Spring Break!! Week 9

Jumping for joy because it is spring break! Not only is it spring break, it is spring break in freaking Europe. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that for spring break I would be going to Ireland, Portugal, or Spain much less all three. I feel a picture is worth a thousand words so I want to apologize in advance for all the pictures in this post, but not really that sorry because they are all so beautiful.

We started our spring break off the Saturday after the Paris excursion. Our first stop on the list was Dublin, Ireland. When we arrived we spent Saturday exploring the city. Our first stop was St.Patricks cathedral, which is pictured here on the right. I did not go inside the cathedral however found that sitting in the garden around the church was the perfect place to find peace. Also you can't forget the fountain where I threw some euros in hoping that I could gain the luck of the Irish. Pictured below is us girls sitting in the beautiful flowers in St. Patricks garden located near the church.

Saturday night we went to the Brazen head, which is the oldest pub in Ireland. Talk about some amazing food and crazy fun environment. Sunday morning we woke up incredibly early to go on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and other historic sites. The Cliffs of Moher were honestly the most beautiful site I have ever seen. I have always wanted to see the cliffs in person, but never thought it would actually become a reality. I was a little nervous that the weather would be terrible since it was pretty rainy and nasty the day before. However we got extremely lucky and the guide said this was the best weather they have had all year. I guess my euro in the fountain did bring me some luck after all. Pictured on the left is me posing at the cliffs. Obviously my mind was the only thing blown away by the views (the wind was incredibly strong). Below you can get a view of what the cliffs look like when you are viewing it straight down. On this day trip we also got to see another aspect of Ireland beaches, which was quite rocky, but just as beautiful. We also got to see a cute little fishing town and an old cemetery. Sunday night we went to Temple Bar, which is Dublin's most famous bar. It was really cool, but quite packed. Monday morning we woke up at 3 am and headed to the next stop.

The next location on the list was Lisbon, Portugal. We arrived to find out we were staying in literally the best hostel. I mean they make you waffles, chorizo, and little sandwiches for breakfast right in front of you all included in what you pay for the hostel (which was cheap by the way). I mean it doesn't get much better. We spent Monday exploring the city and checking out the beach. We got to go to an awesome castle, which was on top of a hill that had incredible views pictured below. Honestly seeing the views of Portugal from the castle I was blown away by the beauty of the city.

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go on a tour to Sintra, Portugal with the hostel. Once again literally the best hostel ever. The first stop on the Sintra tour was to a place called Boca do Inferno (pictured below). This cliff known as Hell's mouth reminded me of the cliffs of moher that I visited in Ireland. I was amazed by how fast and high the waves were here though it was quite scary I would surely be scared to fall in there.

 The tour continued to Peninha, which was an awesome hike to the top of mountain where an old monastery is located. The views from the top were breath taking. You can see for yourself in the picture below hoping that maybe the wind would let me fly. The tour continued where we got to visit a cute little village were we had traditional Portuguese food. After lunch we went to a beach, which was nothing like beaches we had seen in Ireland. The beach was sandy and the waves were extremely high. The last stop on the tour was Quinta da Regaleira, which is a palace located in Sintra. The house was beautiful, but the gardens took the win for sure. The garden were equipped with secret cave systems and wells had trap doors overall a very cool experience.
Tuesday night was spent just hanging out in the hostel with our new friends we met on the tour and friends we met in lobby. Wednesday morning was another early morning. We got to the
 airport and it was on to the final stop of our spring break trip, Barcelona. Barcelona was the number one place on my trip plan so I was beyond excited to be there. However our first day in Barcelona did not go as we had planned. Some members of our group were struck down with a stomach virus so Wednesday afternoon was just spent hanging out the airbnb resting, which honestly we needed at this point from all the traveling. Thursday we explored some parts of Barcelona since it really is a huge city we couldn't see everything in one day. On Thursday we went to see La Sagrada Familia from the outside, pictured below.

 After seeing La Sagrada Familia we went to see Park Guell, which was made by the same architect. The walk from the metro station to the park was literally a straight incline up a hill. This was a work out for sure, but the views from the park were worth it. We did not realize that you must purchase tickets to see the actual part of the park where Gaudi architecture was so we just explored the rest of the park and purchased tickets for later that evening. During our time we had free till our tickets of the inside of the park we decided to go to the beach that was next to our house. I was beyond excited to just be able to lay on the sand and try to tan away this pasty color I have going on. By the way this was not successful at all, but it was worth a try. We decided that would test how the water. Probably not the best idea because it was like you were taking an ice bath, but hey at least we can say we have been in the water in Barcelona.

 After our relaxing afternoon at the church we went back to the park. We got to go inside and see a famous bridge that Gaudi designed. The mosaic work on this was spectacular. I have never seen anything like it before. Below you are able to see the mosaic work I was talking about. I think the coolest part of the park besides the incredible architecture was the views. The park looked over a majority of the city. We were able to be there at sunset and it was breath taking. On Friday we went to Montserrat a peak located outside of Barcelona. This is more than just a peak. Montserrat is home to a monastery and a fantastic art museum. The views from montserrat were breath taking like I continue to say, but they really were. In the picture below you can see the

views I am talking about. The art museum was incredible in the museum they had Picasso and Monet two of my favorite artist of all time. My favorite part of Montserrat however was the fact that we got to see a famous all boys choir perform inside the monastery. They sounded recorded that were that incredible. This is something I would recommend to anyone who travels to Spain. On Saturday we spent the day relaxing on the beach and then headed back to reality in Germany. Spring break was by far a dream and I feel extremely blessed to have seen and experienced the things I did.