Travels: Barcelona and Dublin

Sorry this has been a while coming, but I figure that means I am out living life instead of sitting at a computer all day every day just writing about it.

So Barcelona being my first trip out of France, it was definitely an eye-opening experience. It seemed to me like a giant tropical party compared to Paris. Although I loved visiting, it was funny to me that after a while I felt a little "homesick" for Paris (and for a language that I could understand). It was a beautiful, beautiful city, and I would say this whether there were palm trees there or not (palm trees do make things soo much better). I saw a lot of the greener aspects of the city, including Park Guell, which as a breathtaking view of the city nestled in these mountains overlooking the Mediterranean. At night, we walked along the beach next to all the clubs that attract many of the American students "studying" here (not Abby, of course). Aside from that major difference, the rest of the city was an interesting contrast to Paris, being a lot smaller and for the most part a lot newer. I had a wonderful tour guide give me the history of the older, almost claustrophobic parts of the city, which date back to the ancient Roman Empire. Apparently the Catalans were walled in by the Romans, and so couldn't expand their city for centuries. Finally, only about 200 years ago they were allowed to build outside the wall. As a result, most of the architecture is art-nouveau, aka really recent. It is kind of cool to say that I was in Barcelona during (and that I witnessed) the building of the massive cathedral Sagrada Familia (which looks a lot like a drip castle, I have to admit). I do think Gaudi must have taken a page out of Dr. Seuss's book for some of his buildings.

I was excited to go to Dublin not only because I am largely Irish but because I wanted some more stamps in my passport (everything else is in the stupid Schengen region). Dublin again was a refreshing contrast to what I've grown accustomed to in Paris: smaller, like Barcelona, but it seemed to me a lot less European. Grafton Street (the most famous tourist stretch) was just as I'd imagined / heard it would be, cute, cobblestones, little shops and bars. Temple Bar was also a picturesque Irish emblem, and I couldn't pass up trying a Guinness (very creamy, and not served warm). We also saw Trinity College, a beautiful little park that looked amazing with newly fallen leaves yet still green grass, and the Jameson Distillery. What I and all of my friends who had come with me from Paris were thrilled about especially was the fact that we could get a bagel toasted with cream cheese for breakfast! I hadn't thought much about missing bagels, with the whole "amazing baguettes/ bread" thing in Paris, but when I had one in Dublin I was reminded how much I love them. However, my favorite parts of the trip were when we took the train for a day to some of the areas on the coast just outside the city, including Dun Leary and Howth. If you picture quintessential Irish countryside with a cool, brisk breeze and cliffs overlooking stunningly blue, clear water, and then throw in a white horse or two randomly grazing in the hills, you've got it. It really takes your breath away, and reminds me why I sometimes feel a little stuffy in big cities. If there is one place I have to go back to in Europe, it is the countryside, especially in Ireland and France. But for now, I guess some famous thousands-of-years-old cities will have to do.