At last, I near the end of my experience in Ireland. My semester of a lifetime is ‘going out with a bang’ with the arrival of my dad, Uncle Tom, and cousin mike tomorrow around 1 pm Ireland time. The celebrating begins upon their arrival and we are going to be playing 6 days of golf in a row! I know, I cannot believe it either! The specific courses we are playing are the best in the world, including La Hinch, Ballybunion Old Course and Cashen, Tralee, Waterville, and Old Head. I am very lucky and thankful that they are coming.

Back in December 2012, I arrived in Dublin with my father by my side on December 29^th, 2012. We walked out of the Dublin airport to notice the cars driving on the other side of the road, and signs of the Celtic language where ever we looked. Soon I would learn that the correct label of the language is “Irish.” “Celtic” is the culture and not the title of the actual language, for example we do not speak “American” we speak “English”. After a crazy new years eve in Dublin, one I will never forget (or remember…), we traveled to Galway at 9 am sharp on January 1^st, which I once said was only fitting to begin the new year in my new home. Galway was unfamiliar and uncomfortable, and I cried as I said goodbye to my dad while reassuring him that I would be ok after I had some time to adjust. After my National University of Ireland at Galway orientation, I quickly was welcomed by friends who understood that my dad had been there and distracted me from fully introducing myself sooner.

By mid January, I soon become familiar with a new school, new apartment, and new schedule. Settling into my classes and class schedule gave me a lot to do and a lot to think about. My professors were very welcoming, however it was a big adjustment getting used to the ‘Irish’ mentality towards school work which is very different from what I am used to. Everyone in the USA should value their education and the resources given to them. This is something I am forever grateful for after my time spent in Ireland because of the differences that apply here.

I finally felt comfortable enough to leave Ireland and travel to another country by February 1^st. My first trip was to Rome where I knew I could feel a taste of home from staying with some of my best friends from Penn State. They reminded me yet again how lucky I am to have such a great support system. Also, I was reminded just how much fun I was doomed to have this semester in Europe. It seemed that after I returned home from Rome, the time began to fly. My mom and Yiayia came to visit shortly after and we had a great week together touring Ireland. By then, I could not believe that I had been in Ireland for almost 2 months already. The time flew even faster when I said goodbye to Reilly, my boyfriend, who visited me March 1-8^th. After our amazing week together, I was coming to realize that my time in Ireland was half over, although I had many wonderful experiences ahead of me.

All of my friends agree that our semester feels like it was three months, January, February, and May, because March and April were the fastest by far. March was extremely busy because it was the last month of school. Also, we celebrated St. Paddy’s day in Dublin which was an experience I will never forget. How special to be in the heart of the holiday- Dublin, Ireland, which was shared with best friends, new and old. After St. Paddy’s Day I was somewhat grateful for my friends to go home because I felt like I had had visitors for 2 months- which was true. I buckled down on school work and did what I do best, write papers and study! Easter was early, and was a nice break from everything and I really enjoyed spending the day in the Galway Cathedral. I have decided that despite all of the cathedrals I have visited in the world, the one in Galway is my favorite. It contains just the right amount of “wow” factor as long as a home-y feel. And I will never forget the warm feelings I felt inside of it.

After handing in three 10 page papers on April 7^th, I was excited to pack all day for my big spring break trip to Paris, Barcelona, and Lagos, Portugal where I celebrated my 21^st birthday. This is a week and birthday that will always be dear to my heart. One of my favorite moments in life will forever be standing underneath the Eiffel tower watching it sparkle on the hour on Monday, April 9^th.  Barcelona and Lagos met my expectations and beyond, and I felt the same feelings at the “end of the world” sunset as I did standing underneath the Eiffel tower. You are always in the place you are supposed to be in.

After a fairytale of a week, I returned home to study very hard for my final exams. To this day I hope I did well and will not find out for awhile, but I am thankful for the opportunity in the first place. That brings us to May, which I celebrated the end of exams in Munich, Germany and London, England, which were fabulous to say the least. The last two weeks in Ireland I have seen all my friends go, but I have absorbed all that Galway has to offer for the final time. I have spent time by myself walking around the whole town, taking time to think and contemplate my journey here for the semester.

