When in Rome...and Bologna, Venice, Florence, & Siena!

Buongiorno!!!

Just returned yesterday from 10 amazing days in Italia! It was such a great trip! We saw so many incredible historical sights, experienced the culture in some of Italy's best cities, had a few really delicious meals, and saw the gorgeous Italian countryside! We had a bigger group for this trip which made it that much more fun. My friend Sara, who is studying in Berlin, came for a few days and then for the entirety of the trip it was me, my roommate Meredith, her two sisters, and one of her sister's friends. Since there were 5 of us for most of the time, we decided to rent apartments in the various cities we visited. The apartments ended up being really nice and so much more comfortable than hostels!!

Meredith and I got into Bologna on Saturday evening and met up with everyone else. We were so excited to get away from the Irish weather and into some Italian sunshine! We had random storms of snow/hail/rain show up intermittently the week before we left so we were definitely ready for a break. We spent two days exploring Bologna. There are a few really beautiful churches there and the city itself is filled with a lot of really ornate covered walkways which are said to keep pedestrians cool in the summer heat and dry in the winter rains. Unfortunately, we were in Bologna on Easter weekend so most things were closed while we were there but it was still nice to just walk around and see everything.

Neptune's Fountain in Bologna:


We chose to stay in Bologna because it was cheaper than some of the more touristy cities but still pretty centrally located so we could make easy day trips. At the end of our stay in Bologna, we took the train to Venice for the day. It was the perfect day to go because it was sunny and warm which was ideal for walking around the city and hanging out by the canals. Venice is definitely more tourist-oriented but it is still so much fun to browse the street vendors, see St. Mark's Square, and walk across all of the cute little canals tucked away from the larger, grand canal. We wanted to take a gondola ride but they were really expensive (80 euro for 40 minutes) so we settled just for taking pictures of them.

Gondola in a small Venice canal:


Our next stop was Florence where we saw the Duomo, a really beautiful Gothic Cathedral covered in pink, green, and white marble. We also visited the Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery. At the Accademia we saw Michelangelo's David which is even more amazing than you would expect. (I've posted pictures of the replicas of a few of the statues we saw because you can't take pictures of the real thing) After the Accademia we hiked up a big hill which gives you an incredible view of the Florence skyline. I thought Florence was really interesting because it is not immediately aesthetically pleasing like Venice (though it does have some really beautiful areas)but over time the atmosphere of the city really starts to grow on you.

The Duomo, it's Dome, and the Baptistery:


On our last day in Florence, we took a day trip to Siena which made for a really nice, relaxing day. Siena doesn't have as many huge attractions to see like some of the bigger cities so we got to take our time and stroll around the city, grab some gelato, and just enjoy the sunshine.

Mere and I in Il Campo, the main square in Siena:


Our last city was Rome in which we planned 3 days because we figured there would be a lot to see. Unfortunately, the first day was mostly taken up by the train ride from Florence which took much longer than expected. On our first full day, we saw a lot of the main cultural and historical sights. We walked through the Jewish Ghetto, stopped and took pictures at Bocca della Verita (from Roman Holiday), went through ancient Rome and saw the Colosseum, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and some ruins along the way. After all that, we went and threw coins in the Trevi Fountain and climbed up the Spanish steps. Our second full day was mostly spent in Vatican city. We went early to St. Peter's Square and waited in line to go into the Basilica which, of course, was amazing inside. After the Basilica, we went over to the Vatican Museum (Thank goodness we made reservations--we got to walk right in while the line for tickets went on for blocks and blocks.) I wasn't super impressed with the museum. They cram so many people in there that it is hard to actually see, let alone enjoy, anything. It was worth it to see the Sistine chapel and the ceilings throughout the museum are actually quite pretty but the crowds there really were ridiculous. After we recovered from the museum, we climbed St. Peter's dome and got an amazing view of Rome. For our last night in Rome, we had a delicious dinner where we all ate way more than we should have and then walked around and took a last glimpse of Rome at night.

All in all, it was a pretty perfect trip. I can't really say that I have a favorite moment or favorite city because I liked it all for different reasons. For now, I have very fond memories of Italy and can't wait to go back!

Till next time!
Ciao!

