from Tufts, Shawn, was visiting Dublin from Paris. I went with him and his two friends to explore Dublin. Our first stop was Croke Park, the national rugby stadium. It was nice to see where one of the most watched sports in the country was played, but the arena was FILLED with children on field trips so we opted not to tour the building's interior. We then hopped the DART (the commuter train) 15 minutes to Howth.
Howth is a fishing village just north of Dublin, that is famous here because it is home to tons of seals. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find the seals, so I'm making the assumption that they weren't there (and not that I am completely inept...). The guys found the town really relaxing, especially since everyone in Paris is very high-strung and they claim that it rubs off on them. The view of the ocean was beautiful, and I still cannot believe that the town is so close to Dublin, Ireland's largest city.
Check out my pics. I'll write a blurb on my sister's visit once I'm through with my three midterms this week.
Take care!
Love, Erin
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Weekend in BCN!
Hi guys!
This past weekend was spent in Barcelona. We arrived in Spain mid-morning on Friday, and headed straight for our accommodations in a safe area of the city. We stayed in a fabulous apartment-style hotel that came fully equipped with anything we could ever need (including but not limited to a microwave, dishwasher, bottle opener, panini maker, juicer...).
Stopping off in a bakery en route to downtown Barcelona, we discovered that neither our English nor our Spanish was going to get us very far, since the baker could not understand that all we wanted were a few pastries. Barcelona's official language is Catalan, a hybridization of Spanish and French, with a lot of 'x's thrown in for good measure.
We then got two day tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. On Friday we did the tour route that covered the southern half of Barcelona, and provided us with views of the ocean. We got off at the National Gallery, which is a converted palace. Inside the gallery we saw more depictions of Jesus than I have ever seen in one place. The gallery had quite a few Carrachi, Velasquez, Picasso, and Miro paintings, as well as many locally famous Catalan artists.
Back on the tour, we saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium, scenic views of the city, the zoo, and the aquarium. We got off the tour in the Gothic area of the city, and went to see Gaudi's famous music venue (Palau de la Musica), as well as the city's famed Cathedral. The Cathedral dates back to the 1300s and is extraordinary inside. After touring the interior of the Cathedral we grabbed some dinner and headed home for a nap. We woke up, Spanish-style, at 11pm and headed out to bars. Our first stop was Chupitos (= "shots" in Spanish), a tiny bar that is very popular with American students because it features 524 varieties of shots. Their flaming shots are particularly extraordinary (e.g. The Boy Scout: They light a section of the bar on fire, give you a marshmallow on a stick to roast over the fire, then you dip the marshmallow in the shot glass, eat the alcohol soaked marshmallow, and THEN you take the shot). We picked a few, non-pyro friendly shots from the list and headed onwards. We then went to the Dow Jones, another themed bar. The concept for the bar is that all of the prices for the drinks are posted on screens (a la the stock market), and the prices adjust to reflect supply and demand. If a lot of people were to order a single type of drink then the prices will rise and vice versa. Every hour there is a stock market crash and there is a mad dash for the bar to get drinks at rock-bottom prices. We headed home early (compared to the Spaniards), since we were exhausted from 24 hours of traveling and touring.
On Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast and caffeinated before heading to the bus tour. We departed the bus at La Segrada Familia, a church that is Gaudi's grandest achievement. The Church is still under construction, nearly 100 years later, and is paid for my anonymous donations. Every aspect of the church initially looks completely out of the ordinary, until you realize that all of the shapes and designs have been taken directly from nature, like helixes, waves, and flowers. The building is absolutely enormous and breathtaking, my pictures don't do the architecture justice.
Upon leaving the gated area of the building, we stopped to take a picture. While I was distancing myself from my friends, they were accosted by two girls who forced a petition upon them to sign for deaf people. The girls were very aggressive and in order to get them to leave them alone, my friends signed the document. The girls then demanded donations from them and more girls arrived and surrounded my friends threateningly and again in order to get the girls to leave, my friends gave them a couple euros. After taking the pictures, we were walking away from the park, when one of the young girls runs over, hands my friend her wallet and disappears. Fortunately, the girls had only stolen the 30 euro that my friend had in her wallet and had returned all of the credit cards and Irish immigration card. We were very shaken up and headed straight to an Irish pub for Bailey's coffee and a breather. Pick-pocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, and the people who do it are professionals (there is even a pickpocketing school in Rome!). The entire weekend my anxiety levels were through the roof, because I'm so protective of my camera and other belongings, but fortunately we didn't run into any other troubles.
