Basel

After three and a half months of being in France, one of my parents finally made the trip across the ocean to visit me! I saw my dad on Thursday and Friday, and it was a great break. Technically, though, I visited him, as he was working in Basel, Switzerland for the week, and I took the train after my last class on Thursday night to visit.

I arrived in Basel just after 8 p.m. Thursday night. It's not far, either: the train to Basel takes about 1h20. My dad was waiting for me at the station, and it was a happy reunion. Side note: it is unbelievably nice to have someone waiting for you when you get off a train or a flight especially. It's such a small thing, but it makes you feel so loved. Just one of the things I've noticed as I've been traveling around Europe. 

Anyway, it was SNOWING in Basel on Thursday night as my dad and I walked to a restaurant, and it made me so excited. I absolutely love the snow. Of course, it was just a steady flurry, but it was the first snow of the year for me!

The restaurant my dad picked was really nice--serving specialties from across France, Switzerland, and even a few from Germany, I believe--and it was a good opportunity to just talk with my dad for two hours. I finished off the dinner with a slice of Tarte Tatin, a special apple pie which originated in France, and it was absolutely delicious by the way. After dinner, we walked around for a few minutes until we found Basel's main sight: a very unique-looking and ornate red building--originally built in the 13th century--called the Basel Rathaus. It served as their town hall. It was dark and the picture quality was terrible, but that didn't stop me from taking a few photos!

Hey dad!

After that quick stop, my dad and I rode the trams back to our hotel. By this time, it had stopped snowing, and it was bitter cold. At the hotel bar, my dad bought a pint and I had some Baileys, and the situation made me laugh because back home in the US, I'm still under the legal drinking age.

Friday morning, we woke up early. I was able to have a continuous shower (yay!) and then the two of us set off to see Basel!

...Unfortunately, there is not much to see in Basel.

In fact, there are three main sights: the town hall, Basel Rathaus, a big church, and a smaller church. That's it. To be fair, Basel does have a lot of museums, and the Rhine River cuts right through it, so it is nice to stroll across the bridges and along the river (all things we did). And there are many fountains in the city--we were spotting random fountains everywhere, many of which used dragons... perhaps dragons are a symbol of the city, or they have some other significance? Also, Basel is a rare city in that it is at the corner of two countries: France and Germany. This means that there are a lot of foreigners--and surprisingly, many English-speaking foreigners (apparently there are quite a number of companies in Basel, including the three my dad was sent here to review).

The inside of Basel Rathaus

 

Additionally, the city lies in the German part of Switzerland, so everyone speaks German. I was greeted in German in every café, restaurant, and shop that my dad and I walked into. However, I always responded in French (it's automatic now) and they fluidly transitioned to French as well. For my dad, they spoke English, even thought he can understand a fair amount of French since he lived in Geneva for close to two years. Everyone in Basel was tri-lingual, it was amazing!

My dad and I spent our morning hopping from café to chocolate shop, then walking along the river and visiting the old town. There was even snow on some of the rooftops, which made me happy. It was also fun to see construction crews on every corner, setting up Christmas lights and decorating Christmas trees... Europe puts so much effort and emphasis into Christmas, and I'm so impatient to see all the cities lit up, and to sing carols (in French?) and see Santa Claus everywhere... I keep forgetting that if I was in the U.S., the next holiday would be Thanksgiving!

We had a good lunch at a small little restaurant which seems to be only known by locals, and then I helped my dad pick out a box of chocolate truffles for my mom. In the store, though, I couldn't help but notice these shimmery gold champagne macaroons! "Only in Switzerland..." I thought to myself, but they were really quite pretty. I wonder how expensive they were?

Chocolate shops and trams

My dad had to catch a train to Zurich airport at around 4pm on Friday, so I set off for Strasbourg at the same time, along with a tupperware of homemade gingersnaps from my mom! (I've already eaten two or three, although I'm meant to save them for our Holy Cross Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow). They tasted like home... I'm so glad I was able to visit my dad, especially so close to Thanksgiving. It's the first time I'm ever missing the holiday, so I've been a little homesick, but the visit cheered me right back up. And my mom is coming to Strasbourg in exactly a week's time to see the famous Christmas markets.

