Rome > Bologna > Trieste > Frankfurt > Luxembourg > Wuppertal > Dublin

I feel terrible, I have ignored my blog for far too long. The last time I posted, I was in Italy, which feels like a lifetime ago.

Bologna was wonderful. I’ve never been in a city quite like it – Bologna is famous for its ‘porticoes’, which run all through the city. They are basically hallways for outside. I also had no idea what these were, so I have a photo reference below:

Cool, huh? 38 Kilometers of them run through the city and they’ve been there for 1000 years. It was a busy, dirty and unruly city and I loved it. I also visited the Anatomical Theatre, which is part of the oldest university in Italy.

The next stop was Trieste – the city that my Nonna was from. I think I’ve wanted to visit Trieste since I was at least 12 years old. My Nonna was the most amazing woman and being there was really special to me. I stayed in a top-floor apartment which only had skylights for windows – a majority of the apartment was slanted because of the roof. I felt like I was in my element there and would love to go back one day, even just for the train ride – you pass by the sea and I think there’s something so magical about riding in a train next to the water.

I visited the main square while the sun was out and drank up the smell of the sea. The Italians recommend drinking Aperol Spritz when it is a beautiful day and I made sure I had many of those.

Once I left Italy, I got to stay for a few days with my cousin and his wonderful family in Frankfurt.

Whist there, I went to a fresh food market called ‘Kleinmarkthalle’. There was a massive line outside this hole-in-the-wall shop, so I obviously had to buy lunch from there. They sold sausage by the gram with fresh rye bread, mustard and pickles.

I also ate my first pork knuckle at a fab restaurant called ‘Apfelwein-Föhl’, of course with my favourite beer – a Hefeweizen.

I felt so lucky I got to stay with my cousin’s family because his wife cooked up the best German meal I’ve ever had – white asparagus with pancetta, pork schnitzel and potato with Hollandaise sauce (my gosh was it good!!). I will be dreaming of this meal always.

Luxembourg was a little uneventful, mainly because I got sick again. It was a truly beautiful place, but my gosh was it expensive! It also rained the whole time, so there is nothing super exciting to share. Looked German, sounded French.

Next stop was Wuppertal, which is famous for its upside-down monorail:

I spent a lovely week here in a tiny little apartment where I got to chill out and watch movies.

Ireland is brilliant. It’s a bit of a relief after spending so long away from home, to be in an English-speaking country. I had a lot of fun Dublin. As soon as I dropped off my bags, I went straight to the pub for a pint of Guinness and I was not disappointed.

On the way to the Guinness Storehouse, I passed the church of St. James, which, coincidentally, is the starting point to one of The Camino routes. I felt a funny kind of nostalgia seeing the yellow arrows and shells marking the path through the city. The church was unfortunately closed, so I couldn’t go in, but it was still wonderful to see.

I’m just about to catch the train to Waterford, so until next time, Sláinte

-Miss Adventure