A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. -Lao Tzu

Molly and I embarked on our latest, and last, journey at an hour all too frequent for us... 5:40 AM.

We met in the Plaza de Cuba, took a taxi to the train station, took the train to Madrid, took a taxi from the train station to the airport, and finally got on our plane to Dublin. Or so we thought.

After about a two hour flight we descended for landing and in one of the last moments, began to ascend once again. The flight attendant came over the speakers saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems the pilot has decided not to land. We aren't sure why but we will let you know once we find out." Just a hint, RYANAIR, that is not what you say to keep an airplane full of people calm while you continue to fly for an hour before landing in Shannon, Ireland.

Dónde estamos?

Therefore, we had to get on a bus to go BACK to the Dublin airport which was a nice 3 hour bus ride. Good thing Molly and I have lots of experience with buses. We gathered some provisions from the airport store to hold us over along the way...

Junk food, junk food, and more junk food.

Luckily the food got better as the week went on. Also even though the song says, 'Wherever you go // no matter how far // you'll always find a Hershey bar', I find it is:
a) Not true - we don't have them in Spain.
b) Not the same quality - this Cookies n' Cream bar tasted like cardboard.

Thankfully, we finally made it back to the airport via bus (through snow, sleet, and hail) where we took another bus and then a taxi to get to our hostel, which was actually really sweet.

These dragons were painted all along the winding staircase in the center of the hostel

We checked into the hostel and scurried off to dinner before the Brazen Head (a pub our hostel suggested) stopped serving dinner at 9 PM. They definitely eat much sooner than the Spaniards... who don't even open sometimes until 8 PM. Molly and I shared the most delicious fried brie with cranberry relish and then sausage with mashed potatoes and gravy in a bread bowl. Unfortunately we had both forgotten our cameras but we remembered it later on... and for the rest of the week we pretended like we were food bloggers. Hence the following pictures of wonderful food :)

Apple blackberry crumble at Queen of Tarts in Dublin

Tortellini in Pisa

Bruschetta in Florence

Nutella stuffed donut in Florence

Once we got there though, Dublin was a complete success. There was snow, Christmas lights, and carols in the streets. Everything to remind me that Christmas was coming and what it felt like to know completely the language of the country, minus the troublesome accents.

On Thursday Molly and I ventured out on a 3 hour tour (sing it like Gilligan's Island!) in the snow and around the city to see the sites of Dublin. We probably would've liked it a little more if we could've felt our feet but it was fun regardless. Some highlights of the outing:

Entrance to the Dublin Castle

Oldest bridge in Dublin

The center "green" of Trinity College

Richard with yet another statue...

That evening we went on a pub crawl with the same company, which was fun since there were other people from our hostel on it too. We made friends pretty quickly and it was cool to see a bunch of pubs in Ireland, from modern microbreweries to older bars with celtic bands.

The next day we went on a tour of the Guinness storehouse, which is a popular attraction in Dublin. However, they take their beer seriously there and Molly and I didn't have quite the same interest as the other visitors. But by the end we made it to the Gravity Bar, where we could see all of Dublin. I also managed to get find out that you could get 2 sodas in place of the one Guinness... I had discovered in the taste test that I wasn't a huge fan. Winner!

Molly, preparing herself for her Guinness Stout.

View of Dublin from the Gravity Bar

On Saturday we continued on to Pisa, where we checked into a rather odd Asian-inspired hostel (Molly likes to pick them with 'character') and ventured on to the Leaning Tower to take the mandatory tourist shots.

Oh you know, holding up the Tower of Pisa.

Just one other of the extensive photo shoot Molly and I had...

Last but not least, we went to took the train to Florence to enjoy the sites of another city in Italy for two days. Since Florence is the city of museums, we tried to visit the Uffizi Gallery on Sunday since it (along with all the other museums) is normally closed on Monday. Unfortunately what we found was this:

Yes, the Europeans decided to strike once again. (Did I mention that the air traffic controllers in Spain went on strike the day after we left the country?)

Since the museums were on strike, Molly and I had to get creative and find some other interesting elements of the city. So we wandered, walked, ate, relaxed, and just enjoyed the general feeling of being in Italy.

Il Duomo - church near the center of Florence

One of many statues near the Uffizi

Check out the local talent... this man played the base drum with his steps!

Molly the snow bunny trying on a sweet hat at the Christmas market.

Michelangelo's tomb

The best view in Florence, even with the cloudy weather!

Throughout the past week, Molly and I fully enjoyed eating and site-seeing, but also taking the time to relax, update our blogs, and keep up with school work. Neither of us wanted to return Sevilla swamped with schoolwork and unable to enjoy our final week and a half.

This trip continued to teach me patience and flexibility - two themes of my semester. I realized once again that I can not be in total control of my situations and that I must learn to enjoy myself, no matter what unexpected events occur. Including snowstorms and strikes. I also realized the importance of home throughout the week. I missed my current home, Sevilla, and my family home, Hershey, PA, for one of the first times this semester. In Italy we were put in situations where we didn't know how to communicate - a problem we have been working past all semester. In Ireland we were surrounded by the normalites of the Christmas season - but without our friends and families. These situations seemed to be the opposite of what I had been working towards all semester.

The next 10 days are going to be difficult. I'm trying to live out each and every moment while balancing final papers, exams, and ever-fluctuating emotions. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for me as I wrap up this semester. I hope to end it with a sense of peace: thankfulness for all that has happened over the past 4 months, but thankfulness for what I am returning to in the United States.

I'll see you all soon enough.
Much love from Spain,
Amber

I'd love-lock Sevilla if I could.