Hello family,
In less than a month I will be back in the US and I look forward to seeing all of you! Spain has been amazing and I know my departure will be incredibly bittersweet, I had been feeling a little homesick, 18 weeks is a long time to be away, but it was countered by the lovely arrival of my mother on the 13th of April.
My mom finally got here after a very difficult and confusing plane ride but managed to catch the bus and ride swiftly into town on her own where I was waiting for her. She brought me American food, peanut butter, and we headed down to the school cafeteria so she could grab a snack and see where I attend classes and meet some friends.
She enjoyed her first café con leche, our traditional Spanish coffee, and didn’t like her pincho or chicken sandwich. Thus began the two days of Sally barely eating and not enjoying Spanish food. After meeting friends it was finally time to take her home to meet the Spanish parent. We met Amparo outside her house on her way to the grocery store and they exchanged dos besos, two kisses on the cheeks as Mom had practiced earlier, it was flawless. After we moved up into the house, Amparo had given us her room for the two days so we could have the big bed and both fit. Mom didn’t sleep at all on the plane so she was beginning to act a little loopy. When Amparo got back she gave her gifts of chocolate and a silver bracelet from Mexico. She loved them.
Lunch that day was a garbanzo bean stew, typical of Spain, and Amparo had her grandkids and daughter over to join us. Her daughter Marion speaks English so it was nice to have her to converse with my mom, she refuses to speak to me in English so this was the first I had heard of her British accent. Mom was a trouper and afflicted with false Spanish confidence. She confused the language barrier with deafness and often shouted incorrect simple Spanish phrases, it was hilarious. But Amparo was thoroughly impressed with her vocabulary skills and ate it up.
After a short nap it was time to hit the city. We headed out for the pisto, or a walking trail that travels along a mountain. The trail has great views of the surrounding mountains and of the entire city. There are also a lot of stray farm animals running around a bunch of old people getting their exercise on. After we went on a tour of the city, joined by my friend Corinne, and we showed her all the major spots like where we play ping pong, go to church, and different strange statues.
We made it back to Amparo’s around eight then surprised her by taking her out to dinner, I expected to go out for a quick bite then go to bed early since Mom was so tired, but alas we rolled home around midnight after a 3 hour dinner of more Spanish shouting and a lot of translating. I was exhausted. The next day I still had three classes from 12-3 so I took my mom to meet Carries mom and we dropped them off in the typical Thursday open market. When we returned three hours later to pick them up they were sitting in a café tossing back beers.
Amparo has theater class on Thursday so she wanted us to come home for a final lunch prepared by her. We had ternera or baby cow and once again brokenly communicated for an hour. After packing and preparing for our early morning, 5 a.m., departure the next morning I took her on a final tour of Oviedo. We met up with my friends around eight for a Donar Kebab dinner, like a gyro and finally Sally was happy with the food. After we wanted to show her the Spanish night life so we met our coordinators Luna and Paula on sidra street and Sally tried her first sidra and we ate sea snails, you literally had to pull them out of their shell with a tack. After we headed to ciceros another good bar for desperados a delicious tequila beer then to bar campa for mahou, another beer, and for my friends to buy my mom a tequila shot. It was off to bed around one that night and we were very excited for the next morning.
The next morning sweet Amparo insisted on driving us to the bus station at 5:30 am then we caught our flight to Barcelona around 830 am. We didn’t leave Barcelona for Dublin till around three then we finally arrived in Ireland around 5. Sally didn’t even get scared on the sketchy airline, I was so proud.
In Dublin we rented our car and the real adventure began. Driving on the left side of the road in the biggest city in Ireland is very, very intimidating. But Mom was amazing we worked as a pretty good tag team, me navigating and instructing, her working pedals and wheel. We made it to our bed and breakfast in one piece and decided to hit the famous Temple bar area for dinner. Food and beer were delicious, well the cider beer I had was good, I can’t do that heavy stuff. But we ate and laughed and were teased by the local Irish people. Then we walked around a bit and found another bar called the poets corner. Inside mom was hit on by a bunch of old Irish men and we enjoyed listening to traditional live Irish pub music and all the drunken men sing along around us. We went to bed about 12 that night and we were up for our free breakfast around 8:30.
