Kate (Ireland): We're kings among runaways

So my darlings, I just had the best spring break ever. First, Molly was here in Galway for St. Patrick's and we had a blast--went downtown to the parade and the entire city was out and about, crowding every street. It was also my friend Jenna's 21st so we had a lot of partying on our hands. So basically from noon to midnight we traveled from pub to pub drinking and dancing and laughing (all in green, naturally).

The bad news was that my friend Jerad, who was coming with Siobhan and I for break, had a money crisis and decided he had to cancel everything, leaving me alone in Spain for 5 days. Shit. So I had no choice but to get on the 7am bus to the airport with
Siobhan and I began our epic journey to the continent. After an entire day of traveling (planes, trains, buses) we got to Emily's apartment in Freiburg. The next few days we spent walking around exploring, I fell in love with the city. Emily isn't exaggerating when she calls it the best city in Europe. It's a big university town with unbelievable architecture, pastries sent from heaven, exciting bars, and it's basically surrounded by the Black Forest. I also got to practice my sad, minimal German. Ireland is magnificent, but it was fun to be in a place where I never heard English.

After a couple lovely days in Germany, Siobhan, Emily, and some of Emily's friends from her program took an overnight train to Amsterdam. I was shaken awake at the Dutch border by passport authorities and they told me not to go to the coffeeshops (weedhouses) because they don't sell coffee. Then they laughed and walked away. Great way to wake up. Amsterdam was pretty surreal. Aside from the snow, which really pissed me off, the city was really exciting. More canals than Venice! I really dug the canals and the tall skinny buildings, super beautiful. The Red Light district was funny, a mixture of hilarious and creepy...whores, neon lights, weed, tourists. God the tourists. Never seen so many in my life. Anyhow, we spent countless hours lounging in the coffeshops. When we gathered energy and focus together, we did cool tourist things like the Van Gogh Museum, an amazing canal boat cruise, various sex shops, and the Anne Frank House. Siobhan and I parted ways after Amsterdam (she went off to Lisbon to meet a high school friend) so I got on the plane to Madrid. Alone. Scared.

It ended up being wonderful. Madrid totally blew my mind. Warm weather, blue sunny skies, incredible architecture, sculptures and plazas. You can really tell it was a royal city. I felt like a princess in the absolutely perfect El Parque del Buen Retiro, former royal gardens. That was my favorite part of the trip I think, this giant, gorgeous park full of perfect gardens, marble statues, beautiful fountains, a crystal palace..definitely check out my pictures. The best part of the trip was when I was lounging in the sun at the Rey Alfonso monument at the edge of the lake. A middle-aged man was sitting near me and we ended up talking in Spanish for over an hour--basic sentence structures and such, but still, I was incredibly proud of myself and beyond grateful for my five miserable years of studying Spanish. Other Madrid highlights included: the Reina Sofia art museum with a huge temporary Picasso exhibit, window shopping along Gran Via, and meeting a great girl at my hostel who ended up traveling to Toledo with me.

Toledo, where my friend Hilary from the film festival is studying, is one hour south of Madrid. The city was built to be a labyrinth to confuse and dissuade invaders--you can tell. Everything cobblestoned, all the streets tiny and twisty, every building ancient, it was amazing. The area is super hilly, so we would be panting up some vertical sidestreet when someone would yell "coche!" and we'd have to hide in a doorway to let the car pass. Yes, the streets were the width of one car. Anyhow, it was phenomenal to see Hilary and get a feel of old-world Spain. Great paella as well.

Barcelona was the last leg of my journey and by this time I was getting burnt out and lonely. It didn't help that the weather was grey and crappy when I got there and there were creepy men everywhere trying to get my attention. I tried to make the best of it though. Walked around Las Ramblas, the huge main pedestrian thoroughfare filled with street vendors selling everything from flowers to souveniers to birds and chipmunks. I also went to the most wonderful market, La Boqueria--row after row after row of stands selling the most perfect displays of fruit, veg, fish, meat, candy, bread. Took a few pictures, hopefully they turned out ok. I also went on a lovely boat tour around the bay and the coast. The highlight of Barcelona was La Sagrada Familia, the giant cathedral by Barcelona's most important and innovative architect Gaudi. Google it because my pictures don't do it justice. It was amazing from the outside, but I went in an elevator one third of a mile up in the air inside one of the cathedral towers--breath-taking view of the whole city and the ocean and the coast. Perfect. My last night in Barcelona I went out with a bunch of amazing people from my hostel for tapas and a flamenco show (the sexiest thing I have ever seen), this great package deal thing arranged by the hostel for 10 euro. They also filled us up with great sangria and unpleasant Spanish shots. But it was a fantastic evening capped off by a 3 hour "nap" before I got up to go to the airport.

Back in Galway, it really feels like home here. All of my friends are back from their travels as well and we're all so happy to see each other again and share stories and enjoy each other as much as possible as our time winds down. But I think about all you guys a ton and miss you and send you vibes of love from across the Atlantic.