My very first trip outside of Spain for the weekend was to Ireland! Jackie (a friend from my program) and I booked the trip a couple weeks in advance. I was sooo excited because I have Irish blood! I was going to be exploring a place of my heritage :)
For our trip, we stayed at Isaac's Hostel. The first night was horrible..... I was nervous to do a 16 person co-ed room in the first place but we tried it anyway. To sum things up, I did not sleep at all, and I was not happy needless to say. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this for the next three nights. After we had our included continental breakfast, I paid extra for us to switch into smaller rooms. I slept exponentially better for the remainder of the trip because of this.
Our first full day was a great introduction to the city. Our hostel offered a free walking tour, which we went on in the morning. It was through a company called Generations Tours, and our tour guide’s name was Dan. He was very interesting and talked a lottt about all the details of the city’s history. The tour was over 3 hours! We learned about the past and present conflicts with England, and observed landmarks that represented some of these tensions. We saw the famous Ha’Penny bridge, which Dan explained was intended for the rich, as it was the only bridge crossing the river that you needed to pay for. The price, not too coincidentally, was half a penny! The tour included a little break at a pub where I got an Irish coffee and Jackie had a Guinness. The only downside to the tour was that it was very very cold. But overall I think a walking tour is a must in Dublin, just to understand the place better and get a feel for its rich history! Jackie and I went to a very popular fish and chips place called Besshops afterwards, and the food was delicious. The fish was crispy and light and tasty. We took a long nap after that (in our new hostel room), and I was happy to get some more sleep. We walked into the city and came across this restaurant called Thunder Rock Cafe, which was American themed. It was really cool and I’m assuming it is an American chain, though I have never seen one. The food was yummy; I got buffalo tenders for dinner which I had never seen on a menu in Spain.
Later in the night we tried to make our way to Camden Street, a fun place that Dan recommended but we got lost along the way and ended up going to the Temple Bar (which apparently is an area in itself, but in the area there is also a pub called the Temple Bar.) This was a very popular pub and you could tell by how crowded it was. I tried my first ever Guinness; it was only right being in Ireland. The main observation I had of the night was how creepy the older men were! They were like flies just swooping in on tourist women like Jackie and I. They were all old and had no problem flirting with girls of any age.
The next day was our long adventure day. We decided to do a day bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher! This was a huge highlight of the trip. We paid 40€ each for a tour through Paddy Wagon Tours. It ended up being 11 hours; it started at 8 am and ended around 7! But it went by fast and there were a lot of times to rest on the bus, which I took advantage of. We made several stops along the way. The most notable were the Baby Cliffs, the actual cliffs obviously, and Doolin. The Baby Cliffs were very beautiful, but a little frightening. They were high above the water and very rocky, so you had to be very careful walking especially close to the edge! The Cliffs of Moher were absolutely massive and beautiful. They towered above the water and were covered in long, luscious grass. It had rained a bit earlier, so the rocky pathways were pretty slippery. But there were barriers along the majority of the way so it wasn’t like you could just fall off. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the scenery until it was time to board the bus again. The remainder of the stops were kind of irrelevant. They were small towns that we just stopped at mostly for bathroom breaks and snacks. (I don’t even remember the names of them). But I also mostly slept on the bus in between places. For the parts I was awake on the bus, the route was very scenic. We drove by great fields with roaming cattle. Lots of cows, horses, sheep, and even alpacas on occasion could easily be spotted.
By the time we got back to Dublin it was around 7/7:30pm. We made our way towards Camden Street, stopping at a traditional Irish restaurant called O’Neils along the way. My mom pointed out later that my great grandparents’ name was O’Neil so that was pretty cool! The food was really delicious. It was sort of cafeteria style; you would grab a tray and tell the clerk what you would like behind the counter. I got chicken curry with rice, cabbage, and onions, with a glass of cider. I was surprised to see chicken curry on so many menus; I guess it is a popular food right up there with beef stew and shepherd's pie! The portions were massive. I think the cafeteria style is common there. Our lunch in Doolin was the same way, (I had ordered fantastic beef stew there). Overall, I just thought the food was really wonderful. We made it to Camden Street where we went to a pub called Whelons. It was okay, kind boring. There were weird people there so it was kind of fun to just people watch.