Carrie had broken her pants the night before so she and her mom wanted to do some shopping before we hit the road. Mom and I decided to go to Trinity College, the oldest college in Ireland, where my grandpa had visited and knew the president very well. The campus was beautiful and she took many pictures for the grandparents so they could reminisce on their last trip to Ireland. The buildings were beautiful and the grass very lush and green. Finally around 11 it was time to hit the road, we were headed for the crosses of St. Stephen in beautiful Glendalough. The drive there was absolutely gorgeous through these windy country roads, the back seat got car sick. The crosses of St. Stephen are monastic ruins located near two gorgeous lakes and nature trails. We spent time walking through the old graveyard and ruins and found the name McHugh on a few head stones, my mom’s maiden name. Then it was time to hike to the lakes where we had gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and more ruins to visit.
That night we arrived in Kilkenny for our next bed and breakfast visit. The owners were incredibly nice and helpful. They have even been on many of the American talk shows because the woman is a genealogist and they travel to San Diego every year to be the Irish representatives at the St. Patricks day festival. That night we wandered around the city, the touristy things had closed but we observed the cathedral and castle from the outside, determined to visit them the next day. That night we enjoyed another delicious meal and stayed out at a pub till around midnight talking and listening to more Irish music.
The next day was palm Sunday so we headed to mass at the cathedral. They use tree branches for their palms and when we went to take some a little Irish boy yelled at us in his accent, “Those haven’t even been blessed yet.” Mass flew buy in 52 minutes and afterwards and old woman apologized to us for it taking so long, she said if it goes over an hour everyone walks out. After mass we headed over to the castle so our moms could enjoy their first castle tour. We self guided ourselves through the many rooms and saw old furniture and painting. The lawn is extensive and now serves as a park. Across the street were the ancient stables and behind another mansion home belonging to the family with a wonderful garden and everything covered in vines.
Our next stop that day was the rock of Cashell. The Rock of Cashell are huge old church ruins up on a hill that overlooks the entire countryside. The Rock dates back to 300 A.D. and is where St. Patrick baptized King Aengus in 450 A.D. We used Rick Steves to guide us through the ruins and learn all about their history and purpose. The rock has a crazy history of war and religion. After touring the ruins we ended up in a farmer’s sheep area, getting rather close and personal then did some final shopping before heading to the Blarney castle.
Much to our surprise we arrived at the Blarney castle, after getting terribly lost only to find it closed for the day. After bitterly wandering around for a while we decided to press on to Cobh our next Bed and Breakfast city about 40 minutes away. Cobh is a small marina town on the southern coast and was the last stop of the titanic before it ventured out into the Atlantic and sank. Our bed and breakfast owner was an adorable old man who spoke with a very heavy and sing-songy brogue. We later found out that all people from Cork are difficult to understand. We wandered around the city finding different memorials and visited the giant Cathedral. We enjoyed another delicious dinner then headed to a pub for more Irish music and some chit chat with the locals. The next day before we headed to our next stop we decided to visit the heritage center and tour the titanic museum. The museum actually encompassed many great ship sinks and the potato famine, so information was bountiful.
Our next stop was Killarney, or the top of the Ring of Kerry. We had originally planned to drive the ring of Kerry but after reading about the small roads and huge tour buses, we decided we didn’t want to compete for road domination. We stopped at the top of the ring to visit the national park and see the Muckross house. The Muckross house is an old, beautiful, mansion that is completely decorated and in original condition. We enjoyed an amazing tour of the house, in which the guide told us every time of wood used to make every piece of furniture. It made me excited to marry rich and have a mansion constructed in my honor amongst lakes and mountains. After touring the gardens and exterior it was time again to hit the road and head for the dingle peninsula.
In dingle we stayed at a Rick Steves suggested bed and breakfast and our hostess had pictures of him and had met him, and five sisters, his neighbors and employees were actually staying there that night too. We got to meet them the next morning at breakfast and learn about the travel journalist process and lifestyle. We decided to drive the Rick Steve’s Dingle loop and encountered old fort ruins, the ocean, the western most point of Europe, abandoned churches, graveyards, squatters in churches, beautiful cliffs, and many encounters with the curb. In one set of church ruins/graveyard, the church of Kilmalkedar, we found a huge ogham stone that has been there for over 900 years that has a morse code ogham script and has a hole drilled into it where people would come to seal the deal by touching thumbs through the hole in front of God and their ancestors. That night we ate dinner at Murphy’s, then Carrie, Mom, and I headed out to the pubs where Mom tried to get us to meet Irish men, fail.
The next morning over our pleasant breakfast we were informed we had a flat tire, driving on the wrong side is harder than it looks. It set us back about two hours and forced Mom and I to cut the Cliffs of Moher out of our itinerary. We dropped Carrie and her mom off in Limerick so they could rent a car and head over while we set off for Belfast to meet the family. I called Grace, our cousin informing her of our where about and she expected to see us around 9 p.m. When we crossed over into Northern Ireland it occurred to us that our Euros would no longer work and we needed Sterling, or pounds. Also all the road signs changed from km/h to mi/h which would have been all fine and dandy but our car only reads km/h. So needless to say they were a little surprised when we arrived at 6:30 a speedy two and a half hours early.
