Way back in November or December, a lot of the major airlines were having “Black Friday” sales. I decided to hop on that and get some flights that were cheaper than normal. I knew that in March, I would have a long weekend break, but where to go? Do I go to a new country or somewhere I had already been? Finally I made my decision.
Blarney Castle was magical, but the biggest part of my trip was yet to come. I jumped into my right-hand-drive car and headed toward the west coast. After a few hours of driving, I arrived in Killarney. It was kind of scary driving there. The roads were small and not in the best condition. I was happy when I finally made it there.
When I was planning my trip, Killarney sounded really familiar. Then, I learned it was because the Ireland part of Busch Gardens is “Killarney”! I must say, though, the real Killarney is not much like the Busch Gardens version. That wasn’t the main reason for going there, though. I really wanted to drive the Ring of Kerry.
Ireland was another one of those places that I had wanted to come to forever, but never had the right opportunity to do so. Plus, Ireland is drab and cold, right? Well, that changed when I kicked off 2019 by traveling to Dublin. Dublin was just my first stop on a whole Irish adventure, but it proved to be a good starting point.
While we were planning our Christmas vacation in Italy, I threw out the idea of Rome. Why? There was one particular reason: Pompeii. I had wanted to visit Pompeii since learning about it in school. Little Erika could never have imagined actually visiting.
Happy New Year, everybody! I haven’t written since November – I needed some time off. Now, I’m back! I just returned last week from two and a half weeks traveling around Italy and Ireland. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
My first stop over the Christmas period was Milan. After a small snag (my parents and grandmother getting stuck at the airport and not making their connection at JFK), things were smooth sailing from there. Even when my family wasn’t in Milan with me, I still made the most of it.
Denmark: Land of Vikings. I had been wanting to see Denmark for a while now since I have family that left there in the 19thcentury, but it was just so expensive. I’m not going to lie. It’s incredibly expensive. But taking a trip to Denmark is necessary, and Copenhagen is a great place to see.
It wasn’t my first choice. I had wanted to travel somewhere else. It wasn’t even on the top of my list of places to visit. But Helsinki charmed me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I arrived at night, which is always difficult. Everything is dark, it’s cold, things are closed. I had no idea what to expect. When I awoke the next morning, I was pleasantly surprised. Helsinki is cute.
Granada is world famous for the amazing and spectacular Alhambra Palace, but few people know the meaning of the city. Granada is the Spanish word for “pomegranate”. According to legend, the pomegranate is a sacred fruit for the Jewish people because it has (allegedly) 613 inside each pomegranate and there are 613 commandments in the Torah. A quick Google search will tell you that that isn’t exactly true. Still, you can see pomegranates everywhere, from the street signs to the pebble-work on the ground.
Like many places I’ve visited and will visit in Spain this year, I always think, “How have I been in Spain for three years and not been here?” Not going to Granada isn’t exactly my fault — their train station hasn’t been linked to major cities in three years while they try to ready the station for the AVE. So to get there, I took the high speed train from Madrid to a small town in the Málaga region, then boarded a bus to take me to Granada. Of course, you can get to Granada by bus, but I hate buses. (I get carsick.) Pero por fin, I had arrived in Granada.
Sevilla is a wonderful city, just see my last post. But sometimes it’s great to get out of the city and experience something more relaxed. On my last day in Sevilla, I went to Itálica, considered to be the first Roman settlement in Hispania. However, people today may recognize it more for being the Dragon Pit in Game of Thrones.
Let’s be real. The main reason I went there was because of its GoT connection. When I visited San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, it was full of fans playing the theme song and decked out in fan t-shirts. What a pleasant surprise when Itálica was nearly empty.
Andalucía: typical Spain. Tapas, hot weather, flamenco, palm trees. That’s what most people think of when they hear Spain, but really, those are more typical of the South. In three years of living in Spain, I had never been down there, making up so many excuses about needing time or the trains being too expensive. Finally, I decided to stop making excuses and just go to Sevilla.