For our last day, Sunday, we decided to keep it very low key and just do the last few things we hadn’t yet done. First, we went to a nearby donut shop called the Rolling Donut. They had a lovely display of all different kinds of delicious donuts. They paired well with our sweet, warm coffees. Our next stop was St. Patrick’s cathedral, which at first reminded me of Boston College. The dark gray exterior with sharp lines was unique and pretty. We paid to get inside, and I am happy we did. The church is incredibly beautiful. And, it is just exciting in general to go into a church named after the famous saint! The detail, like many old churches, was impeccable, but the medieval style and dim lighting were unique. I bought some souvenirs in there because they actually had a little gift shop inside the church. We got a quick lunch and from there we went to two bars, where we just chilled and had some drinks. The first bar was really cool. It was called The Church, and it was a restored church turned into a restaurant/bar. From there we went towards our hostel, to a bar called Fitzgerald’s. This one felt like an American bar; they had a good live band in the front, sports on the TVs, and a large selection of beers. Per usual I had a couple of ciders. Now that I’m back in Barcelona I really miss the ciders; they are a lot harder to find here. The next morning, our very speedy shuttle driver took us to the airport, and we arrived around 4am. Our flight was on time; it was really smooth and fast. We made it back just in time for classes. Overall, I loved Dublin and would most definitely go back. It is a very cozy place with nice things to see. I am very grateful I had the opportunity to go!
ITALY
ROME 3/15 & 3/16:
My mom and I made this trip to Italy while she was visiting me. We arrived to Rome from Barcelona on Thursday evening and settled into our hotel. We looked up reviews for some of the best restaurants, and chose Vecchia Roma. It is so popular, there is a line out the door to get in before they even open! We ordered all our favorite Italian classics because we were so excited. Fried mozzarella, pizza, gnocchi, salad. So much yummy food. I do have to admit though, I have had amazing Italian food in places like the North End, Boston. Soooo....... I am not going to say it was THE BEST just because it was from Italy. Anyway, we roamed the streets in awe that we were actually in Italy. My mom and I have Italian blood, so this was our motherland!
We woke up Friday with a full day ahead of us. We headed to the Rome Termini train station to get from place to place. In the Termini, I tried my favorite gelato ever at the Venchi gelato shop. It was out of this world. We took the metro and it was decently easy to use, besides the confusing pathways to get to the rails. We went to the Trevi Fountain, which is a magnificent white structure with great detail and many statues. It has been a filming spot for many movies like the Lizzie Mcguire Movie (throwback!). The biggest downside is that this fountain is incredibly crowded. We got passed the crowds, but it was hard not to get people in our pictures. We also threw coins in for good luck and to return to Rome some day :) At this point we didn’t have a plan, so we wandered the streets. We came across the massive Altar of the Fatherland, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Inside was war memorabilia; like a museum. Its construction was finished in 1935 and dedicated to king Victor Emmanuel II. It was a wonderful structure to commemorate Italian history, those lost, and patriotic symbols. We even saw the first ever Italian plane flown! We walked passed the Roman Forum, in which remnants of the old empire remain scattered among the land. It was hard to understand the meaning behind it all, so we signed up for a tour the next day to get a better understanding of its history. By the night time, we tried another restaurant for dinner, and had delicious steak with tiramisu for dessert.
