Now that I have returned home from the trip of a lifetime, it’s finally starting to hit me how amazing the whole experience was. I learned so much about myself and how different cultures view the United States and Americans. In my program I made friendships that will last my entire life from people all across the US and even some in Spain. I got to see more in four months than what some may see in an entire lifetime and I am truly grateful and blessed for that opportunity.
Since my last post I went to one of my favorite European cities and that was Prague. I found that city to absolutely enchanting. From the architecture to its incredible history every bit of that city intrigued me. I loved walking around the old city and seeing the Astronomical clock, the Charles bridge, and especially the Lennon wall. And after studying in a tourist city like Barcelona with high prices it was great to be able to go a city that was so affordable! If I did study abroad again I think I would spend it in Prague.
Another one of my trips included going to Madrid. Having spent months in Barcelona I wanted to see what the biggest city in Spain was like. Many people had told me that Barce was totally different from Madrid and they were completely right. Although Barcelona has a population of 1.6 million people it never really feels overwhelming like a major city, but Madrid definitely has a big city vibe to it. There was so much to do and see and I wish I had gotten to spend more time there. The royal palace was absolutely stunning and I cannot believe that it took less than 30 years to build this humongous masterpiece of a palace. Every room had a different purpose and different theme to it such as the porcelain room where everything was made out of porcelain and was used as a changing room to the blue room that had a upholstered walls of blue velvet that served as a waiting room.
One of the trips I was most excited for was Ireland. I always wanted to see my roots and get to see where some of my ancestry had come from and it did not disappoint. Dublin was a blast. I spent so much time just wandering around the streets and at a night I ran into friends from my study abroad in Barcelona and went to Temple bar area to listen to live music and grab a pint of Guinness. One of my favorite memories was sitting in the pub watching the soccer match between Ireland and Scotland and just watching the reactions of everyone inside going crazy over every kick, it was as if I was back home for a second watching a uofl versus uk game. No matter where you go there are always die hard sports fans. I also got to go to the cliffs of Moher which were absolutely stunning. Standing at about 400 feet above the Atlantic Ocean it is definitely a sight to see. There was something calming about watching the waves repeatedly hit the rock over and over while the wind whipped through my hair.
My study abroad experience was one of the best decision I have ever made. I cannot wait to return to Europe and see the rest of the world. I have a list of places to visit and plan on seeing every one of them now. I have the travel bug.