Le soleil de février en Espagne

After some traveling, I finally found the sun. It was in Madrid for the two and a half days that I wandered its streets and laid in its parks. It was a refreshingly pleasant 17 degrees Celsius and jacketless weather when walking uphill.

From the moment I sat down in a cafe to finally re-unite with my friends from IH Valladolid, Maggie and Kathrin, I knew I wanted to come back before my time's up in France (and I had barely taken the backpack off my shoulders).

The free bowl of olives and chips on the table tasted so good, acting almost as a flowery lei would welcoming one to Hawaii.

Not concerned with sightseeing, but instead playing the role of weekending madrileñas (at least in our eyes), we strolled the streets, sipped cava, browsed outdoor markets, picnicked in the park, sampled tapas, and actually spoke Spanish. I reveled in trying out my old favorite phrases with Kathrin to punctuate moments of silence on our walks, then later with my old roommate and his band of friends.

The Spanish I had picked up in Valladolid had crawled to the darkest depths of my brain after a few weeks in France and getting it to come out of hiding was surprisingly easier than I thought, though not as gloriously smooth as I would have wanted it to.

Below is a close-up of an exhibit in el Palacio de Cristal in Retiro Park

El Palacio de Cristal

"La Vaca Guernica" The Guernica Cow outside of Retiro Park

My wonderful friends, Maggie and Kathrin, who are too far away!

Book tables in Madrid's Plaza Mayor.

Arch in Plaza Mayor. I love them, because they act as a frame to whatever's happening on either side (even if it is loaded with tourists).

Kathrin and I in the Royal Park.

Egyptian temple donated to Madrid.

Another newly discovered park. This park has its own teleferico that takes passengers to a wooded area with trails. I never realized how much green space lay oustide of Retiro Park. I liked this park because everyone looked so relaxed on the grass taking in the late afternoon rays.

View of Madrid from the teleferico.

This is my "pollo con mole" or chicken with "mole" sauce. A Mexican girl in my French class had described "mole" to us as a sauce made with chilis and chocolate. When we decided to have our last dinner in Madrid at a colorful Mexican restaurant, I had to try it. It got better after each bite.

Plaza Mayor por la noche.

Mi amigas y yo, Plaza Mayor.

Not only did the sun make my weekend a little brighter, but so did the overall demeanor of the Spanish, who are generally loud, open, friendly, and always want to have a good time. Although we didn't see any huge Carnival events, we did see many amusing costumes on a walk home from a late night. One of which was a very scary and very realistic looking Michael Meyers.

Post vacation blues have dimmed slightly, thanks to the still vivid memories of getting my "regular breakfast of 'barrita de tomate' and tea" with Kathrin at our "regular cafe" every morning, the tingle of sun on my face, grass blades in the hood of my coat from our picnic in the park, and of course knowing I have plans to go back.

Conduire à gauche en Irlande

Roundtrip airfare from Grenoble France to Ireland: 35 Euro

Hertz rental car for 7 days: 270 Euro

Informative and thorough tour of Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin: 6 Euro

Three second-hand English books from Galway: 22 Euro

Touring Ireland by car, belting out 'bad' music with G, AJ, and Leslie: Priceless

Renting a car in Ireland was one of our best decisions. Three of us who hadn't driven in a long time gradually found our sea legs and felt comfortable on the left hand side of the road and car in no time. Being on the open road taking in Ireland's beautiful scenery with G's iTrip providing the soundtrack to our holiday was almost more refreshing than the sea air coming off an Irish beach.

After making friends with G's cousin Paddy and friend in Killarney, we hit the road the next morning to conquer the Ring of Kerry. Leslie took the driving reigns and successfully completed the five hour journey, which included stopping to take photos, run on beaches, climb hills looking for sheep, hike around stone forts and of course, lunch in Sneem.

Below: Ring of Kerry map

I like this picture of myself, because I look really happy and the sun is shining on my face.

G and Leslie stretching their legs on the beach after being in the car for a while.

A sun trail on the sand.

Great view of the Atlantic from a hill along the Ring of Kerry.

We found him perched at the top of the hill. He didn't like anyone too close though and started to walk away when I got nearer.

This is Staigue Fort, located at the end of a road one might mistake for a hiking path. It wasn't easy driving "Tilda" our car through these narrow, bumpy roads.

G, Leslie, Sam, and AJ at the entrance to Staigue Fort.

