Breaking Up With Your Semester Abroad

It was love at first sight, a whirlwind adventure.  It was long walks along the beach and late night churro dates.  It was running carefree through castles and jet-setting every weekend.  It was the experience of a lifetime, it was my semester abroad.

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Luck of the Irish

Well, I’m finally settled back at home, but that doesn’t mean I’m done talking about all my adventures!  I’ve still got lots of pretty pictures to share, as well as stories to tell, so this blog isn’t dying out quite yet…

At the end of November, Sydney and I took a weekend trip to Dublin, and it quickly become one of my favorite cities. I absolutely loved Ireland! The people were so friendly, and even though it was freezing, it was absolutely beautiful.  We went on a Paddywagon Tour, which was delightful, and here are some pictures from the places we saw!

What to Know if You’re Studying Abroad in Granada: My Goodbye Blog

 

Today I packed up my room. Today I walked down Calle San Anton and Recogidas and Puentezuelas for the last time.  Today I said goodbye to the city that’s become my home.

I’ve been reflecting back on how much of a whirlwind this semester really was.  I’ve seen so much, I’ve done so much, and most importantly, I’ve learned so much.  I’ve learned so much about myself and who I want to be and how I can handle situations on my own and in foreign countries and without being able to speak the native language, and those are skills you can only acquire by traveling for an extended period of time.

That being said, I want to share these things I’ve learned with people who are not only going to study in Granada, but visit Granada in general.  I think these are all some pretty good tips for someone planning on visiting the city that was voted the most beautiful in Spain (according to an ambiguous Facebook source, of course).

Florentine Halloween

Florence is without a doubt my favorite city in Italy, and it is arguably my favorite city in the world (I feel like I’m more qualified to say that now).  I knew when we were planning trips at the beginning of the semester that this city was going to be a must-visit once again, so I am so glad we got to do it.

Unfortunately, we didn’t plan enough in advance to get tickets to museums or to climb the Duomo (1 regret from the semester) but wandering around Florence is somehow still very fulfilling.  A city so full of history and art and beauty such as Florence is so rare, so I was perfectly content wandering around throughout the day, and eating tons of pasta and gelato of course.

CINQUE TERRE

4 hikes. 5 towns. 8 people. 1 weekend.

This is the story of when we hiked Cinque Terre.

Afternoon in Milan

For the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be posting about the big trip we took to Italy this semester.  At the end of October, 8 of us took a trip to Italy- Milan, Cinque Terre, and Florence.  It was an absolute whirlwind of a weekend, and I’m so excited to reflect back on this weekend and share some stories.

So let’s start with our afternoon in Milan.

3 Weeks Left in Granada?!

SOS. I have 3 weeks left in Granada. THREE WEEKS.  Where did the time go?  I swear I just got on the plane to come here like, yesterday? And now December is right around the corner, the semester is almost over, and somehow, I am coming to the end of this study abroad adventure.

Playing With the Monkeys in Gibraltar!

Want to hear about the most amazing 5 hours of my life?  It starts with a rickety caravan, makes its way to a giant cavernous amphitheater, and ends with a pack of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, over our vans, trying to open the car doors because they could smell our food.

And it.

Was.

Awesome.

Mi Amor Sevilla

You can’t spend a semester in Andalucía without visiting the capital of Sevilla, which luckily we got to do with our program!  So a few weeks back, I got to spend a weekend in Sevilla and get a brief look at all the highlights of this Andalusian capital.

I’m so lucky to live in Spain, I think of that every single day. Every single city I go to is amazing, from Barcelona to Granada and everywhere in between, I can’t believe I’m over halfway done with my semester.

3 Hours in Córdoba

Córdoba is one of those cities that is absolutely bathed in history, from the walkways to the buildings to the bridges to the view of the city, you can feel just how old Córdoba is. Any Game of Thrones enthusiasts will like the fact that there are some scenes of the show filmed here, and any history enthusiast will appreciate the fact that the whole city of Córdoba is actually a UNESCO world heritage site, preserving it’s historical value.