Last 2 Weeks! Spain to Ireland to Home

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I write this last installament of my European vacation, not from a bus, or hostel or train station, but from my parent's living room. I truly enjoyed my 5 months exploring Europe, but I am ready to recharge, relax and spend some time with my family and friends. It'll be nice not to worry about where I'm going to spend the night and how I'm going to get there for awhile!

From Turkey I flew to Barcelona, Spain. I had not originally planned to go to Spain on this trip since I didn't have enough time to do the country justice, but I needed to get back towards Dublin for my return flight and I wanted someplace relatively warm since I really didn't have the gear to survive December in Northern Europe. It turned out to be an excellent decision as this just happened to be the home town of someone I had met earlier while travelling through Scotland. When I contacted her, she invited me to stay at her flat while in Barcelona. Many thanks to Maribel and her roomates Laia and Fanny for their hospitality!
Barcelona is a cool city and felt familiar and relaxing after Turkey. I don't speak Spanish, but recognize many words and most people here speak English so it was a piece of cake! In addition, no one stared at me while I walked around as they did in Turkey. There I was an oddity (lone blue-eyed female), here I was just another American tourist.
I explored the sights of the city based on my host's recomendations, gothic cathedrals, the beach, medieval neighborhoods, but I think my favorite part of the city were the buildings by the architect Gaudi especially the work in process Sagrada Familia. There were also a couple of Christmas markets to help get in the holiday spirit!
I also took a couple of side trips in Catalonia, Monteserrat, a monastary in the mountains for a nice hike, the Pyrennes to see the mountains, but best of all was to the Santa Pau area north of Barcelona. Maribel invited me to join her for a weekend party at the family home of one of her friends in the countryside. The home was a beautifully rennovated farmhouse and it was a great treat to join in for a traditional meal with such warm and welcoming people. Fortunately for me, everyone spoke English and included me in the fun. Before leaving, I even helped introduce the kids to American football! (I think the little boys really like the idea of tackling one another!) Seeing all the happy folks having fun with their children did make me miss my own family though but I knew it was only going to be a short time before I was home.

After leaving Barcelona, I returned to Ireland for a few days. What at the beginning of the trip seemed foreign and unfamiliar, now felt like home. I can read all the signs, everyone speaks English, this is easy! I went south of Dublin to the Wicklow area and got in some exploring there. I stayed in a great hostel, run by a couple who gave me a ride to a couple of good hiking spots, most notably the beautiful Glendalough area where I got to hike up into the hills through the snow. The long nights were made cosy by the coal burning fireplace and a trip to the pub for some good Craic!

Time to relax and then start planning the next adventure!

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Photos

Glendalough
Herd of deer in the cold....I had on almost every piece of clothing in my pack!

Comments

[Chip]

Welcome Back, Annie!
Happy New Year. Its been great reading about your travels. Hope next year is as fun as the last.....Chip