If I can get to the heart of Dublin

...I can get to the heart of all cities of the world.                                                                  - James Joyce

For the second week long break (yes, my school gives me two designated times to go travel crazy), I explored the British Isle. Making stops at Dublin, Cork, and London, I have so much to say and I'll start with, I can't wait to go back and to see more. (Scotland and Wales, I'm comin' for you someday!)

So, first and foremost, let's talk about my trip to Dublin. It's the capital and its largest city, with one million people. I didn't realize just how small Ireland was, nor most of its fascinating history.

Thanks to the great foodie research of Adrienne and Mac's friend from home Jen, our first dinner was a roaring success at Cornucopia, an all-veggie, organic restaurant right off the main pedestrian street.

feeling almost nostalgic for my former vegetarian days...

I ordered cauliflower stuffed in phyllo dough with a spinach sauce (pictured at bottom right), along with a cup of split pea soup and fresh squeezed juice. Not your typical Irish food, but definitely a great reminder of the food of northern California. Everything was delicious! So delicious, in fact, that we came back for brunch before our walking tour the next morning.

coffee, with soy milk!

Mac and her blueberry pancakes

After this last trip, I have now been on four New Europe walking tours, and I can say with confidence that Dublin was my absolute favorite. There is something to be said for getting a local as your tour guide, especially a cynical, sarcastic Irish woman named Ursula. Mac said she sounded just like me, but I only aspire to be as quippy as her!

inside Dublin's city hall

Adrienne having to recreate a viking hut sleeping situation

just a little yummy treat!

apple scone before the Guinness tour

After the walking tour, Mac, Adrienne, and I headed to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour of how they brew. Being in Italy (and also having taken a winemaking class), we are no strangers to the winemaking process - we drink enough to inquire about some knowledge. But before this experience, we didn't know too much about making beer. That's actually an understatement in my case. I knew two things: the word 'hops' and that the stuff you play beer pong with is made badly.

All that changed, however, after this. Okay, that's not true. I'm not suddenly an expert, and I hardly think I will be brewing some master quality beer anytime soon. But I do understand the process now, and more importantly, what makes a Guinness a Guinness and why a Guinness is so good.

(What's that? you ask. Can't tell ya, trade secret. You'll have to come to Dublin.)

The three of us hurried back to downtown to meet Jen and her friend Allyson at The Pig's Ear, our dinner destination. They did a special with two courses for a set price - I chose salmon and beet risotto. Unfortunately, the lighting was extra terribly bad, so no photos. But the food was better than I could have imagined, especially that risotto. Must learn to replicate!

Our last day in Dublin was actually spent outside of Dublin. The five of us, plus more from my Rome program, loaded up onto a coach bus for a wild Wicklow tour! This took us into the countryside surrounding Dublin, and we saw the tower where James Joyce wrote Ulysses, one of the last remaning monastic sites, traditional Irish lunch, and some of the greenest and greatest rolling hills ever.

for scale purposes!

we also stopped at Avoca, a bakery, eatery, and cute shop all in one - food heaven

I need to wear this around my neck

too overwhelmed by all the food choices, ended up with a mini loaf of fresh warm bread

lovely ladies in the country!

so cold that our guide broke out the Jameson for a celebratory warm-you-up shot!

Guinness stew for lunch - hearty and filling

these old monumental sites are nothing like Rome and a welcome change for the eyes

When we returned, our final to do was the annual Bram Stoker festival. If you didn't know, Stoker was born in Dublin and was, of course, the author of Dracula. So Halloween is a pretty big deal here. Halloween is also a pretty big deal in my life and there has not been one iota of its mention in Rome, so being at an entire festival dedicated to the spooky scary was right up my alley.

The grand finale was dinner at Bite, an adorable restaurant with some of the most flavorful food I have ever had. I don't think I've ever heard the words "try this!" thrown around so much at one table. I ordered creamy pumpkin soup and garlic and chili broccoli, as well as sharing an order of truffle and parmesan fries with Adrienne. Mac's hake was mouthwatering, as was her duck fat fries. It was a flavor collision of the utmost awesomeness, the soup was off the chain, and the broccoli really curbed my craving for some seriously spicy food.

And that is where I leave you, Dublin. With promises to return, hopefully not empty. There were never really any other options besides Rome when it came to studying abroad (I'm a Classics major who studies Latin, the only other place I could go is the Vatican) but now, having been there, I think I could see myself living it up and loving it in Dublin. Big enough to be a city, small enough to be a home. I know I was kind of already thinking of it as such, even after only three days.

