Now that I have been home for over two weeks, I have pretty much re-acclimated to life in the US and the jet lag has subsided. It was a very busy couple of days arriving home right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I had just one day to get my affairs in order before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day took us by storm. It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone after so long.
The response to this blog has been outstanding! I am thrilled that so many of you have been able to join me on this unforgettable experience. I continue to hear of new people who have read the posts, shared the links and even printed out the full edition!! Thanks so much for the interest and concern! It has been fun to write, but also a huge chore. So, for the last time, I will wrap up my semester abroad and bring home all of you who have been stuck in Ireland for a few weeks :)
This past semester has been a whirlwind!! A new university, in a new city, in a new country, on a new continent, surrounded by new faces! The latter turned out to be one of the best parts. While it was fun to share the experience with old friends from SLU, the newcomers made the semester exciting and different - like Freshmen year all over again. I took a Spanish class trip with a busload of perfect strangers and by the end, we were great friends and even stayed close back in Madrid. While there in our hometown, we explored our city, its countless cultural attractions and unique intricacies. I desperately wanted to blend in as a native, but unfortunately that never really happened. I did however manage to master the public transportation system and ultimately made it to the Prado, The Thyssen-Bonamisa, The Reina Sofia and the Sorolla Museums, along with Retiro Park, Parque de Oeste, Templo de Debod, El Rastro Market, Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Cibeles and innumerable other destinations. On top of all that, I saw a movie at a Spanish cine, attended a play at one of Madrid's beautiful theaters, ate chocolate con churros at San Gines, dined at the oldest functioning restaurant in the World, received communion at the Cathedral de la Almudena, and even bought some Euro clothes and got a Spanish haircut to fit the bill. We undoubtedly found some favorite spots to meet our friends in the evenings. Chapandaz, 100 Montaditos, Dubliner's, Maloney's, Pecaditos and El Tigre will be sorely missed, but the painful mornings after our late night outings will not be.
 |
| Dan, Ross, Alex and I eating dinner in our apartment |
 |
| Alex, Dan and I with our señora, Pilar, and house keeper, Cosmina |
We spent our free time incessantly traveling, hitting many of Europe's major countries and most popular cities. After what I counted to be 24 individual flights, 4 bus trips and a handful of train rides, I managed to make it to: Athens and Santorini, Greece; Paris and Versailles, France; Geneva and Interlaken, Switzerland; Roncesvalles, Nevarra, Rioja and País Vasco, Spain; Munich, Germany; Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Segovia Spain; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netzbach, Germany; as well as Dublin, Cork, and Galway, Ireland.
 |
| Map of Europe with visited cities highlighted in red |
The traveling really was a blast, but now that it is all said and done, I have a few conclusions that I have drawn while sitting aboard airplanes for hours on end each and every weekend:
- People are nice: First and foremost, I noticed that people everywhere are genuinely nice and helpful. Despite language barriers and cultural differences, we encountered very nice people and had some unbelievably helpful exchanges with unexpected individuals. From a kind old lady at a bus stop, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain who gave us bus directions and then croissants because, "we looked hungry," to a friendly American couple in Paris who drug us along with them to Versailles when the train system was delayed and we were helpless with our French. Not to mention, the British lady who asked Dan and I for directions in London, and then realized we were all three lost and hopeless, so she complimented our accents and left us each with a friendly hug. The lifesaving Athenian taxi driver who rescued us right out of the shoot, convincing us to change hotels and providing a safer and nicer alternative cannot be forgotten. We found this kindness everywhere we went! It just goes to show that going out of your way just a bit to speak to people and engage them, can result in some surprisingly incredible experiences!
 |
| Our friends and helpers in trying to navigate the Santorini buses |
 |
| Monica and her husband, our Parisian travel guides |
- You get what you pay for: My mom always says this and it is just plain true. A few extra dollars on a hotel or a meal can make a world of difference. The same goes for airfare. There is a reason some of our flights were €50. They drop you off 100 miles outside the major cities, leaving you with 60 bucks and sometimes a couple hours in transportation charges to and from. Often times the thriftiest option is not the best one!
 |
| Our luxurious, budget accommodation in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest |
- Get off the beaten path: Since many of our trips were just a few short days, we were mostly confined to touristy areas in the big cities. However, the times when we were able to veer off the highlighted routes and find unique places that not everyone sees were some of the best. The town of Sóller on the island of Mallorca; Windsor Castle in England; remote beaches in Santorini and small, picturesque villages in Switzerland and Germany were among the most memorable.