A Day in the Black Forest

I wanted to go somewhere Saturday for a day trip, but I had a hard time coming up with a realistic idea until Friday night, when Jacqueline and Alex invited me to join them in Germany. And of course, I said yes.

By 8 a.m. the three of us were on our way to Freiburg--the German one, not the Swiss one--for a day in the Black Forest. Up until this point, I really hadn't been in Germany: I don't fully count shopping in Kehl as Germany, since it's such a boarder town, and I was less than a mile from France the whole time. Even Freiburg isn't that far into Germany, though... I really have to explore my neighboring country more...

Anyway, Alex, Jacqueline, and I wandered around the city for a while, then headed towards where we thought the Black Forest would be. Of course, we got lost and had to double back, but we eventually found a trail. It was quite cool how the city of Freiburg just suddenly transitioned into the Black Forest: there was a major road with tons of buildings on one side, and a famous forest on the other. Very casual.

City meets Forest

A really pretty street in Freiburg

It wasn't really too much of a hike, but the forest is quite hilly, and we took a trail that would give us a good view. Amazingly, many of the trees were still cloaked in their autumn gold and orange leaves, so it was a pretty walk. And steadily, we rose above the city, exchanging snippets of Grimm's Fairytales (remember Hansel and Gretel? and Rapunzel? Cinderella? yeah, all stories collected and published by the Grimm brothers in Germany in 1812, although the stories themselves were originally a bit more gruesome than the Disney versions of today. Some of the fairytales were set in the Black Forest, though).

What surprised me most about the Black Forest? I thought it would be a lot darker and creepier, but it really wasn't. Of course, we were on the very outskirts of the forest, where it was just beginning, so it is probably a lot darker as you hike further in.

We eventually found a viewing tower at the top of a hill, and climbed that, of course. It was quite high up so we were given a fantastic panorama of the Black Forest, Freiburg, and the snow-covered mountains off in the distance.

Two hours in the Black Forest was enough, so the three of us wandered through the main square in Freiburg only to find that the quiet little city had woken up: there were people everywhere, and the whole square near the cathedral had turned into a huge market. The three of us bought bratwursts from a local vendor as our lunch, then headed into a sweet little café for some warm drinks and chocolate cake.

At the café, Jacqueline ordered a slice of Black Forest cake (a local specialty, of course), but I ordered the double-chocolate cake instead. Melissa and I had accidently ordered Black Forest cake about a month ago in Kehl, thinking it was just chocolate cake, and we were extremely disappointed when it was filled with cherries and tasted strongly of alcohol (I later learned--real Black Forest cake is meant to be filled with cherries and is baked with a good amount of Kirsch, a cherry-flavored liqueur). Black Forest cake is not a specialty that I enjoy, and I was happy with my decision to play it safe with double-chocolate cake.

We left Freiburg soon after, and I was home well in time for dinner. I couldn't help but think how easy this little adventure was--you know, just taking a daytrip into Germany to hike in the Black Forest, back by dinner! Everything worked out so perfectly as well... the only hiccup is that I can't understand German at all. Perhaps I'll just have to learn a few words from my host parents!

This Fairytale Life: Part II

Monday, November 11th was Armistice Day, and since the French love their holidays, the university canceled classes. However, holidays in France also mean another thing: nothing is open.

Laura and I still made the best of it, however! I decided to take her to see Colmar, a tiny town in Alsace about a half-hour train ride away. Having never before been to Colmar, I wasn't sure it was the best day trip idea (what to do there?) but Ella had been there with her family a few weeks before and recommended it.

We were not disappointed. Strasbourg is beautiful, of course, but Colmar is smaller and is somehow a little more magical. One thing that definitely made it even better was the fact that Colmar is basically ready for Christmas: there were lights strung across the city streets and little Christmas trees in all the streets, along with garlands of pine decorating the outsides of all the stores. It was so cheerful and festive, and it made us smile.

