Turning behind the clock a little (which we all recently had to do), I’ll go back to a few of my trips for a quick overview.
Barcelona! I couldn’t have had a better weekend with three of my best friends from home. Taylor and Kacie who have the luck and joy of studying in Barcelona, were great hosts to Christine and I who crashed in their residencia for the weekend. We had our touristy fun and went to the bar Chupitos where you can enjoy 2 euro shots of all shapes and sizes. In a previous blog post I expressed that shots on fire weren’t exactly my thing, but after drinking multiple Harry Potter shots which were steaming hot, I might have changed my mind a little. As these shots were lit on fire, I couldn’t help but think of my favorite scene from the movie Cast Away. “LOOK WHAT I HAVE CREATED! I HAVE MADE FIRE!”
We enjoyed the club scene at Opium and Raz Ma Taz – some of my dance moves were stellar and it must have been all the smoke in the air. Well, I thought they were stellar until the friends of my friends made a comment along the lines of “your friends are crazy.” My Lady GaGa robot moves apparently just didn’t cut it. Oh well, I had fun and GaGa would approve. Christine only took two quick cat naps – one standing up in the street, and one in the cab on the way to the club. A real trooper. Things I learned in Barcelona: Gaudi is a true mastermind, not 1, not 2, but 3 showers might take the smell of smoke out of your hair, and I’m swift because I didn’t get pick pocketed.
Budapest and Vienna! We were off to a great start when Kristina showed up just on time for our flight and Mara full out MISSED it. Nice. Stayed in a cold hostel the first night, woke up shivering and Kristina and I went out for a little touring. After a nice trip to the indoor market and a climb up to the Citadel, we headed back on time to meet a phoneless Mara at the metro station. SHE MADE IT! We lugged our suitcases to the next hostel of choice, which turned out to be cozier than the first. Mara thought it was cute to wear matching gloves and a matching dress – she failed to realize, however, that she looked like a huge tool. I had my fun. I also made fun of Mara and Kristina for ordering the most touristy thing on the menu at a Hungarian restaurant: Mozzerella and Tomato Salad. However, the fun was poked back at me when we realized I woke up… and had beef stew. That night, we trained to Vienna and were relieved and tired when we found our 3rd hostel of the trip. This time, I woke up and had weiner schnitzel. I am really trying to get the full taste of all of the cities I visit. You’re all probably thinking I should start switching to salads after those hefty meals.
After our quick trip to Vienna we ventured back to Budapest 2 nights later to stay in our 4th hostel. This one was the coziest. The best part of our last few days in Budapest: The Baths. Kristina, Mara and I all enjoyed a nice hot thermal bath at one of the most popular bath houses in Budapest. It was outdoors, so you’re feet froze on the walk to the water, but once you slid in the massive hot tub, it was like heaven. The worst part of our trip: sitting in a coffee shop realizing that Loyola did not register me for classes when they should have. I was furious and proceeded to send a nasty email to our abroad coordinator only to receive a ‘You Got PWNED’ email back with the attachment of the wrong waiver I filled out. Oops. I made Mara and Kristina speed walk back to the hostel with me and I frantically registered myself for classes. In the end, I was able to register for 4/5 of my originals! Hip Hip Hooray!
Ireland! On Friday night I was greeted in lovely cork by my friends Madeleine, Brendan, Colleen, and Bridgid! Mad made the trip all the way from Firenze just to be in Ireland for a short trip, but well worth it. Since the night was upon us, we went to the girl’s room for a fun pregame including lots a Bulmers. We walked to the pub under the Irish sky and cool Cork breeze. Madeleine ordered a Guinness and I think she actually agreed with Brendan’s description of it tasting like “chocolate mElk”. After Colleen and Brendan danced with themselves in the mirror for a while, we proceeded to a club down the street. After a successful night of dancing, we headed on home to merely take a nap because the rooster (aka Mad) woke B and I up around 9 am. “WAKE UP TOE! WE GOTTA GO MAKE OUT WITH THAT STONE!” Ambitious. After we hit snooze for an hour, we made our way to the bus to venture to the Blarney Castle. We hiked our way to the top and leaned back to give the Blarney Stone a nice peck. The ladies in front of us wanted to give it a little more than a peck… but either way we all received our eloquence.
The three of us explored the castles ground and discovered some interesting caves and witches kitchens. Mad and B attempted to climb a rock we thought resembled Pride Rock but unfortunately Brendan’s Sperry’s were run down of their grip. Later on, a group of us ventured to Kinsale, a lovely port town where we enjoyed a delicious meal. This time I avoided the beef stew or schnitzel and enjoyed some fresh white fish. YUM. After an attempt at a cat nap on the bus on the way back to Cork, we began the festivities for another night out. I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Mr. Patty G’s parents and we shared a Banana tasting beer together. After parting ways with the Ginley’s, Mad, Pat, B and I met up with everyone else. Pat enjoyed a nice seat on the stage for the night while Mad and I danced away. I tried to teach Kara how to get low, but B and I are apparently the masters. After some Burritos on the walk back, it was time for bed. Mad woke up bright and early to head out on her 24-hour adventure back to Florence while the rest of us enjoyed a nice sleep. Sunday was movie night! We all laughed our asses off as we attended Jackass 3D. Some good craic (fun, as I learned from Brendan). By Monday, I was almost a part of the Cork family. I checked out the UCC campus and even did a little work in the library! Impressive! Later on, I was invited to have dinner with Father Linane, the President of Loyola, and the other 20 somewhat students studying at Cork. Although I felt like an intruder, it was quite luxurious to enjoy a gourmet meal at a fancy hotel restaurant on the tab of Loyola, especially since the Amsterdam program doesn’t do anything for us. I’m now running off… zero hours of sleep so that’s all for now, Folks.
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