Is é do mhac do mhac go bpósann sé ach is í d'iníon go bhfaighidh tú bás, Irish proverb: Your son is your son until he marries, your daughter is your daughter until you die. (you're stuck with me, m+d!)

Be careful what you wish for

Ah, Sicilia...land of carbohydrates. Two weekends ago, Mac, Adrienne, and I dashed off to Palermo to get away from core classes and see what the heck goes on in southern Italy. Well, we certainly learned. Perhaps an overshare. But more on that later. Palermo is a wonderful place and was one of my favorite places I've gone (as if I don't say that about everywhere I go). Maybe it's that I had no expectations or knowledge of the city, maybe it's the "southern hospitality," maybe it's just simply a magical place, we may never know. But I do know that I have plans to return. No really, I loved it so much I decided I'm taking my mom back here when she visits me in December.

We got in on late Thursday night, were a little hungry and looking for a nightcap but weren't sure what would be open. As it turns out, Palermo's got quite the nightlife and things were poppin' even after midnight. On Thursday. We liked this place already.

Friday morning at breakfast, we were advised to check out the three outdoor markets and shown the major monuments on the map. We saw it all! 'Twas a bustling day through the city...

Dionysus, Fontana Pretoria (aka the fountain of shame!)

Street food?

Street food! Delicious and fried! Chickpea fritter and fried potato sandwich

La Cattedrale - the first I've actually seen in Italy

"leave the gun, take the cannoli"

Sadly, we weren't as impressed by the cannoli as we wanted to be. I enjoyed my 'granita' much more!

the three markets - Capo, Vucciria, Ballaro - were heaven for my camera and senses! 

Now I'm craving pomegranates (as usual. I'm likely a descendent of Persephone.)

the seafood we ate (not pictured; that was not my dinner, don't worry!) was to die for

goofing off before going out

Saturday, we took it easy after our day of touristing and headed to Mondello beach. We took a bus that went through a natural reserve so the ride was gorgeous and surprisingly, I've really missed the beach. Not too many other feelings top 'laying about, listening to music, catching up on light reading, and snacking on potato chips.' (If you're curious as to what my light reading was, just some anti-fascism exile memoirs, Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi, for one of my classes. Not done yet, but I recommend it.)

Unfortunately, I did not have a towel so I got extremely sandy. Was definitely worth it. (Not sure the sunburn was though...)

After an excruciating day at the beach, we walked back to town with the hopes of a specific place being open. It was, and we got to try "pan c'a meusa" - Sicilian for...spleen sandwich!

It was actually ridiculously delicious and had the texture of a mushroom. I washed it down with a Peroni, like a true Italian.

finished off the day with brioche con gelato, the original ice cream sandwich

Now I know what you're thinking. If the weekend was so great, so wonderful, so practically perfect, you must have wished for tons more time there. Yes, you're right. And that's why the blog title is oh so relevant. Mac, Adrienne, and I are now apprehensive about making wishes. Why? I'll tell you.

Saturday night, we went out to a hole in the wall wine bar where we were treated to neverending glasses of sparkling wine, a lovely bottle of rosso, a delicious antipasti plate, and a pork dish with gorgonzola cheese that melted in your mouth. We were told to walk back through the Vucciria market because it's got a nightlife and more spleen sandwiches. (Adrienne and I were loving them. Mac, not so much.) So we ventured there and so our adventure began. I won't go into the gritty details, as this blog is a classy establishment (also my grandpa reads it), but we had a roaring time and got in so early that we went to sleep and missed our flight! We wanted more time in Palermo and so the gods decided to smile upon us, when we least expected it. Of course, we were able to sort logistics out, and of course, I am home now. And I've got a great story about Sicily.

Currently, I'm enjoying a lazy Friday after a particularly busy week of classes. I'm staying in the city this weekend, and I think I'm going to do some solo sightseeing tomorrow. There's so much here that I won't get to on site visits and the days seem to fly by. Suddenly it's been two months and I still haven't been to the Vatican! As usual, Sunday will be market day - both farmers and flea. It's nice to have developed a routine and have things to look forward to.

Never drink red wine on Saturdays, "Sicilian rule" (told to us by a very nice, but lying, Palermitan!)