Another great thing about Colmar was that nearly all the stores and restaurants were open, despite it being a holiday. This was great news for us: Laura and I wandered through festive, sweet-smelling little gingerbread stores and cute shops selling Christmas ornaments for a while before walking by the cathedral and into a café. I was so happy to be able to show her a bit of the café culture in France, since it's a big part of my life here (I spend a fair amount of time in the lovely cafés of Strasbourg, most notably Café Michel and Paul).

Holiday Gingerbread store

Wandering the cute streets after much-needed hot chocolates, Laura and I stumbled upon Little Venice, which is Colmar's version of Petite France: lots of beautiful old half-timbered houses set on a river. Colmar's Little Venice is much more colorful, though, as all the houses are painted blue or pink or yellow or green, and it's quite lovely. This area of Colmar also stretches a lot farther than Petite France, and it was great to stroll through it, fully enjoying our time.

We ate a late lunch (quiche lorraine and charcroute--aka sauerkraut with potatoes and three different types of sausage) at a pretty tavern, and after one last stroll through Little Venice, we headed back to Strasbourg.

Monday night, Laura and I went to see a movie at Strasbourg's huge cinema. Luckily, France usually releases movies very fast after they come out in the U.S., and without adequate time to dub them in French, many movies in the cinema are version original (their original language) with French subtitles. This was exactly the case for Ender's Game, the movie Laura and I ended up seeing. Based on the book, Ender's game is a really cool sci-fi film, and I loved it. Now I'm really excited to read the book, despite Laura's warning that the book differs a bit from the movie.

Laura had a 6:01 am train back to Paris (followed by a flight to London) on Tuesday morning, and I was sad to see her leave. I hadn't seen her in a while, and it was extremely fun showing her around my new city. I even ended up doing things I hadn't done before in my months of living here--like visiting Colmar and climbing to the top of Strasbourg's cathedral.

However, while I might be living in a fairytale city, life here is not always a fairytale. After Laura left, the spell broke and I had to get back to reality: writing essays, signing contracts for my job (I start tomorrow!!), finishing up a 15-minute research presentation (in French, of course), and going to my mandatory medical exam that I needed to do for my visa (otherwise, I might've gotten kicked out of France...).  As the seven dwarves sing "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go!"

This Fairytale Life: Part I

This past weekend, my friend Laura came to visit me in Strasbourg! She's studying abroad in London for the semester, and I'm so glad our plans worked out for once! Back at our home universities in the US, we live less than an hour away by car, yet still we have only managed to meet up once in the past two years due to conflicting schedules.

Laura flew in on Saturday night and left on Tuesday morning, meaning that I had two full days (Sunday and Monday) to show her my wonderful home for the year!

Sundays in Strasbourg are not the best visiting days, to be honest, as it feels like the entire city shuts down. Also, it happened to rain all day last Sunday, making it hard to even just walk around and enjoy my beautiful city. However, we managed quite well!

First, I took Laura into the main city to see Notre Dame, Strasbourg's gorgeous gothic cathedral. Acting the tour guide, I spitted out random useful facts ("did you know that this cathedral was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years? Yeah, it was surpassed in height in the 1800s by a different cathedral"). We also paid five euro to climb to the top of Notre Dame's viewing platform. I had never been up there before, so it was an experience for me as well. Also, I've climbed a fair share of medieval cathedrals in my life--I have spiral staircase experience--yet I wasn't expecting the staircase to the top to be so open to the elements! The windows were huge and I felt more like we were climbing up a fancy spiraling balcony, but it gave us great views of the city as we steadily ascended.

At the top, we readied our umbrellas and took tons of pictures of the city below us. It was such a beautiful sight. I ran from one edge to the other, looking for recognizable landmarks ("look, there's Place Kleber! And over there is Petite France! My house is way off in the distance that way! And my university is somewhere in that direction!"). I love being so high up, it was awesome. Also, Laura pointed out that there are a lot of Russian soldiers' names engraved on one of the walls at the top of the cathedral, which I found fascinating. I still wonder why they are there...