From the beginning, I have asked myself, “What am I doing here?” but I now believe that I have been truly on a journey meant for my soul. This is reassured by many small moments constantly, whether it be a total stranger asking me to have a ‘cup of tea’ with them, or a Guinness, or watching Irish children in their Catholic school uniforms run out of school at the end of the day, or listening to the old men at the golf course laugh about their round of golf. Ireland has many special things to offer, but I will say that their people go straight to the top of the list. I will defend the Irish who may be known by others as people who “don’t give a damn” about anything. Let me tell you that the Irish DO give a damn, they just have their priorities straight. The moments they cherish the most are often overlooked or misinterpreted by others. To welcome one is as important as making money or going shopping or going to class, and the Irish have shown me hospitality like no one else. Besides hospitality, the countryside offers a unique experience which is not necessary ‘glamorous’, yet realistic. To be realistic is to be in tune and conscious, and the Irish are open about their optimism towards a happy future no matter what the future may bring.

Overall, I am not only thankful for my experience in Ireland, but continuing to grow from it. I truly believe that I have grown a lot since I have been here and have especially learned to be independent. When stressed, I will always think of the Irish who can read it on your face. When having a bad day, I have always had an Irish person off the street ask me, “what’s wrong?” They can tell and I do not know how. I am hopeful that I can take my experiences from Ireland home with me and I continue my journey throughout college and life.

To be on the golf course is probably the most special place in the world for me and is beyond reflective. It is only fitting that I end this experience on the golf course where memories are always resonating for me while constantly being made. Thank you everyone who read my blog this semester. To Penn State students, I hope your experience abroad was just if not more meaningful to you and your growth as a college students. Where would I be without my parents. Thank you so much for making this experience possible for me.

I look forward to seeing my family and friends and home.

For one last time, Cheers! J

Love, Stephanie

Location: Galway, Ireland

I just wanted to post a quick blog about my visit to the Aran Islands before I post a final reflection about my semester here in Galway. This past Friday I traveled to the Aran Islands which are a very famous tourist destination off County Galway. It was an absolutely perfect day! The islands are popular for many autobiographies that have come from the islands during the revival period. Traditionally, the ‘modern’ people of Ireland have been fascinated with the primitive and native people of the island who many of which are still continuing to live without electricity. To get to the island from Galway, we needed to take an hour bus ride and then an hour ferry; the island is about 30 miles off the coast of Ireland. There are actually three separate islands which make up the total “Aran Islands”. All the tourists travel to “Inis Moire,” the most popular island. Upon our short visit we enjoyed riding bikes and having the craic J Enjoy my pictures!

Location: Galway, Ireland

As previously mentioned before, my last two weeks in Ireland are dedicated to golfing. My journey has begun with a ‘bang’ this week with many stories to tell! This past weekend, I just went up to the driving range Saturday and Sunday in order to swing my golf clubs for the first time since last summer. Monday, I went up to Galway Golf Club on Salthill- a tourist pier near Galway, for the first time to check out the scene. Galway Golf Club is very historic and was designed by the same person who designed Augusta National- where the Masters is. It has a beautiful layout right next to the ocean which was something I really love! Despite the beautiful views, the golf course however is right on the ocean which means it rains frequently and is extremely windy, and when I say extremely windy I mean EXTREMELY windy. Never in my life have I experience conditions on the golf course like those of Ireland. I have played in hundreds of tournaments, all kinds of weather, and until now I have never experience winds and rain with such force!

                Monday, I was delighted to be paired up to golf with two ladies of Galway Golf Club, Jean and Sheelah, who have been members for a long time. They were both middle aged, Jean being a chemistry professor at the university in Galway and Sheelah- an ex-hockey player! How funny. They really enjoyed my company and I appreciated them letting me join their usual round of golf. The ladies only played 9 holes, and I went on to finish the last 9 by myself. After the round, I was noticed by 2 younger looking golfers who asked me to join them for lunch afterword. The guys offered to play with me throughout the week! One of the golfers, Damien, was very nice and offered me a ride home. Before taking me home, he mentioned he needed to pick up something from his house which was close by. As it turned out, his family welcomed me with open arms and ended up making dinner for me! How funny!!!! Only in Ireland you can meet a total stranger and end up sitting at their kitchen table eating dinner with them that night.

Damien and his friends offered me to join then at Connemara Links Course in Connemara, which is one of the mountainous areas I traveled to with mom and Yiayia. The Connemara links course was my first ‘links golf’ experience in Ireland which means that the style of course was one that I had never played before. Links style golf usually means no trees and no traditional atmosphere like you would expect at home. Here, the holes are aligned beautifully on the ocean and it is fantastic! I could not believe how beautiful the golf course was surrounded by mountains and oceans on all sides. However, do not forget again the effects of the WIND! The wind makes for an interesting challenge because it is constantly blowing. Constant 50 mph minds make for an endurance test out there. This is the only downside to golfing in Ireland. Luckily, it only rained for a couple of holes, but the wind and rain were not a good combination.

