"Oh, The Places You'll Go.."

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Sorry for the delay. The past few weeks have been a little crazy with traveling, being sick (...again), and midterms. In the past three weekends, I have been to Brussels, Dublin, London, Cordoba, and Granada. Let's just say, I am pooped. And that was all before my long trip, but I will update you on those trips. Then, I will make another post about my 9 day adventure.

I have a lot of catching up to do....so let's begin.

• Brussels, Belgium

On my first big trip, my friends and I had a layover in Brussels for 12 hours en route to Dublin. We were pretty tired because we had been traveling for quite a long time. We took a 6 hour bus to Madrid, then, waited in the airport to catch an early morning flight to Brussels. We took a bus into the city from the airport to explore for a little while. Mind you, we came from a very warm Sevilla to a FREEZING Brussels. We were not very well prepared for the cold, but we sucked it up, drank some coffee, and went for a walk.

We did as much of your stereotypical Belgium as we could. Sadly, for breakfast we did not have Belgian waffles, but we ate them for lunch! I do not have a picture of the waffles, but trust me they were delicious and covered in famous Belgian chocolate.  We just had a nice relaxed day walking around the city and trying to stay awake. Then, we headed back to the airport to continue our journey to Dublin.

A random megaphone we found on the street. It reminded me a lot of Horton Hears a Who. 

The famous, old square in the center of Brussels. It was beautiful! 

My friends, Hannah, Kassi, and I in front of the enclosed, glass mall. 

The famous peeing statue. We expected it to be much bigger than this. We almost walked right past it.

• Dublin, Ireland

We were in Dublin almost a month ago! It seems like so long, but it feels like I was just there. Ireland is by far my favorite country that I have traveled to. Some of my favorite memories so far were made in Dublin! This may be a long one so bear with me.

We got into Dublin on a Thursday night. We headed straight for bed as we had an early morning on Friday for a tour in Wicklow. Our tour on Friday was the the P.S. I Love You tour. P.S. I Love You was a movie filmed in Ireland that all three of us love. Our first stop was Wicklow National Park. The park was beautiful and had an incredible view of Guiness Lake. 

This is Guiness Lake. It is called Guiness Lake because it is a similar black color like the beer and owned by the same family that owns Guiness. 

This is the road that appears in P.S. I Love You. 

After Wicklow National Park, we went to St. Kevin's Monastery. The weather was incredibly beautiful that day which made for some fantastic photos.

This is a Celtic Cross in the cemetary. 

When people would seek out refuge in the monastery, they had to touch this stone in order to take shelter in the Monastery.  

These rock fences were almost everywhere in Ireland. 

The stone tower in the monastery. 

I really love these rock fences. 

SHEEP!! 

 After our half-day trip to Wicklow and St. Kevin's Monastery, we hung out in Dublin the Irish way, in a pub. The pub culture in Ireland is very distinct, full of live music and a good time. It was a great way to end a great day.

Saturday, we had an all-day trip to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced like More). They are known as one of the top 10 places to see before you die. On our way to the cliffs, we stopped at many different places. First stop, Dunguaire Castle.

Beautiful day, beautiful country.

Sadly, I do not remember the name of this, but I thought it looked so cool. It was a region just covered in these rock formations. We stopped to see a famous tomb from the Celtic times. 

I am telling you, Ireland is beautiful!!! 

You had to be careful where you were walking or else you could fall and break your ankle. 

This is a tomb.  

Shout out to my brother. Miss you Connor!! This is where we stopped for lunch and had the most amazing chicken tenders.  

It was a little foggy over the cliffs, but they were still so incredible. A breathe taking view that cannot be captured with a camera. 

I found this sign quite amusing.  

HELP!!! I'm falling!!....just kidding.

The Cliffs of Moher appear in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Princess Bride("The Cliffs of Insanity").

On our way back to Dublin, we made a stop along the coast for this incredible view.  

Sunday, we stayed in Dublin and went on a free walking tour around the city. Dublin is a big city, but has a quaint, suburban feel. 

City hall 

The "Spire" sits in the middle of downtown Dublin. 

Dublin was an incredibly beautiful city. Like I said, some of my favorite memories were made in Dublin with incredible company, Hannah and Kassi. The people were so friendly, the city was clean, and it was the beauty of the city and countryside were amazing. I would go back to Dublin or any place in Ireland in a heart beat. I am so thankful, joyful, and beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to visit. 

• London, England

Two days after Ireland, I was off to London. I went by myself to visit a friend from Baldwin Wallace. I left late Wednesday night and arrived to London Stansted airport at midnight. Then, I received a message from my friend that something had come up and would not be able to make until after 3!!!! I kind of went into a little....ok BIG panic. I was going to have to wait in the airport for 3 hours, completely exhausted and all by myself. Come to find out, public transportation had completely worked against my friend, Amanda. She had missed the last bus to the airport by 5 minutes and had to wait until 2:30 to leave for the airport. She arrived at 3:15, then, we had to wait until 6 a.m. for a train. 

It took us 12 hours of traveling from 9p.m. to 9a.m. to make it to her host family's house in Kingston (a suburb of London). We completely crashed when we arrived at the house. With a solid four hours of sleep, we headed into Central London. 

Just Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament behind me. 

The London Eye

A replica of the Globe Theater.

At a very delicious chicken place. 

Sorry, I ate a little bit of my food before a photo. It was a delicious grilled chicken sandwich with pineapple. 

 We stayed out all day as public transportation is quite expensive and I was really excited to be in London. 

That night we headed out to the London Eye to see the city  lit up. 

Big Ben from the top of the London Eye. 

Stereotypical telephone box picture in front of Westminster Abby. 

 Friday, we spent the day in Kingston. We did some shopping at the mall. We went to a store that had an American food section!! I was in heaven with Reeses cups, mac n' cheese, and peanut butter galore! It was all very expensive, but I had to buy something. An English started laughing. We turned to her and she says, "Americans...in the American Food Section! That is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I should take a picture!" I purchased some Sour Patch watermelons for $5. It was worth it.

A Lindor Truffle the size of my head!

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Big Ben during the day.

In front of the Queen's guards building. 

We went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards.

Changing of the guards. It was really neat!

I tried really hard to climb the monument. I am midget size and it was quite difficult. Eventually, I made it up there. 

Trafalgar Square Fountain.

 After freezing our booties off watching the changing of the guards, we went to Madam Tussauds Wax Museum. We didn't have high expectations for the museum, but ended up being really interesting and we had a great time!!!

Oh, hey, George Clooney!

Hanging out with the Beatles. 

We didn't have the chance to go to Abbey Road, but I saw the bus that goes there!

Off to Hogwarts! Adios!

Sunday, we slept in before I had to head back to Sevilla. 

• Cordoba and Granada

The weekend after London, I was off to Cordoba and Granada with my study abroad organization. Friday, we were in Cordoba to visit the Mezquita (mosque). Spain has many moorish, or Arabic influences, especially in their architecture.

Cordoba is also known for their very beautiful flower pot arrangements they put out during the Spring and Summer.

My friends and I eating lunch outside the Mezquita. 

Friday night, we left for Granada. We woke up Saturday morning and headed for the Alhambra. It is one of the most visited places in the world! It was royal palace created by the moorish people. The architecture was just beautiful and the view of Granada incredible. 

It was a nice, relaxing adventure with my friends. It was the most exhausting three weeks, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. So incredibly thankful! Can't wait to tell you about my 9-day adventure! Next blog post! 

Traveling really wears you out. 

Thank you for supporting my dreams and sending all of your positive thoughts and love my way,

Courtney

P.S. Hoppy Easter! Wish I could celebrate with you!