After the cathedral, we spend a bit of time looking through the tourist shops to get out of the rain (of course all of these shops were open on a rainy Sunday, but none of my favorite cafés or patisseries were open!). Then, I took Laura to Flams for some traditional Alsatian cuisine! You just can't beat tarte flambées!

We spend a long time after lunch just wandering around the city. I showed her Place Kleber, which is one of my favorite parts of town to walk through. None of the huge stores were open, of course, but she did see the giant Christmas tree! It's been up for about two weeks now, and it is normally one of the largest (if not the largest) Christmas trees in the world, averaging about 30 meters high (approximately 100 feet).

The rain finally slowed to a light mist in the later part of the afternoon, so I took Laura to see Petite France. We arrived just before sunset, and were treated to some beautiful sights that I only half-managed to capture on my camera. Laura was also very happy, since she hasn't seen a sunset in weeks (the cons to living in London, I guess!).

Chilled from the drizzly day, the two of us returned back to my host parent's home right before dinner. It was a little challenging to eat together, since I was the only one in the house who knew both English and French, and was official translator. It gets tiring quite quickly. Also, not all statements are even worth translating, and others have no direct translations, so there were a few frustrating moments at dinner. Luckily, Laura is a pretty fast learner of languages (she peppered me with French questions throughout the weekend, and I loved sharing my second language!). And my host parents are a hilarious couple, really--especially since Raymond is almost always laughing--so dinner is usually a funny affair, even breaking language barriers.

What really surprised me is how having a visitor changes your perspective about your city. It's easy to get bored or jaded with things you see every day, but showing them to someone new to the city is close to rediscovering all the magical parts of the city (like the Cathedral--I pass it all the time, yet staring at the magnificent detail on it with Laura, I was seeing it all again). As soon as Laura arrived, she exclaimed how beautiful Strasbourg is, and she said something along the lines of how I was sort of living in a Fairytale. Especially my neighborhood, which reminded her of Hansel and Gretel houses (an interesting description; I've always thought of the neighborhood as being a variety of fruit-colored cupcake houses). Now that I think about it, though, Petite-France is really something straight out of a fairytale. All those pretty half-timbered houses... In fact, my whole city is a little magical. There you have it: I'm living the fairytale life over here in Strasbourg, and I'm not complaining one bit!

Another part of having a visitor? Facing some semi-difficult truths. I sort of ran out of touristy things in the city to show Laura, and she countered with the question: "Well, what do you do here for fun?" and I responded truthfully: "Well, I eat a lot."

(Café hopping is a wonderful major activity when I don't have classes, but the truth sounds very... gluttonous. I also walk around a lot, though, so that should counteract it, right? Right?).

So that wrapped up Sunday with Laura... Yet Monday was another fairytale in itself! Until the next post!


Place Kleber at night. See the giant Christmas tree?

The French List #3

I realized that I haven't posted a French List in a while, so here is one. Don't get me wrong: there are hundreds of reasons why I love living in France, but there are also some snags that I've hit along the way that frustrate me (besides the nuances of the language, of course, which is a whole other frustration in and of itself sometimes).

Five Irritating Things About Living in France:

1. Showers are far from relaxing.

Even in the US, I don't take super long showers compared to others of my generation, but a nice hot 10-minute shower is absolutely lovely after a chilly, rainy winter day. Alas, while there are plenty of bitter, cloudy days in Alsace, the long hot shower to chase the chill from my bones will have to be put on hold until I return to America. When I first arrived here in Strasbourg, my host mother made extra sure to explain how I must shower: I can turn the water on for about 30 seconds in the beginning, then I must turn off the water to apply shampoo and shave. After that, I get another minute of water to rinse off the shampoo, but once that minute is up (give or take 30 seconds--it's not an exact science), the water again must be turned off. Only then can I apply conditioner and shower gel. Finally, I get one last minute of water to rinse, then my shower is done. It is quite a freezing process, let me assure you. I'm sure it is necessary to conserve hot water and/or water in general (good for the environment!), but... I miss American showers.

