Tuesday, May 27, 2008

granada

my top three favorite places i´ve been so far include granada, kilkenny and krakow. granada was absolutely amazing... i settled into the pace of life, the language, the music, the city so easily... i was staying at a gooney hostel but in the coolest neighborhood in the city. it was incredibly difficult to find but very worth it. each morning i would get up and walk around the corner to the cafe for a coffee, then stop in the bakery and by the fruit market to get breakfast on my way to the mirador de san nicolas. this is a look-out point over the city facing the alhambra... lots of musicians and kids and dogs running around. so while i was in granada i ran into a couple that i met in madrid and we spent quite a bit of time hanging out. one day we went hiking out in the hills to explore some caves that are there... people live in them and have their own little village, it was really cool. beautiful views and nice to have a hike. that night we went to the other side and went to see some flamenco performed in the caves. it was incredible. i felt so lucky to be there.. afterwards we were convinced to come back into the cave-bar where we had tapas earlier and i am so glad we went in! we were with about 20 other people being seranaded by local flamenco legends.... i´m not doing this justice at all, but i´m paying dearly for these moments online so i will have to leave it at that. i´m in barcelona now soaking in the art scene and thursday i head to andorra to visit my friend belen. more from me then!

much love!
mary

Thursday, May 22, 2008

andalucia

since i left madrid i spent a few days in cordoba y sevilla. my spanish thankfully came rushing back to me around day two in spain so things have been much easier than they would have been normally. i dont really know how tourists get around here without speaking spanish. not many people speak english and i know i´ve run into some really complicated scenarios with my rail pass and using the trains here in general. anyways it has been great weather and beautiful things to see... as usual i´ve met some really interesting people too. now i´m in granada and i am staying in a ´hostel´in with a few other people at the top of one of the hills here in the city. it has an incredible view but it was insane to find since its in the labyrinth quarter -- the oldest part of granada. since i´ve been in spain i´ve had paella, chocolate y churros and listened to traditional guitar music... lots to see and do still!

lots of love

Friday, May 16, 2008

madrid

this city is crushingly beautiful. i didnt walk around much after my flight yesterday because i was so exhausted and needed to take it easy for a bit. so when i went out this morning i seriously had to stop and sit down a few times because everything is so overwhelmingly gorgeous. this happened to me many times throughout the day since i spent most of it at the prado. it was really amazing to be there! i found a lovely vegetarian cafe, a huge amazing park and some nice little coffee shop later on too. my spanish is crap though and its so frusterating. i really hope it gets better...!

pictures soon, i promise.

much love,
mary

Thursday, May 15, 2008

fancy some tea, love?

ireland is so beautiful!! i have loved the time i spent here and have met tons of absolutely incredible people. i became great friends with a pop singer from berlin and had plenty of pints with local people all over the country. i've been listening to live music most every night, drinking bulmers, eating fish and chips, going to the cliffs of moher, exploring tiny little towns, appreciating colorful doors and playing guitar with an australian who helped take care of me when i was feeling sick. i'm catching a flight to madrid today and i am so excited to be done with flying until i come back to the states. which reminds me, happy anniversary to me!!! i left one month ago today, and for all of you who are just dying for me to come back, that means you´ve only got two more months! :)

xo,
mary

Thursday, May 8, 2008

germany

i took the train from budapest to wurzburg which originally was nowhere in the plans... it was a very last minute decision while trying to juggle other arrangements and not get stranded in the process... i'll spare you the details but everything ended up working out amazingly! i had a really nice time in wurzburg, its a small town along the famous romantic road; to me it felt like the midwest with castles. all day i rode around on a rented bike, wearing a dress, carrying some fresh bread from a tiny bakery tied to the back. i spent hours along the river main, it was so nice! then the next morning i took an early train to munich. it worked out so well, i got to meet up with my friend marita for coffee and then explored with her and some people she met in the city. thankfully she just moved into her new apartment so i had a place to stay that night! so then this morning i took the train to catch my plane to dublin! which is where i'll leave you until next time...

love, mary

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

budapest

i went to hungary with laura to hang out with her boyfriend david and visit the city;  two of their friends were there for the long weekend too.  we had a lot of fun but i felt like i barely scratched the surface of that huge and beautiful city.  we went to the baths, where there's about 10 different types of minerals and fountains and swirling whirl pools to soak in... we also went on a boat ride along the danube, to great cafes, listened in on some gipsy music, walked on margaret island, went to some major sightseeing spots and went to memento park where there is a collection of communist statues that were removed from the city.  i tried to post a few pictures but i'm using a german keyboard right now 
and somehow erased them all.  maybe next time...

much love.

Friday, May 2, 2008

poland pictures

as requested by a polish person i met, i am supposed to tell everybody i know that polar bears do NOT come from poland... here are a few photos from krakow:



my favorite accordian player



at wawel cathedral



at my nice hostel



the beautiful bookstore



the old cemetary in the jewish quarter



next door to jp2's childhood house


some street