Saturday was our most packed day. We started off with a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman forum. The Colosseum was.. breathtaking. To think that such a massive stadium has been standing since 70 AD is amazing! And the way our tour guide described the shows it held and the way it was run in the past made it even more interesting. This was probably my favorite sight to see. The Roman Forum tour gave us an idea of the way of life back in the times of the Roman Empire, and how the construction was affected during the reign of Napoleon. Right after this, we were lucky enough to secure a tour of the Vatican last minute. All the tours we ended up getting were from tour guides selling tickets in front of the landmarks. This was really convenient because last minute planning left the online tours sold out. The Vatican tour was quite long. It was a full tour of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. All of them contained a lot of Roman art, sculpture and the work of famous artists. Seeing Michelangelo’s work was wonderful, but no pictures are allowed! St. Peter’s Basilica was stunningly beautiful as well. By the time we left, we got to watch the sun set behind Vatican City. Overall, it was a great day. We shopped for a bit in the evening near the Spanish Steps, and had our last dinner in Rome. The next morning, we woke up for a day trip to Florence.
FLORENCE 3/17/19:
Once we were in Italy, we decided to maximize our traveling for the weekend by taking a day trip to Florence! This way, we were able to see two very different cities while we were there, and I am glad that we did. After spending two days in Rome, we headed to the Rome Termini train station Sunday morning and took the ItaliaRail train to Florence. The ride was about an hour long, and the scenic views of the Italian countryside were lovely. It was a relaxing ride that went by pretty fast. When we arrived, we didn’t really have a plan besides roaming and exploring. We walked down the streets and stopped in many stores to shop. Their were a few European chain stores like Motivi, where we bought stylish purses and clothes. We walked toward the main squares, where the crowds were noticeably bigger. One of the squares we came across was the Piazza de Duomo, where the famous Duomo church was. It towered above us, and each detail was perfectly painted on the outside. Unfortunately, the line was really long, and we chose to explore the city more, rather than see the inside. I am sure it was beautiful in there though. We had lunch directly across from the Duomo, at a cafe. I wouldn’t recommend eating in the main squares close to popular landmarks; they are tourist traps and the food is not very good. Nevertheless, we continued down the road stopping in a number of stores. The variety of shopping is interesting; there is everything from high-end designer stores, to street carts selling clothing and wares. The most prevalent goods sold are leather wares. There are numerous leather markets and stores that sell handmade leather items. We walked through the Mercato Nuovo leather market, which was crowded. A lot of the stands in the market sold the same things over and over. So there wasn’t tooo much to see once you passed a couple of stands. We walked over to the Arno River just around sunset time. We got some lovely pictures of the river, and it was a peaceful scene to look at. From there, we walked down the river to a restaurant called Signorvino. I ordered pumpkin soup to start, with spaghetti as my main dish. I thought the food was quite good, though the pasta was very thick and filling. We had some amazing wine with our meal, and sat on the patio overlooking the river. By the time we had finished, it was time to catch our train back to Rome. Our flight was departing from Rome the next morning.
Overall, I prefered Rome over Florence. I thought the history was more exciting and there was so much more to see. I would like to return to Rome in the future, but I would not go out of my way to visit Florence. Though, I am still very grateful to have seen it, and be able to compare the two. They seemed quite different.