Despite the rain and wind, we actually did have a fairly good day for golf. When the sun is out, it’s a bonus! I tried to take some pictures, however the pictures cannot do the course justice for how unique it is. Today I am cleaning and doing laundry in my apartment which has been lonely! I cannot wait for my family to come, we’re down to under a week!

Tonight is one of the girl’s birthdays in our program. There are about 6 of us left that I am friends with and tonight is our last night going out together. Tomorrow I am excited because my good friend Katie, who has been traveling with her parents for a week, is coming back to Galway with her parents. We are going to all go to the Aran Islands, which is a final tourist destination in Galway I have been meaning to do. You get there by ferry, so we are going to make it a day trip followed by a nice dinner and Irish pubs at night. I am very excited to meet her family! My next blog will be about the Aran Islands and getting ready for my golf trip with the boys J Here are some pictures from my first golf experience in Ireland!

Location: Galway, Ireland

My last day in London, I traveled an hour outside the city to tour Warner Brothers Studios, the Making of Harry Potter! This is something I was very excited to do and wanted to make a sure priority during my visit. I have heard so many good things about the tour; I had to go while I was there. The tour begins with a shuttle bus which transports you from Waxford Junction train station on a bus specifically made for the studio tour. On the bus, they get you in the mood by providing a Harry Potter video and the music. I was very excited as we approached the studio. Our tour begins by standing in line near Harry’s ‘cupboard under the stairs’ in a waiting room that shows videos of the making of the movie. Once you go into the first room, they seat you in theater type seating and you yet again watch a movie about the actors, and filming. After the movie ends, the screen lifts up, and you are IN THE GREAT HALL!!! It was awesome!!!

The Great Hall is honestly smaller than I would have thought; it is amazing how they make everything look so large on camera!! But the sets were identical and I was trying to imagine all the hundreds of people in the room at one time for the filming. At the end of the hall, they have a set up of where Dumbledoor and the professors would have been and their original costumes. In one of the movies, the actors said that they were impressed with the studio tour and how identical Warner Brothers kept all the sets for the tourists. Unlike London, I could now take as many pictures as I liked!

After the great hall, you enter a huge studio room that compiles all of the major sets into one room. Here, you see sets such as the “Yule Ball”, Griffindor Common Room, Hagrid’s Hut, The Mirror of Errised, The Making of Quidditch, the brooms, Voldemort and his death eaters, practically everything!!!!! It is again amazing how they have not only built all these sets from scratch, but animated them in the movie.

Here are some pictures!

After inside the huge studio room, you go outside where you see Privet Drive, the Knight Bus, Hogwart’s Bridge, and the large chess pieces from the first movie, this time they aren’t moving!

The next room takes you into ‘Creatures’ and you see all the thousands of masks and dummies that were built for the movie. In cages, they have life size figures of each actor. Did you know that Hagrid was a real person that was 6’10 but actually had to still be stunted on huge stilts? In addition, they show you the animals, such as Hedwig’s moving figure, the Phoenix, and Dobby, who deserves a moment of silence! In addition, you see the Basilick, giant spider that haunted Ron, and Buckbeak who is beautiful and moves! I felt like I was in a haunted house.

Next, you are taken into rooms which show you the sketches and thousands of drawings from the making of the film. In addition, there is a wall of thousands of paintings you see throughout the movie and the movie staircases. Did you know that every single painting used in Hogwarts was hand painted for the movie?? That’s amazing!

Finally, you enter the room with the amazing and spectator set of Hogwarts itself- my favorite part of the trip. I would estimate the 3-D campus to be about 20 ft high. It’s again amazing how they are able to film a figure like that and make it look real.

Lastly, a fun detail I learned was that besides the making all the of the paintings specifically for the movie, the artists hand crafted and painted thousands of wands and their boxes. I cannot imagine the work that must have gone into making all those wands, I want one! You can see the intimate details in the close up picture.

I almost forgot to mention my trip down Diagon Alley!!! This was extremely realistic and the lighting of the studio made it even more perfect. The pictures speak for themselves!!!!

After my magical morning at Harry Potter, I traveled back to London for some shopping before my flight. I enjoyed spending the day in Harrods- I guess you would call this the Bloomingdales of London? What a fabulous store. I have never in my life seen a food display that puts Wegmans to shame, and I mean it!!I I enjoyed a nice cinnamon bun, chocolate chip cookies, and fresh chocolates for lunch. My Yiayia would have gone CRAZY, I can see her now.

It was a sad journey back to Ireland after a fabulous time in Germany, London, and Hogwarts. I arrived late in Galway on Wednesday night, 3am, and slept in the next day. The past 2 days I have been ripping apart my room and organizing the send some things home. 18 days left in Ireland, and 12 until the boys come for the golf trip! I am excited to hit some golf balls and get my game in shape. Today is a day that many of my best friends are leaving so I am going to make an effort to say goodbye to them. The weather is decent- I am hoping it is the best for when my family comes. My next blog will talk about what we are going to be doing on our golf trip! Until then- Cheers!

