After finals ended, CIMBA arranged for a bus to take us to Venice. There were about 50 of us on the bus and almost everyone was staying at the same hotel in Venice because our flights weren't until the next day. We had one last night to all be together and it was really sad. I was kind of surprised but everyone got so emotional and it was so hard to say goodbye to everyone!
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| Me and Quincy in Venice |
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| Barcelona |
The next day most people left early in the morning to go home but my friend Quincy and I were traveling after and our flight wasn't until later that night. We were a little nervous though because the air traffic control strikes were going on in Spain and that is where we were headed. The days before all flights in and out of Spain had been cancelled. We went to an internet cafe though and were relieved to find our flight was still scheduled. We went into the island of Venice for the afternoon. It was nice to get one last trip there. Once we got back to Venice Mestre, we got on the bus to go to the Treviso airport. We went to go check our bags and mine was fine but then it was Quincy's turn and the lady informed her that her ticket was for the flight the day before. We couldn't believe this had happened. We ran to the ticket desk with a million people in it and panic set in. I think I was more nervous than Quincy. The line was not moving at all and we only had like an hour or so to make it through the line. I went up to the desk and told them our flight was leaving soon and they pulled Quincy up to the front and told people to let her go. A bunch of people STILL cut in front of her which was really frustrating. FINALLY she got to the front and played it off that her flight was cancelled the day before and they gave her a new ticket without question. We were so relieved and it was just in time. We ran through security and to the gate only to find our flight delayed. We were just so glad we made it because I don't know what we would have done otherwise.
Anyway, we landed in Girona Barcelona really late at night and had to take a really long bus into actual Barcelona. By the time we got to our hostel it was almost 3 AM. The next day we got some tapas and started sightseeing. There was so much to see because we only had one day there. We basically did a Gaudi tour of the city. We saw all the important buildings, the church, the park, Las Ramblas, even some entertaining metro rides complete with old men singing karaoke, everything in just a matter of hours. We got some delicious paella and sangria and called it a night.
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| Churros! |
The next day, Tuesday, we had to wake up early and head back to the airport to go to Madrid. We arrived in Madrid in the late afternoon. We were pretty exhausted so we just walked around for awhile and got some more paella and sangria at this really cool place. On Wednesday we took a tour which was okay. Usually we take the free student tours but there weren't enough people so we did a paid one. It was interesting but very different than the free ones. The free ones are geared towards people our age and are a little more appealing. We also got some churros and chocolate which were really good. We walked around some more and took it kind of easy.
The next morning we were both hit by an awful illness. We had to wake up early again and lug all of our stuff on the metro to the airport. It was so crowded and people were not happy with our bags. We got yelled at multiple times and it was really frustrating. We were so hot and I felt like I was going to faint. By the time we got to the airport I was even sicker but we luckily made it to Dublin.
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| Jameson Factory |
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| Candy stand at the London Christmas Market |
When we got to Dublin though all we could do was sleep because we were so sick. After a long nap we went to a pub to get dinner and then just went back to the hostel. It was rough. The next day, Friday, we took the free tour which was interesting but would have been much better if we didn't feel like dying. That is about all we got accomplished that day. On Saturday we were FINALLY feeling better so we went to the Jameson factory which was really interesting. We got to see the process and then try typical Jameson drinks. We also got to compare the taste of Jameson, American whiskey and scotch which was really cool. We went souvenir shopping and walked around in temple bar area. We got some good dinner at this pub. It was nice to be able to eat again! I really liked Dublin and look forward to going back when I feel much better.
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| Abbey Road |
On Sunday our journey was almost over. We flew to London and got to see some of the things we had missed before. We saw the London Eye and went to the Christmas market which was really fun! Then we went to Abbey Road. It was cool because the anniversary of John Lennon's death had just passed and there were some flowers and stuff still out. We didn't have much time and were exhausted so we headed back out to Heathrow where we were staying and got all ready to go home!
