SCOTLAND
November was a month jam-packed with European travel... and to some of the most wonderful places! At the beginning of the month I took a long weekend trip to visit Judy and Jim, some family friends of ours that live in Scotland. It was so nice getting to catch up with them while also seeing what life is like living in Scotland. They were such gracious hosts, and gave me the full on Scottish experience!
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| There were sheep eeeeeverywhere. Baaaa! |
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| Driving through the countryside |
The first day I was there, they took me on a trip through the countryside to see some of the "lochs" of Scotland and some of the most beautiful views. The whole country is absolutely gorgeous, especially at the time I went, when all of the leaves were changing colors and I actually got to see what Fall looks like! We mostly spent time driving around to see things- first through the University of Stirling campus, then through the countryside. We made a pit stop at Doune castle, and a few more at some lochs, including Loch Lomond and Loch Venachar. All of them were so beautiful! Later that night Judy made us a classic Scottish dinner of haggis, neeps, and tatties (look up what it is if you dare) and Jim had me try some of his favorite traditional Scottish Whisky. Puts some hair on you chest, that stuff does!
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| Doune Castle |
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| Loch Lomond |
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| Loch Venachar |
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| Haggis, anyone? |
The next day was dedicated to exploring their home town, Stirling. I really loved the area! The city is so cute and home-y feeling and beautiful with all of the trees and green everywhere. Their house is also in the perfect location- it is just around the corner from the Stirling Castle, and their living room has the most spectacular view over the city! From the back window you can see the River Forth winding through the whole city and all of the beautiful mountains in the background. We usually had tea time a few times a day, and it was so nice to sit there and look out the window and drink in the view! In the morning before heading out, Jim made me a traditional Scottish breakfast to try a bit of everything- venison sausage, lorne sausage, fried egg, fruit pudding, black pudding, and bacon. It was sooo much food and I was a little nervous to try some of it (black pudding...) but it was all actually pretty good! Then we went and explored the Stirling castle before grabbing meat pies for lunch. Loved those! Later that night they also took me to get fish and chips (classic) and to some Scottish pubs in the area. My favorite was Settle Inn- the oldest pub in Stirling! It was pretty cool drinking in a pub that's actually older than America itself.
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| Stirling! |
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| River Forth |
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| Eating my Scottish breakfast! |
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| Jim, Judy, and myself at the Settle Inn! |
For my last day there, we went to explore Edinburgh- the capitol of Scotland. It was great having Jim there to take me around, because since he grew up there, it was almost like having my own personal tour guide! He knew practically everything about the city from which buildings used to be whisky factories to when everything was built. It was cool hearing about the history of the city and how it has changed from when he was a boy growing up there. We first took a stop near the water to see the Forth Bridge, went through the area of Leith, and drove through parts of Edinburgh before walking up to Calton Hill to get a wonderful panoramic view of the entire city and of Arthur's Seat. Then later I went to explore Edinburgh castle for a bit- It's so big, and there is so much history! My favorite part was seeing the dungeon and the crown jewels. I loved my time in Scotland- it's SO beautiful, and it was actually pretty nice being back in a country that speaks English! ;) I would love to go back there again.
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| Forth Bridge |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Classic |
IRELAND
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| When in Ireland... |
Two weeks after my trip to Scotland, I took another weekend trip to that part of Europe to visit Ireland with my roommate Kelsey and our two friends Courtney and Kristen. We had so much fun! Ireland was one of the places on the top of my list of places to visit in Europe, and it did not disappoint! Ireland has such an interesting (and somewhat funny, in an ironic sense...) history as we learned from our tour guide while going around the city of Dublin. Basically, the gist of Irish history is that they tried to fight for independence from Britain on several occasions, most of the time ending with people showing up at the wrong time, or to the wrong place, or the fighting force was made up of only a handful of armed farmers and the castles ended up getting taken over by the British again hours later anyways... but, like the little engine that could, they did eventually gain independence in the 1916- except that the North part is still part of the United Kingdom... but that's a whole different story. Anyways, some highlights of our time in Dublin include visiting Trinity College, going to an Irish Pub, visiting the Guinness factory, and sipping Irish Coffee (my new favorite thing ever) while window shopping. It was a nice and laid back trip yet so much fun!