Location: Hogwarts

On Monday, Lizzie and I left Munich on a direct flight to London Gatwick, one of the many airports in London! London is a place I have really been trying to go to all semester, so I could not have been more excited. The weather was just as beautiful in London as it was in Munich, 60s and 70s all days. We arrived in London at 10 am and took the ‘tube’ to our hotel in Knightsbridge, the Knightsbridge Hotel! Our hotel was lovely and upon leaving the underground tube I was immediately captivated by how beautiful the buildings and streets are of London. London has a ‘New York’ feel, but is very ‘girly’ and proper; I absolutely loved it!

We couldn’t check into our hotel right away, so Lizzie and I enjoyed some fish and chips right around the corner. Our plan for the day was to go to Abbey Road and Abbey Road studies, King’s Cross station, and then Oxford Circus for some shopping. Hopefully everyone reading this knows that Abbey road is famous for The Beatles, and I took multiple pictures walking across the street! Just like I was on the album. What was funny is that there is actual traffic on the road, so when cars are not coming people run quickly to get their photo. I bet the locals get very annoyed going through there daily.

After Abbey Road, we went to King’s Cross Station which is famous for Harry Potter’s journey on platform 9 and �. I got my picture going to Hogwarts! The movie was actually filmed in one of the platforms in the station.

Lizzie and I took the tube to Oxford Circus for some serious shopping, she said it was her favorite place in the world and I can see why! Think 8^th Avenue in NYC, but then with a London feel! It was fantastic. I immediately went to Top Shop, H & M, Zara, and Mango, my favorite stores in Europe. Shopping for a few hours was followed by a nice dinner at a funky place called ‘Sketch’ which was very artsy and different. Their toilets were ‘alien pads’ that were shaped like eggs and each individual pad was a toilet! When you closed the door to the pad, it talked to you. Too funny!

The next day, Lizzie and I were determined to do some serious sightseeing. Our day began at Buckingham Palace gate for the changing of the guard, again- 70 and sunny! The changing of the guard was impressive and after we were so lucky to see the FABULOUS flowers outside of Buckingham, it was a postcard picture day. The pictures speak for themselves! The queen is very lucky this time of year. The queen was in Buckingham too!

After Buckingham, Lizzie and I walked around town and over the millennium bridge which was also filmed in Harry Potter. From the bridge we saw the ‘Eye’ or London Farris Wheel and made our way to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminister Abbey. The London Eye would have been fun to go on, but we had to prioritize because we only had 2 days in London. Big Ben was looking radiant as ever, and Westminister Abbey was fabulous- where the royal wedding just took place! I cannot imagine getting married in a place that big, full of all the royal funerals and weddings throughout history. Note my illegal pictures! They wanted to throw me out.

After Westminister, Lizzie and I went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is not actually ‘London Bridge’ although everyone mistakes it to be. The Crown Jewels are located in a historic fort used during times of war in London. In the Tower of London I REALLY almost got thrown out for taking illegal pictures… the lady asked to confiscate my phone and I told her no that my phone was my property, the lady told me that the crown jewels were her property! Lizzie told me I could have been deported. That would not have been good nor funny to think about now…

Lizzie and I had a fabulous dinner at a place called ‘De Marios’ in Kensington which was advertized as Princess Diana’s favorite restaurant and there were pictures of her all over it. After dinner, we got tickets to see the show “Thriller Live” which was all about Michael Jackson and his music. It was AWESOME! Everyone that likes Michael Jackson should go see it, awesome music and dancing! The show was in Piccadilly Square, the ‘Times Square’ of London, so it was perfect.

After a very busy day, I had to say goodbye to Lizzie who was leaving for the US at 6 am on Wednesday. I booked my flight back to Ireland at 9 pm on Wednesday so I could spend one more day in London, even if it was by myself. On Wednesday, I traveled out to Harry Potter Studios, the Making of Harry Potter, and enjoyed a day of shopping at Harrods in Knightsbridge. Harry Potter deserves a separate blog!

Location: London, United Kingdom

On Friday May 3^rd, I left at 1:45 am to head to Dublin to embark on my final travels of the semester in Europe. My best friend from high school, Lizzie, and I have been trying to plan a trip together all semester. She has been studying abroad in London since January. We finally figured that it would be a good weekend after exams to go to Munich for ‘Fruhlingfest’, the beer fest of the spring! And then after a weekend getaway to Munich, we could together fly back to London and she could show me around where she has lived. The trip worked out perfectly and we were so excited!!! What two great places to be in a row!!