This past weekend was spent in Barcelona. We arrived in Spain mid-morning on Friday, and headed straight for our accommodations in a safe area of the city. We stayed in a fabulous apartment-style hotel that came fully equipped with anything we could ever need (including but not limited to a microwave, dishwasher, bottle opener, panini maker, juicer...).
Stopping off in a bakery en route to downtown Barcelona, we discovered that neither our English nor our Spanish was going to get us very far, since the baker could not understand that all we wanted were a few pastries. Barcelona's official language is Catalan, a hybridization of Spanish and French, with a lot of 'x's thrown in for good measure.
We then got two day tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. On Friday we did the tour route that covered the southern half of Barcelona, and provided us with views of the ocean. We got off at the National Gallery, which is a converted palace. Inside the gallery we saw more depictions of Jesus than I have ever seen in one place. The gallery had quite a few Carrachi, Velasquez, Picasso, and Miro paintings, as well as many locally famous Catalan artists.
Back on the tour, we saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium, scenic views of the city, the zoo, and the aquarium. We got off the tour in the Gothic area of the city, and went to see Gaudi's famous music venue (Palau de la Musica), as well as the city's famed Cathedral. The Cathedral dates back to the 1300s and is extraordinary inside. After touring the interior of the Cathedral we grabbed some dinner and headed home for a nap. We woke up, Spanish-style, at 11pm and headed out to bars. Our first stop was Chupitos (= "shots" in Spanish), a tiny bar that is very popular with American students because it features 524 varieties of shots. Their flaming shots are particularly extraordinary (e.g. The Boy Scout: They light a section of the bar on fire, give you a marshmallow on a stick to roast over the fire, then you dip the marshmallow in the shot glass, eat the alcohol soaked marshmallow, and THEN you take the shot). We picked a few, non-pyro friendly shots from the list and headed onwards. We then went to the Dow Jones, another themed bar. The concept for the bar is that all of the prices for the drinks are posted on screens (a la the stock market), and the prices adjust to reflect supply and demand. If a lot of people were to order a single type of drink then the prices will rise and vice versa. Every hour there is a stock market crash and there is a mad dash for the bar to get drinks at rock-bottom prices. We headed home early (compared to the Spaniards), since we were exhausted from 24 hours of traveling and touring.
On Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast and caffeinated before heading to the bus tour. We departed the bus at La Segrada Familia, a church that is Gaudi's grandest achievement. The Church is still under construction, nearly 100 years later, and is paid for my anonymous donations. Every aspect of the church initially looks completely out of the ordinary, until you realize that all of the shapes and designs have been taken directly from nature, like helixes, waves, and flowers. The building is absolutely enormous and breathtaking, my pictures don't do the architecture justice.
Upon leaving the gated area of the building, we stopped to take a picture. While I was distancing myself from my friends, they were accosted by two girls who forced a petition upon them to sign for deaf people. The girls were very aggressive and in order to get them to leave them alone, my friends signed the document. The girls then demanded donations from them and more girls arrived and surrounded my friends threateningly and again in order to get the girls to leave, my friends gave them a couple euros. After taking the pictures, we were walking away from the park, when one of the young girls runs over, hands my friend her wallet and disappears. Fortunately, the girls had only stolen the 30 euro that my friend had in her wallet and had returned all of the credit cards and Irish immigration card. We were very shaken up and headed straight to an Irish pub for Bailey's coffee and a breather. Pick-pocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, and the people who do it are professionals (there is even a pickpocketing school in Rome!). The entire weekend my anxiety levels were through the roof, because I'm so protective of my camera and other belongings, but fortunately we didn't run into any other troubles.
