My dad and my stepmother came over to visit me a couple weeks ago, and in that time I did more travelling of Ireland than I managed for the entire seven months before that. We did three day trips: One to the Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle, and Cork; one to the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough; and one to Belfast and the Giants’ Causway. All of the trips were great, but I especially enjoyed first and the last. I’ll do a post for Northern Ireland later, but for now, I want to talk about Cashel, Blarney and Cork.

Today I had every intention to write about my weekend in Paris, which will probably still happen after I finish this post..but it somehow felt weird not to acknowledge what happened in my home state last night, so close to my own home. I woke up this morning to check my Facebook newsfeed (as I usually do when I’m avoiding getting out of bed) and found that tornados had touched down in Mayflower and Vilonia. For those of you who aren’t as up-to-date on your Arkansas geography, my hometown of Conway is incredibly close to these two cities.

If I had to pick a favorite class from this semester, it would definitely be my conservation class. As an Art History major I had heard of the act of conserving artworks, but I never learned about any of the specifics. This class opened my eyes to a whole other art form. Art conservation is the act of preserving a work of art. The concept of art conservation is amazing in itself, but learning and seeing the techniques first hand made it much exciting. For some reason that I can not figure out, the class is very small.

Anyone who knows me understands me as a foodie. Whenever I am traveling, I am always excited to find the most authentic and delicious local food for the lowest prices possible.  I believe eating is one of the many ways for cultural immersion.

Last weekend IES Abroad took us to Nara, the first capital of Japan. We went by bus, and arrived 3 hours after leaving Nagoya.

We met up with volunteer guides from Nara, and went first to Todaiji, the temple with the largest bronze Buddha statue.

If you’re anything like I am, part of the fun of experiencing a city is nibbling around a bit and finding new places to eat. Lucky for me, Barcelona has plenty of those. A few of my favorite foodie finds from this semester:

Breakfast/Brunch

1) Brunch & Cake- whether you’re craving eggs benedict, a breakfast pastry or simply a warm bowl of oatmeal, this place hits the spot. Offering “non stop comfort food” and “home-made all-day brunch,” Brunch & Cake has something for everyone (and low prices to boot.)

In the weeks leading up to Easter, Easter Markets are set up all over Vienna. They sell a variety of Easter-themed souvenirs and a lot of hand-made crafts. They also have some amazing food. I went with a friend to the Easter Market at Schönbrunn Palace a couple weeks ago and we had some pretty great Käsespätzle and a dessert called Kaiserschmarrn, which is kind of like waffle pieces with plum jam.