I bounced back from my huge debit card fail moment and had a good time exploring Dublin. The city itself isn't particularly beautiful, but the atmosphere is so unique and everyone is so friendly that we loved it. We also walked through several parks, which were wonderfully green and vibrant. Rachel and I went to Mass in the evening (our first Mass in English since we got here) and then we all met up for dinner at the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland. It dates back to 1198, and later we found out that it is said to be haunted. We had a great time there and loved the Irish environment. We got up at 5am again the next day and took a bus tour to the west coast of Ireland. The ride was wonderful; I'm now convinced that there is nothing more green than the Irish countryside. We first stopped at the Cliffs of Moher. I couldn't believe I was looking at them after seeing them in so many movies. I think the cliffs were the most beautiful work of nature I've ever seen. The cliffs are so green and the ocean is so so blue. We took a lot of pictures and laughed at our hair in the extreme winds. We ate lunch and then stopped at some lesser known places- the Burren Shore, Corcomroe Abbey, and Dunguaire Castle. All of these places were picturesque. I was so glad that we went on this tour because I've been missing doing nature stuff for a while now, and this definitely fixed that.
We got up at 3am on Monday morning to fly to Lisbon, Portugal. Our hostel was really nice. It was a very sunny day, and we were able to wear short sleeves for the first time since we got to Europe. I was thrilled! We spent the day walking around the city. It's filled with beautiful squares with huge monuments and little sandy beaches. We spent some time in Castelo de Sao Jorge, which had gorgeous views overlooking the city and the ocean. We then took a tram down to the Rio Tejo, where we saw the Jeronimos Monastery, the Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument, and the Belem Tower. We ate dinner in the historical Cervejaria Trindade. It was a cool place but was pretty expensive. Around this time, Kyle came down with a stomach virus and was pretty sick for the next few days. He was such a trooper about it though. The next morning, Rachel, Sarahi, and I took an hour and a half long bus ride to Fatima, a Catholic pilgrimage site where Mary appeared to three children multiple times one hundred years ago. The sanctuary was pretty large and felt very sacred. I went to confession with a wonderful Indian priest. He was very intelligent and kind, and I think the things he shared with me during confession were very important for me to hear and will help me a lot in my faith life. After that, we went to Mass in the Basilica. The cantor sang beautifully and the Mass was filmed so it could be livestreamed all over the world. I felt so blessed to be in such a sacred and special place. After that, we headed back to Lisbon and spent the rest of the day napping and relaxing. Unfortunately, Kendrick started coming down with a stomach virus that night.
On Wednesday, we got up at 5am (again) to fly to our last stop, Barcelona. Our first day in Barcelona was pretty much a recovery day. Kendrick went to the hospital to get medicine for his stomach virus, and unfortunately Rachel got sick on the flight too. That day we settled into our place (which was really nice), went to the grocery store, and slept. By Thursday, Kendrick and Rachel were feeling a little better and we headed out to see the sights. The first half of the day was a little bit of a letdown because we went to both La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell but weren't able to get inside either. We headed back to our apartment to eat and then hit the beach. We had a really great time relaxing at La Playa de Nova Icaria. The weather was great and the beach was really nice and not very crowded. From there, we headed back to Park Guell. It was a really iconic and interesting place, and I'm glad we made the effort to get inside even if it meant having to go all the way back out there. After that, we went shopping in La Rambla. It was a very nice, huge area, and I enjoyed being a part of the hustle and bustle of Barcelona for a little while.
On Friday morning, we woke up at around 6 am and took a train to Montserrat. I was expecting to hike up some nice mountain, but it turns out that Montserrat had way more to offer than that. We took a cable car to the top of the mountain and explored the shops and cafes up there. Rachel and I went to Mass in the Basilica at Montserrat. The interior was covered in gold and absolutely beautiful, with the famous Black Madonna overlooking everything. After lunch, we returned to the Basilica to hear the famous L'Escolonia Choir, the Montserrat boys' choir that has been active since 1307. The church was absolutely packed and the choir was really wonderful. We then hiked to a cliff with a large cross standing on it that had a great view of the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. On the way there, Rachel, Kyle, and I climbed up a really huge boulder. I love doing stuff like that because it's always such a rush to be perched up so high in a place that most people wouldn't dare to climb. After that, we got to go into the interior of the Basilica where we saw the Black Madonna up close and even touched the sphere in her hand. The Museum of Montserrat was our next stop. It was probably my favorite museum ever because it was just the right size and filled with all sorts of different works of art. I saw my first Monet there. He's my favorite artist and seeing one of his paintings in person made my day. We also saw art by Renoir, Dali, and Picasso, and even an ancient Egyptian mummy. Who knew that a small mountain sanctuary could contain so many treasures? I really loved the time we spent at Montserrat and I'm glad Rachel made sure we went there. On Saturday morning, the girls plus Nathan (who had been staying in Barcelona all week) walked to La Sagrada Familia. Of all the things we did in Barcelona, seeing the inside of La Sagrada Familia was my favorite. The architecture was like nothing I have ever seen. I loved how the columns were like trees, and how brilliantly the colored light from the stained glass windows played on the tiles. Basically, I'm very glad we put in the extra effort to see Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia after being denied on our first attempts. We then checked out of our apartment and hit the beach for our last few hours in Barcelona. We ate tapas and played volleyball on the sand. We were very awful, but no one cared.
We took a two and a half hour flight back to Cologne. It was raining and chilly when we arrived- typical Germany. After two weeks of traveling through four different countries and dealing with four new languages, arriving in Germany felt like coming home. We laughed about that because we still don't understand the language and are definitely still foreigners in Germany. I can't imagine what it will feel like when I arrive back home in San Antonio. This week marks more than 9 weeks that I've been away from home. That beats the record that I set this past summer while I was away at my internship. The thought of being here for that long makes me miss my family and the states, but I know the memories I've made over these past weeks will last me a lifetime. I'm really glad that we were able to pull off such a busy and wonderful spring break trip. Three countries, four flights, seven days- we did it!
No comments:
Post a Comment