The weekend after the previous post was, unfortunately pretty rainy, as was the ensuing week. We did manage to catch our second live Barca game that Saturday night, however, and were treated a display of utter domination: Barca poured in 5 goals in the first half. We got our money's worth.
The highlight of last week had to be our venture into the world of wine tasting. Right down the street from us, we managed to find a great little wine store that also offers tastings, and of course we couldn't turn down the opportunity. So last wednesday night, we all put on our dinner jackets (for the first and maybe the last time in Barcelona) and pretended as if we knew what the hell we were talking about. The samples included a cava (the local champagne), 1 white and 2 reds, all from the Catalonia region. They were excellent- some might say even amusing in their presumption.
Our group decided to split up for this past Halloween weekend- Gabe and Bobby remained on the home front, and attended a Halloween party at an old castle a little bit outside the city. Will and myself ventured to Scotland and Ireland for a whirlwind tour, which was incredible. After a brief stint in Glasgow, (10 minutes brief- we were advised that Glasgow is not a place you go to, but a place you go through) we took the cross-country train to Edinburgh. Lucky us- we were traveling right at sunset, which offered amazing views of Scotland's incredible countryside.
After a dinner of bangers and mashed- their questionable name for sausages and mashed potatoes- in a Scottish pub, we took the train North to St. Andrews, where a few of our pals from St. Paul's hosted us. It was good to catch up with old friends that night and the next. Friday morning our friends were nice enough to give us a tour of the campus, which is one of the prettiest I've seen. Probably the best part- the world renowned Old Course is literally on campus, and students are offered an unbelievable discount. I was sorely tempted to try to get in a quick 9 at the least, however, the rain and cold were enough to deter me. I will play it one day, hopefully soon.
After the tour we hopped back down to Edinburgh for some sightseeing. It is a great city with a very ancient feel, and the Royal Mile is a very cool way to see the sights. The Edinburgh castle is very impressive in itself, but the whole walk was really neat. Given the near-freezing temperature, we were forced to go inside to warm up inside a few times- and the Scottish clan stores offered the perfect opportunities to do just that. Clan Lindsay, more specifically, clearly stood out among all others, and all of their items were appropriately more stylish than most.
The 8:00 flight from Edinburgh to Dublin proved slightly difficult, but with a few cups of coffee, we hit the Irish streets right upon our arrival. Dublin is, comparatively, a much more modern city- it certainly has its charm though. We walked around the pedestrian-only streets and the Temple Bar area for hours, and of course found time in the day to visit the Guinness factory. The Guinness Experience is probably more appropriate- the building is effectively a shrine to the beer. I felt so bombarded by the images of perfection of all the Guinness ingredients that at the end of the tour, where you receive your free pint, I asked for a Bud Light instead. They were not amused.
Other Dublin highlights included a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral that included their excellent choir, and also (the real) Trinity College. On Saturday night we found some great Irish music, and turned it in pretty early, exhausted from our long day. Sunday was an all-day travel day, and after a long weekend it was good to be back home.
This past week has also been somewhat of a whirlwind- after a midterm on tuesday, we stayed out till the wee hours tuesday night to catch the decision of the election back home. If we hadn't, though, we surely would have known by this morning: on our walk to school we heard more than a few Spanish Obama chants- it is clear who they were rooting for.
Another update to come sooner than last time.
1 comment:
Mashed...isn't that what Helge made last night for dinner?
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