Friday night was a long night because I did not go to bed. If you recall, I did the same thing when I traveled to Rome, so I figured ‘what the heck’ because now that school is over, I can afford to be tired. I arrived in Munich at 12pm on Friday and found Lizzie in the central train station. We found our bed and breakfast which was in a PERFECT location! Right outside the fruhlingsfest and we didn’t even know it when we booked it. Fruhlingsfest is a large carnival with many German beer tents and homemade German food.

A great thing about Germany is that the Germans frequently wear their historic dresses and pants/overalls all over town! And especially to the festival! This was fun to see people get dressed up. Germany had it all, the food, the look, and the fun!!! The festival itself was crazy. Live music and partying ‘German’ style. On Friday, the two of us were tired but enjoyed walking around town and figuring out the metro station. We went to the festival and then out for a nice dinner. Anxious to get to bed early, we went back to the bed and breakfast and slept well for a full Saturday of sightseeing.

Saturday, Lizzie and I woke up and got on our feet to get to Marienplatz, which is the old historic town and contains a beautiful castle. The area is surrounded by all the good shopping and restaurants, and to top it off the weather was beautiful! We spent a few hours walking around Marienplatz and shopping. We took a stroll through the beautiful English Gardens and even met some Germans who were all dressed up on their way to the festival. Our encounter made for an awesome picture!

Saturday night, we put on our German faces ready and went into the festival around 5:30 for dinner and drinks. The beer tent was so crowded we had to wait 30 mins to get in, but it was worth it! For dinner on Saturday, we had two full chicken breasts, sauerkraut, potato salad, and French fries. I don’t know if saying that now brings back happy memories or makes me sick to my stomach. Either way, when in Germany! The tent was crazy Saturday night, full of dancing and ‘prosting’ (cheers in Germany). The night won for sure.

Sunday, Lizzie and I enjoyed traveling to one of the German palaces and spent time in the BMW factory and the Olympic Park. It was another beautiful day so we got some great pictures! All throughout the Olympic Park I was trying to imagine the crowds that must have been there for the Olympics. The BMW factory was so cool! Very impressive and fancy, I made sure to take pictures of my future car! Right, dad?

Sunday night Lizzie and I yet again went to the festival to this time ride the rides and enjoy the carnival food that was outside the beer tent. We enjoyed the carnival games and endless fried dough and donuts. Needless to say, we were tired and were excited to go to bed before waking up at 5am to travel to London! While German was an awesome time, I could not be too sad leaving because my trip was only half over! London, here we come!

Location: Munich, Germany

Hello blog community!

I hope everyone is having a great end to their semesters abroad. I once again apologize for infrequently posting blogs and comments, my internet connection has been disappointing this semester and every time I attempt to blog it is a mystery whether or not it is going to post. However, now I am happy to post 3 blogs about my exams, and my recent trip to Munich and London!

The last time I posted it was concerning my Spring Break trip- that feels like forever ago! Now it is May 9^th and I am going home on May 29^th, so I still have about 20 days left in Ireland. I’m sure everyone can agree that the time has flown by and it feels like just yesterday I was packing my suitcase after Christmas getting ready to move to Ireland.

All day today I have been packing up one of my large suitcases in order to ship home. This way it will be easier returning home than it was coming with 3 pieces of luggage and 2 carry ons. I got home late last night so today I have had a catch up day organizing my things. It always feels good to get things out of the room, but I always shake my head at the amount of things I packed. When will I ever learn to pack lightly?

My two final weeks in April were very busy as I prepared for my final 3 exams. My exams took place during 1 week of time; each was about 3-4 days apart, so this gave me a good amount of time to prepare for each one. Overall I think I did OK- it’s hard to prepare for an exam when you have not taken an exam all semester! Let’s hope for the best and all A’s!!!!

Taking an exam at NUIG is an experience like no other. I am assuming that most students at Penn State take exams in lecture halls or the classrooms they had the class in all semester. In Ireland, you take your final exams with 1,000 PEOPLE in a gymnasium in the main campus fitness center. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! My first exam- I was a nervous wreck not knowing what to expect. Myself and 1,000 other students filed into the halls of the fitness center, past the swimming pool, and into the gymnasium. Once entering the gymnasium, myself and along with 1,000 other students have to find your name on a single list which lists everyone’s desk assignment. When you finally find your name, you have to search up and down the rows and aisles for your desk! My exams were held at desks 723, 402, and 335. Too funny!!

