The End is Near

It is bizarre to think that I am coming up on my last few weeks in Europe, I just got back from the last of my planned trips, and have to start buckling down for exams next week.

Sadly, after just under five days speaking English with people that didn't even have the same accent as me, my host family says I have my English accent back when I speak French. Oops!

It was strange to be in English speaking countries (Ireland and Scotland) the last several days. I kept translating questions in my head, and then I realized there was no need! I also noticed that even their culture is more closely related to ours back home than the other countries I have visited. It felt like a little taste of what returning to home will be like.

Skylar and I spent last Tuesday night in Paris, and left our hostel at 5 a.m. to start the journey that would take us to Ireland. We spent the day exploring Dublin, which included a tour of the Guinness Storehouse where I poured the perfect pint. Even Skylar, who does not like beer, thought the tour was worthwhile.

Me being terrified I was going to spill Guinness everywhere. Notice the
instructor is laughing at me...

Didn't spill! Officially greatest Pour Master ever.

The people in Ireland are simply lovely. Everyone was super helpful, offering us assistance on the street when they saw us quizzically staring at our map. Their sweet accents made everything they said better.

We found our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral, and, as an SPC alum, I was obligated to stike a pose in front of it. I have now been to the one in Ireland, New York, and most importantly Kentucky.

We spent the night in our hostel, right down the street from the famous Temple bar, and were up early again the next day to explore the countryside. We made the excellent decision to take a guided tour of Wicklow National Park, which is just outside of Dublin.

First important discovery on this trip: I love sheep. I love them. Better yet, we came in the season where they all just had babies, so we got to se precious little lambs everywhere.

This picture is actually from Scotland, but I loved Irish and Scottish
sheep equally.

Our guide/driver knew EVERYTHING about Ireland. We not only learned about the land, but the history and culture too. He made lots of loving jokes about the English, and had many insights of life and the Irish way of living. We hiked to hidden lakes, and looked down upon green valleys filled with sheep. One of the best experiences was drinking fresh water from a stream. We ate Irish stew, practiced the Irish sport of hurling, and enjoyed rainbows after the frequent rains. I don't think I can adequatly describe how beautiful Ireland was. So I will just say this: no picture you have ever seen of Ireland does it's beauty justice, none.

They say the rivers look like they are
flowing with Guinness. I tried it. They are not.
It is water.

Happy, happy, happy to be in Ireland.

I was actually really sad to go, and a little worried that Scotland would not be quite as wonderful. Fear not. Scotland was awesome too.

After by far the easiest night of travel ever, we found ourselves the dramatically dark city of Edinburgh. We had to ask directions to our hostel at a fish and chips shop, and found it was right next to the city's dramatic castle. We woke up the next day, and grabbed some tea and breakfast at The Elephant Cafe, and then went on a walking tour of the city. The tour was really great, I would recommend it to anyone going somewhere where they are unsure what to do. You paid what you wanted  (they called it a 'tip' for your guide), and they really were able to show you the city and suggest things to do afterwards. Without it I don't think we would have known what to do with ourselves. The tour was informative but light, and I left feeling like I had gotten to really know the city.

We learned on the tour that in medieval times they would
 nail 'criminal's' ears to this in punishment.

We took another bus tour the following day, this time to the West Highlands. The tour was bigger and therefore a little less fun, but the guide was spunky and wore a kilt and recounted to us all four times he had been on TV in his wonderful Scottish burr.


Scotland was equally as beautiful as Ireland, but I think the difference lies in that Scotland seemed darker and more shrouded in mystery with all its misty mountains. Ireland, to me, seemed a bit lighter and open. Both were definitely worth exploring.

Our guide kept calling, what I considered to be a mountain "hills."
This is just the top portion of a "hill"

The Scottish accent was surprisingly a lot more difficult to understand than I thought it would be. Most people we had no problem understanding, but  there were a few that made me think it might be easier if we had been speaking French.

Highland Cow

In Scotland we also discovered the shortbread cookie. I think we must have eaten them at least every other meal. We also ate haggis, which was pretty good. Although, we were told there is a bit more regulation these days about what you can and cannot put in haggis. I also tried a Scottish Whiskey that was older than me by four years. It felt like I was breathing fire afterwards.

Haggis

In short, our quick trip was a huge sucess. I am even more obsessed with each place than I was before we left. However, I am looking forward to resting a while in Caen, and enjoying my last few weeks here, doing all the things I have loved so much about France.

I have mixed emotions that alternate between excitment for home and depression toward leaving all my adventures behind.

And then I traveled and traveled and traveled some more!

I cannot believe in less than a month my adventures in France will be over, and I will be back home in Kentucky. I had a few pangs of homesickness yesterday after reading all the posts on Facebook about the Derby, but then I remembered I am going to Ireland and Scotland this week and felt much better.