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| Out and about first night in Dublin! |
After that, we went on to our next stop- the Cliffs of Moher! I soooo loved getting the chance to go there- it was absolutely gorgeous. The time of day was also perfect- just before sunset, so we could see what the Cliffs look like with the sun shining down on them, and then also when it starts to sink behind them, making the sky oh-so beautiful and the reflections on the water really spectacular. The weather was finicky- it kept switching between clear and sunny skies to rain and hail. But it was still fabulous regardless. Plus, the rain gave us a lovely rainbow to admire alongside the cliffs! Only down side is that I may or may not have slipped down a muddy slope getting my pants all soaked and dirty... But it was pretty hilarious and worth it none the less. After the seeing the Cliffs we made a pit stop at the ocean in County Clare for some great views and then one more in the city Galway for dinner before heading back. Although the countryside day trip ended up cutting our time in Dublin one day short, it was absolutely worth it, and was my favorite part of visiting Ireland! :)
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| Cliffs of Moher! |
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Me, Kristen, and Courtney! Note the rainbow in the back!
(Much better in real life...)
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| I love Ireland! |
BARCELONA
The final trip I took outside of Italy was over Thanksgiving weekend with Caitlin to Barcelona! It wasn't your traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but I'll take it! I missed being home with the family, but seeing Spain was best possible runner up!! And it was so wonderful getting to spend the holiday celebrating with one of my best friends! The first thing we did when we got there was get some paella- what else?? It was delish. During the day, we walked down Las Ramblas and all around the part of the city near the water and the marina- the weather was SO nice. And we also took a walk around a nearby park that was on a hill overlooking the city. It was so pretty! Our thanksgiving dinner that night was some of THE best Mexican food ever at a cute place called Rosa Negra. (Mexican food was being missed by everybody at this point, since there is a severe lack of it in Italy...) and they also had some wonderful mojitos ;)
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| Walk along the water! |
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| Mid-day snack? |
The next day we dedicated to seeing some of the famous architecture by Guadi- and I can absolutely see why it is so famous! First we went to visit the Sagrada Família Basilica- it was absolutely amazing!! I think this may have been my favorite building I have seen my entire time in Europe. After seeing what seems like hundreds of Basilicas and Cathedrals already throughout Italy and other countries in Europe, I didn't think that this one would be much different. But the second we walked up to it, it was easy to see it was SO different, and unique, and unlike anything I had seen before! I took a ton of pictures, but it just doesn't convey all of the intricate details and craft being poured into the building. What makes it so unique also is that it is so modern... it is still being built, and was just barely designed in the late 1800's. That's practically like a newborn baby church compared to all of the others I have seen so far! It is really cool seeing the work in progress, too... in some parts you can tell what still needs to be done- like inside of the building, you can see only half of the stained glass windows are finished and the rest are plain. We also climbed the steps to the top to get a wonderful view over the city, and a closer look at some of the intricate details at the top of the basilica. It was so wonderful to see! Someday when the basilica is finished (sometime in the 2020's...?) I hope I will have the chance to return and see it completely finished in all its glory!
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The beautiful stained glass windows
made bright colored patterns on the
columns inside the building! |
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| Some of the inside architecture |
Some other of Guadi's architecture we went to see was at Güell Park. It was so wonderful walking through and seeing all of the different footpaths, mosaics, and designs incorporating nature that he came up with. This guy must have had the most creative mind! Other than those two main sight highlights that we saw, we also went to see the Barcelona Cathedral, walked around some Christmas markets, walked up and down Las Ramblas (and got some quality shopping time in), and went to see the Magic Fountain of Montjüic! Overall, the weekend was SO much fun, and a great final trip outside of Italy. I would love to going back to Spain in the summer sometime to visit some of its wonderful beaches and (hopefully!) see the Sagrada Família all finished! I sense I new box being added to my bucket list for the future! ;) Until then, I have just a few days left to enjoy in Italy- my current bucket list endeavor!