PARIS, FRANCE
3/7/19 - 3/11/19
Bonjour
Paris, France was absolutely phenomenal. It was above and beyond my expectations, and I now know why it is such a popular destination. Something about the city is just lovely, but best of all was: the food. I have never had such amazing breads, cheeses, and meats until I arrived in Paris. While my mom was visiting me in Europe, we took the trip together for the weekend. We left Thursday afternoon, arriving to the Charles De Gaulle Airport. From there, we took a 45 minute train to the heart of Paris. It was a bit confusing to navigate, but the attendants with decent English helped direct us. Once we arrived, we ate at a restaurant just outside of the station, called Au Pere Tranquille. This was the worst meal we had of the whole trip… but the rest of the food made up for it (so if you’re leaving the Les Halles train station hungry, perhaps pick anywhere else to eat…) While we were in there, we booked a hotel because we hadn’t prior. We stayed at the Novotel Les Halles, just around the corner. The rooms were large and we had a lovely stay. The location wasn’t the best though... Paris is so much larger than I had expected. We needed to take taxis to get anywhere (especially to all the famous landmarks). We woke up Friday eager to see the Eiffel Tower. We decided to try the bakery across the street for breakfast… and thank God we did. This bakery, La Parisienne, was the best freaking bakery in the world. It was small, but the selection of stunningly perfect pastries and the flavor of their bread was just out of this world. The most to die for item was the warm ham & cheese croissants. I miss them every day. We taxied to the tower, where, I’m not gonna lie, we had ourselves a photoshoot. I even bought a beret from one of the vendors at the Tower for a more ~Parisian~ look! From there we did a boat tour, which stopped at each of the landmarks along the Seine River. We got off and toured the Notre Dame, which is the magnificent cathedral of the city. Its high ceilings and dim-lighting make this cathedral mystical. We ate lunch just across the street at Cafe Panis. Once again, more fantastic food. I learned for myself the staple ingredients of the city: ham, cheese, and delicious bread. We did some shopping, especially for souvenirs. This has always been my mom’s dream destination, so we needed memorabilia (and lots of it). We walked for a bit until we boarded the boat, and took it back to the stop closest to our hotel. We had a brief dinner downstairs at the bar, which was just okay. Saturday we had a late start to our day, but we did a lot of exploring. We walked along the biggest walking-only bridge of the Seine River, and took some lovely photos. We then tried to visit the Louvre, but it was too late to buy headset guides which we had really wanted. So we returned Sunday. We shopped along the Avenue de l’Opera, until it was dinner time. For dinner, we got SO lucky…
We called to make extremely last minute reservations, in which they managed to squeeze us in! We went back to the tower in the night, where we rode the pure glass elevator up to restaurant, Tour Eiffel 58. My mom, who is afraid of heights was really scared. You can see the whole city as the elevator speedily takes you up the tower! Anyway, our dinner was delicious. Each course had lovely touches to make the plate’s presentation wonderful. Afterwards we enjoyed the view from the walls of windows surrounding us. We didn’t make it to the tippity top unfortunately, because they had closed access by the time we were done eating. It reminded me of the Top of the Hub in Boston: the price, the meal, and the views! On Sunday, we walked through the surrounding neighborhoods by our hotel, passing through an authentic Sunday market on our way to breakfast. Afterwards, we bought tickets for Moulin Rouge in a package with a panoramic night bus tour. We spent most of the day at the Louvre, searching for the Mona Lisa. It is such a large museum. We are not big museum fans, so it was not the most entertaining part of our trip, but seeing the Mona Lisa was quite cool. From there we went to Champs Elysees. We saw the Arc de Triomphe, which stands tall at the end of the street. We shopped and wandered along until it was time for the bus tour. The tour came with a headset guide which was nice, as we drove by the historical landmarks. It was nearly an hour long, and then we were dropped off at the Moulin Rouge theater. Moulin Rouge had some incredible performances that I had never seen in my life. The show was topless… which caught us by surprise. But beyond that, when a topless woman jumped into a tank full of 6 massive *live* pythons, I was in SHOCK. The show was a lot of dancing with an all-around-the-world theme. It was so great I wanted to watch it again! Though sadly, our trip was coming to an end. The entire thing was so close to perfect, I just wish the weather was a little warmer. We needed jackets the whole time, at this time of year. But I absolutely want to go back. It was an amazing city packed with many things to see and do. AND, it has the most delicious food in Europe!!!
MOROCCO
3/29/19 - 4/2/19
My expectations:
Going into the Moroccan trip I expected hot, sandy desert land with intricate buildings, color, and foods I had never tried. Although this is true for some parts of Morocco, northern Morocco is not the hot, desert setting year-round that I had expected! It was very cold, rainy, and the land was filled with grassy mountains and rivers.