Here are a few more photos from my trip:

I Guess You Can't Win 'Em All

Today my friend Meredith and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Dublin. We have been following the 6 Nations Rugby Championship for the last few weeks. Today was the last set of games and Ireland played Scotland in Croke Park in Dublin. We didn't actually have tickets because they cost around 200 euro but we thought it would be fun to spend the day in Dublin and then go camp out in a Pub and watch the game.

I was a little concerned leaving this morning because there was a 90 percent chance of rain, but I guess the Rugby Gods were watching out today because it ended up being beautiful and sunny. We got into Dublin around 11 and walked around Trinity College, Grafton Street, saw St. Stephens Green, and checked out some of the eccentrically dressed rugby fans. (You would be surprised how many men in kilts made their way down from Scotland for the game.)

Trinity College:

Trinity Again:


St. Stephens Green:


The River Liffey-One of the dirtiest rivers in Europe:


Temple Bar:


Ireland had been doing pretty well in the championship thus far. They were in 2nd place and had won against 2 of the 3 major countries, making them eligible for the Triple Crown if they won today's game. Unfortunately, they lost in the last five minutes! It was such a close game and so sad since they lost on home turf! You could definitely feel the disappointment in the city as we were leaving.

I guess there's always next year!

St. Patricks Day!!!

The Parade



Flags for the 15 tribes of Galway.



Sitting by the river even though it was freezing! (Yes, we did dress up with the rest of the tourists)



The streets were packed with people.


The day I have been waiting all year for!!! It is a religious holiday here so everyone had work and school off. My roommate had some friends from home visiting so we all headed into town to see what was happening. In the afternoon there was a big parade that ran through town. There were so many people though, that my pictures didn't turn out that great. After that, we just walked around and people-watched. There are tons of tourists in town and they were pretty much the only ones who dressed up. Surprisingly, the Irish don't seem to follow the green rule for St Paddys-- I guess that is an American tradition.

There wasn't really any other events happening in town after the parade, other than the Irish doing what they do best...drinking! The pubs were pretty packed all day (There was also no green beer, I guess that is American too). For the rest of the afternoon, we walked around town, saw some good music in the pubs, and just enjoyed the festive atmosphere! Nothing like being in Ireland on St Paddys day!!

London

Well I just got back from London a few hours ago and I thought I would tell you all the details while it is still fresh in my mind!

I had an absolutely amazing trip! There is tons to do in London. My friends in Ireland had all been to London already so this was a solo trip for me. I was so busy seeing everything though, that I hardly noticed, let alone minded being on my own. It was a really quick trip anyway, I got in on Friday morning and was back before dark on Sunday.

Unfortunately, my trip had a bit of a rough start. My flight was leaving Shannon at 6:30 in the morning and I had to catch the 3:30 AM bus from Galway in order to make it on time. Of course, since I had something important to get to, my alarm did not go off! I woke up at 3:15 in quite a state of panic. I frantically called a cab, grabbed my bag, and ran out the door (in my PJs no less). Luckily, I made the bus and the rest of the trip went perfectly after that but it was definitely a stressful 15 minutes! (I'm pretty sure the guys in airport security thought the girl in pajamas was crazy though)

Once I got to London, I went out exploring and tried to see as much as I could. There is so much to do in London! I feel like I could have planned a trip just for museums or just parks or just historical buildings! However, considering the short time I was there, I do feel like I saw a good deal of London.

On Friday I started at Covent Garden, got a bit lost, but ended up seeing Regent Street and Regent Park despite my misdirection. Then I went and spent most of the afternoon at the British museum. It's an amazing place with lots of interesting exhibits, but I think the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian ones were my favorite. The Rosetta stone is located there but the museum is so big that I couldn't find it.

On Saturday morning I went to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Then I walked up along the Thames and visited the Tate Modern Art Museum and Borough Market. There was beautiful weather in London all weekend. The air was definitely cold, but the sun was shining the whole time--it was perfect since I spent so much time outside. In the afternoon, my friend, who is studying in England, came and met up with me. She took me to see Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square. After all that sightseeing, we went to the West End and caught the matinee showing of "Chicago." It was really good and I'm definitely glad that I got to see a show while I was in London.