Smash hit in Copenhagen

Finally, I am word vomiting about Denmark. I am totally behind on my blogging, so expect an influx of posts this week. I'm playing catch up. But for now, the wonderful merchant's harbor...

This story begins on the overnight bus from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. It was financially efficient to not fly, therefore not booking a hostel not to mention the bus was cheaper, but with hindsight vision strong at 20/20, me thinks it may have been worth it to indulge. Alas, we live and we learn and we have a lot of funny stories about shady travel buses. At the German border, Deutsche efficiency was in full swing and also a little scary checking our passports. I was still in and out of sleep at this point, but Mac was wide awake to watch someone get arrested! A passenger was wanted in Germany and told to come with the police to spend 600 days in jail. Just glad it wasn't me.

However, I was the target of the border patrol in Denmark, when they went poking around in our luggage and came across my big bottle of pills. This sounds suspicious, but it's really not. See, I brought a medley of over-the-counters to Italy because I wasn't sure if they'd have ibuprofen or any of my other stand bys. (P.S. They don't.) My mistake was bringing this bottle with me on vacation, as the guy checking my bag was very confused and I had to explain what each different colored pill was for. It was embarrassing and I had to really play up hypochondriac tendencies but, in the end, he let me into their country - with my medicine.

Following this escapade, our bus pulled onto a boat that we got to hang out on as we sailed into Scandinavia. Most of you know how I feel about boats, so you know I was all about this, although my stomach was queasier than I was expecting and it was not good for my aspirations to someday be a pirate king. Although I could have still been in knots over my pharmaceutical shenanigan. Good thing I had my pills for an upset stomach!

So we finally arrive amidst confusion but the city is full of bicycles and a good wind chill so already, I am loving it. Once again, we did the New Europe three hour walking tour, which was wonderful, because we really didn't know much about Copenhagen.

the house of J. C. Jacobsen, founder of Carlsberg brewery

Archbishop Absalon - a total badass warrior bishop who build the first fortification of what would become Copenhagen and, along with only 13 others, defeated a Wend army 6,000 strong!

the lovely Mac hanging with an anchor outside of Nyhavn ("New Harbor")

at the square of the Danish royal palaces, you know, real estate shopping

palace guard! not allowed to get within 150 meters of them, so my zoom was in full force

the northern side of Nyhavn - the most photographed street in Copenhagen

Mac and I rented bikes and rode them out to see the Little Mermaid

Christiania is a self-run commune in the middle of Copenhagen - very liberal and organic, and the inhabitants even have their own money

went to the Danish National Museum which had a huge exhibit on prehistory (and was free!)

the place also had modern installations scattered throughout which were fun surprises

the museum also had quite an extensive wing of antiquities and obviously we know how I feel about that time period - had to snap a shot of a cat!

my new boyfriend, he doesn't talk much but we get along pretty well

our final night we decided to live it up at Tivoli, the second oldest amusement park in the world (the first one's also in Denmark!)

we also decided to ride the rides after an all you can eat Indian buffet and started with a tilt-a-whirl, because our decision making skills are par for the course

The Demon! I forgot how much I missed roller coasters

happy Kate because she gets to ride all the rides!

So, that title? What the heck does that mean? Well, we found out, at Tivoli the night we went, was to be a performance by a famous hip hop group that raps entirely in Danish, Malk de Koijn. The concert was free with entrance into the gardens and we actually ended up watching almost their entire set. I absolutely loved them and as soon as I got home, downloaded all three of their albums. One of them is called 'Smash Hit in Aberdeen' and I don't have the slightest idea where that is, but I do know Copenhagen was a smash hit for me! 

I know, this whole post seems rather rushed other than my extensive traveling story, but I am two weeks behind and actually have two trips to talk about that have happened since the first break! I promise to try to update quicker and fill you in about my life faster. Although, you know me and promises. Nonetheless, I loved northern Europe - from the weather to the people, everything seemed very up my alley. Not that I don't love Rome, and the prospect of being home and comfortable was great after seven days of travel. I am so fortunate to be able to see so much of Europe while I'm here. I give infinite thanks to my family who is supporting me in all these international endeavors and Mac, my travel buddy who I know I couldn't have done this trip without. We are so very different in so very many ways, and meeting you has been a wonderful addition to my life.

Man må hyle med de ulve man er i blandt, Danish proverb: One must howl with the wolves one is among (or, one you're familiar with, When in Rome do as the Romans do)