Sam, AJ, and G hiking the top of the wall of Staigue Fort. We (or maybe that was just me) pretended that it was good luck to walk the fort in a complete circle.

Ross Castle in Killarney. If you look closely, you'll see that there's snow on the mountains.

G, AJ, Leslie, and Sam at the lake's edge near Ross Castle. We took a walk out to the castle after finishing the Ring of Kerry.

We arrived to Bunratty Castle a little late, but got a discount on the tickets as long as we agreed to hurry through our tour. Because we were late, the guards had already started locking up rooms, so we didn't get to see much, but got a quick blurb of information from a guide. He described the defense system of the castle and pointed out that spiral staircases were used so that swordfights were less possible.

The blue house in the Bunratty folk park. The guide told us that the old preserved houses on the site were home to different classes of society. You were able to tell who was rich and who was not just by the smell from the fireplace. If the house had a smokier smell, the inhabitants were usually poorer.

Here's the inside of one middle-class house. The kids slept upstairs and if the parents were annoyed with them, they could just remove the ladder, leaving the little ones trapped up there...hehehehehe

The rich, pink house

Inside each house is a piece or symbol of religion. Even the simplest of rooms had a portrait of the Virgin Mary or a statue of Jesus Christ along with a toilet bucket, shoes, a blanket, and bed.

AJ and G in the maze.

The schoolhouse

The great thing about having a car is being able to stop whenever something looks interesting. We saw this Rapunzel-like tower from the road and decided to walk around for a while. Being the only ones there, it was peaceful walking around the cemetery. While AJ delighted in finding a field of baaaing sheep, G and I marveled at the fact that there was no way to get into the tower. There was no door at the bottom. Ladders? Was it really Rapunzel's hair that allowed others in?

The Cliffs of Moher looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean.

We could see the rain coming towards us in sheets. It was only a matter of time before it hit, but the clouds next to the cliffs were beautiful.

There was a puffin colony somewhere, but the puffins weren't in that day, so unfortunately we didn't get to see their adorable faces.

This statue was found in a forest path going towards a cave.

Imagine running into this guy alone at night...

I like the orange tinge of tree branches together with the dark storm clouds.

We met up with G's friend James in Connemara, an Irish speaking region of the country. James is an interpreter and interpreted one of our conversations in English into Irish. It was fascinating. He took us to an isolated area where we were told the sunset was absolutely breathtaking.

Galway Bay in the morning. We walked on the promenade and saw some brave men take a morning dip.

The Fitzmaurice Pub (aka G's family's pub) in Ballinlough. AJ, Leslie, and I screamed with delight when we saw our dear friend's name on the side of the building. Parked up front is our lovely rental car, Tilda.

Leslie pouring a pint of Guinness. G's dad taught us how to pour properly and then we had the opportunity to work the bar for a few hours, serving the locals their (as AJ puts it) "chocolate milk of beer."

Trinity College in Dublin, G's alum and full of tourists. Students actually live in those buildings off to the side.

I was walking around in St. Stephen's Green by myself while the others went to the Guinness Brewery (I had seen it during my first trip to Ireland). Since the four of us had been together for almost a week straight, it was nice to have some alone time in the park to rejuvinate: sitting on a park bench and staring at a fountain for twenty minutes. This red door framed by the trees at a park entrance caught my eye.

Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. The big Swiss window was put in at the end of the hall to create some light in the dark dank halls of the prison. Prison reformers believed that it wasn't good for the already deteriorating mental state of prisoners to be held in a completely desperate, window-less hell-like environment, so the windows were installed to shed some light.

This is the men's wing of the gaol. It looked so familiar to me and then I realized that a film I'd seen, "In the Name of the Father" had been filmed here, along with several others.

This is where public crowds would gather to see hangings from the balcony above.


AJ and I posing with Molly Malone and her cart of fish.

This is one of Trinity's dining halls. Sure beats the ones we had in college. G told us it kind of resembles Hogwart's dining hall in Harry Potter. I could definitely see some decorations, owls flying to and fro, and kids casting spells on one another here. But instead of drinking butter beer, we had soup and sandwiches for lunch.

Even though I'd been to Ireland about two years ago, it was great to go back. This time we had an Irish guide, telling us historical blurbs, helping to translate "the craic" sometimes, introducing us to family and friends from all over the country, and providing us a wonderful place to stay for a few days with cozy fireplaces, home-cooked meals, comfortable beds, and fresh Guinness.