My hostel was just outside of Hyde park so I walked around the park and Kensington Gardens for a bit each day. Hyde park is really amazing. It is so pretty with all of it's trees and twisting paths. There were always people out walking their dogs, running, or just sitting by the pond. After wandering around there for a while on Sunday morning, I went over to Notting Hill which was just down the street. Portobello Market wasn't open, either because it was Sunday or because it was too early in the morning, but it was still amazing to just walk around the neighborhood and see all of the beautiful houses. After that, the last stop of my trip was St. Paul's Cathedral which was really lovely. I got there just about eleven so I got to hear all of the bells ringing which was nice.

Before I knew it, I was at the airport and on my way back to Galway! The trip definitely went by quickly but I loved every minute of it!

Barcelona

¡Hola amigos!
I'm back from Spain!
I had a really nice trip! I went with a friend and we spent five days in Barcelona. We unfortunately did get a few days of rain, but the days that were sunny were really beautiful and warm.

Spain was definitely quite a cultural change from what I'm used to. The Spanish are very relaxed and are very leisurely with their time. Everyday, all the shops and businesses close from 1-3 p.m. so that everyone can go home and take a siesta. They live a much slower-paced lifestyle which was a little hard to adjust to, but actually really nice once you get used to it.

There is a lot to do in Barcelona! One of my favorite things was going to see the Olympic stadium. It's on the top of a big hill and you can see the whole city. The stadium itself was really impressive too. It was amazing to walk around and imagine what it must have been like to have been there in 1992.

I also really enjoyed going to the Picasso museum. They had a lot of pieces from his Blue period and Las Meninas. He spent a lot of time in Barcelona and so he donated many of the pieces in the museum himself. They also had a lot of his more modern art and it was interesting to see how different each period of his work was.
There is an incredible outdoor market in Barcelona called Mercat de la Boqueria. It is just of the main road, La Rambla. They sell almost anything you can imagine. They have tons of stands with the most amazing fruits and vegetables. There is also a lot of fish and meat stands which sell some very unique things. Some of my pictures of the meat stands are a little graphic but I just thought it was really fascinating. People in Spain are definitely very bold with their food and you can find some very strange things like whole sheep's heads, pig and cow hooves, brain, tongue, etc. We tried to be adventurous with our meals, but I'm afraid that I'm not quite brave enough to try any of those things. We did have some really good tapas and paella though. (The Spanish don't usually eat dinner until about 9 p.m. or later).

The city is full of some truly amazing architecture. We stumbled across some really beautiful buildings just by walking around the streets but we also sought out a few particularly famous monuments. Much of the city's prominent architecture was designed by Antoni Gaudi and the few that we saw were the main Cathedral near La Rambla and Segrada Familia which is a very well-known church that has been under construction since 1909. We also tried to see Gaudi's Parc Guell but we got really lost and just ended up walking around very confused in the rain for two hours.

I was a bit reluctant to leave the warm weather (even when it was raining, it was still much warmer than Ireland) but finally we left. We had a little bad luck on our return trip though. Our flight was delayed so we missed the last bus out of Dublin and had to sleep in the Airport until we could get a later bus in the morning. Not a lot of fun, but we did eventually make it back. Unfortunately I had to come back and take midterms and now I'm definitely in need of another vacation!
All in all, it was a very good trip and I definitely liked Spain, although I don't really think I would say anything bad about a country that has a legalized naptime!

Adiós

I'm leaving tonight for a long weekend in Barcelona! The weather forecast says it might rain while I'm there but I'm hoping it holds off because I am definitely in need of some warm, sunny weather! Supposedly it may snow here in Ireland while I am gone which I am a little sad to miss because I didn't get to see the snow they had over Christmas. We'll see what happens but hopefully it will be a fun, relaxing, WARM weekend! I'll post pictures when I get back!

Coming Soon

Hi Everybody!
So sorry for the extremely long delay in posts! School has kept me pretty busy with lots of reading assignments so I haven't had a chance to go have any adventures lately. I've been busy this weekend booking my trips for the semester though! So here is a little preview of what you can expect in the next few weeks....Barcelona, Prague, London, Spring Break in Tuscany, and hopefully also a few little outings around Ireland!
Hope you all have a nice Valentine's Day weekend!
~Em