We then headed over to Park Guell, another one of Gaudi's masterpieces. It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. On our way back to the bus, I was actually in the middle of saying to my friends that I was surprised that I hadn't yet run into someone I knew when we came upon some American friends from our business school. We finished up the tour, then grabbed an early tapas dinner. We napped and headed out to the bars with the girls we had run into earlier, but it was kind of a bust of an evening. However, since it was Carneval and we were staying near all of the gay bars, we saw the most incredible costumes and tons of drag. We were heading out the next morning when we saw a couple of guys in matching bright pink tulle dresses, tiaras, and stilettos stumbling home from the bar.
We met my friend Patty, who is from Tufts and studying in Barcelona for lunch near the waterfront. The food was delicious and the menus were on the sides of wine bottles which was a nice creative touch. Patty showed us around the port, waterfront, and beach areas. She also showed us this great bar called the Forest of the Fairies, which had trees growing all over inside and has a "thunder storm" every hour. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for my budget), the shops were all closed since it was Sunday, a snag that we hadn't planned on. Nonetheless, we grabbed some crepes and pizza for dinner and had Cava Sangria (delicious champagne-based sangria). We then headed over to the airport, and discovered that our flight was nearly an hour late, which is very unusual for Europe.
Over all, it was a great weekend spent in a beautiful city.
Love, Erin
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Holocaust Memorial, Budapest, Hungary
On each metal leaf is inscribed the name of a Hungarian victim of the Holocaust.
Budapest!
Hi all!
I spent this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary. It was an untraditional destination choice, that I'm happy I made. The city is known for its stunning succession architecture, baths, and is often called the "Paris of Eastern Europe".
We arrived on Friday evening, without too many hassles, and made our way directly to our accommodations. From the exterior, the hostel that we were staying in, the Downtown Oasis Private Rooms, was sketchy at best, however, from the inside it was a beautifully decorated apartment. There were only two other rooms in the hostel (both were full), and my friends and I shared the third room. After getting settled, we went to an adorably artsy Hungarian cafe and got our first Hungarian meal, it was absolutely delicious (especially after having lived off Irish cuisine for the past month). We then went to a bar that was definitely an experience. Once we navigated our way into the venue (which was easier said than done), we found ourself in the most unusual bar I have ever set foot in. The bar, called the Szimply Gardens, was all exposed concrete and disco lights. Seating in the bar consisted of bathtubs, flea market style furniture, and very low benches. The decor was no less eclectic with lit up doll heads hanging from the ceiling, fake flowers covering the walls, and tea kettles acting as drapes in the window frames. We had some interesting conversations with some Aussies and a group of rather rude American study abroad students, shared a bad bottle of wine, and then called it a night.
In the morning we got up early to tour the city. Our first stop was the Opera House in the Central Pest district. The building was stunning (see above photos) and we were shushed out of the building within a matter of minutes (rejection #1). Our next stop was St. Stephen's Basilica, which is one of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever set foot in. We then headed onward to the Parliament district, where we were told that all the English tours were full for the day and to come back on Sunday (rejection #2). We then tried to check out the Hungarian Ethnography Museum, and were denied entrance because we tried to pay the approximately $3 entrance fee with the equivalent of a $5 bill, which is apparently unacceptable behaviour (rejection #3).
We then grabbed some sushi lunch at a fabulous little Japanese restaurant to try to boost our spirits. Following lunch, we headed over to the Buda district. Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River, and on one side of the river lies Buda and on the other side is Pest. In Buda, we headed up to the Castille District via a rollercoaster-style tram. In the Castille District is the Royal Palace, and a fantastic view of the city. Inside the Royal Palace are two museums, we were asked to leave both of them because it was closing time (rejections #4 and #5). We then went to check out a stunning church in the district, but unfortunately the exterior was under construction. The interior was gorgeous and had been redone following the Turkish invasion, and later, after being destroyed during World War II (a very common theme throughout the city's prominent buildings). We then walked the Fisherman's Bastion, a stone, enclosed pathway that overlooks the Danube. In hopes of warming up, we then stopped to grab hot chocolate in a very proper restaurant who's decor was clearly inspired by the theme of war (e.g. murals of bloody battles on the wall, knives and rifles hanging on the walls).
