Halfway Through

Granada v. Salamanca, March 5

Wow!! This is the end of midterm week and I cannot believe that my experience living in Granada and traveling through Europe is halfway over! My first thoughts are that I need to practice my Spanish A LOT MORE. I really want to be fluent (or as close as possible) by the time I go home, and I don't feel like I've gotten as close as I would want to be after half of my program. I definitely have improved, but I know there's still a ways to go, so I've got to take part in more language exchanges, watch more Spanish TV, etc. It took the first few weeks (or more) to get used to the Andalucían dialect, so I didn't even start improving, more just altering how I listen, for the first bit which is unfortunate. However, it does have its charm, and I can see myself continuing to speak with an Andalucían "twang," and possibly getting lectured by future Spanish professors about not pronouncing things right ;)

Hiking in La Alpujarra, reppin' GV :]

SUNSHINE~ (it's about time!)
Midterm week was relatively painless though, so that was nice! :) The weather is finally back on track (I would come to Granada when it's uncharacteristically cold), so I've had lots of time to enjoy the sunshine. I even have started running outside, which is saying a lot since I am a treadmill/elliptical person!

Last weekend, I had an amazing excursion with API to La Alpujarra, and we went to a part of the mountain still in the province of Granada but about a 1.5 hour bus ride away from the city. We hiked to three different mountain villages, on ROUGH terrain! It was intense, and I was sore the next day, but so worth it. The views were phenomenal, the sunshine was warm and it was just a perfect day. Then my girlfriends and I decided to spend a lazy night renting (don't laugh) the Britney Spears movie "Crossroads" on iTunes (it's still bad) and lounging in our sweatpants, eating cookies and just relaxing.

This weekend, I'm going to go out with friends to the opening of a new discoteca, go to the open-air market to see what goodies I can find, and hang out in the beautiful sunshine. I found a bench by the river really close to my apartment that I can sit on, read my book, and soak up the sun. It's heavenly :)

In other news, Robert arrives Tuesday for a visit!!! I'm planning a beach trip for us to the Mediterranean, which will be wonderful :)

Un beso,
Haley

DUBLIN~

The largest enclosed park in the world- it even houses the U.S. ambassador, and practice fields for rugby and soccer

Yes, here is the second post of the day! I just returned late Sunday night from a whirlwind trip to Dublin with some friends, and it was unforgettable! I can honestly say Ireland has been my favorite place (besides Granada of course) that I have seen in Europe. The people are so friendly, the city just has a fun feeling to it, the shopping is great and cheap, and the pubs are awesome!

We arrived Friday night and took a bus tour of the city to orient ourselves. Then we went to Penney's, the most amazing store ever. Irish friends we made in Rome told us about Penney's, where I bought a dress for 6 euro and a huge purse for 9 euro. After our shopping extravaganza, it was off to our makeshift pub crawl!
We ended Friday night at one of the pubs suggested by Sarah's travel book, which was a fabulous idea- there was an awesome singer, more like a one-man band, that played some classic Irish songs (we learned to sing along with the locals!) and then lots of popular songs and classic rock that the whole pub could sing along with. I met two people who are from southeast Michigan and just moved to Dublin too, which was crazy!

The original Temple Bar, now the whole neighborhood is just called "Temple Bar"

We started Saturday with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. We got to walk around and see the essential ingredients of Guinness (water, barley, hops and yeast) and learn about how they make it so delicious.

This is the 9,000-year lease that Arthur Guinness signed for the building, so there's lots of time left for everyone to get to Dublin before it's up!

We were told that you get a free pint of Guinness after the tour, so I was a little disappointed when we went in a room and were given a half-pint of Guinness (I wanted my euros worth!). We tasted it and got to read posters on the wall about how to properly pour a pint (it takes 119.5 seconds because you have to let it rest after pouring it 3/4 of the way, then finish it), and how you taste it in your mouth:

This was actually really true! Buy a pint and try it yourself!

But lo and behold, once we finished tasting our half-pint and returned our glasses, the ladies told us that would get our full pint once we arrived at the Gravity Bar at the end of the tour :)

It was HONESTLY delicious, and I have tried Guinness in the States before and not liked it.. it really IS better in Ireland! (P.S. I did not drink all of these! Sarah's is on the left, mine's in the middle and Carol's is on the right)

After the Guinness tour, we went to the Old Jameson Distillery for that tour (we called Saturday our Alcohol Day, for obvious reasons). We learned about the process of making Jameson, all eight steps, and then got to try our complimentary cocktail. We watched a short video of people enjoying Jameson all over the world with different types of mixers, and then got to choose which mixer we would like in our drink- Sarah, Carol and I all chose cranberry. Carol and I also got chosen to take part in a special whiskey tasting. We were given a shot of Johnnie Walker Black Label (from Scotland), Jameson, and Jack Daniel's as three of the most popular whiskeys. Then we sipped and smelled each one as they told us about what makes them all different. Carol and I agreed that Jameson was the best! Then we got a diploma!

We spent the rest of Saturday eating a totally American lunch (cheddar cheese!!!!), making our own dinner at our hostel, and exploring! Then Sarah and I went out for one last (5 euro!) pint of Guinness, as the weekend was almost over...

Saturday Sarah and I did some last sightseeing before we left for our flight home. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Park, the outside of Dublin Castle, and some of Trinity College.

St. Patrick's Cathedral and Park! The inside was pretty, but I thought the outside was even more impressive. This may be because I've now been spoiled with the Cathedrals in Toledo, the Vatican and Sevilla though!

The Dublin Castle :)

Before we left for the airport, Sarah and I had to get a traditional Irish breakfast to end the trip (below)! See the baked beans, tons and tons of sausages, tomato, fried egg, etc

I LOVE DUBLIN!!!!!! I want to return sooo bad, and to explore more of Ireland. Who's down?

Sevilla, two weeks later

Hi everyone,
I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read my blogs, even though I tend to be long-winded in my writing! :) This one will be no exception, since I've been lazy enough to not blog for three weeks!

Two weekends ago, I went to visit Sevilla (Seville in English) by train with three friends, and it was incredible! I had my first hostel experience, but I have to say it was a good one! Sarah, Claire, Shannon and I got to spend the weekend exploring the city and riverbank, looking at the third-largest cathedral (after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Paul's in London), the Real Alcazar and more!

I figured out how to color-accent things on my camera thanks to Claire, so here are Shannon and I on the river, with the green grass accented! 

The cathedral was absolutely awe-inspiring! Among the many things inside that I could talk about, there was Christopher Columbus' tomb, the huge altar (pictured below) made of gold with images of Jesus Christ, the clock that has been ticking for over 200 years, and an amazing view from the Giralda Tower!

We also got to see the Real Alcazar, which is pretty much a knock-off of Granada's Alhambra ;) It was constructed by Christians, but in the Moorish style. Here's a sample:

Finally, Sarah and I finished the last day with a tour of the bullfighting ring and a look at the museum inside. We also got to see where the royalty sits when they come to the bullfights, where the best bullfighter will enter the ring from, where they keep the bulls before it starts, and the surprisingly ornate chapel that the bullfighters pray in before the event.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I got to explore one of the great cities of Spain!