That night Grace’s boyfriend Paul made us a delicious dinner and we spent the evening meeting family members and going through old pictures of when Grace had visited in St. Louis and when my grandparents and great grandpa had ventured over to Ireland. Uncle Archie, a popular name in the family, loved talking about my great grandfather David Archie and had hilarious stories about their different adventures and shenanigans in Ireland. The whole family, basically, lives on the same farm, and they each have their own house, like a neighborhood. There are barns, sheep, and cows everywhere.
The next morning it was time to hit the sights of Northern Ireland. On our way to Grace’s sister Anne’s Bed and Breakfast we stopped off to admire nature and a beautiful waterfall. Breakfast was delicious then it was back in the car to visit the rope bridge. We drove a winding scenic road along the sea, I think Mom was excited to be a passenger and finally relax and enjoy the scenery. We passed sheep farm after sheep farm after sheep farm. Finally we made it to the rope bridge. This old rickety bridge attaches the main land to a small island where people would come to fish. It was right against the cliffs of Ireland and shook a lot in the wind. I enjoyed jumping the first time across to scare my mom, but then on the second time it was so winding the bridge shook itself and she didn’t believe me when I told her I didn’t do it. Because there is so much rain in Ireland the ground is always oversaturated and literally soft and bouncy to walk on, and always very, very green!
After the bridge we were off to our next stop, the Dunluce Castle. This castle was huge and beautiful. The roof and a lot were missing but you could still make out a lot of rooms and their purpose. Also they let you climb all over it and you could go up into the towers and look out over the sea. The castle is build on a small island that juts out from the main land and has a cave underneath were they could keep ships for battle. After the castle Grace took us to her favorite restaurant and it honestly was the most delicious food I have ever eaten. Irish food was a wonderfully sweet reminder of home.
Finally the climax of the day, it was time to visit Giant’s Causeway. Giant’s Causeway is a geologic marvel and a world heritage site. Tall hexagonal basalt pillars line the coast and supposedly were formed some volcanic eruptions over 60 million years ago with the quick cooling and crystallization of the lava. There is a legend that goes with the site that says Finn MacCool a warrior wanted to reach his love on the close Scottish Island, back then the causeway stretched all the way to Scotland, he ran across and rescued his love but the giant in Scotland was mad so he came to Ireland. Finn and his love knew he was coming to they laid a trap, Finn pretended to be his loves baby and when the other warrior giant came and saw Finn as a baby he grew fearful of the size of the father and ran back to Scotland tearing up the causeway as he fled.
There are about 10 different versions of the story but that one is my favorite. We were able to hike down and along all the pillars that stretch into the sea. It was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever seen; obviously I took a small sample. After the causeway we headed back to Grace’s house to layer up before we watched the towns Camogie match, in which you slap people and a ball with sticks trying to get it through the net or above. Grace is an All-Ireland-Champion Camogie player and we got to meet her coach and watch as they observed their competition.
After the game a big family dinner was prepared and a family tree brought to the house. We met even more relatives and solved the mystery of how far back we were related. The food was delicious and I was unable to get over how much I enjoyed Irish accents, especially when I got to translate the brogue to my hard-of-hearing mother!
The next morning, Thursday morning, we woke up to a lovely breakfast outside. Ireland is known for being rainy but we lucked out with a sunny rain free visit. After breakfast we hoped in the back of a pickup and ventured to the top of the family mountain so we could hike down and see the land. We drove through thousands of sheep the whole time pinning the sheep dog to the bed of the truck. They have a few windmills at the top of the mountain that were being worked on so Grace tried, relentlessly, to let me go up in one, but we ultimately failed since I “wasn’t allowed.” We decided to keep hiking down back to their house through the marshy ground and hoping over barb wired fences. They also dig up the peat on the land and sell it as fire wood since wood isn’t as plentiful in Ireland.
When we made it back down we hoped in the car and shipped off for trail horseback riding in the Irish hillside. English saddles, and riding techniques are very different than western style. The saddles are tiny and a little bit more difficult to stay on. Our young guides took us up on the trail and made us trot through different areas. Mom’s horse kept stopping to eat and use the restroom, or continuously tried to cut in line. After about a 45 butt aching ride they let Grace and I canter in the barn and I thought I was going to fall off.