We hurried to the tram after taking some pictures of the sweeping views of Budapest by night, and made our way back to the hostel. We relaxed in the hostel for a little while and grabbed dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, because we knew that they were too artsy to make a big deal out of valentines day. After a three course meal and several glasses of wine each (which only came to 16 euro per person!!), we were too exhausted to head out to the bars, as we had originally planned and retired to our hostel.
In the morning, we grabbed omelettes for breakfast and then we went to see The Hill, a huge monument that overlooks the city. We then headed back to the Parliament, but when we arrived over an HOUR early, we were told that all of the tours were booked for the day (rejection #6), so we found ourselves a non-touristy cafe to hang out in. We then headed over to the Great Synagogue, a stunning building that has the city's Holocaust Memorial in its backyard. The Holocaust memorial was a metal willow tree, and on every leaf was the name of a Hungarian killed by the Holocaust (I can't seem to be able to upload this picture). Next to the sculpture is a memorial for Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish humanitarian who saved tens of thousands of Jews during World War II by providing them with passports and by hiding them.
Our final stop was the Hungarian National Museum where we saw an exhibit that showed the history of Hungary up until the 1990s. We had some difficultly understanding each of the artifacts since most of the descriptive tags were in Hungarian, and not English. Regardless, it was a nice little walk through Hungary's tumultuous history. We then grabbed our final Hungarian meal at a very authentic restaurant near the museum, and then caught a cab back to the airport.
Over all, it was a very successful trip that I'm happy I made. Check out my pictures from the trip at www.flickr.com/photos/erinkbaum. This weekend, we're headed to Barcelona, so there will be more to come!!
Love,
E
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Weekend in the City
I spent Saturday shopping and wandering around Dublin. I discovered a fantastic neighborhood that is filled with boutiques, and adorable cafes, that I am certain will become my new study site (think True Grounds).
On Sunday, I went to sailing practice despite that it was snowing again. Practices are held at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Loaghaire (pronounced Dun Leary), a 25 minute bus ride from campus. We kicked off practice with an intense snowball fight and lots of complaints about the cold weather. The team has a brand new fleet of six Fireflies (a cross between the lark and an FJ, the crew must sit backwards), and we took them all out on the water. Here, in Ireland, the college teams sail in five regattas (team racing only) all year.
Before heading out on the water, we had a briefing with a coach (their first coach this season), who is an exceptional team racer. He went through the basics of team racing, and I am finally starting to understand the strategy involved. When we finally got out on the water, two hours late, the wind had died and we floated around the race course. I wish that I had gotten in a complete race, but it was a nice experience nonetheless. The kids on the team are super nice, and fairly welcoming. I'm going to try to make it to a few more practices this season, and to their weekly theory sessions.
I spent nearly five hours registering as a student with immigration. The experience highlighted how much more efficient everything is in North America. So far, my only pet peeves here are the constant presence of inefficiencies and lack of hot water on demand, but I think I can deal with both pretty easily.
Love,
Erin
Monday, February 9, 2009
Observations from the first time it snowed in Dublin in YEARS:
1. All snowmen on campus will have breasts and/or a beer bottle in at least one hand.
2. A few centimeters of snow will close down the airport.
3. Every single male on campus will team up and throw terrifying numbers of snowballs at innocent civilians wearing distinctive clothing and accessories (e.g. umbrellas, suits, coloured jackets, hats, scarves, wellies, coffee cups...)
4. Gridlock will occur on all of the roads. It will take an hour and a half for what is normally a seven minute bus ride.
5. The streets and sidewalks will become sheets of ice, and it will take several days for the city to import salt, and by that time all the ice has melted.
6. Bumboarding (= sledding) will take place on 3 foot high "mountains"
7. Classes will be cancelled for the next few days FOLLOWING the snowfall, despite warm temperatures and a distinct lack of snow.
8. All the buildings on campus will shut down several hours early, with the exception of the bar.
9. Students will try to knock cyclists off their bikes with snowballs.
10. Students will open the doors of cars stopped at intersections and throw snow in the faces of drivers.
Monday, February 2, 2009
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