After I returned from fall break- which I took ten days for- life returned to normal for about two weeks and then I headed off to Ireland with Tim, Luke, Joel and Adam for the weekend. That was tons of fun! We went to the Isle of Mor which is part of the Aran Islands and biked the island in the rain. Good times! One of the most beautiful views I have seen! After we returned on Tuesday, I had a few days before leaving that Friday for Thanksgiving break!
Thanksgiving break was also great! I just returned yesterday. I started in Geneva, Switzerland with Jenn, Mallory, Katie and Adam and we stayed with Jenn's Aunt and Uncle until Sunday. Switzerland is beautiful! And being in an American household again was great! From Geneva, Adam, Katie and I headed to Barcelona Spain on Sunday until Wednesday. That was a great time! We stayed in the Barcelona Urbany Hostel- very nice. And were able to do fun things like visiting parks, and seeing the Arc de Triomf and seeing the art museum and a Greek theatre. Along with good food and fun and strange buildings! Gaudi is one of the famous architect designers of Barcelona and there are lots of strange buildings etc. that he thought up. Some of my favorites were the Sagrada Familia and the Parc Guell!
From Barcelona we headed farther south to Malaga Spain! It was warmer and friendly with lots of Spanish. Also, the city was decked out for Christmas! Although the lights were not on yet. We had a great hostel the first night! On Thursday (Thanksgiving) Becca joined us and we moved to a new Hotel across the street-also very nice! We could see the ocean from this one! We spent the day exploring the city and visiting Alcazaba- an old Muslim fort/castle up on a hill with great views of the city! It was fantastic! The weather was also beautiful for November and we were able to be in short sleeves! For Thanksgiving dinner, we headed out to get tapas at a restaurant and enjoyed them immensely! On Friday we were going to go to the beach. But then it rained. However, we still went we just were not able to get in the water or sun ourselves. :( we also went shopping and had dinner. It was definitely a more relaxed day! Saturday we once again boarded a plane to Paris and then trained from Paris to Nantes arriving around 7:20pm. I think it was a very good Thanksgiving break! I saw new places, tasted new food and experienced new things! I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had this semester and I will be coming home in just over three weeks.