Taking an exam seems more like a community event. There are hundreds of spectators and observers walking up and down the aisles constantly. I wonder where they sign up to do this? Is it advertised? Obviously, there are more than 1 exams going on at once, so one half of the room is busy typing in their calculators while the other half is writing their life away- which was the half I was usually in. It was intimidating at first and rather annoying; during the exam the observers throw a sign in sheet on your exam and check your ID while you sign your name. I was outraged!!! How dare you take my precious exam time to sign your stupid paper!!!!!

While this seems mostly like a complaint, it was actually a riot and something funny to remember. It’s only funny because I studied hard for my exams. It would be another story if I sat there in a panic! Again, I am hoping for the best. With all those people, one can only hope that the exams stay organized and get to the professor.

My last exams for ‘Law of the Sea’ ended at 11:30 on May second. SUMMER IS NOW!! It is always such a weird feeling being done with school because you work so hard and it abruptly ends. On Thursday May 2, I was excited though because I had to pack for my flight to Munich, Germany which left Friday from Dublin at 7 am!

Location: Galway, Ireland

Friday morning, we yet AGAIN woke up at 3 am to fly from Barcelona to Seville, Spain where we met up with Discover Seville Excursion group who was hosting us in Lagos, Portugal for the weekend. We signed up for the Lagos, Portugal trip because it was promoted for Spring Break students and was all inclusive at a hotel on the beach in Lagos for the weekend. This was a great way to end our trip because we were able to partake in total relaxation for our final 3 days of vacation. Also, we enjoyed meeting other American students from all different countries. There were 150 of us on the trip total!

A nice coach bus picked us up from Seville and we had a 3 hour bus ride to Portugal. I would like to say that I saw a lot of southern Spain and Portugal, but I slept the whole way there and so did Katie. The weather was hot and sunny yet again! We arrived at Carvi Hotel in Portugal around 1:00 in the afternoon. The hotel was right on the beach next to beautiful cliffs and scenery. After quickly changing, we ran right to the beach and met all the other college students. Lagos, Portugal reminds me a lot of Florida, the buildings and the atmosphere are almost identical. However, when you hear locals speaking Portuguese you are reminded quickly about where you are. Our tour guides even told us not to try speaking Spanish to the Portuguese. I take it from this that Spain and Portugal must not get along?

After a relaxing afternoon on the beach, we walked to the famous ‘NahNahBah’ Burger joint that is known for having one of the top 50 best burgers in the world! I would support that considering the burgers were absolutely delicious. After a burger, we explored the town and went to the party that was hosted by the Discover Seville Tour. They had a lot of free drinks and food for us, so we knew we signed up for a great weekend. Once again, we did as best as we could staying awake, but we were tired from waking up so early and went back to go to bed.

Saturday morning we woke up and put on our bathing suits for the ‘Sangria Sailboat Cruise’ which was a sailboat that took up all throughout the caves and islands of Lagos, with all you can drink Sangria! It was fantastic and the weather was hot. We were sure to buy sunscreen, but we still were burnt anyways. The sailboat was a lot of fun and we had the chance to jump off the boat and go swimming in the ocean. We also could take a row boat in and out of the cliffs which you can see us in our life jackets in the picture. In this case, Portugal appeared more beautiful than Florida!

After the boat cruise, we spent the day on a private beach and got our tans in full gear. At night, we took a bus to a famous spot known as the ‘End of the World’ in order to watch the sunset. We were on top of cliffs overlooking the ocean in all directions and it was unbelievable. I truly felt like I was at the end of the world! These cliffs were like the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, only shorter and a lot warmer, but I can assure you they were just as windy! It was worth it though to watch the sunset and only appropriate for the end of our final day of paradise.

Sunday we still had time to go to the beach and relax. We went to a famous beach about an hour from Lagos which was known for its surfing. We watched the surfers while eating burgers and lying in the sun. It was a perfect end before our bus ride back to Seville, which got us back around 10:30 at night. We spent the night in Seville before traveling to Malaga, Spain in the morning. Our flight to Dublin was from Malaga because the flights were much cheaper. We took a 3 hour bus ride to Malaga in the morning, flew home, then a 3 hour bus ride back to Galway all day on Monday. As you can probably agree, I was exhausted and I slept like a baby last night.

Today is Tuesday and I am busy doing laundry and getting ready for the final stretch… 3 exams between now and May 2. Pray for me that I can focus and study and do well!! This semester is indescribable and I cannot believe April is halfway over already. I must admit that I was a little homesick over my vacation; it’s very tiring traveling for so many days but certainly well worth it. I was thinking about my family and friends a lot of my birthday, but I know I will see them in 6 weeks. I cannot believe I am talking about the final 6 weeks, half a year has almost gone by since I have arrived here in Ireland. For the next two weeks, I will be studying a lot and will be anxious for exams to be over.