2. 95% of all shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays, guaranteed.

Sunday is a lazy day here, and French people take that unwritten rule seriously. It's a day for napping and long family lunches and religion for the religious, but don't expect to do any shopping or café-hopping. Even in Paris, many shops are closed on Sundays besides a few located near very touristy centers. This can be quite irritating for Americans, as we seem to take it for granted that stores will hold generous hours seven days a week. Personally, though, I sometimes think it is a good reminder that we all need to relax, for at least one day of the week.

3. Cross walk signals do not understand how traffic works.

There have been many, many instances where I am waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently) for the little red "don't walk!" signal to give me the green light so I can cross the street, and I find that all the cars on the road are waiting for their light to turn green as well. It's terribly frustrating since this discrepancy often creates a long two or three minute gap where nobody is going anywhere. Whenever I reach a crosswalk and the light is red but the cars are stopped, I have a choice: do I awkwardly wait for the green pedestrian light (even though the cars will get their green light first) or should I chance crossing the street? Often, I chance it, and most of the time I get across only to turn around and see that the cars are still waiting at a red light. The crosswalk signals should really get a better grip on traffic patterns.

4.  Trains are soooooo expensive.

Yet I want to travel everywhere! Food is expensive as well. Yet I want to eat everything! And the clothes aren't cheap. Neither are books. Nor ice cream. Nor are hotel rooms (hence I don't stay in hotels), and even some hostel rooms can get pricey. And don't even get me started about how much money shoes cost, because it is absolutely ridiculous (I've seen entire stores that don't sell a single pair of shoes for under 100 euro. Not even the ballet flats. Translate that into dollars.... it's not a pretty number). And yes, these things are all expensive in the US as well, but in the US you don't have the temptation to hop on a train to go to Switzerland every weekend.

5. The bureaucracy is so disorganized and everyone is confused.

I often ask myself why French universities are so disorganized in everything. I have about one month until final exams start and I only know the date of one of my finals. I've asked my other professors, and they don't know when their finals will take place. It could be December. It could also take place in January. Who knows? Wait and see. It's the department who decides. Can I schedule classes for next semester? Nope. Not until about three days before the semester starts, and even then, there is a good chance that a few departments won't even know what classes they are offering for the semester. Sometimes I go to class and there is no class that day. However, only one professor gave out a syllabus at the beginning of the semester, so how am I to know that there is no class? I don't even know quite what I'm meant to be learning in one of my classes (something about Brazil and Portugal and the words "slavery" and "sugar cane plantations" are thrown in a lot, but I don't think that class has any.... exact focus. Am I missing something?) There was no course descriptions for any of my classes, nor are there any out-of-class readings that I am aware of (besides Zola's Germinal, of course). Heck, I'm still not even properly enrolled in any of my current classes, but apparently that is okay, too. My only comfort is that everyone else is in the same boat. No one knows what is going on over here.

Châtains, anyone?

Do you know what châtains are? If not, don't worry. I didn't know exactly what they were either until I'd spent almost two hours picking them off the ground with my host mother in the middle of a random forest in Alsace a few days ago.

With all my blog posts about Ireland and my trip to the opera, I forgot to mention that I woke up late last Sunday morning planning to get a lot of work done after my week-long trip, yet was thwarted at breakfast when my host mother asked me "Est-ce que tu voudrais ramasser des châtains cet après-midi dans la forêt?"

And I responded "Bien sûr!" Because really, when else do you have the opportunity to pick whatever the heck châtains are in a forest on a Sunday afternoon? I know I've certainly never been offered that opportunity before, so I seized my chance to get cultured (?) or at least to learn something new, and I said yes.

Which is why, a few hours later, I found myself standing in the middle of a random forest in the middle of nowhere, Alsace, France, with my host mother, one of her neighbors, and Ella, the other college student who is staying with my host family this semester. And we were looking for châtains, whatever the heck they were. Marlene handed my thick gloves, telling me that I don't want the prickly spikes to hurt me (what is it that I'm looking for??) and a bag to keep the gathered châtains in.

