Week 8: Storm Emma

/in

It seems as though I brought a little bit of Minnesota to Ireland this past weekend. The whole country went into Code Red shutdown as Storm Emma and the Beast from the East pummeled the land with snow. In reality, we only got a few inches, but to an Irish person, this was unheard of. All of the bread disappeared from grocery stores as people stocked up and NUIG cancelled college for Thursday and Friday. Snowball fights and snowmen littered Galway as most shops closed up for the storm. I was just happy to see some snow. My friend Adrienne and I built a snowwoman named Patricia outside my house, but she didn’t last very long! All of the snow has already melted to reveal the green grass and daffodils underneath.

While I am thankful the weather gave me a few days off of class, it also wrecked some plans. On Sunday my ISA group was scheduled to visit the Cliffs of Moher, but an hour into the bus ride we received a phone call saying that the cliffs were closed. In order to not waste a trip, we stopped in The Burren to see the limestone plateau. There I was still able to sit on the edge of a cliff and gaze across the ocean. The limestone was such a unique feature, and we were able to explore as much as our cold feet and fear of heights would allow us. Ireland is full of such beautiful landscape, but it is nice to know that staring across the ocean, I am looking toward home.

Week 7: Rome

/in

My weeks 5 and 6 were pretty normal with just school and soccer – plus spending a lot of time in bed with a fever – so I have saved my blog writing for something more exciting: Rome. This past weekend my roommate Ruth and I took a total of 4 buses and 5 planes to visit the Eternal City. I have never been one to choose the urban setting, but in just 48 hours I fell head over heels in love with Rome. On Saturday morning we started our sightseeing at the Colosseum. It is one of those places that no matter how hard you try, pictures just cannot do it justice. It was so amazing to walk down a normal city street and spot the Colosseum standing tall and mighty right beside the metro station. You are living in the modern world but inside you are standing on almost 2,000 years of history.

After the Colosseum, we explored the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, also known as Old Rome. The paths were never-ending and everywhere I turned was another fallen column, beautiful ancient building, or statue. But that was only the beginning of the Eternal City. We left Old Rome to find lunch and explore the slightly more modern Roman beauties. Again it was as though everywhere you turned was another beautiful structure; an obelisk, a fountain, a statue, the Spanish Steps, or the Pantheon. And in between all of these are narrow streets full of shops and pizzerias. My absolute favourite part was the Trevi fountain. Ruth and I visited it three times during our 48 hours in Rome. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to throw in a few coins. I could have spent hours by the Trevi fountain eating gelato and watching hundreds of tourists throw coins and take pictures.

On Sunday we visited Vatican City. Again it was simply incredible to see the amount of marble and intricate artwork that is in Rome. I did not see Pope Francis but I certainly did see more than enough statues of previous Popes. From the Vatican, it was just a short walk over to the Tiber River which has the most elaborate bridges I have ever seen. There were almost as many statues on the bridge as street vendors.

Walking around the city we stumbled upon a gorgeous view of Rome looking out at the Piazza del Popolo. I have grown so accustomed to the rain from Ireland that hopping over a few puddles to get this picture was no problem at all. Every part of the city surprised me with something beautiful. Rome is a city that I will not soon forget.