Our Spring Break was great, even though the rain seemed to follow us wherever we traveled. We left Friday night (April 19) and slept in Paris at the airport so we could catch our early flight in the morning. It was quite possibly the most miserable night of my life. I ended up laying on the floor (it was the most comfortable place) with my towel as a cover. I was freezing all night, and even tried wrapping an extra dress around me, to no avail. I know for a fact that the four of us looked ridiculous laying between the benches, because of the laughs we got from people in the morning.

I was still not optimistic about the trip in the morning, because I had to buy another plane ticket to Nice since the one I bought was for the previous day. Travel advice: Triple check all ticket dates, otherwise it might cost you $170 Euro...

The rest of the trip went swimmingly though. We traveled first to the south of France in Cannes (which is famous for its film festival.) We actually got to stay in hotels instead of hostels on this leg of the trip, which is definitely a luxury.

The old city in Cannes.

At the first hotel, the owner, Jean Michel was one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. He had white hair and a great big walrus mustache and went out of his way to ensure we enjoyed Cannes. Whether it was giving us four roses upon our arrival or giving us his cellphone number in case we had any problems after we checked out of his hotel, he was a wealth of information and general preciousness.

The combination of the mountains and beaches make Cannes almost too pretty to believe. There are boats and yachts everywhere, and we had fun deciding which yacht we would buy. Conveniently, Jessica's parents stayed at the Carlton when they visited, and in addition to meeting her lovely parents, we got to see inside the hotel where all the stars stay when they come to the film festival. We also went to this little island called Sainte Margaurite. It is so beautiful it is ridiculous. It was also the setting for the real events from the movie Man in the Iron Mask with Leonardo DeCaprio. I have not seen that movie, so the awesomeness is lost on me.

Sainte Marguerite

Our time in Cannes was so fun and relaxing that I was sad to leave.

And then I remembered we were headed to Spain.

We meet up with Patricia's friend Spencer in Madrid, and and she was nice enough to let us stay in her apartment for free!

I was buzzing with excitement to be in a country that spoke Spanish, and the country I had just studied the history of in class last semester. I kept trying to mix French in Spanish at first when I spoke with our taxi driver, form the airport, but it was nice to speak Spanish again. It felt familiar, and I realized that I had really missed speaking it.

We only had one full day to spend in Madrid, and we packed it with shopping, parks and food. Shopping in Spain is great, and way cheaper than in France. At La Puerta del Sol we ventured down each of the connecting streets to find shops. Even better than shopping at Zara was the parks of Madrid. We went to Retiro park just before it started raining again. We ate lots of traditional Spanish foods like tortilla, tapas, jamón, etc. We also went to San Ginés for churros and chocolate (it has been open since 1894).

After Madrid we headed to Barcelona, which may have been my favorite city we visited, even though it rained almost the entire time we were there. We went to the Boquería Market (by far the coolest market I have visited), walked up and down la Rambla, went to the beach, and checked out Gaudí 's architecture. I wasn't able to actually go inside Sagrada Familia, because tickets were sold out (buy them online the night before you want to go), but Barcelona is definitely on my list of places to re-visit so I can just go then :)

My delicious snack of chorizo and a fruit smoothie!

Sagrada Familia

We did get to Park Güell and, even though it was raining and I was in a poncho, it was one of the best parts of the trip. I think the rain may have actually made it more beautiful with the contrast in colors. Plus, I got a picture with the lizard, which was probably my number one priority for our trip to Barcelona.

Our last day in Barcelona was Jessica's birthday, and I went with her to Camp Nou—FC Barcelona's stadium which is the biggest in Europe. If you are ever watching a game, I have officially sat in the yellow 'E' of Barcelona. Be impressed.

Camp Nou

We left Barcelona for San Sebastian, our final destination. Sadly, it rained the whole time we were there, except for the last night. The first day it wasn't raining too hard, and we hiked up to a point that overlooks the beach and town. It was still raining the next day, but don't feel too sorry for us, because we went to la Perla (a spa) and got massages.

Skylar and I went back the next day to do the pool circuits. They have all these big pools of salt water with jacuzzis and machines that are supposed to massage you and help with your joints and circulation. For some people it looked like a religious experience, but Skylar and I just be-bopped around laughing at each other in our swim caps. Part of the circuit is running out to the ocean, and even though it was raining and cold, I made Skylar do it with me.

San Sebastian

Our last night in San Sebastian we sat on towels on the beach, because it was finally not raining, and enjoyed the view of everything lit up in the dark.

I was ready to come back to Caen though. It felt like coming home. I loved knowing exactly where I was, and to have my own room again.

I spent today with my host family, eating breakfast and visiting le Foire de Paque (a carnival). Marine actually got me to go on several rides, including a roller coaster. I think the last time I got on one was in middle school after my mom forced me to, and I am fairly certain I cried. There were no tears today, proof that France as turned me into a mature adult.

I just have to get through two days of class, and then I will be back in a country that speaks English. I think it is going to be overwhelming to be in a country where I can easily communicate with people, after over three months of French. I will probably still try to order meals in French :)

À la prochaine!