Ella was the first to find a few châtains, but I wandered around the forest for a good five minutes before discovering any. Using a stick, I brushed away the leaves that coated the forest floor, and then... voilà! They look exactly like garlic cloves that are brown in color, and they can be found in a prickly shell that is actually pretty easy to spot among the fallen leaves. After a bit, I caught on very quickly, and scoured the forest floor looking for more châtains. I felt like a squirrel. I felt awesome. It was a huge treasure hunt for these châtain things (obviously some sort of nut variety, but not ones I had ever really encountered before).

We were in the forest for about two hours total. My back started to hurt after a while, so I'm glad the hunt didn't take all day, but I was proud of how much I had collected. My host mother's neighbor (who seemed like the expert in searching for châtains) estimated that I had found about 1.5 to 2 kilos of these nuts--which means anywhere from 3.3 to 4.4 pounds! Ella was the big winner though: she managed to find about 3 kilo (6.6 pounds)!

My host mother and her neighbor kept talking about how exactly they were going to preserve the nuts until the holidays, and it clicked in my head: these châtains must be chestnuts! (Indeed they are.) It hit me when I thought of a lyric to that old Christmas song: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...."

After we arrived home from our successful chestnut gathering, the four of us drank bowls of hot chocolate (yep, the French use bowls for their hot chocolate and coffee) until Ella and I had to go start our homework. Oh, life in Alsace. Such a lovely afternoon.

L'Opéra

A night at the opera sounds so elegant, doesn't it? I can't help but imagine all the women in long, glittering gowns and the men decked out in black tie. I imagine velvet chairs and those fancy little Galilean binoculars. I sort of imagine the scene straight out of the Disney movie Anastasia, where they go to the magnificent Palais Garnier, the opera house of Paris.

Of course, my night at the opera wasn't quite so elegant, but it was pretty darn close.

Yesterday afternoon, one of the Holy Cross girls suggested going to see Cendrillon at the opera house in Strasbourg. So the group of us walked over to the box office, and there were still a few tickets available for that night's performance! A Tuesday night opera! I've never before been to an opera, and with the clearly romanticized image of a night at the opera in my head, I was super excited.

While I was not in a gown, I still got dressed up a bit, just to feel a little fancy. I met the other HC girls on the steps of the opera house (minus Kat and Marissa--they both had to babysit, unfortunately). And we had our night at the opera! No one I saw was using the theater binoculars, but the Opéra Nationale du Rhin does have those plush red velvet seats that I imagined. The inside of the theater was richly decorated as well, with gold embellishment swirling across the balconies and a big chandelier glittering up high.

The opera itself was a performance of Cendrillon (in English you all know it as Cinderalla). Although it was a bit different from the Disney version (no fairy godmother, no pumpkins turning into carriages, and certainly no talking mice), I still enjoyed the different twist on the fairy tale. The voices of the singers were amazing as well, although the entire opera was performed in Italian, so I didn't understand a word of it. Luckily, there was a screen above the stage that had all the lyrics of the opera translated into both German and French.

While Cendrillon began at 8 pm sharp, the first act didn't finish until almost 10 pm. Needless to say that it was an extremely long production. I was exhausted, as were the other Holy Cross girls, so we actually left during intermission. This wasn't meant to be rude, but I was tired and I still had homework to do. I mean, it was a Tuesday night!

Even though I didn't quite stay for all of it, I immensely enjoyed my first opera experience. I loved how casual and yet fancy it seemed at the same time. It was such a spontaneous decision to go, but when I mentioned to my host parents that I wouldn't be home for dinner because I was going to the opera, they just nodded and told me to enjoy! Like it's no big deal for anyone to go to the opera on a random Tuesday night! And it was pretty full, there were tons of people there! Just getting cultured over here in France....