I had not planned to leave Europe while I was abroad, but when a friend of mine invited me to join her on a trip to Morocco through a tour company, I figured, why not! Our trip was booked through the organization We Love Spain, and it departed from Seville, Spain. After a lot of research, I did not find many reviews of this tour company. Maddy knew some people who had gone through them, and their Facebook/website looked legitimate, so we went for it. I will start by saying, the tour group is massive. Nearly the entire time, we were with 50+ other students. There are a lot of activities packed into a short time, and tons of driving in the tour bus. Because of this, it ran on a strict schedule, and each day started very early and ended late.
Trip Itinerary:
Thursday:
-Fly to Seville on Thursday Morning
-Spend the day in Seville
Friday:
-Bus to Gibraltar early Friday morning (British Territory in Spain)
-Tour Gibraltar and eat lunch
-Boat to Africa
-Arrive in Tetuan, Morocco
-Dinner at our Hotel
Saturday:
-Drive to Tangier, Morocco
-Ride camels on the beach, panoramic bus tour
-Drive to Chefchaouen
-Lunch buffet in Chefchaouen, walking tour of the city, tour of textile shop, free time
-Bus back to Tetuan
-Traditional Moroccan dinner in a wedding hall
Sunday:
-Walking tour of Tetuan, pharmacy tour
-Bus ride back to the border, boat back to Spain, drive back to Seville
TANGIER:
Once we were officially headed to Morocco, I was getting excited. The ferry ride from Gibraltar was about an hour, but it was cold and the water was pretty choppy. As we were approaching the coast, my friend Hawa and I went on to the deck to take some pictures. It was my first time seeing Africa in person! It was such an unreal experience. It was super windy, but we took pictures as we arrived. We hopped onto our tour bus, and headed to Morocco. The boat had let us off in Spanish territory, a city called Ceuta, on the northern coast of the continent. Once we got through there, the Moroccan border control was very strict. We had to wait about an hour and 40 minutes before our bus could cross. Even after our passports were stamped, there was still some sort of hold up. We were all very tired and it was past 10 pm. We got back to the hotel, and headed down to dinner at 11:30pm. Dinner was a vegetable soup and chicken dish. Flan was for dessert, but it was not very good. I think this wasn’t the best restaurant; I am sure there are much better with higher quality. But it was my first meal in the country, so I have some appreciation for it! After a late night, we went to sleep. We had a full day ahead of us on Saturday. We headed to Tangier, which is about an hour and a half away from Tetuan. Our tour guide Mohammad informed us of some facts on the city during the ride. For one, the population of Morocco is 98% Muslim and 2% Jewish/catholic. Each city is characterized by its own color; for example Tetuan is white whereas Chefchaouen is blue. He told us about the Muslim flag, and how the 5 points of the star represent the 5 pillars of the Muslim religion. We briefly did a panoramic tour, but it was so fast and I did not retain much knowledge from it. We then stopped at the beach, where 5 large camels awaited our big group! We each took turns riding them along the sand, but we were on a tight schedule and did not spend too much time with them…
CHEFCHAOUEN:
We drove to Chefchaouen from Tangier, which felt like a long drive. It was a bit over two hours. When I was not sleeping, I enjoyed the scenery from the window. I was surprised by the towering grassy mountains, clusters of cattle, rivers, and rain as we drove along. It was peaceful and quiet out there. In Chefchaouen, the rain was off and on. We walked to lunch, which was in Hotel Parador. It was a buffet setup, with lots of rice, pasta, chicken, meat, and some veggies. If you can tell by the pictures, everything is blue! I had not known before, but Chefchaouen is nicknamed “the blue city”, and for good reason. Almost every building is painted a bright, lovely shade of blue (which happens to be my favorite color :) The streets look so different from Massachusetts… the homes are uniform in texture with small doors, windows, and no siding. The streets are very narrow for walking only, and the ground is either cobblestone or cement. On nearly each corner is a vendor with a cart of fruits and veggies, leather wares, or miscellaneous goods. Everyone I encountered spoke English, which I also had not expected. We went on a walking tour through the streets after lunch. Our tour guide led us to a textile shop, where we all sat down and listened as the employees explained the handmade fabric goods they sold. I ended up buying a white silk scarf with an embroidered camel pattern from them. We had some free time after this, and my friend Maddy and I roamed the town and the shops, taking pictures all along the way. I bought some pretty magnets, and a small handmade leather purse.
