Today is May 1st, exactly four months ago I left my home and all that I knew for this beautiful and terrifying experience. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this past 1/3 of a year..
Three weeks ago my sister, Holly, visited!!! It was such a wonderful week of traveling and spending time with one of my best friends. :) She arrived on Saturday, April 2nd, and I took a bus to Dublin to meet her at the airport. I ended up searching frantically for her in the wrong airport terminal, and when I finally did find her she was asleep on her luggage and I realized I had forgotten my passport! One of the stupidest and most expensive mistakes I have ever made because we were to fly straight out of Dublin to Barcelona that evening, and I ended up buying a new ticket the next day just so I could travel back to Galway to pick up my passport. But it was wonderful to see her and we agreed that the most important thing was that we were together, so we took a shuttle into the city and had fish and chips and Smithwick's in a pub. Holly was already in love with Ireland, I could tell, because she kept saying what a magical place it is and how friendly everyone is. It is such a joy to share a place you love with a person you love!
I finally met her in Barcelona the next afternoon after a night of kicking myself for my dumb mistake, but it was good because she got to rest and recover slightly from jet lag. We had tappas in an outdoor cafe and Holly enjoyed using her Spanish and I enjoyed having a translator! Two semesters of college spanish is not enough! We took the metro to my favorite architect's, Gaudi, Sagrada Familia. This beautiful cathedral looks like it's a melting candle with statue scenes from the Bible tucked into its pores. As if the outside wasn't enough to experience, the inside looks like a modern art museum. I was so in love. For something begun in 1883, it is extremely modern and edgy, not to mention its a church. We climbed the towers and took pictures with Holly's new camera. Later we went to the Gaudi park, which is filled with beautiful Gaudi architecture and style. It looks like Candy Land! We had dinner and made friends in our hostel that night.
Monday we saw the beach for the first time and had sangria at an outdoor cafe. My vitamin C/D deprived body was so stoked for the sunshine after months in the rainy Irish weather! We rode a ski lift contraption up to Montjuic, a beautiful castle stronghold. Then we headed to the Boqueria market for chocolates and cafe con leche. We found Holly's favorite Barcelona pub, L'Ovella Negra, meaning the black sheep, where we met lots of Frenchmen. Finally, empinadas at a cafe before bed! I love eating dinner super late, good idea, Spain.
Tuesday we reluctantly left Spain to travel to Dublin and then on to Edinburgh, Scotland! Both of our older siblings had been there before with Ryan living there for a summer, so we immediately emailed them for tips on sightseeing. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, and I felt right at home because it reminded me so much of Ireland only with more beautiful architecture and a thicker accent for me to decipher. We got there quite late so we grabbed some kebabs and went to sleep.
Wednesday we had breakfast at a pie shop around the corner that reminded me so much of Sweeny Todd! We hopped on a hop-on hop-off bus tour and visited Edinburgh castle. We were both so interested in Scottish history so we took our time there learning about Queen Victoria and the legend of the crown jewels. We made reservations at a five-star restaurant called the Witchery, and it was well worth the price! We had a three course meal and a bottle of white wine, it was so fun! The restaurant is located at a point where they used to burn supposed witches, and Holly was convinced it was haunted because we kept hearing water dropping and doors creaking. I highly recommend it. Then we headed back to the hostel for a quick nap and joined our hostel's pub crawl where we made friends with Australians, British, and Americans who were in a study abroad program that travels all over Europe for a semester.
Thursday we took Ryan's and Claire's advice and climbed Arthur's Seat, the highest point in Edinburgh. I have never experienced such windiness! But it provided a great panorama of the city. On our way down we ran into my friend from Galway, Matt, who was traveling around Scotland alone! It was such a crazy small world moment. We had a traditional Scottish dinner at a pub and then took a tour called the Scotch Whiskey Experience where we learned how scotch is made and were able to participate in a tasting. The last thing we did before picking up our luggage and catching our flight to Galway was my absolute favorite - we visited the Elephant House, a cafe where JK Rowling began writing Harry Potter! Aside from that, it is a wonderful cafe and I highly recommend it! We ordered nachos and Scottish cider, it was so good. We took pictures at the table overlooking Edinburgh castle that inspired her to create Hogwarts! At the time, she was living out of her car and could barely afford to order coffee. So inspiring.
Friday I was eager to show Holly my new home! We woke up and hit Galway, with brunch at Buon Appetito, one of my favorite outdoor cafes, and then I introduced her to cheap Irish shopping, she was hooked. We walked down to the harbor and beach where she tried to get some sun and I read my book. I took her to Monroe's for pizza (my favvvvvorite) and then to some of my favorite Irish pubs!
She left Saturday, sadly. I spent the next two days cramming for my Irish language final and planning for my birthday party on Monday, which was excellent.
I love my sister!!!