Once May hits, I am also excited for my dad, Uncle Tom, and Cousin Mike to come to Ireland on May 22 for a golf trip for my final week! The weather is nice in Ireland today so I am hoping it will be nice in the end of May for our golf trip. I am dying to go hit some golf balls right now, but I know I cannot until my exams are over because I have a lot of work to do now. I am very thankful for my spring break trip because as you can recall, I was very busy writing 3 final papers before I left. Without that week off, I would have gone crazy just staying inside and studying all day. Because of this, I know I will be more successful in the long wrong because I had a nice break.

With the end of this blog, my chores are done since I have arrived home and it is time to start studying. I hope everyone understands my week a little bit better! Please know I miss everyone more than ever at home.  

Location: Lagos, Portugal

After an awesome 4 days in Paris, Katie and I woke up at 3 am again to get to Barcelona in order to have another full day in a new city. We smoothly traveled to Barcelona and navigated to our bed and breakfast once again by Metro. We felt more comfortable in Spain because we did know some Spanish and could understand the signs better. The weather was 60 and sunny, FINALLY! The bed and breakfast we stayed in was so perfect; it was beautiful and hidden from the hustle-bustle of the city. We were the only ones staying in the bed and breakfast for the weekend, so we had the whole place to ourselves. I would definitely recommend ‘Ally’s Bed and Breakfast’ to anyone who is traveling to Barcelona, for 30 E a night it was better than any hostel you can find and the same price! After we got into our bed and breakfast, we opened our balcony to the warm fresh air and had to go outside even though we had been awake since 3 am.

Our first stop was at Sagrada Familia, the largest cathedral in the world. This cathedral is so large, is began being built in the 1880s and is still being built today. Large is an understatement. Never in my life have I seen architecture as magnificent as the Sagrada Familia. Why do you need a church that big??? I have been struggling with this thought ever since I left.

Needless to say, the church was breathtaking and even pictures cannot do it justice. We took an elevator up to the top of one of the long towers to overlook the ocean and city of Barcelona. I was up the highest I had ever been in my life, so high my knees were weak. We walked all the way down in a small spiral staircase in the tower; again I was hanging on for dear life and had to convince myself it was OK to take each step. Another experience I will never forget! You can see my fear in my arms as I was clutching onto both sides of the rail in the picture…

After the breathtaking Sagrada Familia, we went to the main street ‘Rambla’ street where all the tourist action is and markets and restaurants. Barcelona had a FABOULOUS market with all the fresh food and sweets you can imagine, so we had lunch there and sat outside and drank pitchers of the famous Sangria. After living in Ireland, it was very important to us to greet the sun for once. The harbor of Barcelona comes right into the city off of Rambla street and the warm weather brought a lot of people into the area.

On Wednesday night, Katie and I were determined to meet our other girlfriends who were studying abroad in Barcelona. They had all invited us and were involved in the same festivities, so the locations worked out perfectly. Initially we met Katie’s friends at a huge bar where everyone was watching the Barcelona playoff soccer game, so there was a lot of excitement in the air. It’s fun to watch the camaraderie of other nations when it comes to their sports teams because you can understand why they get so excited about sports. Wednesday night we had fun at one of the large night clubs in Barcelona, but were very tired because we had been up since 3 am.

Thursday, we woke up and took a bus to the famous Parc de Guell of Barcelona, which is one of the largest tourist attractions that looks over the city. 70 degrees and sunny meant it was the perfect day for pictures, and we got the famous Barcelona tourist picture on the stained glass bench overlooking the city. We did a lot of walking on Thursday; we walked all the way back to the city and found a cute place to eat lunch outside of another cathedral down by the water. We returned to our bed and breakfast for a nap and then went out for a nice dinner in the high end shopping district of the city, which was close to our bed and breakfast. I enjoyed calamari and fresh seafood from the ocean! Our fun was endless.

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Monday I traveled home from Malaga, Spain where I said my goodbyes to an AMAZING and much needed spring break trip! I have had my eye on the warmer weather of France, Spain and Portugal for a long time now. If you can recall my excitement 10 days ago already, you can remember all that I had planned! My spring break trip was a very busy week; each day was jam packed, sleep was not an option at most times. To reiterate my week, my trip began from Dublin to Paris from April 6-April 10^th, Barcelona from April 10^th– April 12^th, then Lagos, Portugal in on a ‘weekend excursion’ from April 12^th-April 14^th. During my trip, I was lucky enough to celebrate my 21^st birthday! This was a special memory that I will never forget. I cannot believe I am 21 now!