Oh, and one of the best parts? A ticket only cost about 5 euro. Yes. Only FIVE EURO for a ticket to a world-class opera performance. That's the same price as an average lunch here in Strasbourg! I will definitely be going to the Opera again.

IRELAND Part IV: A Day in Dublin

Dublin was the last leg of my crazy 8-day tour of Ireland. Unfortunately, I only had one full day to explore the city, but Christian, Kat, and I managed to do so much that I felt content with the amount of time I spent there. (Although I'll never say no to another chance to visit the city, of course!)

Even though we only had one full day in Dublin, we actually spent 3 nights there. Continuing on from the last post... is our second night, which also happened to be October 31st!

Our Northern Ireland tour dropped us off in Dublin around 8:30 at night, but the city was just beginning to stir and prepare for the craziness that is Halloween in Dublin. It was unintentionally planned, but Dublin is rumored to be the birthplace of Halloween (at the very least, the holiday has strong Celtic roots), so Dublin ended up being a great European city to stay in for the celebration--especially for Kat and I, since France doesn't seem to know that Halloween exists.

After the tour of Northern Ireland, Bridget took a bus back to her Aunt's house (who lives on the outskirts of the city) and Julianne went to Trinity to room/celebrate with her good friend Leslie, so it was just Christian, Kat and I on Halloween night. We grabbed dinner (fish and chips), then just walked around the city for a while, people-watching. Much of the city is lit up for October 31st--especially the Temple Bar area, where we were wandering. Christ Church--the medieval cathedral that dates back to around 1028--was also all lit up for the night, and it was apparently hosting a haunted house type of thing. Eventually, the three of us got cold, so we sat down in a pub to grab some drinks (I had Baileys on the rocks, my favorite). We sat right by a window in the pub, and watched all the crazy-drunk costumed teenagers and 20-somethings walk (or wobble) by. The most popular outfits in Dublin seemed to be in the likeness of various animals, zombies, or policemen/women.

Let me tell you, though: 90% of the girls I saw dressed up made one huge mistake--they wore 4- or 5-inch stilettos with their costumes. Dublin is an old city, and that means lots of cobblestones. And cobblestones + stilettos + alcohol...... well, let's just say that I saw a lot of girls wipe out Halloween night.

Honestly, that's all to tell about my Halloween night. Pretty tame, really, but I enjoyed it. For old time's sake, I also went into a convenience store to buy myself a candy bar (adult version of trick-or-treating?).

Friday morning (November 1st) was our last day in Ireland--and our only full day in Dublin--but we spent it well. After a good breakfast at a local inn, Christian, Kat, and I wandered around Trinity College for a good while. The grounds are beautifully maintained--so beautiful that certain sections of grass are off-limits. I wanted to see the famous Book of Kells, which is kept on permanent display at Trinity's library, but unfortunately the line was insanely long. Perhaps next visit? 

Only picture I took at Trinity. I must've been half-asleep.

It also happened to be graduation day at Trinity. Of course, the seniors really ended classes and exams back in May, but apparently Ireland doesn't give out the actual diplomas until the autumn to keep Irish graduates from immediately leaving Ireland to look for jobs in other countries. I thought this was quite interesting.

After strolling through Trinity, the three of us headed towards our day's main site: the Guinness Storehouse.

Anyone who knows me might be a little confused, since I usually dislike beer. However, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is an awesome place to visit for anyone (although I think those over 18 would appreciate it most). First, the tour brings you through the ingredients that goes into Guinness, and how the beer is made. Next was what I found most fascinating--there was a room with a video showing the extensive process by which the casks for beer were made. It was quite intriguing. I never knew how much work went into making what looks like a regular barrel for beer, but that video definitely proved me wrong!