After riding it was back to the house for a quick lunch then we had to hit the road. We decided that instead of trying to navigate Dublin again, we would drop the car off a day early and bus to and from the airport. Our Bed and Breakfast that night was right up the street from our one the first night so we already knew how to navigate town. We did some last minute souvenir shopping then headed for our final dinner where we remained late into the evening. We were up early the next morning and I dropped a very sad mommy off at the airport. When I got back to the B&B I ate breakfast and began my 24 hours alone in a foreign country.
I set off to see the sights around ten a.m. and was finished with everything Dublin had to offer by 1 p.m. I ventured to St. Stephens green a huge park in the middle of the city and sat, people watched, and read. I found the Dublin Castel and explored the old walls and ancient statues. I found the famous Christ Church Cathedral and explored the old architecture and ruins. Next I found St. Patricks Cathedral, which I still am not sure if it is Protestant or Catholic, and explored their beautiful gardens there. Then I was back up at Trinity College and I went on a historic campus tour and visited the book of Kells, or the famous manuscript for the Dark ages. That afternoon I decided to see a movie at a theater, it would be in English so double plus, and I saw Your Highness (not worth the rent) alone. The B&B had English T.V. so I was content with watching some of my favorite shows once again!
The next morning I was up and off to the airport after breakfast. Southern Spain was having terrible weather over holy week which is unfortunate since most of the Easter processions were outside involving parades. The plane ride in was very bumpy and when I landed it was pouring rain. Eventually I was able to meet up with Carrie and her mom at our hostel and they signed us up for a Flamenco show that night.
The performance was incredible. Flamenco is all about passion and suffering and the dancers faces always looked pained, plus they were moving their feet a thousand times a minute so they were pained and covered in sweat. The bad was a fat man who sang like he was having a heart attack and a skinny little guitarist. They demonstrated different types of Flamenco and she changed outfits a few times. After the show we walked around, ate some ice cream and visited the cathedral as they were preparing for the Easter Vigil Mass. The huge cathedral, did I mention Guinness book of world records, largest in the world Cathedral, was dark and people were flooding in for baptisms, communions, and confirmations.
The next morning we were up early and standing in front of the Cathedral watching the processions of people in KKK like uniforms carry candles and floats of Jesus and Mary into the Cathedral. Different sects have different decorations but the standard robes were white and black in color. The whole thing was incredible, the we ventured to the back door to watch the processions head out of the church and through the streets celebrating the resurrection .The Cathedral mass was 2 ½ hours long, but it was absolutely beautiful. They had a choir and about 40 priests on the altar celebrating with the bishop.
After mass we went out for an Easter lunch and after Beth, Carries mom, decided she wanted to take a horse and carriage ride through the city. Our buggy lead us all through Sevilla, traveling on major road ways, to the plaza de Espana where they held the 1929 international fair and it house an absolutely gorgeous palace that you could walk around then. The park surrounding it was basically a tropical paradise and reminded me of a forest from Florida or Mexico. We dropped Beth off at the airport and Carrie and I enjoyed a delicious dinner from an Italian restaurant and watching movies on her laptop.
The next day our overnight bus didn’t leave till around 8:30 p.m. so we spent the morning touring and exploring the huge cathedral. We then hoped park benches throughout the city and got lost in the many winding roads. The ride home took forever but alas we rolled back into Oviedo around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Spring break and Easter were definitely out of the ordinary this year but they were incredibly fun and exciting. I am entering my last month of study abroad and I can’t believe how fast time has flown! I am off to Barcelona tomorrow for my final big trip in Spain. I decided I wanted to spend my last few weeks touring Oviedo, hiking etc, also everyone is pretty broke now! I’ll leave you three links with a bunch of pictures for the trip and I’ll post about exciting Barcelona next week sometime! Miss you all!
Sevilla - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150245727155129.366272.563560128&l=768b0f5a7e
Ireland part one – http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150243916885129.365153.563560128&l=00d7bac296
Ireland part two - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150244767595129.365947.563560128&l=5efff6eb23
Things I learned in Ireland:
1. Catholics vs. Protestants is still very much an issue.
2. Baby lambs can get terrible diarrhea that is dangerous to their health.
3. Your future is decided in sixth grade with an aptitude test to see if you will go on to the university or a vocational school.
4. In Northern Ireland the government tells you how many stories, and how big your house can be.
5. Roundabouts can be tricky.
6. The titanic was built in Belfast.
7. Craic means to have a good time.
8. You can see old abandoned churches, castles, and forts just by driving down the interstate.
9. Irish people are the most sarcastic, witty people I have ever met; I strive to be like them.
10. Car sickness is inevitable.