 |
| The Red Beach, Santorini, Greece |
 |
| Ujué, Spain |
 |
| biking outside Interlaken, Switzerland |
- Public transportation: is a nightmare! Even though Madrid has one of the best metro systems in the world, being bound to trains and busses was frustrating and tiring. Every other city was even worse. Managing to get to and from airports was the first hurdle, but then navigating cities using metro maps, bus routes and taxi cabs really got old. I have a newfound love for my Explorer and our wide open spaces (with navigable roads) here at home.
 |
| Nuevos Ministerios metro stop crowded on a strike day |
 |
| Navigating Geneva, Switzerland's tram system |
- Cities are loud: Springfield is quiet and I like it like that. Dogs barking, cars honking, ambulance sirens blaring, young Spaniards screaming and enormous glass recycling bins being emptied at 4 AM were the normal sounds echoing throughout our apartment in Madrid.
 |
| Traffic accident, complete with lights and sirens, outside our apartment, Madrid |
 |
| The balconies outside my bedroom where the dogs stood and barked |
- Foreign language skills are invaluable: Having studied Spanish for over 7 years really paid off in Spain. While English is abundant in most major cities it was a rarity in Madrid. The Spanish not only made life easier, but it also allowed to get to know people and hold somewhat real-life conversations, which I could not get enough of. My one wish was that I could add at least Greek, German and French to my repertoire to cover the bases in nearly every place I visited.
 |
| Some Spanish-speaking tourists we met and chatted with in Paris |
- We eat a lot!!: Europeans simply don't. While we are used to scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, coffee and juice for a hearty breakfast, the Spanish nibble on nothing more than a scantily buttered piece of toast and a cup of crapy, instant coffee. We were always starving by 11 and the typical lunch doesn't take place until 2. The cheap baguette sandwiches sufficed for a couple months, until I was simply unable to tear into another loaf of bread. Rough life! However, we were able to find good, hearty food in England and Ireland. We fattened ourselves up on the stews and pot pies while we had the chance.
 |
| Some breakfast sausages and two fish filets - dinner for four! |
 |
| A hearty beef and Guinness stew in Ireland |
- Small world: It really is a small world. Even while galavanting around Europe, we never failed to run into someone we knew, weather another SLU student in Paris or London, friends studying abroad in Brussels or Geneva, or a couple random Americans and even some Springfieldians in Madrid. Truthfully, the 8 hour transatlantic flight seems much less isolating after a period abroad. The gap between the two continents has definitely shrunk in my mind.
 |
| Friends Carly and Courtney in Paris |
 |
| A fellow Springfieldian in Madrid! |
- Always buy souvenirs when you get the chance: I was often called a "souvenir whore" on this trip, which is true. I scoured every city for little nick-nacks to bring home and most certainly postcards to mail to family and friends. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you've received one. In reality, the purchases caused me great anxiety and it never failed that at the last minute in every city I was panicking trying to reach my junk quota. For the record - buy the crap first!!
 |
| Finally got my postcard |
- Baby phones: I could never go back!! We nicknamed our little, Spanish flip phones "baby phones," since at this point, they look like a child's toy compared to our big iPhones and other electronics. The phones were invaluable for communication throughout Europe, but an absolute nightmare for texting on the old-style, number keypad. They were prepaid phones, so it never failed that somehow someone was out of money, charge or reception. On the bright side, those little pieces of junk could hold a charge for weeks on end, something our modern iPhones couldn't even fathom.
- Nothing can replace a good night's sleep: period. We tried so hard to be on the go non-stop, many times waking up really early (or really late, ie. 3AM) to catch 6AM flights, sometimes getting only a couple hours of sleep before a day of traveling or other times virtually none at all. We attempted to fool ourselves into thinking that a few 15 minute power-naps aboard a plane, a "relaxing" bus ride, or a horrendous night's sleep in chairs at an airport would suffice, but it never did!! I only slept in the airport once and will never ever do it again - I'll take a bed every time!
- Once is never enough: Almost every city that I visited during this semester was completely new to me. I had been to both Paris and Madrid once before, and nevertheless the cities felt new and exciting upon returning. Netzbach, Germany is the only place I have travelled to four times now and it undoubtedly feels very comfortable and familiar. From this, I have learned that I am not done and may never be done visiting these incredible places. No matter how many times you stand before the Eiffel Tower, it is breathtaking each and every time. I can only imagine that the same goes for all of the other places I have been. I hope that I will always have the chance to keep going back and that everyone reading this blog will take the time (maybe a whole semester) to visit some of the places I have seen - they are well worth the trip!!
Thanks again!
Hasta luego,
Blake