TETUAN:
We stayed in Tetuan the entire stay, but we didn’t get a chance to see much of it until Sunday. Though we did have dinner in the city Saturday night. Around 10:30 pm on Saturday, we arrived to a very glamorous wedding hall, where we were greeted by a Moroccan band and their lively music! The dinner was called “the Moroccan Fantasy Dinner” and it was meant to give us a taste of a traditional celebration in Tetuan. The hall was absolutely stunning: every ounce of the white walls were covered in detailing, and chandeliers dangled from the ceiling. There were about 50 large round tables, and each one held about 10 people. We were served a traditional Moroccan dinner, and each course was a large plate meant to be shared by the whole table. The first course was a colorful salad with a fat scoop of white rice in the center. The second course was Moroccan meatballs, in a creamy tomato sauce. They were delicious. After that, we were served a heaping plate of couscous, loaded with spiced chicken, cabbage, and seasoned with saffron. For dessert, we were served peanut butter biscuits, and Morocco’s famous mint tea. It is the most popular drink of Morocco, and after trying some I could understand why. It was so sweet with strong mint flavor, served nice and warm. It was the perfect drink to finish off the meal. We then watched the band members put on a performance with lots of dancing, loud music, and even fire throwing! They were very entertaining. A woman was hired to paint henna designs on the students as well. Just after the band performed, I got some painted on my hand. We returned to our hotel full and thoroughly entertained, ready for bed. On Sunday, we woke up, ate breakfast, and left to tour Tetuan. We got dropped off in a small, traditional neighborhood. We got to see a different side of Morocco, as we walked the narrow streets with our guide. My first impression was that the buildings were much more worn down than the main city centers. The houses were extremely small, and many of the locals we passed wore no shoes, and had no teeth. The vendors lined up along a wider street for the locals' daily market. There, they sold produce, baked goods, and live chickens that were killed on the spot after purchase. It was hard to pass by as we saw them crammed into extremely small cages stacked on top of each other. We also passed a countless amount of homeless cats. This was the same in Chefchaouen, as they roamed the blue streets. It is sad and their reproduction seems out of control. With this in mind, the streets reeked of cats as we walked through Tetuan. At one point, we passed a litter of kittens living in a cardboard box. I wish that I could have taken them with me. This tour of Tetuan was more eye-opening. At the end of it, we stopped in a well known pharmacy. Here, the pharmacist explained all the products he sold, and we had the opportunity to buy whatever we liked. I was so excited to buy the Argan (also called Moroccan) oil, because I use it all the time and this was as authentic as it could get. I also bought packages of the mint tea that we tried at the dinner, because I liked it so much. Some other goodies were Argan lotions and cactus lotions. They are really moisturizing, and I love trying products from different parts of the world. From there, it was time to officially head home (back to Barcelona, I mean). We boarded our bus, returned to Europe on the ferry, and drove back to Seville on the tour bus. Maddy and I returned to Barcelona Monday morning.
Overall: The tour was much more of an informative, learning experience than it was a relaxing resort-like vacation. This mostly had to do with the tour aspect of the weekend. It was very fast-paced, and the days were extremely long. We also toured parts of the cities I would not have toured if it was my own vacation. But with that being said, I am very happy to have gone to visit Morocco with a group. I would have no idea where to start, and I would not have felt entirely comfortable going with a few friends who also hadn’t been before. It was an action packed weekend, and I saw and learned things I will never forget. I am incredibly grateful I had the opportunity to visit.