4 Down, 2 to go
Okay, breathe. I've only got two weeks, but this is fine. I'm fine. I totally miss American food and my American friends, but I wish I could get all of that without having to leave Europe.
Sunday morning, Shelby, Maggie, and I took the Metro to the bus to Menzenares el Real for some hiking. I've hiked before, but this was hiking hiking. I consider myself a go-getter, but let me tell you, Maggie is a go-gettest. Girl was springing from rock to rock like she was a super hero. I tried my best to keep up, and it was worth it, because after about an hour or so we had reached the top of the mountain (?) and had an unimaginable view. The top of that mountain was probably my favorite place that I've ever eaten a cold-meat sandwich, and I've had tons of cold-meat sandwiches in life. One orange, 5 leaps of faith, and 30,000+ steps later, I'm hoping to escape to Menzenares for one more hike before my time here is done.
This week was a little speedy because our final exam in Spain Today was on Friday, and everyone was a little stressed about studying. We were able to rent some bikes and cruise down the river. We caused a lot of almost-accidents, but we laughed a lot and it was a highlight of the trip for sure. With class, we explored clothes though the decades at the Museo del Traje, and guess who surprised me at the beginning of the tour but Drew Binkley! Drew is here for a week or so before his study trip begins in London (?), and it was great to see a familiar face, especially when it's his face. Have you seen it? It's a good face.
Now to the super fun stuff. On Friday, my little class of 10 went to breakfast as a goodbye party for the four-weekers. On top of my first cafe con leche in Spain (gave up caffeine before the trip), we could either order churros and chocolate or toast with tomatoes, and I chose the latter as to try a typical Spanish breakfast. It looked like a fancy toasted hamburger bun, you drip some olive oil on, spread out the salsa (not spicy, it's really just mashed tomatoes), and a pinch of salt and dig in to a refreshing and light breakfast that I happily washed down with everyone else's leftover churros and chocolate. DELICIOSO.
At 1:15pm, exams began. Yes, examS. They handed us both our weekly grammar test AND the final for Spain Today, which has kind of a heavy weight on our final grade/ my GPA. 75 panicked minutes later, I handed both tests in and sprinted out the door so that Shelby and I could catch our 5:20pm fight to Dublin, Ireland! We didn't turn out to be as short on time as we had thought, and landed safely in Dublin! We checked into our hostel, grabbed some dinner, had a drink at Temple Bar, and called it a night.
Saturday morning we woke up and went on a 3 hour walking tour of the city. Our guide Carl was super helpful and friendly, as was every other human we met during our time in Ireland (aside from this one waitress, but that's another story). He led us through Dublin's castle and around Trinity College, then pointed us in a good place to lunch and although we wouldn't have time for the Book of Kells (built almost identical to the one used in Harry Potter), we did make it to the other side for a tour of the Guinness Storehouse! We learned how it's brewed, the proper way to savor the flavor, and even poured our own pints!
We settled upon a bar to enjoy dinner and the Real Madrid game (HALA MADRID, winners of the Champions league!), then waded through the rainy neighborhood until we found a bar with live music and standing room. After sitting up on a quieter loft and enjoying the life music below (The Irish LOVE "Take me Home" and "American Pie"?"), an Englishment next to us asked if we were there alone, and before long, Shelby and I had become the two newest members of his bachelor party celebration. We danced Irish Jigs, we laughed, we sang way too loud, wasted way too much lipstick (long story again), and had the time of our lives. Ireland, you're my type of place. I hope to return one day to appreciate the countryside, but Dublin blew me away.
Because our flight left Dublin at 5:30am and we didn't arrive at the airport until a little before 4am, (plus the flight was freezing), I didn't get much sleep. This Sunday has been a much much needed relaxation day before classes start again tomorrow. Week #5, here I come, but don't feel the need to fly by so quickly! :)