This is meant to be a huge sculpture of a glass of Guinness

Following the room of casks was a room that showed how to truly taste Guinness, the right way, with all the senses. It was free, so we waited in line for a few minutes to try it. We were brought into an all-white room with four pillars, each spitting out a different smelling smoke--all of those flavors apparently found in Guinness. (One of the pillars smelled like chocolate, though, and there sure wasn't any chocolate-flavored Guinness, so I have my doubts...). Next, we were herded into a dark room whose walls and ceiling were painted black, complete with golden chandeliers. Here we were given shot-glass-sized glasses of Guinness and were instructed on how to take the correct posture and the correct gulps of the beer. I couldn't keep from laughing, but there was a bit of merit to what the instructor said. It was a fun mini-class at the storehouse.

One floor up had walls showcasing all the Guinness advertisements from years past. Originally, their slogan was "Guinness is Good for You!" which has morphed several times and now sticks mostly to "Lovely Day for a Guinness" or occasionally "My Goodness My Guinness." There was also a little section where TVs from different decades played all the Guinness commercials, which were fun to watch.

And I quote: "Guinness builds strong muscles... It
enriches the blood."

Next, the three of us completed the "Guinness School" of how to correctly pour the beer from the tap. I'm not sure if I did it correctly, but I received some silly certificate and my beer tasted fine anyway.

With our beers, we walked up to the Gravity Bar, which is a huge circular glass room at the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse, giving off a fantastic panoramic view of the entire city. It was a great place to go--I just wish it wasn't so crowded! There were people everywhere, so we didn't end up getting seats. The view made up for that, though. It was a perfect place to enjoy a beer.

My Goodness, My Guinness

No idea who this guy is, but it's a clear picture of the sun starting to set
over Dublin from the Gravity Bar!

That concluded our time at the Guinness Storehouse (we ended up spending about three hours there) but we had one more stop on our list: St. Patrick's Cathedral. As soon as we arrived, however, they had just closed the cathedral to tourists. A Toussaint day mass was starting in half an hour, though, so the three of us went to mass, in part to see the inside of the cathedral. The mass was interesting in the fact that the choir sang entirely in Latin, which I had never heard before (I mean I've heard a little Latin before, but I've never really heard all the Latin songs at a mass before). The organ player was incredible, as well. Or maybe it was just the organ--that is a powerful instrument.

After St. Patrick's, we went for dinner (fish and chips again), then went shopping a little. While we were walking back to the hostel, we unexpectedly heard drums... and very loud ones, at that... coming from an adjoining street.

The noise ended up being one of the coolest group of street performers I've ever seen. There were about twenty people, all dressed up for Halloween--led by a very enthusiastic witch--and playing the drums or shaking bells together in step. Okay, that is a terrible description, but I'm sticking with it. The awesome (and loud!) music attracted a huge crowd and lasted for a good half hour before the group finished. It was a great way to end our night.

Kat and I never booked a hostel for Friday night--there wasn't much point in sleeping, since our flight out of Dublin left before 6 am, and it takes a good 20 minutes to get to the airport by bus. The two of us chilled in the Generator's lobby until 2 am, then walked through the darkness with all our luggage for half an hour to get to the airport bus stop. The rest is all mind-numbing traveling, so I'll spare you the details.

But I will say that I was back in my room in Strasbourg by 2 pm Saturday afternoon, and I was glad to be back. While the Generator was a super-nice hostel, it simply can't beat your own bed. Plus, even though I've left the land of sheep, rugged mountains, Irish accents, and awesome pubs, I feel that my host mother's delicious cooking and my host family in general makes up for what I lost by leaving Ireland. On Saturday night, we had a great family dinner all together, joined by Ella (she wasn't off in another country this weekend!) and their youngest daughter Leticia. We were all laughing and having a great time. And they were teasing me that after 8 days in an English-speaking country, I've lost all my French! (I haven't, but the first hour or two of speaking en français was a bit of a struggle)! As much as I loved Ireland (and I really, really loved it), I couldn't imagine studying abroad anywhere else then exactly where I am now........ although, hey, if a few rugged mountains and friendly pubs appeared in the Strasbourg  area, I would voice no complaints!

Also, here is one last photo, since this particular leg of the journey (aka Dublin) just wasn't green enough to be considered Ireland without it, in my opinion. Anyone see the rainbow?