On Friday Morning at 3 am, my friend Katie and I left our Galway apartments to fly to Paris- BVA, a small airport about an hour outside of the city. Thanks to Ryanair, we were able to get the cheapest flights I could imagine… even as low as 16 Euro! After a difficult packing job for the 10 days we were going to be gone, we made it to Paris smoothly where we met Katie’s friend, Olivia, who is studying abroad and hosted us for the weekend. It is always fun to stay with someone that knows the city because it saves you a lot of time from figuring out what to do and where to go. Needless to say, Paris was a fabulous city from the moment I set my eyes on it. Romance was definitely in the air, and I could tell from the buildings, food, and people. Initially I did not know what to expect from Paris and the French, but they were cooperative and easy to communicate with. The only frustrating thing is that you never have any idea what signs read because French is not like Spanish or anywhere close to English.

On Saturday, we got settled into Olivia’s apartment around 3pm and took a nap after traveling for 12 hours. Saturday we had a relaxing day walking around the 12^th district of Paris where Olivia lived in “Gare De Lyon”. We quickly became familiar with the metro system which we relied on all weekend, it was very easy thankfully. I really appreciate how easy it is to navigate large cities because it is something I have never had to do growing up. Saturday was great because we felt no pressure to see everything ASAP; it’s tough when you travel places for only 1-2 days and the pressure takes over to go 100mph. Saturday we went shopping in the main shopping district near Notre Dame cathedral and enjoyed two good baguette sandwiches fresh from Paris. Our night was fun as we were excited to take on Paris.

The real site seeing began Sunday when we were refreshed and ready to see more of the city. We began Sunday with the Louvre- where the Mona Lisa is and famous paintings and sculptures are located. It was a beautiful sunny day! The museum was free, and we enjoyed taking pictures in the main square of the Louvre which was beautiful and known for its glass pyramid, the entrance to the Louvre. Olivia took us to the famous ‘Love Lock Bridge’ where many lovers come to leave a piece of themselves in Paris. I wrote on a lock for Reilly and me! Now a part of me is in Paris forever. We continued on to see the magnificent Eiffel Tower. Paris is so big that you would think you could see the Eiffel tower from anywhere, but you cannot. So we kept looking with big eyes all weekend to see if we could spot it. The Eiffel Tower is just as beautiful as the movies. That really was an unreal site. Our day didn’t stop there as we traveled back to the shopping area and walked into the MAGNIFICANT Notre Dame cathedral…and MASS WAS GOING ON! We joined the candle lit mass and were able to take communion from Notre Dame… What a fabulous unexpected encounter! That is something I will remember forever.

Monday we definitely felt accomplished from all we did on Sunday, so we again slept in and left for another area to see where Olivia attends school in the city. It was a beautiful area with many shops and bakeries, so we shopped all day and ate some fabulous Paris pastries. My friend Katie bought some very special designer sunglasses to remember her trip with and she was very excited- Christian Lacroix! How fancy! Monday I was excited because at night it was my 21^st birthday, so at night we celebrated into Tuesday morning, our last day in Paris.

Tuesday April 9^th, my 21^st birthday, we went up to the famous Sacre-Couer Hill in Paris which reminded me a lot of Florence: small cobblestone streets, restaurants, shops, bakeries, and a home-filled atmosphere. The streets were absolutely beautiful and it made you forget that you were in the middle of a big city. This famous hill overlooks the entire city of Paris and it is breathtaking. The three of us girls had a nice lunch where I finally got a famous Paris Crepe and we had a gelato for dessert, birthday eating at its best! We also went to the famous Arch de Triumph which I have seen in hundreds of movies. It is huge and I cannot believe the traffic circle that exists around it. The French say it is the most dangerous traffic circle in the world and I believe it! The Arch is located right at the end of the high end fashion district of Paris. I could not believe I was in the fashion capital of the world! That street is where all the magic happens. We made it appropriate by walking around eating a plain baguette. I was in heaven. 

Tuesday night we went out for a dinner in honor of my birthday and I had an awesome steak and French fries and lots of wine with my girlfriends. That was very nice of them to recognize my birthday with me; it was not easy being away from all your friends and family. To top off a perfect birthday in Paris, we went to the Eiffel Tower to watch it be lit up at night and ‘sparkle’ for the first five minutes of every hour. This was my favorite part of my birthday. Watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle is probably the best thing I have ever seen in my life. What a 4 day trip we had!

Tuesday we packed up our things in order to set out for Barcelona early Wednesday Morning. The trip continued! It did not seem like it could get any better. I had the most fabulous birthday weekend in the most romantic city of them all!

Location: Paris, France