Semester 2 adventures!

Already onto week 5 of semester 2!! Where has the time gone? This semester is off to a busier start than last, and I’ve been filling most of my time researching and writing a paper on the impacts of multiple stressors acting in combination to influence ecosystems. Sound complicated? It most certainly is, but that’s one of the things I love most about natural ecosystems; they’re incredibly complex and interconnected. Although not my area of expertise, I’ve been learning quite a lot. It will be a great feeling to hand it in after weeks of writing, re-writing, editing, and researching. I practically should be paying rent for all the time I've been spending at the library lately!

Other than writing, I’ve also started up a new habit of going to the Temple Bar farmers markets on Saturdays (fresh and local cheeses, fruit, olives, honey, venison, and vegetables galore!). It’s a good excuse to go into city center and do a bit more exploring. There are still so many more pubs, restaurants, shops and neighborhoods I want to check out.  This last weekend, my roommate Alex and I went to the Butler’s Chocolate Factory tour to treat ourselves to some chocolate the day after Valentine’s Day (ahem, I mean single awareness day in our case, but we weren’t complaining!). The tour was great and they gave us so many samples along the way that I felt like I needed a good long nap afterwards. Does that happen to anyone but me? The more sugar I eat, the sleepier I become…definitely not the case with small children, but I guess it’s been awhile since I could be categorized as a small child. Haha. All the same, the chocolate was delicious and we were even given giant chocolate hearts to decorate and take home. 

 Best. Valentines. Ever.

A few weeks ago I also went skiing for the first time here in Ireland with the UCD Snowsports Club. Ireland is not known for being snowy, so the ski area nearby Dublin actually has no snow at all! It’s an artificial ski slope made up of a gridwork of strange brush-like plastic nets . There are small sprinklers dotting the hill which keep the plastic more slippery. 10 euro paid for the bus there and back, ski rental, and lessons. What a steal! The evening was well spent riding the pom-a-lift and getting my bearings on the strange new style of plastic skiing!

Last month my friend Maureen came to visit all the way from Charleston S.C., and we traveled through Italy and Ireland for about two weeks. So much fun, and so great to spend all that quality time together laughing and getting lost in a foreign country full of new sights, tastes, and experiences. We started our journey in Venice, where we rode water taxis to get from one place to the next, marveled at the gold plated St. Marks Basilica, and got our first tastes of delicious Italian gelato. Our next stop was Florence, the home of Michelangelo’s statue of David, and also considered to be the artistic hub of Italy. David was impressive and incredibly lifelike, but unfortunately we couldn’t take a pictures of the original, only of the replicas elsewhere in the city. The Duomo in Florence is famous for its uniquely made dome, and apparently soon to be featured in National Geographic. We also took a day trip through Tuscany to the hill towns of Sienna, San Gimignano, and Monteriggioni. Towards the end of our day we went wine tasting at a family run winery in the Chianti region. The wine was delicious and the winery grounds and cellars were perfectly picturesque. We even had sunny weather!

 

 

  

 

 Our last stop was Rome. We were there for nearly four days, and there was still plenty to see, but we made time for the main sights and were able to fit a lot in! Our hostel was just around the corner from the Coliseum so that was our first stop, followed by the Roman Forum. So much history!! We also saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (my personal favorite), the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Castel Sant’ Angelo. Visiting the Vatican City and museum was another trip highlight. I think Marueen and I spent over three hours in the museum alone, but easily could have spent twice that time! The Sistine chapel was beautiful and so was St. Peters Bascilica. We spent our final day in Italy touring the city of Ostia Antica, the ancient trading port for Rome, and only recently unearthed city ruins. It was a great trip and so amazing to see all of those famous historic places which you only ever read about in text books! I would love to go back to Italy again someday :)

 Other exciting things on the horizon are spring break, and my parents coming to visit in two weeks. I can’t wait! For some reason this semester I’ve been feeling much more homesick than last, quite possibly a product of all the dreary weather we’ve been having here in Ireland, so I’m really looking forward to having Mom and Dad here for a visit. The plan is to rent a car and tour the West coast of Ireland for 5 days, return to Dublin so I can attend class, and then hit the road (er, air?) again to fly to Scotland for another 5 days! Dad has never been to Ireland, and none of us have ever been to Scotland, so there will be lots of fun sightseeing! In Scotland we signed up to take a three day tour to see the highlands, loch ness, and the Isle of Skye. Can’t wait! 

Well, as always, thanks for reading! 

Until next time :)

 (Ostia Antica)