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| Some of the market stands on Las Ramblas! |
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| Park Güell |
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Cait and I in front of the Montjüic Fountain!
Coolest fountain show ever... |
The next day was dedicated to exploring their home town, Stirling. I really loved the area! The city is so cute and home-y feeling and beautiful with all of the trees and green everywhere. Their house is also in the perfect location- it is just around the corner from the Stirling Castle, and their living room has the most spectacular view over the city! From the back window you can see the River Forth winding through the whole city and all of the beautiful mountains in the background. We usually had tea time a few times a day, and it was so nice to sit there and look out the window and drink in the view! In the morning before heading out, Jim made me a traditional Scottish breakfast to try a bit of everything- venison sausage, lorne sausage, fried egg, fruit pudding, black pudding, and bacon. It was sooo much food and I was a little nervous to try some of it (black pudding...) but it was all actually pretty good! Then we went and explored the Stirling castle before grabbing meat pies for lunch. Loved those! Later that night they also took me to get fish and chips (classic) and to some Scottish pubs in the area. My favorite was Settle Inn- the oldest pub in Stirling! It was pretty cool drinking in a pub that's actually older than America itself. 
One of the days we were there however we took a day trip across the country to visit the countryside and the Cliffs of Moher. Despite it being absolutely FREEZING outside (at least according to my standards), it was my favorite part of our trip there! We had to meet outside at 7 in the morning, in the freezing cold, where our first tour guide was a bit daft and had us waiting outside for nearly an hour... but it was so worth it! For our first stop, we went to the cutest little 300 year old family farm to get a tour of their land and learn some history about the Irish countryside. The area was beautiful! And there was the cutest, happiest dog running around on the farm that I was about to steal and take with me back to Florence. No joke. I miss my wittle pups! Before we left (dog free), we were all able to go in this cute little cottage-like house there to buy homemade cakes and tea and warm up a bit before heading back out again. It was the perfect snack break.
After that, we went on to our next stop- the Cliffs of Moher! I soooo loved getting the chance to go there- it was absolutely gorgeous. The time of day was also perfect- just before sunset, so we could see what the Cliffs look like with the sun shining down on them, and then also when it starts to sink behind them, making the sky oh-so beautiful and the reflections on the water really spectacular. The weather was finicky- it kept switching between clear and sunny skies to rain and hail. But it was still fabulous regardless. Plus, the rain gave us a lovely rainbow to admire alongside the cliffs! Only down side is that I may or may not have slipped down a muddy slope getting my pants all soaked and dirty... But it was pretty hilarious and worth it none the less. After the seeing the Cliffs we made a pit stop at the ocean in County Clare for some great views and then one more in the city Galway for dinner before heading back. Although the countryside day trip ended up cutting our time in Dublin one day short, it was absolutely worth it, and was my favorite part of visiting Ireland! :)
The final trip I took outside of Italy was over Thanksgiving weekend with Caitlin to Barcelona! It wasn't your traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but I'll take it! I missed being home with the family, but seeing Spain was best possible runner up!! And it was so wonderful getting to spend the holiday celebrating with one of my best friends! The first thing we did when we got there was get some paella- what else?? It was delish. During the day, we walked down Las Ramblas and all around the part of the city near the water and the marina- the weather was SO nice. And we also took a walk around a nearby park that was on a hill overlooking the city. It was so pretty! Our thanksgiving dinner that night was some of THE best Mexican food ever at a cute place called Rosa Negra. (Mexican food was being missed by everybody at this point, since there is a severe lack of it in Italy...) and they also had some wonderful mojitos ;)
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