Copenhagen, Dublin, and Barcelona, Oh My!

Nearing the end of my European sejour, I'm beginning to become a little travel-weary. The trips I've taken and the simple fact that I've been living in Paris for five months have been cause for copious amounts of sight seeing. As I headed to Copenhagen a few weekends ago to visit Alyssa, I was a little tired of sight seeing. Therefore, Copenhagen, as well as my recent trip to Dublin and Barcelona, ended up being comprised mostly of soaking up the vibe of the cities rather than taking pictures in front of large objects.

Copenhagen was a really interesting place. While Denmark is in the EU, its currency is the Danish kroner rather than the Euro. Upon my arrival, I became confused by the exchange rate and accidentally took the equivalent of 200 US dollars out of the ATM for a three day weekend. Unfortunately, due to the general expensiveness of things in Copenhagen, I ended up needing most of it. The most interesting neighborhood in Copenhagen, Christiana, is comprised of little cafes,souvenir stalls, and tables on which vendors spread out large quantities of marijuana of all different types. While this isn't technically legal, it's tolerated, much like in Amsterdam. The locals were very laid back and by and large spoke English.

Dublin is similarly laid back and would be a really fun walking city if not for the weather. We happened to catch a really spectacular day and walked all around the canal and the river. We also took a trip to Dun Leery, the inspiration for James Joyce's Dubliners. We sat on some rocks by the shore and just looked out at the ocean for awhile. It was really beautiful and serene.

My final stop for this semester was in Barcelona, which is definitely one of my top three favorite cities I've visited this year. The architecture is breathtaking, particularly that of the Sagrada Familia, a church that is still in the process of being built. It has really amazing towers and ornate sculptures all along the outside. The only part that left a bad taste in my mouth was the fact that there were a series of vending machines inside. Other than that we made several trips to the beach and ate lots of gelato and listened to street performers. It was the perfect punctuation to my trip.

I'm hanging out in Paris for a few days before I head back home. I enjoyed every second of my time in Europe, but it'll be nice to be in the U.S. again.