More Photos Anyone?

The spectacular countryside view from the edge of the city of Ronda in southern Spain. By far the most beautiful sights in Spain, in my opinion, are in Ronda and the surrounding area.



The Puente Neuvo bridge that goes over the Guadalevin river in the Tajo Gorge in Ronda.

















The path we took around the city of Ronda leading to the Puente Nuevo bridge.


















My program group listening to our tour guide Emilio on our Sacramonte Trek.


















A view of the Alhambra as seem on the way up to Sacramonte in Granada.

Were you wondering?

In case any of my faithful readers would like to send me a letter the old fashion way, here is my mailing address in Spain.

Sarah M. Hall
Central College
Palacio de Santa Cruz
Placeta del Hospico Viejo, s/n
18071 Granada, Spain

Am I there yet?

Wow, I am actually in Granada this weekend!
Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel; however, it is nice to spend time at ‘home’ as well. It is great not having to get up early to catch a flight, or spend the night in an airport paying absurd amounts of money for bad food.
Today I did go on a little excursion, but it was only to the other side of Granada, and I was home in time for lunch. My group went to visit Sacromonte; home to the Gypsies many years ago, and the sight of a beautiful Catholic Church. I went, I saw, and I took lots of photos. (I promise to post them next week!)
As for tonight, maybe a nice glass of wine and a few tapas. This probably doesn’t sound very interesting, but to me it is heaven!


Ogallala to Crete to Sanborn to Omaha to Atlanta to Frankfurt to London to Granada to London to Dublin to London to Granada to Madrid and finally back to Granada.
Six weeks, eight flights, five countries, and way too many Euros later I feel that I have finally made it to my final destination. While I have enjoyed all the sights I’ve seen, it is nice to be settled in one place for a few weeks.

Me standing in front of the Aqueduct of Segovia. One of the most significant and best-preserved monuments left by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula. Most likely built between the 1st and 2nd century A.D.















City view of Segovia from the top of a tower in the Alcázar Palace.















The bear and the tree--Madrid's symbol.

















Plaza de España in Madrid. The statue at the bottom is of Don Quijote de la Mancha.


















A street in the beautiful city of Toledo. The expression"Holy Toledo" comes from here, at one point it was said the city had 80 different churches.
















City view of Toledo.

Is green my new favorite color?

Last week found me gallivanting around Dublin with my friend Jamie. We had a few days free from responsibilities in Granada, so we decided to take a trip up north and visit a country where English is the language.

I am very fortunate to have two friends living in Dublin; Taylor Foy was a great help in helping us find our way around and figuring out transportation, Hillary Kramer also provided us with wonderful information and was even nice enough to let us crash at her house for a few days.

It was a bit shocking to arrive in Dublin after spending two weeks in Spain, the climate is definitely different. After getting over the initial shock, the cool wet weather was a welcome change. We were fortunate to only have only morning of heavy rains, the rest of the week was beautiful.

Jamie and I spent much of our time wandering around the city center, perusing through the shops and admiring the architecture. We did take advantage of a Hop-on-Hop-off tour around the city; by doing this we were able to cover a lot of ground in a single day. One of my favorite places had to be Phoenix Park; it is 1700 acres of beauty. We spent a few hours enjoying the sights there, and finished up by sipping a cup of tea at the tea house in the park.

We also took a ‘bay and castle tour’ one afternoon, embracing the opportunity to see Ireland outside the city. While I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful sights, it also opened up my eyes to the beauty that exists back in the states. As I gazed at the red maple trees and their changing leaves I was reminded of the trees near our home in Iowa. Driving through a residential area of Dublin made me think of the pretty streets in Colorado Springs and Lincoln. Seeing the water on the coast took me back to when I was on the coast of Maine for my brother’s wedding, it also reminded me of Okoboji. Traveling abroad has not only opened my eyes to other parts of the world, it has also opened my eyes to what is back at home.

Other highlights from the trip include a trip to the Guinness Factory, a walk around St. Steven’s Green, a visit to the statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square, a tour of the Dublin Castle, and an excursion through Kilmainham jail. It was an amazing trip!

Nevertheless, all good things must come to an end, and it is now time to settle back into life in Spain.

Where are my emotions?

What I’m about to write may come as a surprise to some of you, but I, Sarah M. Hall, can be a very emotional person. Sometimes I feel as though I am on an emotional rollercoaster, my feelings changing as quickly as a coaster moves. This has been especially true the last few weeks that I’ve been in Europe. One minute I will be so excited to be seeing new things and meeting new people, the next minute I’ll be overwhelmed with homesickness and would like nothing more then to be back in the US with my family and friends near by. I have gotten better at managing these feelings, but I haven’t gained complete control.
One of the things that has really helped me these last few weeks has been food. While I know that it isn’t good to be an emotional eater, I also know that sometimes a dish of ice cream or a cup of tea can be just what I need to overcome a moment of sadness. I have found that when I am desperately missing my mom, a cup of tea makes me feel close to her; I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of tea we have sipped together over the years. There is a similar connection with coffee and my dad; he started giving me coffee when I was very young, and taught me to know and love a good cup of the dark stuff. I’m sure that it is his fault that I’m so short.
Other things that have led me to believe that my emotions are located in my stomach are ice cream and chocolate. It is amazing how a waffle cone full of cold gold or a chocolate muffin can lift my mood. I don’t know why, but these treats make me feel better. In the end I don’t really care about the why or how, all that matters is that they do.